Child Labour News Service #2 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source - Child Labour News Service CHILD LABOUR NEWS SERVICE RELEASE # 2 -- MAY 15, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The following material has been produced as a non-commercial public service and may be reproduced without charge. Headlines -Voluntary organizations condemn disbanding of NGOs in Pakistan -Advocacy initiatives for promoting child rights -Beedi industry: A tale of bondage -"Education denied is equally intolerable," says child rights activists -The unjustified labor -Social justice through grassroot participation **************************************************************** Child Labor News **************************************************************** Voluntary organizations condemn disbanding of NGOs in Pakistan New Delhi (India): Child rights organizations from South Asia condemned the disbanding of nearly 2000 NGOs including the Human Rights Commission in Punjab province of Pakistan by the local government headed by Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif. In a press communication to the Child Labour News Service, non-governmental organizations in the region termed the incident a gross violation of civil liberties. They said that the act clearly shows the growing insecurity among governments straying on social front around the world. Failing to sustain basic minimum social standards, the political leadership in these countries are now following repressive steps to stem efforts that expose the lack of an appropriate political will and social reforms. Giving an instance to underline the precarious state of social affairs in South Asia the press release states that in Pakistan, the Punjab Provincial Assembly took two years to pass a new law which made basic primary education compulsory in 1994. What calls for greater reproach is the fact that the Provincial Government is yet to implement the law. It is in such situations that voluntary organizations in South Asia have played a vital role in developing the resource and the means to bring an end to various social problems including the critical issue of child labor. They have acted as determined "watchdog" groups, investigating into all cases of child abuse and child labor exploitation in the region. Any such ban on the working of the non-governmental organization therefore is deleterious to the well being of the vulnerable sections of the society. The release urged the government of Pakistan to lift the ban and promote NGO activities in the country as voluntary action is strategic for developing and implementing effective and multidisciplinary interventions in many crucial areas, it stated. For further information contact: Mr. R S Chaurasia South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude L-6 Kalkaji, New Delhi, India Tel: (91 11) 622 4899, 647 5481 Fax: (91 11) 623 6818 Email childhood@globalmarch.org **************************************************************** Advocacy initiatives for promoting child rights Dhaka (Bangladesh): Free and fair election were held in Tangail district of Bangladesh for the first time to elect a child council under a comprehensive Children Development Program. The children franchise was introduced in the country to evolve a proxy model of electoral structure for practicing democracy. "The election has been introduced to familiarize children with the voting process", said Country Director of NGOs Sultan Mahmud. The election is a training process through which children can learn their democratic rights, he added. As many as 10,000 child voters spread across 35 centers in nine unions of the Tangail district participated in this election. More than 500 child councils comprising of children within the age bracket of 6-14 years have already been established as part of the ongoing child development program in the country. Of these constituted councils 50 percent are for girls. The aim of these democratic bodies is to promote children's participation in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that stipulates "the right of the child to be heard in all matters affecting the child". The program is being implemented by Save the Children Australia (SCA) in partnership with nine local NGOs in the district. For further information contact: Mr. Muhammad Jahangir Dhaka, Bangladesh Fax: (880) 2 9348582 **************************************************************** Beedi industry: A tale of bondage Tamil Nadu (India): More than 325,000 children work in the beedi (domestically produced Indian cigarette) industry of India, most of them in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. One newspaper report estimates that at least half of these child laborers working in the beedi factories are bonded in debt. Debt bondage, found predominantly in South Asia, occurs when, in return for a money advance or credit, a person having no other security to offer, pledges his labor or that of his child for an indefinite period of time. A combination of low wages and usurious interest rates make it impossible to repay the debt. According to Human Rights Watch, a bonded beedi roller is paid between 20 to 30 percent of the wages offered to his non-bonded peer. The employer as interest on the debt keeps the remaining wages. Beedi rollers are usually children and women. According to Small Hands of Slavery, "Entire families are dedicated to the production of beedi. Usually it is the children who work as bonded laborers....". Children who work in bonded labor suffer in the ways, which cause the cycle to continue, mainly by not receiving an education. A source states, "Activists did not find a single child of a beedi worker attending school. They stay at home to do the work that their mothers cannot do." The function of children in the beedi industry is to perform all tasks associated with hand-rolling the cigarettes. Young children between the age bracket of four to seven are used for the job. The beedi manufacturers expect beedi rollers to keep a very rapid pace; older children are expected to roll 1,500 to 2,000 beedies each day. Employers keep close watch over the beedi rollers and scold them if they slow down. Some children are forced to