Sputtering Lebanese Economy Fuels Rampant Child Labor
There are roughly four million people that are currently living in Lebanon. Unfortunately, nearing 100,000 children, including teenagers, who are victims to child labor. The children in these parts are often spotted throughout the night begging for anything they can obtain while other children are spotted carrying heavy loads to make a little money.
The statistics on child labor from one region to the other. According to figures provided by the International Labor Organization (ILO), about 35 percent of youth in the North work, 26 percent in Mount Lebanon, 13 percent in the Bekaa Valley, 11 percent in the South, 6 percent in Nabatiyeh, and 8 percent in Beirut. Most children are employed in artisan or small workshops (55 percent), with 17 percent in private occupation or self-employment, 14 percent in unskilled labor, and 9 percent working with machinery.
Not only are these children exposed to hard work labor, many of them are beaten by their employers if they find their job unsatisfactory. Many children are also sold into bondage labor, which is when the parents sell their children for a period of time for one large lump sum. One contributing factory for child labor is because children are cheaper to employ than adults, making it a better economic decision for owners during down economic times.
This is another unfortunate situation that seems far too common as you look overseas. This is a problem that the more I read about it and see how far widespread it is, it seems more and more unlikely for it to get resolved any time soon. Everybody knows it is taking place and there are a lot of stories written to allow people to know whats going on, but there is not any real action taking place. I wish this was a problem that there was a clear cut answer for, but it appears this is a very difficult problem to correct.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=89596
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