Hearing the Voices of Slum Children

Children are more important to the world economy than many people realize. The following four statements are by children. They are reported in the web site Child Workers in Asia.

Maya

12 Years, wool spinner

“I used to go to primary school but one rainy season, I couldn’t go because of heavy rain, flooding and landslides. My name was thus removed from the registration list. After that I started to work at home. I used to help my mother with the household chores and go to the forest to collect firewood. Some time " later I was brought later I was brought here to the factory by my relatives.

So I have been working in this place for four months. From morning till night I sit in one place and weave and spin the wool. I get 10 rupees, (US$ 0.50) for a 9 hour day, sometimes 10 hours, and I also work in the house of the factory owner. But the money I make is not enough to live on here in Kathmandu. "

Chandra

14 Years, tea plantation worker

“I am a Chokada. I am paid 9 rupees(US$ 0.40) a day. Besides picking tea leaves, I also do other jobs such as sickling, weeding, cutting, fertilizing, and carrying water and wood.

We are given an hours’ break at noon. But I never manage to bring food from home, we are so poor. I generally spend my break resting a bit if I’m too tired. I get terribly hungry but I have to wait until evening to have a taste of food. We don’t get any days off. They also don’t pay us if we are absent from work. There is no medical care and we always have small accidents such as cuts and bruises. Luckily I have been ill only once since working here.

The only extra payment they give us is an annual 200 rupees (US$ 10) for the maintenance of our Dhura. This is never enough, because the Dhura needs maintenance every month. Almost 6 months a year we sleep inside the Dhum and cover ourselves with plastic because we have to spend the money on food instead of the Dhura. We have to eat even if we get all soaked with rain from a leaky roof.”

Shyam

10 years, carpet weaver

Our family does not own much land and no matter how hard my father and brothers worked, there was never enough to eat. One day, we heard that there was a chance of earning money by weaving carpets in the city. My parents placed me in the hands of my uncle and we came here.

I am a trainee and I don’t get paid any money yet but I have two meals a day and a place to sleep. The work is 12 hours a day and I have to share a small sleeping room with 15 other boys.

After the training, I will start as a paid worker. The others say that I’ll earn 500 to 600 ” rupees (US$ 25-30) a month! We four share a loom. It takes us 12 to 14 days to complete a 200”x300” carpet, so we can complete two carpets a month. Virachai

14 years, leather worker

Virachai comes from Roi Et Province in the North East of Thailand He is 14 years old and has completed grade 6. He has three brothers and his parents are farmers. The family have a small piece of land but are not able to produce sufficient food or income for their needs. Most families in Virachai’s village send their children to work in the city.

“My brother was working in this leather factory in Bangkok and he took me to work here. It’s now three months since I came and I’m earning 600 baht (US$ 24) a month. Already I have sent 1000 baht (US$ 50) to my family in the North East. I stay near my work place, sharing a company room with other child workers. I get up at 7 am. and start working at 8 am. We have one hour lunch break and work again until 5 p.m. Dinner break is from 5 p.m to 6 p.m. then we work until 11 p.m. Since I came here to Bangkok I have had no time to go anywhere else, not even to see a movie.

My only wish is to finish work at 5 p.m. It is not right that I have to work for so long and there is no time to rest.”

Most often advocates of children’s rights oppose all forms of child labor. In this interesting and challenging article four African youths argue for the right of children to work – but under acceptable conditions. It was also downloaded from the web site "Child Workers in Asia." HealthWrights staff

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Invited by Terre des Hommes Geneva, Dibou, Luca, Ibrahima and Claude (on behalf of the African WCY Movement) went to Switzerland in 1998 to meet school students. At the same time, in Geneva the ILO Conference on the new convention on the worst forms of child labour was on and this coincided with the end of the Global March Against Child Labour: let’s see what happened.

Ibrahima: My name is Ibrahima Camara. I come from Bamako (Mali), I work in Bamako’s airport named “Seni” where I shine shoes and I change money for the tourists.

