Don't Just Feel Sorry For Them...

Bang Bang Club

 This particular photograph shows a young girl struggling to get to a food center when she collapses on the ground. Behind the small child is a vulture stalking her, waiting for her to die. This was taken in Sudan in 1993. The South African photographer who took this ended up winning a Pulitzer-prize for the heart-wrenching picture. The photographer committed suicide shortly after he won the award due to depression. He was often criticized for not helping the girl. No one knows what happened to the small girl.

It is amazing to think of all the things I would have done if I were there, but I wasn’t. I’m not. Every time I look at this child I imagine picking her up and carrying her elsewhere. That doesn’t really matter because at the time of this picture I was three years old. The messages that this photo sends are heart-wrenching. So many things are taken for granted. Not many people stop to think about how much what we have might mean to someone who does not have it, like food, or water, or shelter.

The photographer who took the photo above was a part of a photojournalist group called “Bang Bang Club” and they went around taking devastating pictures that were occurring in Africa. This is another one:

 Here, two Somali children wait to die in a room that was meant for children who were “too far gone” to care for, either because of AIDS or starvation.

This next picture shows an aunt sitting next to her nine-month-old nephew who was hacked to death along with his mother, who is not pictured.

Their Journey
Of the four photographers in the “Bang Bang Club” only two survived. One, mentioned above, killed himself because of the depression brought on by much of what he witnessed. The other was fatally wounded during one of their photo expeditions. The photographs above do not show the violence they witnessed, only the results. There are however photographs on their website. Also, the two surviving photographers went on to write a book discussing their journey through war-torn areas and as South Africa moved towards a non-racial democracy. The book is filled with their emotional and personal journeys. Their boldness raises several moral issues with their photography. When do they stop being objective onlookers and get involved? How could they just stand there and take all of the photographs in the first place? One thing that I remind myself though is that if they didn’t, no one would. And if no one took these photographs we would have less evidence of the tragedy that happens in Africa. It would all just be words with no connection. Their photographs, although very controversial and depressing, provide insight to the tragedies that occurred and still do.

It is interesting to think that these situations in which those pictured find themselves happen because of their governments and poverty. We don’t see poverty and government like they do. When they experience the wrath of their government it is first hand and through violence. And here we have the audacity to complain about raised taxes. Our poor who live on the streets can beg and be granted food or some money for the day, whereas some children don’t eat for days and die of starvation. It is not fair that we can complain as much as we do and many of them get beat and slaughtered for trying to speak out. I know my blog is focuses on children, but the adults of Africa were those same children at one point. They grew up in the same situations of poverty, hunger, and abuse.

K’naan
K’naan is a Somali rapper who writes songs about his home country and the struggles that they go through. One of the songs that I felt fit this topic very well was his song “Wavin’ Flag” because of the message of strength and perseverance it emotes.


Sarah McLachlan—World on Fire

World on Fire: Their World is Our World
 I figured that Sarah McLachlan’s video “World on Fire” would be a nice conclusion, even though my topic was centered on Africa. Her music video really sheds light on how a little amount can be given and it can make a huge difference, and yet we just go on with our daily lives and our vain habits. It is interesting to think about how most Americans worry about what brand of clothing they wear or whether their shoes match, when there are little kids elsewhere who don’t even have food to eat. It seems selfish to own anything that is not a necessity. As bad as readers might feel when they look at the pictures or the video, how many are actually going to do something about it?

It truly is a shame that the majority of people who read this will do little to nothing in order to prevent this. Of course, there are so many problems with this world that stopping everything that is happening in our own lives just to help a child we have never met is a little bit out of our schedules and we just don’t have time to donate even a small sum to a good cause. Please reread that previous sentence if you did not catch that I was being facetious.

There are several websites and organizations that set up programs in order to help fight for these children and the adults as well. These are some of the sites that have more information on the matter and those relating, as well as how we can help.

