Picture Credit: India TV News website
Everyday, an estimation of 160 million kids work as child labourers. The majority of which (70%) work in forestry, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture. Child labour has been an issue for a long time, it still is; robbing children of their childhoods and their ability to build themselves a better life.
Child labour is an issue that effects the whole world in an economic, as well as a social background, and to fully understand it, an effort must be made to educate ourselves about it. The sad truth is; child labour is widespread in many countries of the world, integrating itself into the day-to-day lives of the citizens in said countries. For example; In northern Syria, two out of every three children are already denied access to education, and by the end of 2019, 2.45 million children nationwide were out of school, according to a new report from Save the Children.
Finding themselves forced into the labour market in Syria, many children have to suffer very dangerous work and working environments, specially in sectors such as rudimentary oil refining, which is risky, not only due to the possibility of it becoming a military target, but also due to the nature of the work. Studies show that many kids who work in these oil fields are suffering from breathing difficulties, and skin disorders.
Picture Credit: The Globe Post website
Low family incomes, a scarcity of alternatives for a living, restricted access to education, insufficient labor-saving technologies, and long-standing beliefs about the involvement of kids in agriculture are all contributing elements to the issue. The economic effects of the pandemic has added to these elements, driving child labour to worsen within the last two years. Due to poverty and political instability, children, as well as their families are lead to believe that they have to start working in order to survive. In Lebanon, many children drop out at the age of 12 in order to start working.
It is vicious cycle that just keeps on going. Children are being exploited and denied their rights to education and protection. If more people received education, the path will be paved for starting of new businesses and other economic activities, it would also put a stop to the whole cycle or at least reduce it to an extent. Child labour is harmful in so
many ways. It includes negative circumstances such as, shortening the children's life expectancy, dampening the quality of life and prolonging poverty. Child labour causes a real productivity loss for society. In addition, it causes a disastrous impact on the physical and mental health of the children.
September 5th 2022 | 8:30 PM