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Child labor: Work on dreams, not in fields!
Not only are child workers deprived of an education, when they enter the labor market as adults, they find it more difficult to find jobs and when they do, they would most likely be in low paying jobs.
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In this Sunday, June 12, 2016, photo, Ridoy, 7, works at a factory that makes metal utensils in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AP Photo/ A.M. Ahad)
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fter her baby Zoila, aka Zee, was born in July 2016, Sacha Stevenson of “How to act Indonesian” YouTube fame would feature her daughter in her videos. When Zee was six months old, Sacha did a series whereby she got her to try different foods: papaya, avocado, yoghurt and even kimchi and durian. Really? Durian? Hmmm, okay, but kimchi? Really Sach!
Sacha would start by saying to Zee, “Your job today is to try […] (whatever foodstuff it was she made her try out)”. I teased her, what is this? Child labor? Well, that’s what happens when your mum is a YouTuber!
Most families do have a tradition of getting their kids to do household chores which is great. Age-appropriate obviously. Doing chores teaches them useful skills, cooperation, makes them feel they are making a contribution, and instills in them a sense of responsibility.
But children doing household chores and child labor, are totally different things. Today is World against Child Labor Day, commemorated yearly since 2002, initiated by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to raise awareness about this serious global issue.
The ILO defines child labor as “unsuitable work done by children younger than a specific age that interferes with their schooling, learning and rest, and is an obstacle to the physical, moral, emotional and psychological development of a child”.
The ILO’s latest report is titled “Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!”
There are a staggering 152 million child workers worldwide (could be more) working in every sector, dragged into “backbreaking labor, war, and sex trade […] that puts children at risk of ill health, injury or even death”.