Child Trafficking in Africa
West Africa: Combating Child Trafficking
Child Trafficking
Oak Foundation

Sources:

Bang Bang Club

Be Aware

Product of Poverty
The products of poverty in Africa are street children. Street children, as defined by Street Child Africa, are any “young person for whom the street is the dominant element in their lives. In other words, a child who works all day on the street, out of education and removed from family is a street child.” There are many ways as to which a child falls victim to the street, but the most common is linked to poverty. Many of these children on the street wish to help their families any way they can. Thus, they turn to begging and trying to raise funds for not only their families, but educations as well. When a child is in school and cannot pay for the next term’s tuition, they often turn to the street to make the money they don’t have. However, this cycle is a vicious one and it is nearly impossible to get out of. Once children have to resort to the street life, even part-time, it is unlikely that they will get out without some sort of help. Even part-time street life leads to full-time street life. Street life only leads to a life further in poverty. It is an endless cycle that much of the population falls victim to, often at an early age. One girl named Mariama, who was only 8-yrs-old, was caring for her three younger siblings, one five, three, and an infant. She and her siblings had lost their parents and she was alone in caring for these kids as a child herself. She was worried that if authorities found her they would be placed in foster care and she would be separated from her siblings. She was practically invisible to the outside world, but she was very resourceful. She and her siblings were living off the pickings from a rubbish dump. She has now been placed in a program in which they are trying to keep her and her siblings together.

Malnourishment
Hunger is another large factor which leads to the street. It is no mystery that poverty induces hunger. No money means no money for food. So when these children look to the streets, many are just looking for a bite to eat. Many children go days without food, and if they do find food they look for it in bins, underneath market stalls, and from abattoirs. Because of the poor diet these children endure, they are often malnourished and subject to sickness. Recently, Washington State University partook in ‘A Day Without Shoes’ by Tom’s Shoes. Tom’s Shoes in an organization where they donate a pair of shoes to a developing country where shoes are sparse for every pair they sell. This is a wonderful organization that spreads awareness about populations that go barefoot and travel miles in harsh conditions, sometimes just to find fresh water. I urge everyone to take part in this annual event on April 8th. However, I don’t think people are as aware as they should be about the hunger that takes place in developing countries like those in Africa. I urge people to partake in a day without food. No, this is not a sponsored event, although it should be. Try living just one day without food just to put into perspective what children go through on a day to day basis. In the United States, we wouldn’t know a whole lot about going without food or eating scraps, especially since we are one of the leading countries for obesity. Just because they are far away does not mean we should not care.

Shuttup and Do Something
We can say that it is not up to us and that their government should do something about it. However, it is their government which is part of the problem. Relying on Africa’s governments to change the future of these children would be irresponsible. Their future is really in the hands of non-governmental organizations. Provisions don’t come from these children’s governments; it comes from those who are aware. However, that isn’t always enough. Before their lives can be set back on track, awareness needs to be spread. More people should be aware so something can be done about it. Imagine if your children or younger siblings were living in these conditions. Imagine a day without food. Imagine your only food coming from dumps. Become aware.

Street Child Africa


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Straight to the Source

Child Trafficking in Africa
This is a wonderful site to get loads of information about the child trafficking in Africa. It not only describes what the issue is, but it gives examples from several different countries in Africa. On top of that it gives prevention strategies as well as whom to contact about involvement. There’s only so much to say about the site other than that it compiles loads of information on the subject into different sections of this one website. It is definitely a key resource when researching about the trafficking of children in Africa.

Child Trafficking
This site is a research hub for child trafficking all over the world. It is really useful in the aspect that it provides pdf’s that can be downloaded. As far as the actual site, it provides information about child trafficking, prevention strategies, and different organizations that help. It is really helpful when focusing on more than just child trafficking as it also provides information on the trafficking of all human beings, and not just in Africa.

Globalization and Child Labor
This site is very useful when looking at the direct correlations between child labor and globalization. More specifically this source looks at the cacao production and child laborers in West Africa. However, it is very useful to see how the global market causes riches for some and harsh conditions for others.

West Africa: Combating Child Trafficking
This source mainly focuses on Ghana and its history of child trafficking. It also shows similar patterns in Gambia. Throughout this source it provides the relationship between the two African countries and their experiences with child trafficking. It tells of the history and what should come in the future to stop this problem.


URA Campaigns Against Sexual Abuse
This is a great source for focusing on the progression of preventing child trafficking. It really shows the current problems in Uganda and problems that have previously occurred as well as demonstrate the new methods of prevention. Excuses such as “limited resources” are being refuted and the cases are being reexamined. Uganda has finally had enough of the child kidnapping, rapes, and killings. They are finally trying to put an end to it.

