The Price of Freedom

It is said that childhood is the best gift given to us by God. Everything is different when you’re a child: the trees are higher, the colours are more vivid than ever, and every new day is a new opportunity.

However, Childhood is not the same for all. For some it is waking up at six in the morning and working till the sun sets; it is staying away from their parents to earn minimum wages; it is working in inhumane environments in hopes of a brighter future. This is the reality of child labour.

Child Labour is experienced by every one in ten children around the globe. At the age when children should worry about their marks they are worrying about their health and economic status. But how can we blame these innocent angels. Uneducated parents are one of the major sources that induce child labour. It is the children of the poor and marginalized communities who are often trafficked to be forced into labour. Parents of these children are either betrayed or lured due to their poor socio-economic conditions thus forcing them to ‘send’ or ‘sell’ their children for better livelihood options. The lack of awareness is a situation that traffickers exploit especially when it comes to uneducated poor minorities living in slums and other backward regions in the country. Traffickers promise daily wages to parents of young children and transport them to big cities where they are often treated as commodities. Families in dire financial conditions are often approached by traffickers with an offer to buy their children and with no other escape from their pitiful conditions, parents comply.

To read the full story by Nikeeta Singh on Beyond the Page: Click Here

Category: Arts and Creative Activism