work with a matchbox tucked between their chin and neck; in order to hold the box in place they must keep their head down and focused on the work. If the matchbox falls, the employer knows the child has looked away and so punishes him. The children employed by the beedi industry are forced to work extremely long and tiresome hours. They are expected to work for six days a week for twelve to fourteen hours a day. In addition to strenuous hours and unequal wages, child beedi rollers are often subjected to employer abuse. Physical punishment is used for a variety of infractions, including arriving late, working slowly, making mistakes and talking to other workers. Panjaran, a ten years old boy, illustrates clearly the experience of employer abuse. "The agent would beat me with a stick if I was not there on time or if I could not roll 1,500 beedies a day or if I was tired" he said. A final hardship faced by children in the beedi industry is the health hazards caused by the work. Beedi is one of the twenty-five industries classified by the Child Labor Act as hazardous. Due to the position, in which the children sit for beedi rolling, they often suffer chronic back pain, as well as possible stunted growth or physical deformities. They may also suffer from pain in their hands and wrists from rolling and tying beedies from extended periods of time. It is quite clear how devastating and difficult beedi rolling is for children in India; particularly for children in bondage. They suffer exploitation, unfair and hazardous working conditions and repeated episodes of physical abuse. It is for all the reasons outlined above that child labor in the beedi manufacturing industry clearly can be considered forced labor, and thus qualifies for international intervention. For further Information contact: Ms. Laurie Moss Tobacco Free Project Booker T. Washington Community Service Center 800 Presidio St., San Francisco, CA 94115 Tel: (415) 928 6596 Fax: (415) 928 6927 Email lauramoss@hotmail.com **************************************************************** "Education denied is equally intolerable," says child rights activists Santiago (Chile): Calling for an amendment, child rights advocates from South America have urged the international community to think beyond the elimination of just the worst forms of child labor. They fear that any such conformation will have a serious implication on the legitimacy of other forms of child slavery, thus putting in danger the rights of millions of children who labor in situation which fall outside the reach of the new convention. The recommendation was made at a meeting organized by the Latin American coordinators of Global March in the Chilean capital of Santiago. Underlining article 3 of the new convention, the participants called it unfortunate that the definition of the most intolerable forms does not include labor that by its nature or the conditions under which it is performed systematically denies the child an access to basic and primary education. Substantiating their view, the activists reflected on the consequence of child labor with respect to education in their continent. A recent report on South America estimates that more than 78 percent of children who are engaged in any form of economic activity do not attend school. On the threat to the ratification of the convention due to the inadequacy of many countries to ensure basic education, the participants said that the inclusion of their demand does not mean that the ratifying countries have to immediately promote basic education for all. "In fact what we propose is that the work that prohibits a child from attending school should be considered equally intolerable," asserted a child rights activist. "In our continent inclusion of labor that denies a child an access to education in the definition of the most intolerable forms is extremely critical as other types of labor listed in article 3 of the convention does not weigh much in this part of the world", he added. For further information contact: Ms. Consuelo Contreras Largo OPCION Jaoquin Diaz Garces No. 070 - Providencia, Santiago, Chile Tel: (56 2) 222 5725, 222 2971 Fax: (56 2) 222 2971 email opcion@consuel.mic.cl **************************************************************** The unjustified labor By Anees Jillani Islamabad (Pakistan): On April 16, 1995, Iqbal Masih was murdered near Muridke in Sheikhupura district of Pakistan. Iqbal Masih talked about the plight of child laborers in Pakistan and their rights. The whole State machinery instead of arresting his murderers after his death showed more zeal in substantiating through all kinds of documents and statements that Masih was not a child and that he was short for his age. The zeal with which the Government functionaries and some leaders among carpet manufacturers tried to prove this fact went to show as if age made a huge difference or the murder of adult in the country was legal as opposed to that of a child. Masih was affiliated since his childhood with an organization called Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF). The Front, upon Masih's death accused the Association of the carpet Manufacturers for the murder. The Government instead of trying to resolve the issue came down heavily down on BLLF by seizing its bank accounts. Many of the schools run by BLLF for children in brick kilns had to be closed down due to lack of funds. The President of BLLF's managed to escape the wrath of the government and now is living in perpetual exile in Sweden. Four years have passed since this gruesome incident took place, but the motive of the murder still evades the masses. The reason is not secluded to seek. The accused in the case has not been tried so far. The government apathy towards the case does make one ponder that if the Government, despite having at its disposal the whole state machinery, cannot resolve a simple murder like that of Iqbal then how can it be expected to settle the more complicated matters facing the State? Strange irony, but it is not just the Government's failure to prosecute the killer, which is a cause of alarm. The fact that both the Federal and Provincial Governments have somehow forgotten the real issue, which is the existence