Breanna Fehr. April 29, 2008. 7:40 p.m. Labor Problems
Potosi is a Bolivian mountain that stands 15000 feet above sea level. Potosi is rich in silver; historians say its wealth single-handedly fueled the Spanish Conquest. It is the oldest and most dangerous mines in the Americas. There is one entrance, should anything happen there is no way out, the only light source is head lamps and there is no ventilation or safety equipment. Yet, every day, 20,000 people work every day which includes 1,000 children.
Even though the mine was very rich it left behind only poverty. Poverty that leads to desperation and sends men and boys into 400 mines in the mountain who are trying to earn meager livings. John Trew, of CARE USA who studies world child labor and tries to improve children’s condition, says it is by far the worst of child labor condition he has seen. The environment is hazardous, not only from the short terms hazards but from long-term health consequences as well.
There are no safety inspections of mines in Bolivia. The government does provide guidelines and seminars in order to promote safety. Yet ultimately safety is the responsibility of each mining company and not of the government.
It is difficult for me to hear of children working in mines. It saddens me because the conditions are so terrible that no body let alone a child should have to go through it. If they survive working in the mine they will still suffer a lifetime of health consequences from working there. The government should have a standard for safety measures so that people have to abide by them. It shouldn’t be up to the company or the individual.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=4582403&page=1
2 comments:
It is sad that children are basically being abused. It is so unfair that these children have to work so hard.
It is scary to think that children's lives are in the hands of money hungry industries, instead of the government, whose job is to look out for it's people. I wanted to believe that children were no longer forced to work in the mines, but high levels of poverty has forced families to do the unthinkable. What happens if all the men, young and old, in the family are no longer there to provide?
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