Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Curse of Child Servitude


A girl not more than ten years of age trying to lift quite a healthy kid up, who I am sure was heavier than her, to a ride. She loses her balance in an effort to do so. This was a scene I got to see at a famous fast food restaurant play area. Yes! That little girl was a servant to a big happy family. The parents sit alone and dine in while the servants babysit the mischievous kids. Babysitting of course includes feeding them, taking full care of them that they don’t get lost and also bearing with all their stubbornness.

Getting help of a servant is not bad at all, it’s just you should at least consider the age of a person before you hire him/her. How can you expect a kid, who herself/himself is not able to carry her/his own burden, to help you in a task you yourself can’t do alone? Think about your own kids for a while; what if they are made to do stuff you expect the little servants to do. You of course dread seeing that.

If women are too insecure of their female servants that they will steal away their husbands, they should be equally uncomfortable with their men sexually harassing these little servants. You cannot deny the fact that this happens a lot. Men should also take care of the fact that the servant they hire should be old enough to carry the burden of the work load they assign them.

Another excuse people give for child labor is that the children’s parents themselves bring the kids to them for this purpose. You cannot just blame them about it. You are equally at fault when you hire them than their parents or maybe more. If you are kind enough to help them, be sensible in doing so. Spend some money on their kids’ education and give them a better future. Getting them enrolled to a not-so-expensive school won’t be a tough job. You just will have to cut down your dine out routines a bit to help them.

People hire these little children not just as their domestic servants but also to their workplaces. One of the main reasons is that you get it cheap. Tea-stalls, workshops or any other place you see the kids working; it’s always the job tougher than they can bear. Worse is when the same little angels are made to do harsher jobs like molding bricks or making glass bangles. We should make an effort to bring a relief to these kids in some way. Even a change in our attitude or just a kind word can make a difference at times.

Just look at the kids who work at your houses or workplaces for a change and think about it; do they really deserve doing what they are? What if it was your kid instead of that poor soul? How do they feel, when they look at all those luxuries you provide your kids with, living at your house? I am sure you will feel bad. If you can’t do any good for them; stop doing bad. If you feel bad for them or their families; hiring them is not a solution. Walk in their shoes for a while and think of better ways to help them. Say no to child labor. It’s a crime, it’s a curse!


YOU CAN VIEW THE SIMILAR POST AT The Cause Blog


10 comments:

  1. And not to forget spotting one of these servant child at shopping centers carrying numerous shopping bags often larger than themselves, while the children of their masters walking with candies in their hands and a broad smile on their face ...

    Don't understand how people live with such insensitivity.. I have no respect for such snobs :(

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  2. Bitter but true, As a part of society, we all are accountable. And if we can't help them financially, at-least we should do morally. I hope to see a society who gives a respect to every human which he/she deserves.

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  3. it is quite unfortunate...how they expect a kid-servant to take care of their kid is beyond my understanding...

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  4. ...and the worst part is this menial menace is confined to Asian countries. A lot has to be done in this regard.

    Keep writing.

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  5. Do something for those who have need of a man's help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.
    Well Done Sara !

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  6. sara with yet another very important topic and pointing on another bad behavior of society, and probably i should use the word humanity here instead of society.

    and like you did we need to first point out and then educate people on how they should behave. for instance once i asked aunty who works at our office and brings her daughter (age about 13) that why dont you send her to school, and she reply was obvious that they prefer earning money rather than spending money. i offered them some help and then when i asked my office people for further help for her tu they were looking and taunting at me like "khawar sahab khair tay hay na ;)" and i was shocked. and this is thinking is so widespread that at times i believe we should redefine words like "educated people" and "humanity" and so on ...

    now what i do is to keep talking with people on these topics making their minds and prepare them to first change their behavior and then take next steps...

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  7. we need to save our future ,its a very hard reality but we have the capacity to do anything,if we want to!!,MAY ALLAH save these poor wards,, Good job

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  8. That truly is the pathetic state and the worst is that it is a major occurrence in India. On one side we talk of freedom, equality, education and other, we encourage all bad practices - child labour in any form is worst crime.

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  9. story is same every where..
    we all should do things to stop this...

    we have to raise our voices and we have to show through our action by helping them..

    nice effort..

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