African Child Slavery
By Ashley Witherspoon & Savannah Tilley
Slavery
"Slaves are defined as: A person who is forced to work by threat of mental or physical abuse, A person who is owned or controlled by another person." (Bickerstaff).Slavery is about a person whos rights are being completely taken from them. They are owned by another person and can't make decisions about their own body. No one should be subjected to this, especially not children : " A person who is dehumanized and treated like a commodity or property, A person who is physically constrained and has no freedom of movement."(Bickerstaff).
Causes of Child Slavery
"Child slavery is currently caused by poverty, limited access to education, repression of worker's rights, and limited prohibitions on child labor" (Child Labor Public Education Project). It is a common problem to third world countries because children of that region are easily taken advantage of. They have little, to no education, and have no choice but to join the work field in order to support their families. "Poor children and families rely upon child labor in order to improve their chances of attaining basic necessities" (C.L.P.E.P.).
Effects on the Children and Community
It is recorded that many worldwide have limited opportunities, and are forced to settle to primitive working conditions in order to maintain a future. "In 2006, around 75 million children were not in school, limiting future opportunities for them and their communities" (C.L.P.E.P.). With this happening, their communities can not expand past the struggles they face, and they continue their their downhill path to horrible futures. If this pattern remains, nothing can involve an ending to child slavery.
Solutions to End Slavery
Many people are putting in effort in order to make a change. According to the Child Labor Public Education Project, we should work to have an organized community, free education provided to all children, campaigns to influence public opinion, and new universal minimum standards. Steps you can take to solve this issue include, "being an informed consumer,encourage adults to use share holder clouts, write state and federal officials, volunteer, contribute financially, be observant, and be smart" (Bickerstaff). By taking these steps, we may see an improvement in the amount of children who are victims to this issue.
Conclusion
In the end, child slavery is negative solution to the widespread poverty and limited resources throughout the world. Many countries are victims to this treatment, including ones from Africa. By being restrained from an education, many children are setting their communities up for a plateaued future generation. Without an end to this slavery, countries will never get the chance to develop and strive from the struggles they face today. In order to solve this predicament, we must campaign for change, and hopefully influence the public to provide help and education for these children.
Children Working in Commercial Markets
Vigorous Day-Time Work
Example of slavery shown in the "New York Times"
Work Cited
Work Cited
Author: Bickerstaff, Linda. Title: Modern Day Slavery. City/State: New York, New York.
Publisher: Rosen Publishing. Year: 2010.
Author: Clark-Bennett, Robin. Title of Article: ”Causes of Child Labor, Ending Child Labor”.
Title of Website: https://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor.html
Update Date: July, 2011. Web Access Date: July, 2011.