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Robbed of a Future Home
Robbed of a Future: Child Labor in Pakistan In a country shaken by desperation, destruction and devastation, the existence of poverty promotes the desperation for money. Money to fuel the expenditures that are necessary to nourish, build, cherish a family. Yet in Pakistan, little of this money goes towards the progressive force of education. Instead of conquering the existence of poverty by severing its route - illiteracy, the government enforces it by feeding the cycle therefore not progressing forward. The Pakistani government chooses to rob children of the joys interlocked with the being young, their happiness and freedom, their human rights in order to economize through cheap labor. It is the government's selfishness that is responsible for evoking the economic issue of desperation. Desperation for money then in turn triggers forth the use of children as laborers. Henceforth it is the government's selfishness that is responsible for child labor and the social implications that stem from it such as the callous attitude of the rich, the devaluing of education, and the lack of progress in conquering poverty. The Fight For SurvivalIn Pakistan, life is a game of survival. One plays by cheating, exploiting or suffering and there are minimal rules established. The government is the cheating party, industry exploiting, while the youth of Pakistan suffers. With this devastating match comes the importance to go out and make a living in order to cluster and salvage pennies while fighting for survival. For the average Pakistani barely breathes on $5 a day and supports a family made up on average of 7.5 people. (American University). When a person struggles against the economy to put food on the table for their family, there is not one thing they would not do. It is this that provokes the economic struggles situated in Pakistan (American University). The economic struggle henceforth causes desperation in the survival of a family; a family which then proceeds to push the lost souls of their poverty stricken children into working for a factory. They work within an industry that strips them of their rights.Their parents were won over by the persuasive tongues of the owners of these organizations and factories. InThe Atlantic(Silver), a Kiln owner is reported to convince a man of the usage of his son:
Cheating, Exploiting, SufferingYet it is no secret that the soles of our Nike shoes are sewn together by the exploited souls of Pakistani children. The greatest concentration of child labor in the country is in Sialkot, the north-west province of Punjab. As the world's most significant centre for the production of sporting goods, the province is responsible for providing the Pakistan economy with most of the$17 billion made in exports in 2007.(United States Department of Agriculture. Paragraph 17). Meanwhile it is the carpet industry that also plays a fundamental role in the foreign exchange economy for Pakistan. 200,000 to 300,000 children toil in the industry causing it to earn approximately $250 - 300 million annually. (Karim) The government has 'taken action' by instating child labor laws and regulations, yet it is their economic profit that is truly on their agenda. Their devious, wily, cheating ways allow them to turn a blind eye to the truth of the youth. Last year the number of children that the workforce consists of measured up to "realistically in the region of 11-12 million.” These children “make up a quarter of the unskilled work force, and can be found in virtually every factory, every workshop, [and] every field.” (The Atlantic)In the production of soccer balls, a twelve-year old boy named Tariq spent all day stitching pieces together for the meager sum of 60 cents. (Life Magazine 1996). Nike soccer balls are distributed in the United States for over $100, 166.66 times more than the producer, the worker, the child was paid. Meanwhile in the carpet industry, children are deemed useful due to their reluctant acceptance of low wages and appalling working conditions, and their efficient eyesight. These children as young as 6 were born healthy and strong but grow to be sickly, fragile adults. Yet due to the dust and fluff lathered onto the wool that they work with, their health is combated with lung diseases and poor eyesight. EducationIn this economic fight for survival, the importance of education has lost its meaning. To educate the youth is to provide them with a key to succeeding in what they may choose to pursue. But the desperation in battling against the plague of poverty wins over the desire to educate one's offspring. In turn the education system devised by the cheating government “can accommodate only about a third of the country's school-age children.” (Atlantic) Instead of educating the youth, they are bound, enslaved, tortured by the destruction caused by child labor. To educate is viewed as a waste of time, money, resources but this would not be the case if the government promoted education. It is only 2% of Pakistan's expenditures that are spent on education compared to a staggering 17.5% in the United States, cheating the youth of the freedom stemming from education and literacy.What Can Be DoneIn a country shaken by desperation, destruction and devastation, the existence of child labor reinstates the cycle of poverty. The use of child labor in Pakistan is ubiquitous and henceforth no longer opens the eyes of the wealthy. From the child slaving away at a factory to the one feeding, raising, sheltering wealthy children, it is important that a chance is made. There must be a transformation of the system, a technique to educate the youth and combat the infinite cycle of poignant poverty. Organizations such as SPARC, TRDP and other NGOs attempt to formulate a change by tackling the issue at it's route: poverty and acceptance. To accept theexistenceof child labor is to turn children into workers, turn lives into livestock by robbing them of a future. The government must stop selfishly cheating and the industry must stop greedily exploiting, so that the youth can stop endlessly suffering. NIKE and Child Labor." American University TED Case Studies. American University.
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Latest page update: made by Haani.Mazari
, Dec 2 2009, 12:27 AM EST
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