Luca: I’m Luca Serge. I come from Abidjan (Cote d’ Ivoire) and I’m an apprentice carpenter in the capital city. I’m 17 years old and I’m a member of the WCY Movement of Abidjan.

Dibou: My name is Dibou Faye. I come from Dakar (Senegal), I’m a maid and I’m a member of the WCY African Movement. When we arrived in Geneva, the first thing we did was meet children in their classes to discuss with them and explain to them the various situations of children’s lives in Africa. We explained how we got organised so as to improve our conditions, and showed them how the situation of their lives are different from our own lives.

Luca: Indeed, we went to the schools to explain the African WCY’s situation, how we got organised, how we take decisions, what are our association’s goals, etc. We found out that explaining our lives’ conditions in Africa impressed the Swiss students a lot. This was a good opportunity for us to exchange ideas with other children, and maybe they will show their solidarity with us and will support our Movement. At the beginning, students started asking us about our personal lives and our organisation. We explained to them that our organisational forum is based on grassroots’ groups, organised in different cities and in different countries: these associations are supported by NGOs. We also asked the students what was their opinion about child labour, and they answered that children must work because they’re poor and because parents cannot pay the school fees; they thought it normal that children should work, as long as the conditions are good.
Dibou: When we asked the students “What would you have done, if you were in our conditions?” they answered “We would have done the same”. We cannot respect a law, which says that we have to be 15 to start working. We could sell magazines and the book we made. Many students were interested in the magazines and we sold a lot!

Lucia: Students agree with us, because many of them bought “A letter from the street.”
Dibou: We had many problems with people marching against child labour, because we don’t share the same view.

Lucia: Above all, I had many problems with them. In the train to Bern, Dibou told me that she had a shoe shining box, and I said “Give me that, I’ll shine our Animator’s shoes!” When an Indian saw that, he came to discuss with our animator because they were marching against child labour and I as a kid was shining shoes - the Indian claimed it was sabotage! We had many problems with them. We explained to them our situation and told them that child labour is necessary if parents are poor. We don’t say that children don’t have to go to school, but that they also have to work to help their parents.

Dibou: Back to Geneva, we met many journalists who asked us about our personal histories and the way that we have organised to defend ourselves.

Luca: We also met personalities from BIT and children coming from France, and we discussed with them. People from BIT showed us a movie based on India and they presented us the IPEC program and the BIT’s goals. The IPEC program is a fight against child labour in Africa, India and all around the world. Then, we discussed with anotherBIT member, a representative of the Free Unions International Confederation, and we asked him why they don’t let children, who are the ones working under these labour conditions, express themselves about this ILO convention. He answered that it is impossible because delegates are chosen by trade unions from each country. One must be a delegate of his own country, and people over there are all 40 years old at least. We didn’t agree, but he said that he couldn’t change this, because he doesn’t make the decisions. We asked the BIT authorities what their opinions were on the fight to put all children in the future into schools; we also asked, as long as rich countries keep on exploiting poor countries, don’t we have to fight against poverty, so that families can be richer and children can have the choice between working and attending school? They did not answer exactly to this question; they just gave us a document about the economy, devaluation, etc.

Being that we children cannot participate in this conference, they asked us what we think about the conference: we don’t think that child labour should be abolished, because in Africa and anywhere in the world, poverty reigns. So children must work, but when they do they must have good working conditions. We also think that we have to fight against exploitation and the most intolerable forms, such as prostitution, slavery and others. These are crimes and not work. A minimum age to access work must not be fixed.

