Child Labour

[Arathorn136]

To start, this is a topic that I am fairly educated in (although I am not calling myself an expert, definately not.)

So. Child labour. I will start with one of the largest stories out there.

In 1995 Iqbal Masih was shot for helping free children around the world from bonded labour. And he was only 13. At the age of 10, Iqbal escaped from the carpet factory in Pakistan that he was being forced to work in.
Upon escaping, he became the figurehead for the Bonded Labour Liberation Front. While being with the BLLF, Iqbal had helped release over 3000 children trapped in bonded labour.

In 1994, Iqbal was awarded the Reebok Human Rights award, for his services to the community, and for all of the lives he had helped potentially saved.

Iqbal was shot in 1995, by members of the supposed "Carpet Mafia", as they saw him as a threat that could potentially decrease their sales, as this boy was opening the eyes of the public, which of course, they could not have.

Iqbal was four years old when his parents sold him into child slavery, as they owed the equivalent of 12USD to the carpet merchants. He and the other enslaved children worked for twelve hours a day, and had horrible living conditions.

This is a highly abbreviated story, but the point here is that a child tried to make the world a better place, and because of this, he got shot and killed by people who have next to no moral values.

Now this is not the only story. I read the book, "Free the Children" by Craig Keilberger, and in it he described some of the horrorshe witnessed during his travels through Asia. He and his guide witnessed a young girl sorting used needles in her bare feet in a dirty room for pennies, young gis being sold in the sex trade, young boys entertaining on the streets for small coin, which they rarely received, children bound in a carpet factory, and many more horrors.

In the West, we don't realize how many thousands of children are dying in fireworks factories, carpet looms, and unsanitary jobs.

So what are your thoughts on this?
Is there a way we can stop it?
Are there ways to give children better living conditions?

Discuss.

[Reasoner]

I read that iqbal book too, his life helped to inform us what it is well like in 3rd world countries, though from what I read might be a bit embellished from little strands of details.

What are my thoughts? Well, it's terrible to send your kid to a work camp for your debts no matter where you are, if you know the risks that should be not even be a option, but there is no real alternative neither then getting alot of part time jobs...Or try to escape to a much more prosper country...


Is there a way we can stop it? Given some time, with effort and care we wil slowly stop it... But this will not be a immediate process.

Are there ways to get children better living conditions ? None that I can think of at this night, only way for the child to get netter living places if one of us west world sets up like a child day care, which will cost a lot.... Dont suspect Pakistan and those type of countries to be starting that up anytime soon.

Child labor is not something you can get rid of easily, in any third world country they will resort to it, and it will take much time to fully get rid of it, in a perfect world. Its less then 90 or so years ago though children in america were doing terrible mining jobs and sorts which killed quite a lot of kids. Ending light : Yes we can get rid of it, though its just a matter of time and effort thats put into it will it be fixed.....

[Satan]

I think what has to be discussed is where is this on the agenda of the world problems? Is this the most important thing? How about helping in Africa?

[Arathorn136]

Child labour is everywhere. Africa, Asia, South America, and Central America.

What some groups have started are school building projects. It is thought (and it makes sense) that if children are educated, then they will not end up working in slave camps. Unfortunately, what is happening is that children are QUITTING their educations so that they can work to help support their familiies.

[Humility]

Its what happens when children are considered a measure of instead of the drain they actually are. When you have more people then your Primary and secondary sectors can support, population increase must slow to a near dead halt as the tertiary sector is very slow to increase in resonse to a higher population.

But if these societies promote the reckless birthing of children and this is the result. The only thing keeping the children from being shot probably is their potential as near free labor.

[Gnerphk]

I hate to agree with something this grim, but Humility does raise a valid point. The value of human life in the larger world is nearly nil, and children don't even have much of that.

Until the world can agree on a single set of rights and values - even a general framework of them - we should not dictate morality in many areas. The larger problem must be addressed first, and this is:

People do not agree with me.

People do wrong things and call it right. People kill for the greater good, steal to feed themselves, work for a pittance, go whaling, and tear down and deface buddhist shrines of immense beauty and antiquity. The pyramids of Giza are not studied exhaustively, there's a burgeoning sex-slave trade in Uzbekistan, and Americans buy heroin that funds their Afghan opponents.

I think we should invade these people, conquer them, and force them to submit to the will of one that is more enlightened, namely me. Because I'm always right, and...

...wait. Americans? So... I'd have to start by invading... myself.

See, that's the trouble. We disagree on a very fundamental level about things like the value of a life - but who says that I'm right? (Apart from me, of course.)

[abracax]

In the West, we don't realize how many thousands of children are dying in fireworks factories, carpet looms, and unsanitary jobs.

So what are your thoughts on this?
Is there a way we can stop it?
Are there ways to give children better living conditions?

Discuss.

In the west we know exactly what is happening with child labour, the problem is western culture is run by consumerism and therefore turns a blind eye and does not want to recognize the problem

My thoughts on this: If a factory is run more like western type factories with fair wages, hours and so forth, I don't have a problem with child labour so much. If a 10yr old has the chance of helping to support his family and keep food on the table that is no different than farming has been for a millenia. So far as I said, the wages, hours and treatment are fair.

Is there a way we can stop it: Yes, quite easily. Western countries citizens can boycott products from countries that use child labour as slave labour. The US has crippled many allies with boycotts over less.


Are there ways to give children better living conditions?: There are many ways, they all start with individual governments. There has been a economic project that started in Jamaica a few years ago by an American economist. The project is to give people ownership of the land they live on. In 3rd world countries it is very rare for someone to actually own the land their shack, hut or house is on. By giving them ownership of that land you now give the average person a bit of power to institute more changes and you also give them stability of residence. It's a whole waterfall effect in how it effects the economy of a nation and creates more economic stability with better wages and better living conditions. So if the countries with child labour as a sort of slave labour, it comes down to the economy and how it effects the poorest of the poor, what is a living wage, what is sustainable, what is a standard of living. When you can compile all the needed information and put it to use then there would be no more child labour and children would be allowed to be children and also get educations.

[King Dylan]

But you also need to remember, some small kids work in factories because their family absolutley needs it. I remember seing an article of a girl (I believe 9 years old?) in Iraq works in some sort of factory, and she's happy about it, otherwise she has to go begging (and most likely be beat up) instead.

[CraigMac]

Most of your chocolate that you eat comes from the likes of the Ivory Coast and sourrounding nations, where child labourer makes up a massive majoirty of the work-force. Some are sold by their own families to work, others simplied kidnapped. Some large companies are "cracking" down on this pratice, only sourcing their coco from co-op farms, where one of the conditions are limited child labour - so children as young as five can still use dangrous weapons to get the beans, but must also attend school, etc.

"There are an estimated three hundred thousand child soldiers around the world. Every year the number grows as more children are recruited for use in active combat." - This one is a little more difficult to if you like - "put right" comapred to "sweat shop" labourers and the like.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2042474.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4282715.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/pe.../soldier.shtml