FORCED INTO LABOUR

In India, labour is cheap. And child labour is even cheaper. No wonder in a country with a population of over a billion people, children are the preferred labour force in the unorganized sector.

The unorganized sector being hotels, restaurants, households, street vendors, tea stalls, clubs, catering units and hostels to name a few.

For a long time children working in these sectors had gone unnoticed by the government, until in October 2006, mounting pressure from social activists led to the formulation of the law banning children from working in hotels, eateries, tea stalls, households and as street vendors.

Statistics show that of the 17 million children working in India, around 18% work as domestic servants and over 13% work in un-specified odd jobs. (www.indiatogether.org)

There is a story behind every child who labours. A story of poverty, abandonment, trafficking, misery…the list can seem endless.

We at Good Shepherd Homes (GSH) have encountered many such tales while rescuing children from labour. Let us look at a few of them:

Rupali and Nakusha

Rupali and Nakusha have been with GSH for the past five years. Their father having abandoned them, they were forced to work for survival.

While their mother made flowers, both sisters would walk barefoot selling flowers at Andheri station in Mumbai (Bombay). The girls belonged to the ‘Pardi’ community.

The trademark characteristic of this community is of a people who move from place to place and make their living by cheating others. Not a pleasant trait to be identified with- but that was their reality.

GSH got to know of them through a reference and were able to take them off the streets. Today both Rupali and Nakusha are based at the Nashik branch of GSH and are in the 5th and 2nd grade respectively.

They enjoy school and remember little of the days where they spent their days selling flowers to make a living.

Sonali

Being orphaned at a young age, life looked difficult for six year old Sonali and her older sibling. Their ‘home’ was a small room – about 6 x 6 feet, situated in the slums of Pune.

The only way they could think of earning something was by working in the houses of other people. So Sonali would wash utensils and clothes, sweep and mop floors in different homes- in return for which she would get some food to eat.

It was hard work – with no benefits, no holidays and no pay. Sonali was identified by a slum development agency and referred to GSH, while her older sibling was taken into care by a government agency.

Having been with GSH for the past two and a half years, Sonali still remembers the days she worked as a domestic servant.

However she does not remember those days with fondness and is glad for the opportunity to go to school and study and play-like other children.

Meera and Sheetal

Five years ago life was very different for Meera and Sheetal. Their father was addicted to alcohol and substance and would not work to provide for the family. Hence both girls were forced to beg on the streets of Pune.

Through begging they were exposed to street violence and a rough life. There were times when Meera would be ‘caught’ by the police for robbery.

Her punishment: she had to wash the clothes of the police officers rather than be sent to a juvenile home where she could be rehabilitated. Begging in India is so common that the population gets accustomed to it.

It becomes easy to overlook the dirty, torn clothes, bruised bare feet and starved looks on the faces of children like Meera and Sheetal.

When GSH workers noticed both the children begging at a traffic signal in Pune, they tried to persuade the father to send the kids to the GSH home.

It took us six months to convince him as they were his ‘bread-earners’. In the end, it all turned out well and both sisters stay at the GSH home at Talegaon and are enrolled in the 4th grade in a vernacular school nearby.

Yet children like Rupali, Nakusha, Meera and Sheetal are seen working. What about those kids who toil ‘unseen’ in the kitchens of various hotels and homes?
Having been a part of various government teams appointed to rescue children from labour, the stories I have encountered have been horrifying.

It’s not easy to forget the ten year old girl who worked as a domestic servant and was beaten and burnt by her employer for no valid reason.

Or the eight year old domestic servant who was locked in the balcony of her employer every night so that she would not escape.

Nor can I forget the faces of the boys who were sold by their parents to toil more than twelve hours in the kitchens of busy hotels.

Whatever be the background of the child labourer, one thing they all have in common is that none of them work out of choice. They are forced into it by people or circumstances.

And as we work amongst children living on the streets and child labourers, our aim is this: to give them back their God given right to choose – to choose to be young again and reclaim their lost childhood.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones” (Matthew 18:10 ESV)

Krupa Sethuraman