Sunday, Jun 12, 2005
Sunday, Jun 12, 2005 |
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Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | New Delhi
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: "I make my living by picking rubbish which is okay, but the problem is that shopkeepers demand money from me to take away the rubbish,'' says 12-year-old Hazra. "The men trouble me. Please tell the police I am not a robber, only making a living,'' she pleads. Hazra - one of an estimated 12.5 million Indian children in the age group of five to 14 years who are exploited for labour day in and day out - was speaking here on Saturday at a function organised on the eve of Anti-Child Labour Day and to celebrate the silver jubilee of Child Relief and You (CRY), a non-Government organisation committed to eradication of child labour. She was joined by a15-year-old Saurabh, who when asked what he wanted to do, beamed: "Become an airplane pilot.'' In reality, Saurabh sells cold drinks at India Gate to repay a loan his father took for his sister's medication. Twelve-year-old Kishan wanted to be a pilot too, but he says: "I can't, because I repair air-conditioners to support my mother and three sisters.'' He did not reply when asked where his father was. "These children are in fact robbed of their childhood,'' said CRY member Nikhil Verma. "And the numbers are rising.'' The problem, according to Mr. Verma, is twofold: "First, child labour exists because we employ them. And why do we employ them? Because they are cheap and can be excessively controlled, especially the girls.'' Secondly, child labour begets child labourers. "These children are useless to employers as adults because they have been so weakened and deformed by disease or injury. Their children therefore have no option but to become child labourers themselves to support the parents.''
Case study
However, a case study presented by CRY worker Subhendu Bhattacharya highlights a way out of the quandary: "In 1994, every child in five villages in Uttar Pradesh was working in carpet factories. However by 2005 we had managed to at least make them independent.'' "Starting with non-formal evening schools, the children were encouraged to boycott the factories. Using this collective route they were able to gain representatives in the panchayat that allowed 250 acres of land to be expropriated from the local landlord for the children. Finally, with the aid of a Gramin Bank they are now independent,'' said Mr. Bhattacharya. The children assembled here also presented a list of demands to Union Labour Ministry representatives, including a separate ministry for children and employment generation in rural India to stem the flow of the poor to cities. The function ended with a question-answer session. Several questions and comments came from the children, including one from Subhash who said: "In India the poor do not matter, but poor children matter even less because as children we cannot even vote.''
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