Has child labour taken new form in educated society?

You should have told your freind that what she is doing is worng. Child labour in India is offense.

We should start doing our bit instead of waiting for others, then only these things will get removed

 

I read a study years ago that was done by Japanese government on the topic of child labor. What they found was that if children work before age of 13, that the brain development is permanently less so this generates a bad cycle as to development. Subsequent education will not overcome the reduction in brain development. This is a very serious topic both individually and nationally for any country.

Have you read about Sister Cyril's work in Calcutta? They rescue children from illegal work and educate them. Do you have a chapter there?

May 1, 2009 ~ Sister Cyril | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS

 

hi,
when i was in India my maid brought her daughter to replace herself .........i refused to let the child work.my maid was offended & gave reason that she is trained & can do work better then even herself as was more agile.....she could not understand the reason for refusing the child.

after few days she again brought the child & told me to let her work because she (girl)has to work & it will be better if she works in the house who will atleast treat her nicely.....again i refused.
after few days i saw the girl working in neighbours house where she had to work all day plus look after 2 children one of them must be only few months younger then the child maid .
on my objection to the neighbours i was told to mind my own buisness......when i got little strict threatening to call cops,the mother of girl came crying to me begging me to let them have means to eat...........

i felt so helpless..........i turned blind eye.

yes,its true educated people are more mean & self centered.....

pragati

 

I too faced the situation mentioned above. The boy who was working and his parents asked me not to spoil their chance of eating meal.

I personally don't shop at places where they have employed child labours.

 

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[FONT=&quot]This is from my blog on quick money.........
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[FONT=&quot]All I want is good education for the kids –sons and daughters of the florist, vegetable vendor, servant maid, water boy and the cook. [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I try my best to guide them for the basic R’s but somehow my attempt fails mainly due to the ignorance and stubborn attitude of the parents. They feel if their kids also follow their profession, it would suffice. [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] My heart broke when I saw the X th class girl of the florist joining the mother in selling flowers and after giving my piece of mind, I told them to make her continue her studies . During her vacation I wanted them to send her for computer crash courses so that she can look for the simplest jobs once she completes her studies.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] But the father is reluctant. Here the parents fail, the first thing is they lack the drive and they fail to motivate their kids. I keep looking for some jobs for these children to do in winter so that they get exposure to the outside world![/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] Infosys has come up with an excellent programme for helping those who pass class ten to continue studies [/FONT][FONT=&quot] and when I told this florist, he said his daughter has not cleared 2 papers in class ten. My coaxing to the maximum failed and now the girl sits along with her parents in selling flowers. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] Next is the cook’s daughter, who has done up to SSLC and does not want to study further but would like to get a good salary. Who will offer without the basic computer application and English?[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] I keep finding jobs in malls, show rooms, and other places. She is rejected only on the basis of Lack of English knowledge, and PC application. She has to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]understand that, on my compulsion she joined a computer class but gave up as she was lured of a big amount in the form of salary for the cook’s job in PG Accommodation. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] Now my only concern is the boy who has appeared for class ten exam, awaiting results. I keep telling him every time I see him, not to give up studies and I would do my best to help him. He seems to be a smart boy who understands the value of studies. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] Though I do my best to make them study, either the concerned party is reluctant or the guardians least interested. All they want is quick money at the cost of education. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] As it is said, educated people exploit child labour and reap undue advantage of it quoting their need and the parents greed.
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[FONT=&quot] we as society and the government should come up with strict laws to impose and punish them.
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This is not new. I grew up watching my neighbours and cousins raised by kids only a few years older than them. It was thought of as 'charity' actually - since it was a relatively safe environment for that poor kid. As a mom now, it hurts even more now to even think about those kids.....so sad.

 

My SIL in india has a 12 yr old child to help her take care of her 1 yr old baby..that girl can only dress up the baby, watch her while she is playing etc,but not take any big responsible tasks like bathing ,feeding the baby etc..and my SIL sends the girl to school and pays for her education,clothing,food etc..Once my SIL thought she dont need this girl anymore and sent her away, but the girl fought with her parents as her parents could not afford her education or good food/clothing, and she told her parents to let her live with my SIL as she can have a better life in the city,than with her parents,!now, is this considered a child labour? or is it a case where the girl is earning her education/better nutrition and health and in return helping out my SIL with little chores like helping with lifting phones,entertaining the baby etc??

 

I tend to agree with Snhasri's observation about her SIL's domestic help/child carer. In case we find we can give better environment to those child helpers, as an alternative, we have to employ them and treat them as we treat children.

If we turn them out, they goint more dangerous jobs and environments where they are exploilted. So long as we have unorgansied labour markets, and below the poverty line folks, this problem will continue. We can only do what we can , with kindness and with human approach.