Child Labour: A Global Issue Affecting 160 Million Children, Guide, Progetti e Ricerche di Inglese

Scarica Child Labour: A Global Issue Affecting 160 Million Children e più Guide, Progetti e Ricerche in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! 25 maggio 2022 Child Labour Forced hazardous work affecting 1 in 10 children worldwide Child Labour is currently a worldwide problem which sees around 160 million children deprived of their childhood, their potential, their human rights, their dignity and their physical and mental development. The most affected areas are India, North Korea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya: more than a half of all children aged 5-14 are working in excruciating conditions there, suffering from poverty, barely eating and drinking and forced to take dangerous drugs in order not to feel the agonizing hunger. What basically distinguishes the past child exploitation from the current one is that previously human rights were continuously violated, everyone was aware of the reality and there was an overall acceptance. Just a small percentage of the population used to be wealthy, having the privilege to wash themselves twice, to eat everyday, to laugh and smile, whereas the remaining part hardly survived the day. The poor work conditions were daily occurrence and everyone was a victim. Nowadays the entire world is guilty: people simply deny the harsh reality, as long as it does not affect themselves. With the growing problem of fast fashion, everyone knows that buying from the big well-known fashion industries like Zara, H&M, Bershka and Shein means to increase the abuse of children workforce, however everybody seems not to care. At first glance, it might seem impossible to imagine a reality where our clothes are made by 5-years old children, who barely have started to speak and being aware of the world, and yet…fast fashion heavily relies on child labour, especially in countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, as a direct consequence of extreme poverty. In fact, families living way below the poverty line are generally compelled to rely on their children, who lack education and proper care. They normally work from 14 to 16 hours per day, in dirty and dilapidated buildings, without restrooms, lights and pauses, just for one or two dollars a the end of the day. What does it means for the big industries? It means that this workforce costs nothing and daily produces billion of dollars: if people started thinking that a plain $20 T-shirt was produced at a cost of just few pennies, perhaps they would buy less and better use what they already have. Another point to focus on concerns the Democratic Republic of Congo, where day after day thousand of children are deprived of their childhood and freedom to work in the cobalt mines. Cobalt is an essential raw GLOBAL ISSUE ESSAY 1 material used by large tech companies for electronic devices and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. This means that our phones and laptops are made by the hands of helpless children who, with the same hands, should have played and learnt how to write. Moreover, they are absolutely not provided with safety equipment and they do not know how to handle substances, which pose health risk. As a consequence, they are repeatedly exposed to toxic level of cobalt, which causes them lots of respiratory problems. At this point, the question we should ask ourselves is: why does no one say anything about this inhuman exploitation? Why is there such widespread carelessness? Money is always the answer to the world problems: regrettably, modern industries need a workforce that requires minimum income with maximum effort, so as to enrich themselves and to conquer the international market. It is also a matter of lust for power. The International Labour Organization have lately listed many of the actions that can be taken to eradicate and prevent child labour. First of all, it is crucial to analyze the main causes that led to this: undoubtedly the extreme poor conditions suffered by these countries’ families; then, the general disregard of the wealthier countries, which for centuries have plundered these lands. Consequently, as the way things turned out, it is time to give back to these countries, known as the Third World, human rights, freedom and, most of all, peace. In addition, it should be vital to help them out as far as the economic recovery is concerned, in order to ensure them better quality of life and to make them finally discovered what it means to hope a prosperous future for their children. Currently, many efforts have been undertaken: for example SCREAM is an education and social mobilization initiative, which aims to promote understanding and awareness of child labour among young people worldwide, since they must be informed and sensitized about the abuses and injustices going on. Being conscious of the product we buy, trying to avoid the cheapest ones made in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan would exponentially reduce the mobile phones market and the fast fashion one, given the fact that human sensitivity would be deeply touched. Furthermore, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), since 1992, has worked through country-based programmes, which promote policy reform, so as to best protect child laborers establishing solid social protection floors. A further example that actions speak more than words is representing by Shiva Nazar Ahari, a notable Iranian human rights activist, who has been jailed several times by the Iranian government. She has spent her life fighting against children exploitation, trying with all her heart to change their conditions, through protests and publishing on the Internet the rough truth about the local unwholesome governments. In conclusion, the employment of children in any work that basically deprives them of their life is a reality that should not exist nowadays, since money should not be more important than human freedom. If