No-No to child labor
Teen activists work hard for what they believe in. They do things that can be risky and dangerous. Some activists are working against child labor. You might be asking yourself,”What is child labor?¨ and ,¨Why is child labor important?¨ Child labor is when companies use children to do ¨adult¨ jobs. An activist who worked against child labor was Iqbal Masih. His bravery inspired Craig Kielburger and many other activists. All these activists made funds, campaigns, and movements to help get rid of child labor.
What is child labor? Well child labor is when people, companies, use children to do jobs, most of the time because its cheaper to get children to do jobs. The dictionary definition is,¨ The use of children in an industry, usually illegal by the law or considered inhumane.¨ When kids are working instead of going to school they are not getting educated. It is important that kids learn because kids are going to be the future and would you want uneducated kids to hold our future? There are 1.252 billion people living in India. According to Free the Children, 55 million adults unemployed and 55 million kids working, which means 55 million kids not learning. This shows that kids are doing adults jobs but they are leaving their own job, learning, behind.
Iqbal Masih was a child laborer. He was sold into labor at the age of 4. His parents sold him for 600 rupees( $12 U.S dollars) to pay off a debt. He was chained to a loom and worked 14 hours, 7 days a week, for 6 years. At the age of 10 he ran away and went to the police, thinking they would help. The police returned him to his owner to collect the reward money for ¨finding¨ him. They threatened him by saying they would hang him upside down the next time he ran away. The hung him upside down anyway. Weeks later he escaped again. He joined the Bonded Labor Liberation Front in Pakistan. Iqbal went to America and talked about child labor. Two years later he finished 4 years worth of schooling while doing the movement and talks. He went back to Pakistan after a trip in America. Months later he was found dead on the streets of Muridke. No one knows who killed Iqbal.
When Iqbal died his death was talked about in the newspapers. Craig Kielburger read that newspaper. Then at school he got 11 of his friends together to go against it. They were 12 at the time. On Wikipedia it states, “In December 1995, Kielburger traveled to Asia with Alam Rahman, to see the conditions for himself. While there, he learnt that then-Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien was travelling to India. After being denied a meeting, Craig arranged a press conference where he declared that the Prime Minister had a “moral responsibility” to take action on child labor. The Prime Minister eventually met with him and raised the issue of child labor with the trade delegation, and spoke on the matter with the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India”. He started the Free the Children charity and the Me to We social enterprise, which donates half of their earnings to Free the Children. He also was awarded the Order of Canada medal. He freed 3,000 kids working bound labor, built 20 schools in Pakistan and educated 2.3 million kids. According to Wikipedia, Craig “built over 650 schools and school rooms and implemented projects in 45 developing countries through its approach of "children helping children".
Child labor is a problem and it will not just go away. There are so many ways to help, learn more about the cause, donate, or just spread the word. Think about all the people who have done so many things to help and all the people who have benefited from supporters. So stop doing everything you are doing (yes, stop reading this) and go support this cause!
What is child labor? Well child labor is when people, companies, use children to do jobs, most of the time because its cheaper to get children to do jobs. The dictionary definition is,¨ The use of children in an industry, usually illegal by the law or considered inhumane.¨ When kids are working instead of going to school they are not getting educated. It is important that kids learn because kids are going to be the future and would you want uneducated kids to hold our future? There are 1.252 billion people living in India. According to Free the Children, 55 million adults unemployed and 55 million kids working, which means 55 million kids not learning. This shows that kids are doing adults jobs but they are leaving their own job, learning, behind.
Iqbal Masih was a child laborer. He was sold into labor at the age of 4. His parents sold him for 600 rupees( $12 U.S dollars) to pay off a debt. He was chained to a loom and worked 14 hours, 7 days a week, for 6 years. At the age of 10 he ran away and went to the police, thinking they would help. The police returned him to his owner to collect the reward money for ¨finding¨ him. They threatened him by saying they would hang him upside down the next time he ran away. The hung him upside down anyway. Weeks later he escaped again. He joined the Bonded Labor Liberation Front in Pakistan. Iqbal went to America and talked about child labor. Two years later he finished 4 years worth of schooling while doing the movement and talks. He went back to Pakistan after a trip in America. Months later he was found dead on the streets of Muridke. No one knows who killed Iqbal.
When Iqbal died his death was talked about in the newspapers. Craig Kielburger read that newspaper. Then at school he got 11 of his friends together to go against it. They were 12 at the time. On Wikipedia it states, “In December 1995, Kielburger traveled to Asia with Alam Rahman, to see the conditions for himself. While there, he learnt that then-Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien was travelling to India. After being denied a meeting, Craig arranged a press conference where he declared that the Prime Minister had a “moral responsibility” to take action on child labor. The Prime Minister eventually met with him and raised the issue of child labor with the trade delegation, and spoke on the matter with the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India”. He started the Free the Children charity and the Me to We social enterprise, which donates half of their earnings to Free the Children. He also was awarded the Order of Canada medal. He freed 3,000 kids working bound labor, built 20 schools in Pakistan and educated 2.3 million kids. According to Wikipedia, Craig “built over 650 schools and school rooms and implemented projects in 45 developing countries through its approach of "children helping children".
Child labor is a problem and it will not just go away. There are so many ways to help, learn more about the cause, donate, or just spread the word. Think about all the people who have done so many things to help and all the people who have benefited from supporters. So stop doing everything you are doing (yes, stop reading this) and go support this cause!