Are we really a party to child-labour?
Sadly yes, but most of us think the answer is "no".
Go to any shop/hotel/establishment, one can see that almost all shops/hotels/establishments employ kids for regular chores :-(
And we just take a sorry look at those kids and then continue to buy the lesser-priced products(quality) coming out of their hands :-(
Cruel really! :-(
Remember most school-kids/school-establishments avoided buyin deepavali-crackers cause they felt that buying such child-laboured products is "wrong". But do these same folks really bother to think about the children they employ directly or indirectly, tough question really!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
About Me
- sanchapanzo
- I like quiz.
13 comments:
anand,
i have never seen the newspaper delivery-man really, you know the time i wake up :-)
anyway i think this problem is not something an individual can really accomplish. there has to be a common will and i guess only the government is the best-entity to take a call on that.
ithey newspapera nee US la poatu athila vara kaasila padicha athu perumai?? grant kidaikaama namma oor makkal veli naadu poiyum ithai thaan seiyaraanga...paper podra pasanga neriya per school poranvaga...they do it as part time...vela paathundey padikaraanga...earning while learning...u shd feel proud for these kids...agree they might not be a majority..but vettiya suthama work pannanum thonuthu paar athai appreciate panni encourage pannanum..if u make them lazy by giving things on hand u set a wrong expectation...hotella vela paaakra pasanga is difft thing...i had bad exp with one...so no comments on tht
bidda,
leave out anand's argument. i think he was referring to something else.
regarding child-labour, i think the activities you mentioned cant really be classified as child-labour. i think both of are in the same plane with regard to child-labour. it s quite cruel.
Santho,
My question is do these kids want a change?
- Ananth
ananth,
i think these kids need this job cause that is what is going to sustain them to see the tomorrow. if they dont work, they will go without food etc.,
but we know the bitter truth that such an existence is really pitiable i.e working@young-age
somehow another parallel that we can see is, when our government (india and other developing countries) goes to WTO or any of those usual trade rounds, where heated negotiations happen between the rich and poorer countries on pollution. the developed countries with their technological prowess want everyone(including developing countries) to stop pollution(due to fossil fuels), but india(or other developing countries) can never accept this case, cause that will be like putting the spanner on the works for a country like india. i.e one fine day all iron and steel or petroleum or coal companies have to stop their work ..this is impractical.. instead some money has to be invested on alternate non-polluting energy and developing countries must be subsidised heavily to take up these alternate tools
i think the same scenario @ micro level is what this child-labour is all about.. if we insist on poor families to stop sending their kids to work or request their employers to stop taking child labour, it just does not make sense unless we have a replacement solution to this problem. i think when we identify a problem we automaticall become part of the problem, and thus we automatically take ownership of that problem, thus have to work towards the solution of that problem. but sometimes, even though we know the problem, the solution cannot be really found that easily, it s like one neo fighting 1008 agent smiths the fight never really ends..
so, guess this is were government should come in and identify a solution before just putting a plain ban on "no child labour"..
anand,
what is your point?
You are launching a crusade against child-labor. As a first step, stop purchasing newspaper.
sadly no, i am not launching any crusade
I do not know how is it different from stopping purchasing crackers.
true, you do not know. cause it does not make any sense i.e stopping anyone from buying crackers/newspapers.
anyway if you take a look into my post you will understand that i am not really for the "ban" on any children-made products.
Santho,
I saw your reply only now and hence the delay in reply..sorry about that..
I do understand your point about providing an alternative "today" so that they can think for their tomorrows..But your response seems to suggest that such alternatives do not exist today...I beg to differ here..What about free education, Mid-day meals, free textbooks, school bags, etc. that are provided by the government (atleast i know TN govt. does that) that lend a helping hand to the poor families so that they need not spend any money towards educating their kids.
Despite all this, if the trend is continuing, I could only conclude the following:
(1) The parents ARE NOT really interested in sending their kids to school (one reason could be, they do not see any "value" in educating their kids). For example, if a kid had parents and the kid still is made to work, then it only means that the parent is not working HARD ENOUGH to sustain the family. Instead, they take the easy route of sending their kids to work for the additional income.
(2) As with any other governemnt policy, brilliant ideas being executed poorly by those who do not understand the essence of the policy in the first place
In summary, in believe the government "alone" is not the culprit in this case.
BTW, I do realise those cases where it is impossible for the family to miss the ONLY earning member (their kid). But, I see this case as an exception than a norm.
AnandKumar, can you please explain how "stop buying the newspapers/crackers sold by kids" solve this problem? Your response would really help us understand your point of view.
- Ananth
ananth,
but, i guess government has a responsibility in illuminating the parents(if a parent feels education is not adding any value). i guess nothing really comes close to education. but you see education will always be a luxury if the family itself is below poverty line(i.e when parents are famished, no conducive surroundings etc.,)
Santho,
I also believe that education is a luxury when your next meal is in question. But, given the fact that you are going to literally spend nothing in educating the kid, what is still stopping the parents from sending the kid to school?
Also, why do you hold the government responsible for educating the parents about the value of education? It still beats me.
- Ananth
given the fact that you are going to literally spend nothing in educating the kid, what is still stopping the parents from sending the kid to school?
not exactly really, government does not reall cover the child's medical expense or food(after school) and so many other ancilliary activities ..
Also, why do you hold the government responsible for educating the parents about the value of education?
government is responsible cause they have this really huge bandwidth which no one else has, which inturn can be used to alleviate poverty and thus allow these kids and their helpless parents to get a decent life
Santho,
"not exactly really, government does not reall cover the child's medical expense or food(after school) and so many other ancilliary activities .."
Why should we expect the govt. to cover this? One cannot depend only on the govt. for every matter in our life. If the situation is that very difficult for the given family, they shouldn't have had that child in the first place (i feel strongly about this, but it will digress this discussion - so, may be in a different context)
"government is responsible cause they have this really huge bandwidth which no one else has, which inturn can be used to alleviate poverty and thus allow these kids and their helpless parents to get a decent life"
The sheer number in India would make it difficult for the govts. to take up this effort (even if it is interested). One way would be have small "local organizations" (govt. or non-govt.) working at a personal level to educate (ie.localize the problem). Practial or not - an example being "Unnal Mudiyum Thambi"
What say?
- Ananth
If the situation is that very difficult for the given family, they shouldn't have had that child in the first place
true, but if you think practically everyone of us chase a wild dream that sooner or later we are going to be well-off. and this hope is what allows everyone to stay afloat.
One way would be have small "local organizations" (govt. or non-govt.) working at a personal level to educate (ie.localize the problem).
spot on, so the initiative must start from the centre to distributes its powers to local governments. that's the only probable solution
Post a Comment