of child labor in the country and its consequent elimination, is the taxing issue. What steps have the Federal and the Provincial Governments taken since coming to power to eliminate child labor from Pakistan? Has the incidence of child labor been reduced in the country? Child Labor is not one of those issues, which get solved by a stroke of a pen. Long term planning is required by the State. Steps taken today bear fruit many years down the road. So sooner those steps are taken the better it is, as the process of eradication is slow. Tragedy is that the Government has not taken any appropriate steps to eliminate this menace from the society. Its blunt denial further complicates the issue. According to UNICEF estimates there are around 70 million children below the age of 18 years in Pakistan. Out of this estimated population, about 24 million are under the age of 5 years. In other words, Pakistan has a whopping 46 million children who should be going to school. All concerned authorities acknowledge the fact that only 50% percent of these children actually attend school. That is, out of 46 million children, not more than 23 million are going to school. If that is the state than what are rest doing? The Government maintains that in Pakistan only 3.3 million children up to the age of 14 years are engaged in economic activities. The situation is strange, as the government keeps no record of the activity of the remaining children who are neither in school, nor employed. It is a very sad and frustrating situation, and is getting hopeless by day. The relevant Federal Ministries and the Provincial Departments are virtually clueless about finding a solution to this problem, and approach it more on a day to day basis. Bureaucrats would spend weeks lobbying to attend a conference in Geneva or Oslo on child labor. Or they would write quick summaries for their bosses on the issue when some foreign dignitary or a US Senator is coming to town to inquire about the issue. Yet another seminar or workshop would be organized on the issue with an eye on the sumptuous lunch or dinner as millions of children toil in the scorching heat. The pet justification from anyone asked to explain the lack of progress in any social sector field in the country is lack of resources. India has much less resources than Pakistan and its population is almost one sixth of the total global population. Despite this, its literacy rate is 52% as opposed to Pakistan's 37%. What is even more disturbing in Pakistan is that the literacy rate was higher at the time when the country gained independence. It may come as news to many that India, despite having a much larger number of child laborers, is taking more concrete steps to resolve the problem. It is targeting children in the hazardous sector and aspiring to abolish child labor at least in certain key areas of employment. The problem is being tackled at the rural level and many villages have succeeded in abolishing child labor completely. They have been declared as child labor free villages. What better example do we have in the subcontinent than the Indian state of Kerala. The state records the highest literacy rate in India with 95%, and consequently has the least number of child laborers. This child labor free status in Kerala was achieved through sustained political and social commitment that placed a high premium on education. Sixty percent of state budget is spent on education and related activities. The results are there for everyone to see. If Kerala can achieve the desired, why can't the rest of South Asia? Probably, the local and the federal governments in other states and countries in the region are yet to realize that child labor in itself is cause of poverty as it perpetuates the destructive inter-generational rhythm of exploitation and repetitive impoverishment. The day they do, South Asia will not have just one case of Kerala but an entire child labor free region to boast off. For further information contact: Mr. Anees Jillani Society for Protection of Rights of the Child (SPARC) P.O. Box 301, Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: (92 51) 279 255, 490 1692 Fax: (92 51) 279 256 Email: sparc@associates.sdnpk.undp.org **************************************************************** Social justice through grassroot participation Rajasthan (India): To promote social justice through political participation at the grass root level, South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), organized a Bal Mazdoori Mukti Panchayat (Child labour liberation committee) in Virat Nagar in the North Indian state of Rajasthan. Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson, SACCS said that for attaining meaningful elimination of child labour the Panchayati Raj (committee of village heads) institution has to be sensitized. He stressed on the need for a pragmatic approach to remove effectively all forms of child labour from the rural sites of India. He said that due to abject ignorance among successive governments around the world child labour problem still persists at the lowest ebb. Expressing dismay over the large-scale migration of child labour in the state, he added that lack of political apathy and influence of Mafia operations in the region has compounded the problem of child labour. Mr. Satyarthi, came down heavily on the issue of girl child marriage in the state. He termed this customary practice as an insult to human dignity and hence stressed on the need to mobilize the masses and change the entire systems. The two-day convention was attended by NGO activists and elected members of the village community from 16 districts in the state. The participants also passed a resolution in the meeting that for complete elimination of the menace, the Panchayats should be empowered to make schemes for the development of an individual and the village at large. For further information contact: Mr. R S Chaurasia South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude L-6 Kalkaji, New Delhi, India Tel: (91 11) 622 4899, 647 5481 Fax: (91 11) 623 6818 Email childhood@globalmarch.org **************************************************************** ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-05.16.99-22:41:57-683