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This article came from Jeunesse Action, Senegal They can be contacted at the following Equipe Jeunesse Action ENDA TM BP: 3370 - Dakar, Senegal Tel: 221 823 51 57 E-mail: jeuda@enda.sn Web Site: http://www.ennda.sn

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==== First Attack Poverty to Eliminate Child Labour ====

In this perceptive article, also found in the the web site "Child Workers in Asia." an un-named Indian child makes an important point. HealthWrights staff

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...Yet, these are only a few things we do for a living. There are many more dangerous professions in which our brothers and sisters work. They roll bidies, weave carpets and make bangles for you. Without their labour, there would be no fireworks for Diwali and no matchsticks for your kitchen. Brassware, slate pencil, potter and leather are some of the other industries where many of us work. In total, there are about a hundred million child labourers working in one area or other, with or without wages, in this country. Most of us have to work in inhuman conditions and suffer many kinds of abuse. Furthermore, every fourth of us is actually a bonded labourer.

We are happy that, in recent years, there have been campaigns to end child labour. But, we are worried about the manner in which child labour is proposed to be eliminated. For example, leaders of the Global March Against Child Labour, which recently passed though India, wants child labour to be banned right away. While we also want an end to the child labour system the demand to abolish it in one-stroke looks impractical to us, as such a ban will mean rendering millions of families jobless overnight. Instead, first and foremost, the government should ensure that children are not forced to work in the most intolerable forms of labour, for example, as bonded labourers. Our bonded brothers and sisters are often treated like animals and not allowed to have food or play. They are paid little or nothing as wages. It is this disgusting forms of child labour that need to be abolished right away.

As for the other forms of child labour, the government needs to take a holistic view of things and work out a strategy to rehabilitate us and our families. Many of have us have no choice but to work and supplement our parents’ meagre incomes. And, many are mortgaged to pay off family debts. Before our livelihood is snatched from us, our parents must be given full employment with fair wages so that they can properly look after us. Otherwise, a blanket ban will affect, not only us, but our families too. We do not need to struggle if our basic needs for survival - food, shelter, clothes and education - are fulfilled. So, we demand that the government give us these rights. Until then, our right to earn a living should not be denied to us. And we demand that our opinion be considered on this issue. Is it not unfair to make laws for us without even asking us what our needs are?

Children drop out of school and work in degrading, dangerous and exploitive jobs under inhuman working conditions because they are forced to do so by economic pressures. These economic pressures have in large part been created by unregulated capitalism, of the sort advocated by the World Bank and the IMF. Taking away work opportunities for children without structural economic changes that significantly alter the economic realities within which they live will only make the conditions of the children and their families worse. Unregulated capitalism will always strive to ruthlessly press wages, working conditions and ecological responsibility down to unacceptable levels. A market economy need not be destroyed in its entirety to achieve the needed changes, but fundamental changes do need to be made – structural changes that are for the most part the opposite of those that have been forced on Third World nations by the IMF.

Rules of the game that assure acceptable working conditions, a living wage, and reasonable working hours for all workers must be the first priority of the United Nations, of all people concerned with the improvement of health and educational standards, and of all world economic organizations.

The inappropriate privatization of health services, clean water, and adequate sewage and garbage disposal should be halted at once. A progressive income tax needs to be implemented in all countries to collect the funds needed for adequate health care, clean water and sanitation for all people.

In the context of a mixed economy and within a framework of humane and civilized rules, the private sector can be a source of goods, services, creativity, and opportunity. Under the current vogue of de-regulation, multi-nationals have becomes criminal organizations. To a great extent they must act in criminal ways to survive.

A few self-appointed Daddy Warbucks will not solve the problem of poverty in the slums of the world. Charity is at best a stop-gap measure. At worst it is a form of sentimentality that gives the impression that the rich really do have the interests of the poor at heart and that real structural changes are not needed.

The invisible hand of the un-restrained market will not raise all boats. Serious dialog needs to begin as to what form of market socialism will meet the needs of all the people in the world in this coming century. When the needed structural changes are achieved, children will not need to work in degrading jobs, their basic health needs will be provided for as a right, they will live in communities with adequate sewage disposal, and they will be able to attend school. Hopefully they will also be given a reasonable degree of autonomy with regard to choosing their own goals and making their voices heard.