Although people with power
claim to care for the children of the world, they haven’t really done much with
all their power to stop the various countries that continue to “acquire” the
labor of small helpless children. The
forced labor of children is not only in far away countries, nor is it just some
little thing to brush off, with the thought that it’s not my kids or I don't
know them so it's okay. No, it is not ever acceptable to force a
small helpless child to do the work of an adult for barely pennies a day! The
treatment of these kids is not only scaring, scary, and can cause physical harm
to said children, but it has also cost the lives of many young lives.
Some of the worst
countries, or better yet most well known for the use and abuse of the child
labor forces are as follows: Mali, Bhutan, Burundi, Uganda, Niger, Burkina Faso,
Ethiopia, Nepal, Rwanda, and Kenya. This is not the full list of countries that
use child labor they are just some of the worse ones. It is honestly sickening
to think of the amount of children that are put through that life style. There
are many more countries that are all over the place that I am sure you can
easily think of however; just the fact that the list of countries that use
child labor is that long is horrid. With all this power that we have in the United
States we have still not gotten around to helping these kids. They are someone’s
babies to and deserve a good, fulfilling life too. Just as the children on Tualatin High School do, there are so many
other ways that we as a world can get the products that we claim to "need" so
damn desperately that we are willing
to sacrifice an innocent child's life to get what we
want. This is honestly completely horrendous. The amount of children that
are affected by child labor is over 250million children. The number of children
laborers is unacceptable! This number needs to be dropped significantly and
soon, otherwise we are going to end up demolishing the next generation of a
race or culture, by not only working these kids to the bone, but also by the
amount or should I say complete disregard for their lives and safety. All over
the world at any given time there is a child somewhere working for only pennies
a day, without clean water and good food to keep them healthy, or a safe place
to rest there little heads for the night. We need to step up as a country and
put an end to child labor, there is no reason that an adult person can’t work
the job that you just had a 5 year old little girl was doing. Not only would
this improve the economy of the country you are in by giving new jobs to
people, you are also sparing that little girls life.
If you happened to
notice where most of the countries on the list above are located they are
mostly all in Africa. This is not saying that Africa is a horrible place nor
has bad people; however as a continent that seem to have the most problems with
child labor. In Africa it is a well known fact that there are many places that
have never had clean drinking water or good nutrient rich food. This is not
only impacting the children that are being forced to work it is also causing
those same kids to be overworked in an unsafe environment and be malnourished while
doing this hard labor. Between unsafe conditions, little to no pay, and very scarce
clean drinking water, that could help keep them hydrated and healthier than
they normally would be; it doesn’t seem like somewhere that would ever be
suitable for a child to “work” let alone an adult for that matter.
Think about it this
way, would you want to be the person or have your child be doing the work that
the children are being forced to do in these other countries? Is it really
worth just turning a blind eye too? I think not! I believe every child should
have a warm hug and kiss from their mom and dad every night before they go to
bed, I believe that every kid should have a clean safe household to go to and
call it their “home”, I believe that every single kid in this world should be
able to have a future that is as big and amazing as the stars in the night sky.
The children that have to go through this monstrosity are honestly some of the
strongest children that I have ever heard of. They have the strength to get up
every morning even if they have nothing to look forward to but doing the labor
that the person in charge says they have to do that day. These kids not only
deserve a better life full of freedom and love. They have well earned it with
how much each and every one of them has gone through.
