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