Lets Talk it Over.

Questions and Answers: (My own Interview-Please feel free to answer those questions in the responses area)

1. Have you ever heard of Child Labor anywhere around the world? (Other than India)

I have heard of the issue of Child Labor in many of the developing countries, such as China. Child Labor is also widespread in developing nations such as Africa. 

2. What do you think of the Issue?

I personally think it is a forgotten issue. Yes, people may want to focus on "more" important issues like nuclear weapons, the Middle East and the economic crisis but children are still the innocence we all fail to pay enough attention to. What I am trying to explain is that no matter what problems are going on in the world today, children should not be out being tortured and working to live. They should all be safe and protected because they deserve the right to live as freely as any other child out there. 

3. I would like to ask you to put yourself in a parent of a child worker's shoes, would you let your children go to work for 12 hours a day? You have a very low income, and you are too sick to support your family by yourself. 

Instead of letting my children suffer, I would seek help. Even if it is the hardest thing I can do, I will try to find my children a better home to live in until I get better and I am able to support them .I would not have children if I did not have the money to support them because I know where children who come from families with very low incomes end up. 

*End of Interview*

In the end, I believe that our role as humans is to educate others. We should educate people and women in developing countries about the negative aspects of Child Labor. We should educate our family members and friends about the different cases of Child Labor issues and hope that they will join us in this fight for Human Rights and Freedom. 

Lets Clear it Out.

So you are probably wondering why the blog posts are in three different colors. Well, since my topic is about Child Labor in India, I am choosing to color the posts just like the flag (as shown to the right).

The titles of the blog posts, on the other hand, are titles of different motivational songs that somehow relate to the blog post topic. Looking forward to discussing different matters with you!

Waiting on the World to Change.

When I asked a family member what they would do if their children were working in a factory? They said they would rather work than have their children risk their lives and work. Being treated with such violence and discrimination as a child can harm your personality and will stay with you for the rest of your life. Children who have been working since they were about six do not lead happy lives. They will never forget the experience, which shaped their life and changed it to the worse. 

A question I would like to answer is: "In the society we live in today, how would some people react to Child Labor if they saw someone under the age of ten working?"

As mentioned before, a family member said they would rather work than have their children work. Many people reacted to this question by saying that it is better to have adults work in factories than have young inexperienced, innocent children work as slaves. When adults work in factories, it is more accepted because they are not considered slaves but are workers who are respected and looked at as citizens of a certain community. When young children work, they are looked at as slaves who do not mean as much as adults do. Children who have no future because they work instead of go to school. Children who are uneducated and will always be failures in life. The most heartbreaking part is that the children working will only get enough money to support their families and not enough to pay for an education. Non-profit organizations will never be able to free all the children working and being exploited. The organizations will definitely make a difference, but they need us, the people, to help influence the rest of the world. 

Someday Well Know.

Wars, Suicides, Genocide. All of these problems are disturbing, and unfortunately we hear about them in the news daily. Those are all very important issues to discuss but I believe that in order to spread change, we must tackle the little issues first and then move on to the bigger issues. Why did I chose to spread awareness and talk about Child Labor and not any other issue? The reason is because I had a wonderful childhood and I am very thankful. To hear about children who have to work instead of enjoy and live a worry-less life is heartbreaking. Children under the age of fifteen should not work, if they do work its for experience and not in order to support their families and themselves. When this happens, this means that something is terribly wrong. My main goal here is to understand why child labor is still happening to young children in developing countries? Where are the adults? I believe that even if it is not easy, adults should work and have the children stay at home with the relative. Working in such dangerous conditions such as mines and trying to work huge factory machines is dangerous to the child's health. No child should experience such conditions and situations as a child. 

A few hours ago, I attended a lecture by an author called Firoozeh Dumas and as one of her jokes she says, "The friends I had as a child said that the smell of nutmeg and vanilla, but because I was from an oil producing area in Iran, the smell of oil reminded me of my childhood." (Dumas, Firoozeh) What will the children who are working in factories say about their childhood? Will they talk about how the smoke permanently damaged their lungs for the rest of their lives? Or how the scars they have are not from falls or from playing a sport but from being tortured for not working at a fast pace? What do you think? 

 I believe that this is one issue I will never understand. 

Please click here to learn more about Child Labor in India. 

The Heart of the Matter.

In the hot sun of Kuwait,  a couple of friends and I stood, handing out flyers. The flyers in question included facts and ways in which you can help end child labor and poverty. To my surprise we were greeted with quite a few negative reactions. One man said, “you are only children, what are you going to accomplish?” , “Help the needy in your own country first before helping others in different parts of the world”, and “Others will help them”. That day was one of the disheartening experiences of my life. It was a couple of years ago and I remember going home to my mother and explaining to her that I should give up. She then said to me that whatever mission or organization you commit yourself to, there will always be negative responses to it, you should face them and believe in yourself. That inspired me to go back to the same booth the next day and pass out the same flyers with the same information on them. When one of the people who tried to criticize me passed by again, I looked at him and said, “I am going to help these people, and I am not going anywhere.” The man smiled at me and to my surprise said “Well done”. Not giving up on a cause as serious as child labor in India is important. 

