Jessica Otey/ Feb 21, 2006/ 9:43 pm/ Labor Problems
A documentary called “Stone Cold” caught child labor in Uganda on tape. The film focuses on the life of two boys that worked in a stone quarry, crushing stone to earn a living. These two boys were put to work by their father but were often left unsupervised. Unfortunately, one day when their father left them alone one day the rock quarry collapsed killing both boys.
Sadly, there are many other children in the country who are forced to work laborious, dangerous jobs. Many are forced to work by their parents who need the extra income. In most cases, these children are left unsupervised which increases the danger that they must face. It is estimated that over 34 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 living in Uganda are involved in some form of child labor. In some cases, children as young as two have been found working in horrible conditions.
Fortunately the documentary is working to shed light on the problem in Uganda. As of right now the government of Uganda is working on a child labor policy with the hopes of lessening the practice. The goal of the legislation is to encourage children to stay in school and to protect them from exploitation. Their efforts are supported by the International Labor Organization and the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor.
It is really sad and shocking that these kids have to work at such a young age. I am so glad that the government is finally stepping up to try and manage the problem. I hope that through the documentary and the pending legislation that the problem can be eliminated.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-02-19-voa45.cfm
3 comments:
this is so ridiculous! I cannot believe that this is going on. Luckily, documentaries seem to be the way forward to shedding light on circumstances such as these. Hopefully as more awareness is brought to these horrible situations, the more people will feel led to help out and do something to bring forth change!!
I think that child labor is bad and many people dont thing that its happening but it is. Im glad that they are finally doing something about it and I hope they find a way to protect the children from working and hopefully all they would have to worry about is going to school.
The problem is that child labor will never cease while people are so poor that they must turn to it. I am a mother and abhor the idea of child labor, yet I know that when you have children you must sometimes face difficult decisions. If it was a choice between letting the child starve or making her or him work for a living, I am pretty sure I would choose to let the child eat and live, live to work towards a better day for himself or herself. If these countries' economies were able to develop without the presence of foreign exploitative interests and local and international corruption, maybe they could all support themselves in a way that did not require such desperate measures.
Also know that the children abducted by the rebel group the LRA is responsible for some of this problem, and the Ugandan government complies with Unicef regulations only up to the point of not allowing anyone under 13 into their military. The education system is so poor and rife with problems that there is little incentive for children to stay in a school where they are unlikely to even pass the first grade because of lack of skilled teachers.
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