The answer to this question is because of poverty. If I grew up in a family with many siblings and both my parents worked and there still was not enough money to pay the rent on time or to have decent meals through out the day or if there still was not enough money to buy decent clothings then I guess that I would have turned to work too. If working is what would help bring food on the table for my little brothers and sisters and help my parents pay the rent ..then yeah, Iwould be up for child labor. I wouldn't be done with school until years from now and since my country is a poor one, the books we would get to use would be really old and probably not even updated to help us kids here learn better. Even if I did go to school and finish high school, there would be no way I will be able to go to college, I wouldnt have any money for it.
This is probably the mindset of many children out there in other countries who feel they dont have a choice but to work for a living. I know it has to be really hard for these kids. Every kid has there own problems but when I think about how fortunate I am to be born into a family that isnt living that bad where I have to work at a young age to help out at home, suddenly my problems dont seem so big anymore.
I have the privilege to go to school and get an education and not have to worry about anything else just school, meanwhile these kids dont. What hurts the most about this whole issue is that there kids as young as five years old..what does a five year old know. They should be thinking about what they're going to do during recess, or which Dr. Zuess book their mom is going read to them at bedtime, not about work.
But then I come across these naïve kids in school and I hear them talk about how they hate school and all this crap about how “this school sucks” and dumb things like that when they should be grateful that they are getting school for free to begin with. I really hate it especially when I hear about teenagers dropping out of high school. There are millions of kids out there who would kill to go to school, because they know how important and how far in life it will get them. They know school is the only way to go if you plan on getting ahead in life.
The following is of a child who is a perfect example of what I mean about kids who work because they have to.
"For Reinal, getting an education is a real struggle. He loves learning, but because he only attends classes for half a day, he misses out on the arts and crafts courses that are part of elementary education in Brazil. He works because he has to. His mother who labors alongside him in the quarry needs the income he brings in to support them both. It is hard and dangerous work. The dry air in the Bahia region where Reinal lives, mingled with the dust from the rocks, makes breathing difficult. "It's strenuous and boring. Stones can get into your face. The hammer can hurt you. We sweat a lot," he explains." This kids work is to break stones with a hammer that sometimes hurts him. He occasionaly gets dust and sweat into his eyes and causes him to get blind for some time. His mother also works doing the same job and she used to do this when she was a child too. She gets paid the same thing he does with is $2.50 a day, and they do this EVERY day of the week with no days off, week after week, day in and day out. Reinal loves to read, write, sing and often startes daydreaming of a better future. See what I mean about appreciating what you have..
http://www.un.org/works/goingon/labor/reina_story.html
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