Child Slavery
27 Million Slaves Today
What is slavery?
Slavery is a social and economic relationship in which a person is controlled through violence, is paid nothing, and is economically exploited. -Kevin Bales and Becky Cornell
Slavery was legally abolished in the mid-1800s, but this horrible practice is still in occurrence today. Adults and children both are tricked into labor because they follow a trail of lies. Those in bondage must do as they are told or they will suffer. They are often beaten, yelled at, and sometimes killed.
Two girls in India are forced to do tedious and repetitive jobs, such as carry bricks to a work site.
Tak is a young boy who scavenges items from a rubbish dump in Phnom Penh.
Jeevitha spent every day filling matchboxes before she was rescued.
Why is child slavery an issue?
Regular slavery is bad enough for an adult, but when children are involved the slaveholders are often more violent towards them. Children are forced to do jobs that adults cannot do, such as fix machinery, fit into tight spaces, or help carry heavy construction objects. These children do not have proper education, health care, or a mother or father figure. They are often sold by family members for a source of income. For many of them, hard work is all they have ever known, and if they are ever liberated they will most likely have a difficult time adjusting to society.
Emily Lineback
Works Cited
Bales, Kevin, and Becky Cornell. Slavery Today. Groundwood Books, 2008. Print.
Benz, Robert J. "Slavery Today." Frederick Douglas Family Initiatives. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.fdfi.org/slavery-today.html>.
Webster, Noah. "Child Labor." Websters Third New International Dictionary. 3rd. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1981. Print.