‘Chotu … zara chaii laana’

Sushmita Dutta

Have we ever spared a thought to the ‘chotu’ who hands over tea at numerous tea stalls? If not, it is about time we sit up and take stock of the situation of rampant child labour across the nation. Are they child labours or child workers as almost all of them hail from poor families with more mouths to feed than hands to earn? Are these children -- who are putting so much effort to feed their large family -- personified violation of human rights and a big slap in the face of our socio-political system? And mind it, it is not only at the tea stalls but these ‘chotus’ can be found doing all sort of menial jobs, some of which are even life threatening. Our society today is firmly in the boa grip of child labour which, if not checked in time, will crush the very fabric of society and destroy the innocence of numerous children.

"Child labour" is, generally speaking, work for children that harms or exploits them in some way or another. It reflects the violation of child rights leading to exploitation and deprivations of all kinds. It also reflects the social inequity and insecurity, dearth of social safety networks, magnitude of poverty, paucity of opportunities for health and education, and of course the financial independence.

According to International Labour Organisation estimates in 2001, "246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in child labour, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8.4 million children were engaged in so-called `unconditional` worst forms of child labour, which include forced and bonded labour, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation."

The problem of child labour is widespread across the world, but it is the third world countries that have the majority of children workforce.

And to realize this we only have to look around and the bitter truth hits us hard on face.

Going by statistics, 61 percent of child force is seen in Asia, 32 percent in Africa, 7 percent in Latin America and 1 percent in US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations. In Asia, children form a whopping 22 percent of the total workforce while in Latin America it is 17 percent. In Africa, one in every three child works while in Latin America it is slightly higher with one ‘little labourer’ in every five child. In both these continents, only a tiny proportion of child workers are involved in the formal sector and a majority of them work for their families either in homes, in fields or on streets.This giant ‘little workforce’ is prevalent in every sector and industry, which in simpler terms is very dangerous for an otherwise normal child. While the boys’ work ranges from taking care of animals, planting and harvesting food, to many kinds of small manufacturing jobs (e.g. bricks and cement), auto repair, and making footwear and textiles, the girls mostly work as domestic maids.

Being a maid in someone’s house can also be risky. Maids typically are cut off from friends and family, and can easily be physically or sexually abused by their employers.

Beyond compassion, we must also consider that today’s children are our coming future. Between today and the year 2020, the vast majority of new workers, citizens and new consumers — whose skills and needs will build the world’s economy and society — will come from developing countries. Over that 20-year period, some 730 million people will join the world’s workforce — more than all the people employed in today`s most developed nations in 2000. More than 90 percent of these new workers will be from developing nations. Only future will tell how many of them will have to start working at an early age, losing their health and hampering their education.

Reasons

Poverty is widely considered the as the top reason why these children take up inappropriate jobs for their ages. The parents of child labourers are often unemployed or underemployed. A lot many times, the family expectations and traditions force the children into jobs. Other reasons for the systematic inclusion of this tiny little labour brigade include child abuse, lack of good education, public opinion that downplays the risk of early work for children and uncaring attitudes of employers.All the efforts geared to eradicate child labour are doomed to generate new social ills and add to the existing ones if they lack well-integrated solid commitment, foresightedness and vision. Just imagine what would happen if a "ban" is imposed on their legitimate labour? Where would they go? Would they be able to go to schools which could turn them into potential civil servants, doctors etc? And where they can relish full rights? Or should they go in search of any job anywhere on this not so gentle earth to feed their families? As a result the nefarious ways of life forces them to become sex workers, criminals, drug dealers and abusers… the list never ends. Their vulnerable family members may meet the same fate. Who is going to be blamed for this? We could curse our shortsightedness or our gullibility in the face of foreign pressure.

One by no means, is in favour of bonded work done by children. June 12 is being dedicated to Anti-Child Labour Day and catchy slogans such as "Say no to child labour" may echo loud these days. But has someone ever thought beyond raising the slogan? Has someone ever tried to help one of the many ‘chotus’ escape from his dingy ‘office’?Possible Solutions

Expectations from those who stroll in the corridors of power, politics and policy-making is to adopt a humanistic and holistic approach towards this problem. Treat the patient, not the disease only. They should take into consideration all possible determinants of a particular problem while suggesting solutions. Raising a lot of hue and cry against child work alias child labour and threatening poor parents/guardians of possible punishment if they do not send their children to schools, do sound progressive but not problem-solving. We have to develop the skill of analyzing our own situation and then coming up with solutions. We as a nation have to develop the art and science of looking into the issues through our own lens rather than accepting the visions created elsewhere. Many developed countries have been successful in getting out of the grip of this vice. Lot many steps have been taken to curb child labour. One among them is to make the general public aware of its negative aspects. People have now started offering support to organizations that are raising awareness, and some of them have also come ahead and provided direct help to children. To rescue a child from the clutches of enforced slavery, the emphasis should be on economic development that raises family income and also its living standard.

Education has been made compulsory, affordable and relevant. The anti-child labour laws were strongly enforced in these nations. They also tried to change the mindset of their citizens and their attitude towards working children. It is a myth that child labour will only disappear when poverty disappears. Hazardous labour can, and should be eliminated by even the poorest countries. And wave of this reform has to be adopted by developing countries as well so as to get rid of child labour forever.

On this Anti-Child Labour Day, everyone should take a pledge to help at least one child worker around us. In reality, ours is a society where some people are more equal than the others. The vast majority of less equals belong to low socio-economic strata and include women and children. The need of the time is to offer enabling environment for education and economic opportunities for the disadvantaged communities.