Is it ever strange to you to see a child selling snacks in the late hours when he should be asleep preparing for school the next day?
If you still haven’t, I have. I was on my way to my family’s house around 9:00 P.M. when a kid called out, “Would you like chips? Buy them from me!” Immediately, I turned around, totally shocked. For a moment, I was speechless. Suddenly, a person seated next to me said something that surprised me. It touched me deeply. It made me realize that we tend to ignore problems until they become normal. But guess what? My inner desire to act against child labor was sparked by the story.
So, if you are also enraged all the time when you see ‘Chotu’ serving in a Dhaba or ‘Munni’ in ragged clothes, channel your rage and try to stop this.
To give children the freedom to be themselves, you can do a couple of simple things:
Start with yourself.
Let’s accept that the people who employ children in their homes or places of work to earn a living so that they will not starve are not as charitable as they claim to be. As cheap labor, they benefit a lot from the children; they do not question them, are always at their service, and can mold them to their needs.
So, I would like you to refrain from letting your Chotus clean your house, look after your kids, wash your car, or do your dishes. Instead, hire the poor adults.
Be a responsible consumer.
Ask your retailer, manufacturer, or shopkeeper whether their brand has been made without child labor. Sometimes, the end seller might not have an answer since the supply chain might have several layers and might not be aware of the process. But, you’ve asked at least! Hopefully, that makes them think. Many people can even check if there’s child labor in their businesses.
Learn the laws.
As a first step towards making our society child labor free, we should be familiar with the provisions of our constitution that protect children and the laws in place to prevent their exploitation and punish perpetrators. If you are aware of this, you are better prepared to assess the situation and warn the offender.
Report any abuse that you see.
Watch out for any child exploitation or abuse. We need to speak up on behalf of such children. If you witness any cases of child labor in your neighborhood, call the police or Child Helpline or reach out to local NGOs.
Reach out to the parents of child laborers.
Children often work alongside their parents. It will be your opportunity to speak with these parents about the serious consequences of child labor. Encourage parents to withdraw their children from the workforce and enroll them in school instead, thus giving them a better future.
Child labor is a serious social problem. Their lives are filled with misery and hardship at an age when they ought to be attending school, playing outside, and being carefree. The scourge of child labor is not only a blot on society, but it also shows the evil side of humanity. We think about going to the moon, and at the same time, thousands of future astronauts’ lives are at stake.
We can only progress as societies, nations, countries, and ultimately the entire world if we work together. But the first step is to release the enslaved children, either directly or indirectly.