Sudan Street Children
This source mainly focuses on the street children of Sudan. This is a great source for finding out more about how the children came to be. It also shows how corrupt the government can be. In many other sources, they outline what the government is trying to do, but this particular source demonstrates how the government is failing at what should be done. This source sheds light on the so-called “street” children and how some of them are not what they appear to be. Although many of them were previously abducted children, some have homes and families but are still taken by the government because they portray a certain image. It is a very interesting view of child trafficking and the government.

Objective Thinking
This source is somewhat vague on the concept of child labor in Africa. It is really useful as a visual aid though. There is a map that is proportionate to child labor around the world. It shows which countries have the highest number of child laborers in relation to its size. This source is also great when looking at the cycle of child trafficking, what contributes to it, and what keeps it going.

Child Labor in Africa
This source really focuses on child labor in Africa, pretty self-explanatory given the title. It provides some sound examples of the hardships families go through. It also explains what is being done to try and stop the traffickers in Africa. The overall theme of this source is poverty as the key problem to child trafficking, which seems to be a common theme in other sources as well.

History of Child Labor
Although this source is somewhat short, it is good in explaining what child labor actually is and why it is a problem. It begins with the overall meaning of child labor and the different types, then proceeds on about the history, and finishes with the laws enacted against the exploitation of children.

Globalization, Over-exploitation, and Social Exclusion: The View from the Children
This source is excellent for the generalities of child labor. It maps out where and how child labor is an issue, not just for third world countries, but also those at the top of the capitalist countries. It really provides the link between globalization and capitalism. It starts by explaining the origin of child labor, then transitions into sexual exploitation, and finally it concludes with the killings of children and the child soldiers.


Stolen Childhood
This source is helpful when looking for more than just trafficking. It provides visuals of for many problems that occur in many different countries. When looking for trafficking specifically there are visuals for that as well. The information may not be as much as some of the other sources, but it is definitely useful in the aspect of providing visuals. This source puts a face to the problem. It makes the problem more real for people who are so used to just numbers.


The Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa
This source provides an in-depth view of children soldiers in Africa. It outlines the reasons as to how the children are recruited by the government and what they go through. It is obvious when reading this that making children fight in wars and genocides is a definite problem we should all pay attention to. It also gives evidence that there are organizations trying to fight this issue. This source is more useful when focusing on child soldiers, rather than more generally child trafficking. However, they are related in the actual causes.

In Africa, Money isn’t the Only Reason Young Girls are Sexually Exploited
This source provides anecdotal evidence about the problem of young girls who are taken as sex slaves. It lacks some empirical evidence that the other sources provide, however it is much easier to connect to on a more emotional level. Reading this source definitely aids in the understanding the different trafficking problems in Africa. Although most of the sexual assault is blamed on money, there is apparently a myth that claims that having intercourse with a young girl cures AIDS. This source is a tragic eye opener, but necessary for understanding.

Oak Foundation
This source is very brief in explaining the different organizations that aid in the prevention of child trafficking of all sources. Not only does it provide the different organizations, but it also gives several different prevention strategies for those who are not active members of these organizations. This is a necessary tool when looking at child trafficking because it is not enough just to look at the problem. Looking at the different methods of prevention should be incorporated in any child trafficking research.

Street Child Africa
This is another source that describes an organization which is working towards the aid of children. This organization however incorporates more than one and is working in more than seven countries in Africa now. They focus on the children who are living on the street and they try to provide homes and care for them. The main goal is to get these children off the streets and lead them away from the road to poverty. They want to give the opportunity for a better education which has been taken away from the children. They provide stories from some of the children who have been helped. Contact information is also available to make donations or help support the cause. On top of literature they further promote their cause with visual aid. This source is more for incorporating personal activism than empirical support.

