— Piet Hein
When I think of what childhood should be like, I think of laughter, learning, and growth. Sadly, millions of children experience little of this because they are entangled in a complex network of child labour. Most authorities agree that child labour includes any work that can jeopardize the health, safety, or morals of a child. It also encompasses the deprivation of the child’s physical, intellectual, and social growth. Child labour may be through agriculture, manufacturing, community-based work, trafficking, prostitution, debt bondage, and various other activities. While statistical information about child labour is limited, the International Labour Organization estimates that there are 250 million children currently in the labour force in developing countries alone. These children are being deprived of social and educational opportunities as a means of improving the quality of their lives; as a result, they will likely continue life along the same path of hard labour and poverty. As youth, we have a voice; that voice is spoken through the everyday decisions we make. Although universal child protection faces a multitude of challenges in its enforcement, promoting education and raising social awareness are key factors to alleviating the use of child labour.
Lack of education — which is closely linked to levels of social and economic disparity — is, by far, one of the leading factors that give rise to child labour. Many children do not go to school when poor parents weigh the cost of sending their children to school against allowing them to work. When children remain uneducated, they are unaware of their rights as citizens, and are more susceptible to treatment that violates their personal safety or health and exploitation of their cheap labour. Ignorance breeds a vicious cycle of a life of unskilled work, less pay, more poverty, and the likelihood that the next generation will repeat the cycle. In addition, education for adults is equally important. “Educated adults have fewer and better-educated children.”
One example of positive government action is in Kenya. In 2003, the Kenyan government made education free and compulsory for children in primary schools, as well as basic education for adults. As a result, an estimated 1.5 million children who previously did not attend school have enrolled. Another example is in Kerala, India. The promotion and value placed on child protection and education in Kerala has been a strong force behind the declining incidence of child labour — it now stands less than 3 percent. The recent widespread expansion of public and private educational facilities has caused an increase in the number of children attending school, instead of entering the work force. Both these examples support the idea that education breaks the cycle of poverty, which is the single largest factor contributing to child labour.
In contrast, Pakistan, which had almost 50 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 in the labour force in 1996, spends only about 4 percent of the government’s budget on education and health combined. Meanwhile, around 38 to 40 percent of that budget is allocated to military spending, which is primarily used for defending its borders.
What can youth possibly do about the issue of child labour? The Western world has a powerful influence on global activities. If we cannot attack the problem right where it is occurring, we can make changes here, at home. We must look inward — to re-evaluate our own thoughts and actions. The inward transformation will give rise to outward change, for we are all interconnected, and “no man is an island, entire of itself,” as John Donne once said. The problem with our society is that it places little focus on learning about world issues, and as a result, our youth remain ignorant about worldly affairs. We are global citizens with tribal souls, part of the whole of humanity, but self-centred in our aspirations. We watch the horrors of violence and oppression on the daily news, and yet remain immune to the real lives behind the pictures we see. In this way, we are blinded from seeing how our economic, technological, and cultural domination is affecting those living in the developing world. We must adopt a broader perspective in our learning and take the initiative to use our acquired literacy skills and resources to inform ourselves so that we can act more responsibly.
In addition to promoting global education, we need to reach the social conscience of consumers at home, who indirectly encourage the practice of child labour. In an incessant search for market expansion and domination, companies are seeking greater profits by using cheap labour in developing countries. Since children can be paid less than adults — as well as be more easily mistreated — children are at a higher demand for employment in these areas. As consumers in North America, we need to be aware of companies who are exploiting cheap labour. One way to take action is to boycott products made in areas where there are no protective laws enforced against child labour. The goal is to create awareness of the interrelationship between our actions and their far-reaching effects elsewhere, so that thoughtful choices are made concerning the goods we buy.
As consumers, we can also take note of products that possess a special mark or label, which insures that they were produced following certain protective measures. One success with the usage of such labels has been in the carpet industry. As of 2002, more than 3 million carpets possessing a RUGMARK label (created in 1994) were sold in Europe and North America. The RUGMARK assures consumers that no illegal child labour was used in its manufacturing. Carpet-producing countries such as India, Nepal, and Pakistan are currently working with the RUGMARK program. If this can be implemented for rugs, why can this strategy not be applied to a wider range of products? Here one voice can be a powerful catalyst for change. Through activism, we can speak out on issues such as the exploitation of children, and motivate others to follow our examples with our words and everyday decisions in the way we live. It is our responsibility to be conscious consumers and not create demand for products made by companies that use child labour.
Another way in which youth can take action is by lobbying government officials to put pressure on countries that are not effectively implementing protective human rights measures. As of this date, 192 countries have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, and many other legal policies have been created; yet the political will to enforce many of these mandates is what is lacking. By voicing our concern about the importance of universal human rights for children, we can shake off apathy and start promoting human justice.
Overcoming child labour requires a joint effort of the developing and developed worlds. There is no single solution that exists to any global issue; nevertheless, with passion and a drive for change, we can make positive advancements toward its eradication. That journey involves the battle against ignorance, apathy, and material-consumerism. We can do our part, by starting to act responsibly, and not passively letting the world’s disparities continue. We can take the first step by educating ourselves, and then acting on the knowledge we have acquired. We need to open our minds and hearts to our continental neighbours — to look beyond the differences between us, and see how similar we actually are. If we can just convince others to care enough about the well-being of a child halfway across the globe, we can move mountains. The key is activation of the global social conscience; once it is stimulated, we will be one step closer to making the world a better place.
Works Cited
Belamy, Carol. “Child Labour: Rights, risks, and realities.” The Rotarian. September 1997: pp. 26-29.
Clark, Bruce, and John Wallace. Global Connections: Canadian World Issues. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2002.
Free The Children. 10 April 2004.
International Labour Organization. 10 April 2004. < http://www.ilo.org/>
Kielburger, Craig. Free The Children. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1998
Salmon, Katy. “Kenya’s Schools Try to Accommodate Free Education.” International News Service News. 20 April 2004.
“Summary results of Child Labour Survey in Pakistan (1996).” International Labour Organization. 6 February 2001. 20 April 2004.
The Rugmark Foundation. 1 April 2004. 15 April 2004.
UNICEF. April 15, 2004.
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