People these days chose to make up excuses and procrastinate a lot when it comes to commitment. I, myself, am unfortunately a procrastinator. I recently started a club called Save Me which helps improve the lives of humans and animals worldwide. I made sweaters, an email account, and applications and contributed all that I have for this club. Then, it hit me: What about the Red Cross? The United Nations? Free the Children? Are they not all very famous organizations that also improve the lives of Humans and Animals worldwide? What is so special about my club? I was then convinced and inspired by www.freethechildren.com that event the smallest change makes a big difference. Even if I raise 5 dollars, that 5 dollars can help pay a week’s meal plan for two children. Even if I raised awareness by saying that there are still children out there who sleep with scarred hands  and bloody cuts without getting any necessary treatment. It is an unfortunate reality, but one that we cannot ignore. 

Imagine...

Sometimes in life we take things for granted, not understanding how fortunate we are. We often do not appreciate the little things that make a big difference. As a child, I remember getting very upset when my parents did not get me what I asked for. I am now very thankful for their kindness and patience. I am also very grateful for the numerous tasty meals we shared together every day. What I do not understand is how can someone enjoy such advantages while others cannot even afford a sack of rice in order to stay alive. 

When I first hear the word Child Labor, I think of hunger, pain and inequality. Hunger is for the number of meals the children missed. Pain is for the number of times the children hurt themselves trying to perfect carpets, fix soccer balls, and operate machines. Inequality refers to how girls are treated differently than boys are. Boys are given more advantages, better working areas and usually easily find jobs. Girls, on the other hand, are exploited and sometimes abused. Both boys and girls are abused, but girls receive harsher treatments than boys do. It is unfortunate that sexism is introduced to the children at such a young age. 

When I hear someone talk about India. Three words come to mind, economy, poverty, and developing. India is known to be an economically powerful country that is rising and will soon be competing with China. A friend of mine, Nora, whose mother is Indian and speaks fluent Malayalam has explained what is going on in India. "In some parts, you see people laughing and having a wonderful time. In other parts, you see people who are so hungry they are not able to walk. It is an unfortunate issue that we have to pay attention to, we have to help ourselves first before we can be economically advanced." The word developing comes to mind because India is developing into a very powerful nation. 

A question to think about:

Are there less fortunate people in this world because humans are selfish? What do you think is another reason for Poverty, other than the fact that the world's resources are not distributed evenly? 

Dreaming with a Broken Heart.

Joe Opatowski (who worked with Free The Children) delivered a great song 2 days before he died in an automobile accident. This song is about transforming your ideas from Me to We, this idea was also created by Craig Kielburger. Click here to watch the video. 

Hello World...This is Me.

Gandhi once said "Be the change you wish to see in this world". You have to believe in yourself in order to spread change and make the world a better place. If you believe in your self, you can spread change. Little changes can make a big difference.  My name is Abby, I am a freshmen at at a small college. My main goal in life is to spread change and motivate people so that we can all work together to promote positive change. I strongly belive in common unity, and that citizens are able to accomplish goals peacefully. This blog will hopefully strike you as an inspirationa piece of work. After every post, I will attempt to post a question or two which we can hopefully talk about. These questions can vary from current events to historical figures.  I am looking forward to reading you feedback, suggestions, and comments. 

Peace, 

Abby

More than Words

Growing up in Kuwait, a country that has never had issues concerning child labor, I did not really pay attention to how serious child labor was. I did not pay attention to how common it was throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Having one of your closest friends explain to you that they know children who are about four to eight years old who work in factories is not an easy encounter, especially when you have never heard of such a problem.  The first time I heard of Child Labor, it was heart breaking and I wondered how children are able to work such arduous jobs just so that they can support their families. Free the Children is an organization which was started by Craig Kielburger to help end child labor. Craig was only twelve when he read an article in the newspaper about a twelve year old boy who was murdered after working at a carpet factory for ten years in order to help pay his family’s debts. Craig saw what was happening half way across the world and decided that it was not okay to ignore such an act of violence towards young innocent children. Craig then decided to start an organization called Free the Children which helps free children around the world from harsh working conditions. Why is the child’s family allowing the young boy or girl to work in order to pay for their debts? Are there other alternatives? Voiceless Children is a blog which will tackle those important questions.Voiceless Children is a blog that will include stories and will hopefully start discussions about Child Labor focusing in on India. Although Child Labor is a widespread issue, it is better to focus on one country and then consider and discuss if child labor is still present in most developing countries such as China and Indonesia.