Child Labor
Written, Produced, Researched, and Done by Charlie and Sam.
Depressing Melodies kinda by -PICE-
The Beginnings
Child Labor is the use of children in industry or business, especially when it is illegal or inhumane. "Child labor is a crime committed against one out of every seven children around the world" (Goodweave). The first recorded acts of child labor were circa 100 B.C. and it is continues to be practiced among society today. Some of the most recent acts of child labor include those in the carpet industry, the sex trafficking industry, and the chocolate harvesting industry. According to Goodweave, "some children are forced to work in these various industries for more than fifteen hours a day." Even though there are many organizations and government officials who oppose child labor, it is still practiced in a wide range of countries.
The Causes
Child labor has been introduced to many African children, this being caused by many different factors. One of the factors is that child labor is just a way to fix the desperate need for workers in African industries. Since the number of Africans that are able-bodied workers is dwindling in Africa, industries have resorted to using children too fill their spots. Another factor is that people working in the sex trafficking business believe that younger child bring in more money from the perverse group of men, and possibly women, that pay for the sex trafficking industry's services. One of the last few factors is that many adults in the chocolate harvesting industry aren't willing to go into the dangerous jungles of Africa to harvest cocoa beans. Thus, they get children to face the harsh jungle and the dangers it holds. These factors are just a few of the many causes of child labor.
Side Effects
There are many devastating effects that are the results of child labor. After "serving" their years in the labor industry, children who are released come out terribly damaged. Some children are as thin as a skeleton because they didn't get enough food, others are emotionally destroyed and need serious help with the problems they have, and still other children come out of the industry addicted to drugs and some kids don't even come out because they died or are still being used as adults. The way that these industries treat the kids they use for labor is ironic. The industries keep wanting the kids to produce more and more, yet they won't provide them with the proper care that the children need. The working conditions of the children are horrible. Many kids even get diseases from their working environment. Even so, the "owners" of the children won't give them medical help. These and many more things have rattled the world into an uproar. Hundreds of foundations, charities, and organizations have been made to raise money to help the kids that are in these situations. One of these organizations is called GoodWeave. GoodWeave's mission statement is: "GoodWeave aims to stop child labor in the carpet industry and to replicate its market-based approach in other sectors."
Labor in the Mines
This picture is of children carrying bags of minerals or ores from the mines that they work in.
Any Gold yet?
This picture is of two children sifting through the riverbed to see if they can find gold nuggets.
Holes
This picture is of a group of children (some even at the age of six) that are digging holes non-stop, and being worked until the point of exhaustion.
What's the Solution?
Child labor, being present in most countries around the world, such as the United States, Africa, and the Middle East, is one of those situations that involves special handling. I believe that one of the only solutions to child labor are the laws associated with it. In the U.S., there are laws that state that child labor is illegal, you will be fined a large sum of money if you are caught participating in causing child labor, and that you can be imprisoned for as long as a judge decides if you are found guilty. In other countries, however, child labor laws are different and may be more lenient, or even non-existent. What the world needs to do is to severely enforce these anti-child labor laws. They need to make sure that this doesn't occur in ANY country, let alone just in Africa. If the governments of all countries would simply heavily enforce child labor laws for at least five years, I would like to think that most children wouldn't be working in the harsh conditions they are anymore. They would be at home, safe and not dead, or malnourished, or addicted to drugs. There is just one simple solution that governments around the world just aren't seeing.
Concluded.
Many African children have had the misfortune of being dragged into the child labor industry. This has caused them to become malnourished, addicted to drugs, emotionally damaged and even dead. No matter how many times their "owners" see them struggling, they are simply beaten and told to do better. A way to fix this horrid misfortune is by enacting and enforcing child labor laws in every country of the world. If the governments of the world would only severely enforce the laws for at least a few years, most of the child labor industry would be non-existent. Somehow, someway, the people of the world need to get their governments to enforce these laws so that child won't suddenly go missing, or so that families won't be torn apart by people who need workers. I believe that one day, with the people and the government working together, child labor will be a thing from the past.