2Child laborers are exposed to some of the most dangerous and
horrifying places. Abused, and often locked up behind high walls,
these kids grow old making a living. They are stunted in height, and
look much older than their years.
UNICEF describes child labor as "employing children below 15
years old in factories and industries where they are not directly
under the supervision of their parents." This also includes employing
children below 18 years old to work in hazardous jobs. The Philippines
has signed UN conventions protecting minors, meaning companies can't
hire kids to do work. However, cases of exploitation abound.
Children from the province are recruited and told by agencies
that they will be given good-paying jobs in Manila. They are then
locked up and are forced to work without pay. Maltreated and abused,
these kids are not even given clean food and receive no medication if
they become sick. They receive no protection from the hazards that
they encounter while working. There are some instances in which cheap
gloves, etc are available, but these have to be bought.
It is ultimately poverty that fuels child labor, so some people
argue that the solution is to fix the economy. However development
takes many years. The issue becomes more complicated because parents,
or the children themselves volunteering, are the reason they work.
There are three ways of preventing child labor, according to
most newspapers. The first is to prevent the youth from getting into
hazardous labor, with the aid of information campaigns, master lists,
etc. The second is to protect the children. Third is to rescue and
rehabilitate victims.
They say that improving the economy will take years, and we have
to use more immediate solutions. Years have ALREADY passed us by!
Where are we now? I see no improvement. In fact, I think we're getting
worse! Child labor has been going on for years, and yet people still
hide behind the excuse that economic development will take too long.
It takes too long because nobody even bothers to start. How can you
expect something to end after a really long time if you haven't even
started?