Child Labor.
Initiation to precise an act of good faith denomination, and extensive humanitarian mission to rescue the prosecutable and hazardous child labor trafficked in coal mines in Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya.
- Joe Hmachhuana
If you are a son or daughter of a wealthy family, you probably spend your days much as you do now, at school and at home getting the luxury of having what you want yet throw your stupid attitude around while sitting on your parent’s shoulders. If you were a son or a daughter of a poor family or immigrants, your life would be much different. Having decided to profess in the field of writing not long ago, nonetheless this one gives me a never before pleasure to disclose abuse.
The coal mine is the scene of a multitude of the most terrifying calamities where accidents have no special cases, and these comes directly from the selfishness of the bourgeoisie. Infringement of the law in this connection is revealed in Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya where cases of treacherous employment has been engaged in a reckless affair of exploitation and inhuman child practice in coal mines owned by individual owners.
The number of child workers in the coal mining area of Jaintia Hills is still unknown. The age of the children engaged in this area is notably low. There is a trafficking involved in the situation where children are recruited under deception from Nepal and Bangladesh in many cases with the involvement of brokers. Children are often explained to do a simple work in return of a good money and education only to find out the extreme ugliness of the false promises made to them after their arrival. However, without any help and money to return home, they are forbidden to engage in this massive slavery and obey the owners/managers till the time unknown with no rest for the lost and weary.
If you walk up to the Jaintia Hills, you will find a common sight of kids in a long line picking up bits of rocks while coal flow along beneath their feet. Boys would sometimes fall and get smothered or crushed in the huge piles of coal. Worse yet, when the boys turn twelve they would be sent down into the mines where there is a constant threat of cave-ins and explosions. There is also an information on human rights violation such as extrajudicial execution. The workers including children are often locked up in the rat holes as a punishment in the absence of any medical and food assistance which causes them death. Although with the fact that such acts are perpetual killings, no perpetuators are brought to the light of justice.
Deprivation of proper sanitary facilities on basics like drinking water catches one’s immediate attention here. Unhygienic condition and lack of proper sewage system has afflicted people living there with various diseases. It is hard to tolerate the image of the labors using the sewage water in the rat hole for drinking and bathing. It is regrettable that no intervention to this extreme situation by both central and local government has been reported. With 10 labor inspectors appointed for surveillance, the program has failed to gain any positive appeal to the inhuman affair due to lack of transportation facilities provided to the inspectors. Although, this practice is serious violation of Indian constitution, ILO minimum age (Underground Work) convention no.123 (1965) which prohibits any aggression of child laboring in the area under the age of 16, the government seems to turn its deaf ear towards this adversity.
In an approach to bring salvation to this misery, Impulse NGO Network in collaboration with Human Rights Now (HRN), Japan has been taking a great stance to create awareness among the people’s government and media. But with the economics of stipulation getting a slow process with the government,the future of the helpless only seems irresolute.
On my 3 day visit to the area,I evident that 20-25 children are put to work in each rat hole where the working condition is extremely hazardous without any proper medical safety and living condition”.
The estimated number of child workers in the area is 70,000 and it was very difficult to interview the children as they were reluctant to talk and at the same time I had to prevent the intervention by the supervisors and owners of the coal mine who were continuously minding the area. The rescue mission is however not yet the best solution to this havoc as the number of child workers is large and without full and effective implementation from the government, the case may just go worse. Taking the fact that there are 70,000 children homeless, just a section of a society cannot alone provide the right solution. It is a serious point to be noted that the attendance of the government’s interest in this case could be finely mentioned as null.
Although much has been done to change laws about child labor and to make sure that all children get a good education, there still is much to be done. Law against child labor will not apply its true meaning unless we the people show pro-activeness and make a movement to shovel this absurdity.
The on-going mission to rescue this vicious practice needs much more encouragement and support. If we all realize that we can help change this by the virtue of the littlest contribution even in a form of a letter to the authority, it may relish sunshine to the boys in the pits who have lost the art of smile.
Will the government continue to ignore or make a move that is desperately needed? Till then one can only hope for redemption to make its way to Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya.
