Victims of exploitation, apathy and neglect
A study by Unicef that some 33 million children -- about half of the child population -- are living in abject poverty while one in four is deprived of basic necessities reveals the state of children in the country. According to Unicef, about 67 lakh 84 thousand children -- 4 lakh 34 thousand boys and 3 lakh 33 thousand girls between 5 and 9 years of age -- are engaged in hard labour. According to some investigative reports, 4 lakh 21 thousand are domestic workers, and children engaged in hazardous labour would number 1.3 million.
Rabiul, a 12 year old boy hailing from Nilphamari works in a motor workshop to support his mother and two tender aged sisters. He said his father abandoned them. Finding no job in the village, his mother came to Dhaka with her kids. She works as maid in some houses but her earnings are hardly enough to survive on. Rabiul would not disclose the amount he gets as per directive of his employer. That only underscores how these children are being exploited.
Rahim (14) and Babul (9), two brothers work in a rope making factory, together earning Tk. 150 per day. Besides jute particles, they are exposed to micro-fibres that might cause fibrosis of the lungs as one physician of the National Institute of Chest Diseases Hospital said in an interview. Children working in a battery recharging factory, or plastic or carpet making industry work under conditions of slavery or semi-slavery with no legal and medical protection.
While there is widespread call for an end to forced child labour and repression on children, some affluent and even educated people have hit headlines for torturing domestic helps. The report published in The Daily Star on April 13 of torture on Masum (10) by his lady employer is really horrifying. With deep scars of flogging and burn injury all over his body, Masum, now weighing only 14 kilograms, was given food once a day and forced to sleep in the toilet. Many such horror stories are reported by the media, but many more are neither reported to the police nor make headlines in the newspapers.
It is difficult to comprehend what prompts an employer to hit a child so hard that her/his bones are broken? What sort of mistakes would prompt an educated and affluent employer's family to gang up on a defenceless domestic help and subject her/ him to harsh treatment? What happens in most cases is that children are taken from poor parents and condemned to a life of servitude and subservience. All these minor kids are expected to learn and adopt an alien family's values, beliefs and customs. What is more appalling is that they have to meet unrealistic demands made by the employer. They are excluded from all recreational pursuits. Not infrequently, incidents of sexual abuse and murder of girl domestic help are reported in the media. Legal experts working to ensure child rights point to the loopholes in the criminal justice system that must be plugged for curbing such crimes.
From the actual occurrence of the crime to a fair trial of the accused, the whole process is a chain consisting of police, medical examination, the court and finally the witnesses. These links are complementary to each other. If even one link is weak there is possibility of the alleged perpetrator getting away instead of being booked. Unless the police and medical experts are aware of their obligations and responsibilities, no amount of media campaign can help eradicate such crimes.
While other countries talk about the need to invest in their youth, too many children are working in most dreadful jobs in Bangladesh. In a host of small scale factories and workshops, it is children who dip match sticks into phosphorous, mix gun powder for fire crackers, roll bidis and weave carpets. They work in factories that use toxic chemicals and welding machines, and in glass factories, motor workshops, re-rolling machines, shrimp processing factories and hazardous ship breaking industries.
These unfortunate children, often the product of broken homes or victims of climatic upheaval and river erosion, trek into big cities with the hope of earning a living. But a life on the pavement is the only life they get. Most of them live in an environment of violence, persecution, rejection and forced labour. In this sad setting, the only escape for many is drugs and anti-social activities.
Child labour is a symptom of the social malaise of extreme poverty and unchallenged social practices. Weary of the hassles they face at every step, the victim's family accepts compensatory money, in most cases a big amount for an impoverished family, and settles the case out of the court without thinking about the repercussions. Looking from the distraught parents' point of view and the hassles in court cases, it is not worthwhile to fight legal battles when there is no guarantee of a fair trial.
There are reports that many child domestic workers live in conditions that are oppressive, exploitative and abusive. The poignant part is that they, as they belong to the informal labour sector, are excluded from legal protection, which makes them even more vulnerable.
Although the law in the country prohibits employment of children under 14, it is seldom enforced. With enactment of stricter laws that would put an end to child abuse, repression and trafficking, one can only envision a happy and prosperous future for the country. Other than any other factor contributing to the proliferation of child labour, one can say that it flourishes even though there is a high level of adult employment because it is the cheapest labour available.
Some gifts and symbolic donations to some selected children, or enactment of laws for mandatory primary schooling, are no antidote to the abuse, neglect and denial of opportunity to these teeming millions who lead a life of misery, squalour and exploitation because they were born poor. The war to be waged in our country is to force the affluent section of the society to pay more attention to the needs of these neglected youngsters, having no families, no parents and no support. Unless we can affirm the right of the children to a life free from exploitation, neglect and abuse, and guarantee access to food, healthcare, education and ensuring protection, our expectation of democracy and national prosperity will remain a distant dream.
The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star.
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