Child Labor

"Child labour has serious consequences that stay with the individual and with society for far longer than the years of childhood. Young workers not only face dangerous working conditions. They face long-term physical, intellectual and emotional stress. They face an adulthood of unemployment and illiteracy."
United Nations Secretary - General Kofi Annan.

Apparently, its okay to force children into full time employment at as young as five years old. Child slave labour refers to the economic active population under the age of 15 years employed in various industries. 'Over 25% of children in sub-Saharan Africa, and 18% in Asia remain trapped within the cycle of poverty of which child labour is part.' How is this at all fair? How can a quarter of Africas population of children be forced to work in all kinds of conditions, doing long hours of work and geting no compensation. 15,000 children were 'captured, beaten, forced to work, underfed and not paid.' Child labor is common in agriculture, domestic service, the sex industry, the carpet and textile industries, quarrying and brick making, although the children have no say in which career they are placed into. 'Young boys are put into agriculture and other activities as soon they are old enough to perform the tasks. Girls are made to do household and domestic work as soon as they learn to do them This leaves the child with little or no time for recreation. ' This is a question of justice and an issue of corruption and power.

These children are growing up in corrupted towns and living around corrupted poeople. What would happen if you were carried into work kicking and screaming? You would be sent home. Some of these children, though, do this every day and are made to stay at 'work' for hours on end and be paid either very little or nothing. They are lucky to get a 15 minute lunch break during a 15 hour day. These children fail to live their childhood, instead of playing with other children, they are working...