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One
advantage of being an immigrant in Canada, is the ability to
look at issues from two angles. Our children draw from our "Canadian"
experience combined with our past life experiences from the land
of our birth. I
believe this tends to enrich us and give us a birds eye view of
life and its problems.
I
just learned this first hand! My kids (ages 11 and 13) and I visited my country of
birth, Pakistan, last week. While we were there, the kids
bombarded me with questions because they see most things
differently from me. I grew up there, so while I was 'home',
they felt like guests in a new surrounding. Luckily they are at an age where they absorb and learn,
so it was an educational trip for all of us.
My
boys were taken aback to see children working in homes, and
public places almost everywhere they went. Some of these were kids of their own age and I could see
it bothered them. One day my older son cautiously asked me "is this child
labour and isn't it wrong?" He explained that in Canada, he's been following stories
in the media about child abuse and child labour. Like other
Canadians, he is specially taken up with the efforts of our
young crusader Craig Kielburger, the 13-year old Thornhill boy famous for his crusade against child
labour. Pakistan
was specially featured in the limelight when Iqbal Masih, a
young Pakistani boy also crusading against child labour, was
murdered.
I'm
really glad that my son brought up the issue. It gave me an
opportunity to pass on some insights into life in third world countries where child labour is common.
I explained that the general public is not literate
because education is not a priority. Family planning is not given importance and statistics show
that birth rates are high resulting in large families. In cities
like Karachi, if kids from poor families don't work, then there
are only two alternatives for them The boys are picked up by gangs who deal in drugs or
force them to beg on the street and the girls are forced into
prostitution. Very
often, their basic survival hinges on them finding work.
This
is not to condone forcible child labour under cruel conditions,
which is not the norm. If children are forced to work
under harsh conditions in rural areas then it has to be
condemned.
At
the same time, I clarified to my son, that child abuse and child
labour are two separate issues. A
working child is not necessarily an abused child. My kids saw
for themselves that most of the children working as domestics
were well dressed, well treated and well fed. They are under the protection of their employers and in
fact are better cared for than if they remained in their
dwellings in the slum areas of the city. My son went with me to
a carpet factory where he saw dozens of young children weaving
carpets. He was
fascinated by their expertise and wanted to try his hand at the
work. I explained that children are specially chosen for this
work because the size of their small hands result in fine knots.
We observed that the kids sat at looms and chatted while
they worked. They are paid by the hour and in many cases, are
the sole provider of a family who would not be able to survive
without the childs wages. If
the children are deprived of this simple job, their family would
probably starve.
True
the children have no contracts, nor are there labour laws that
protect them. With
time and the energies of dedicated social workers, these changes
are coming slowly.
When
poor children work as domestics for well placed families,
sometimes their future becomes bright.
My sister is a teacher and has arranged for the education
of many young people who came to work for her. Some of them have now graduated and changed the entire
status of their family by finding decent jobs and in turn
educating other family members. Education in Pakistan is not
free, so before under privileged children can go to school, they
have to have food in their stomach, clothes on their back and
money for school fees. The system does not provide such benefits leaving the masses
to fend for themselves.
While
it's easy to sit back in the comfort of our heated homes and
talk about changing the 'other' world, it's also important to
take a minute and examine the root cause underlying issues like
child labour. My
kids gained a healthy respect for the young labour force that
they saw on his trip. They
realize that most child labour is the result of intense poverty
combined with lack of education and suggest that maybe steps
should be taken by prosperous nations to ensure education is
provided to all, free of charge and that
poverty is eradicated.
positive note, we have all come away with renewed regard
for what Canada provides for all it's citizens, young and old
(despite cutbacks).
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