UNITED STATES – CHILD LABOR AT HOME

UNITED STATES – CHILD LABOR AT HOME
BY
MUHAMMAD ALY BALAGAMWALA

(Freshman at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, May 1998)

"They live in poverty and neglect as they harvest our food, work in hundreds of dingy factories stitching … tags onto our clothes, assemble cheap jewelry in trailer homes and tenements, operate dangerous machines in restaurant kitchens and neighborhood stores. In town after town, they serve our fast food meals late at night, prepare our muffins and coffee early in the morning. Often they are scalded and burned, sliced up by food machines, exposed to pesticides in the field and choking fumes in the factory. They fall and fracture their backs, and break their arms and hands frequently, delivering and picking up things for us. Sometimes, they are left badly maimed or disfigured for life. Sometimes they are killed. Nearly all the time, they get tired, miss school, and are ignored."

The above looks like an account of a third world country where poverty and illiteracy are rampant. On the contrary, this is part of an article written by a Boston Globe reporter, on his tour of the United States. The tags the children sew are "Made in America" tags. The reporter concluded his article with the statement: "America’s children are among the nation’s most widely exploited workers." He called this a "national shame."

Indeed, while this is an embarrassing situation for the United States, Senator Tom Harkin introduced the "International Child Labor Elimination Act" in Congress. This bill is designed to mark countries, which refuse to follow international guidelines on employment of children and it stipulates to ban imports from these countries. It also prevents the United States government from providing them with any form of assistance. While this may be a noble step to be taken by the two Houses to reduce the employment of children around the world, the Congress should realize that they themselves are in violation of this Bill! Also, there is a great furor created by the American public and media over reports that dresses, shoes, footballs, and toys made by children abroad, are being marketed in the US. Celebrities and companies are put on the spot on TV, to answer charges of their use of Child Labor and sweatshops. One day it might be Michael Jordan, the next day the CEO of Nike. Americans are ready to boycott a particular brand of clothing or a line of product to stress that they are aware of the problem of Child Labor. However, few Americans are aware that the lunch they had at McDonald’s or Burger King, or that a particular produce they bought at Harris Teeter or Food Lion probably had some Child Labor involved in it.

According to the United States Bureau of the Census, nearly 7 million American children work. Two million children work illegally before the age of 14, for long periods of time and often under hazardous conditions. The highest rate of deaths and injuries nationwide occur in the agricultural sector, where according to a United Farm Workers estimate, 800,000 children are employed. The school dropout rate among children working in agriculture is over 50 percent—the highest of any group in the United States. An additional 100,000, in the 15 year old range, work in mining and construction jobs, which in 1987-1988 resulted in 13,000 injuries.

Looking back in history, one can see that Child Labor was rampant in the United States. In 1910, when the United States was 134 years old, the percentage of children, in the age group of 10 to 14 years old, who were employed, was 18.4 percent. This is more than the percentage in most Asian countries. Considering that most Asian countries have not even reached their Centennial anniversaries, it is not fair for the United States to criticize the governments of the developing countries or enforce bans on them.

An old Pakistani proverb says: "If you point a finger at someone, there are usually three fingers pointing at you." Alternatively, to put it in more ‘American’ words, "Practice what you preach." Thus, the United States Government needs to focus on eliminating the remnants of Child Labor from the United States, and then work with other governments to eliminate Child Labor. Just using a strong-arm method by targeting and accusing other nations for abusing children’s rights does seem too harsh and arbitrary.

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