Uganda Revenue Authority

Ignorance is Bliss

In Uganda child trafficking hasn’t changed much over the years and is still very prevalent.  While some cases are reported to the authorities, several go unreported and unnoticed.  Their excuse for not following up on all the cases was lack of resources.  This seems to be a common trait many countries share when it comes to issues such as these.  It seems as though the government, not just of Uganda but other third world countries as well, only intervene enough to make it look like they did give a solid effort to help.  In the movie Letters from the Other Side the women of Mexico are given some baking equipment from the government to open up their own bakery since they were poor.  Their husbands had gone to the United States to find work and left them with practically nothing.  Well the government stepped in and decided to give them a helping hand and donate this equipment.  However, the women who received the equipment did not have the proper means to operate the equipment they were given.  What seemed like a nice gesture from the government was really just a tease.  Although Mexico is far away from Uganda and the cases are not entirely the same, they are very similar in nature.  Families were in need of work, and when times were hard they turned to the government who only stepped in so much to create the illusion that they were helping.  The real difference between the two situations is the amount of children lives that are being lost and tormented in Uganda.  When the government doesn’t step in enough in this case, several lives are lost.

Time for Change

            However, several operations are now underway in Uganda to help fight child trafficking and abuse.  The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is cracking down on the problem of child abuse and not accepting excuses such as “limited resources” to ignore cases anymore.  The URA believes that more attention should be given to child trafficking and more awareness to support the fight against it.  An ‘Open Minds Forum’ has been enacted to help raise funds to aid in the fight against child sexual abuse. The ‘Open Minds Forum’ would be tax revenue that focuses on helping and educating police officers stop this problem.  However, it is not just for the police, but for the public to be aware as well, and so the program opened with a charity walk, where women and children share their own sexual abuse stories.

Realization

            What I find shocking are the numbers.  There were over 9,000 cases reported in the first six months of 2009 in Uganda.  That is only the first six months and that does not include the cases that go unreported.  It amazes me that it took so long to start something such as the ‘Open Minds Forum’ for the public as well as the government to really step forward and so something about the obvious problem.  It seems as though sometimes a number isn’t enough to get people to really help.  A number isn’t personal; it doesn’t always hit home.  Anecdotes tend to do the job, so I can see how the charity walk that was put on can really help raise awareness.  People listen to other people’s stories.  It is also difficult to get involved with something that is far away.  Most people don’t want to pay attention to the horror that goes on over sees, because they feel as though they wouldn’t be able to make a change anyway.  I think this is a problem the entire world suffers with.  A lot of people barely want to help change the problems in their own country, let alone someone else’s.  We all want the government to do it for us, and their government to do it for them.  However, as stated earlier, the government sometimes only does so much.  They put their foot in the door to the problem and offer a suggestion, but feel as though the work is done, when in reality nothing was actually solved.

Sources

URA Campaigns Against Sexual Abuse

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Child Labor - Mapped out

World Map Proportionate to Child Labor

Take a Look

Just by looking at the map it is evident that child labor is a massive problem in Africa. Of the ten territories with the highest proportions of child laborers, nine of them are in Africa. But why? It is theorized that poverty leads to children having to go to work to help support families. However, because these children are working at such a young age they are not getting a proper education. Without a proper education, chances of being able to sustain financial stability as an adult are greatly slimmed. Poverty is the key reason why children in Africa are working, however not all of them work by choice. Many are taken from their families and forced to work for profit or convenience of others.

Military Raids

Some children are kidnapped from their homes and then are forced to do work without pay. These children are taken during military raids through villages that are located in war zones. It may take years before the children are even reunited with their families and even then some do not even recognize their siblings. For example, there was a Dinka girl who was taken at the age of six and was brought to Sudan. There she was forced to herd animals and do housework often without food, let alone pay. While she was there, she was beaten, branded, and even given a different name. Her brother had eventually tracked her down, but she did not recognize him. Even then, it took two years to finally be released from her “master”.

In times such as these, people should be able to look to their governments to seek refuge. But in places like Sudan, the government is responsible for these actions. The government orders the military to go through these villages and it is the military that steals these children from their parents. These country’s governments are guilty of abuse against children. The country’s authorities turn a blind eye to the abuse and kidnapping of their own children.

Clean-up Camps

In the early 90’s, Sudan’s government ordered a “clean-up” of the streets. Their mission was to sort of “clean” the streets of the children who had been misplaced by the war. These children would be taken to closed camps where they were given no due process. The problem with this “cleaning” process was the screening of the children that were picked up. The authorities did not care what children they picked up, nor did they believe them if they claimed they had families in the area. Many of the children they sent to the camps were never actually displaced. One child was picked up on his way to the market, but was too scared to tell them anything. Even when parents try to get their children back and contest their capture, the camps refuse to let the courts interfere.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch has been trying to help the situation in Sudan by calling on the government to follow through with several actions meant to adjust the way things are run. They want Sudan’s government to enforce the family reunification program, which would reunite all of the taken children with their families. On top of this, the government should stop kidnapping random children on the streets and forcing them to attend this closed-off camps where they are not granted any rights whatsoever. Most of all, punish those who are responsible for the ill-treatment of children.

Sudan Street Children

Objective Thinking

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History of Child Laborers

Industrial Revolution
With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the world saw child labor in a new light. Before, child labor was regarded as children helping their fathers with agriculture and chores. Along with new technology came a vast increase in the exploitation of children. Not only were these children used in factories and warehouses, but in the most extreme cases they were forced into the military and prostitution. Even though child labor was not necessarily new to the world, it spiked drastically during the 1780s and 1840s. Children were housed in very poor conditions out of the sight and reach of inspectors. They were forced to do the tedious tasks “skilled” laborers would not, such as assembling boxes.

Africa
In Africa, there are an estimated 80 million child workers. This number could rise to 100 million in 2015. This is believed to be because of the nation’s extreme poverty. Many children, under the age of fourteen, leave their families to go find work. The majority of these kids do not find what they seek and wind up being prostitutes, involved in criminal activity, involved in the drug trade, or even slavery. Even the children who do find jobs (with actual pay) the way they are treated is comparable to slavery. Children who are beaten or prey to sexual predators is not uncommon in areas like Burkina Faso, where poverty rates are through the roof. These children are worked between 10 to 20 hours a day carrying heavy loads and not getting adequate nourishment and rest. Many are worked to death through illness and accidents. The children who are subject to prostitution may suffer from many sexually transmitted diseases, the main one being HIV/AIDS. Despite counter efforts, child labor and trafficking is still on the rise in certain parts of Africa. There are efforts to track the traffickers, and ships have even been searched. However, not all of these practices are effective. Traffickers still manage to get away with selling kids as slaves and sex products.

Help?
Several organizations have been brought about to stop the worst forms of child labor such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the UN Children Funds (UNICEF). Authorities in the areas with high rates of child labor have been better educated about the dangers of child labors. Even so, there is still so much more that needs to be done. Because child labor and poverty are linked, it is believed by many that the only solution is for the children’s families to have a greater income. But how does a family in such great poverty just decide to make more money? In my opinion, more needs to be done than just cutting the most severe child laborers. Money needs to be put back into the economy. How and from where, I don’t quite know yet.



Child Labor in Africa

History of Child Labor

Blog Topic

In a Nutshell

In theory, globalization is meant to connect the world’s economies through trade and communication.  However, it is more focused on economics.  Although, it is not meant to be a bad system, in reality what happens is the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  The poor aren’t just lazy adults as we would all like to believe.  Children are victims as well.

My Idea

I chose to focus my blog on children in Africa who suffer the consequences of globalization.  There are approximately 80 million child laborers in Africa today.  That’s around 40% of Africa’s children between the ages of 5 and 14 years.  Not only do the children suffer the possibility of working in a sweat shop, but they are abused, sexually exploited, and abducted.  Children are an easy target because they are more naïve than adults.  They are less aware of their rights, they are more trusting, easier to discipline, easier to manipulate, and are more likely to follow orders.  Not to mention, they are expendable.  Because children do not have special skills, they are more apt to be disposed of.   

What I Want to Know

As a criminal justice major I feel I should be more aware of the problems that exist not only in our own country, but others as well.  Especially when our major corporations are the reason young children are not aware of their rights, or do not have any for that matter.  I want to know what is happening behind the scenes; what no one wants to talk about, but everyone contributes to.  I feel like it is my duty as a consumer to know what I am really purchasing when I buy a name brand item.

A little bit about children around the globe suffering from globalization:

http://faculty.chi.devry.edu/gharris/humn410/homework_articles/ChildrenandGlobalization.htm