Imlisanen Jamir
There is this 10-year-old boy in suburban Dimapur who serves tea to all guests, whenever they pay a visit to his home. He has been raised there since he was five and has only faint memories of his parents. The boy now lives with his ‘guardians’ in Dimapur.
To many who ‘raise’ children like the one cited above, classifying such cases as child labour could seem harsh. After all, they say, they love them like their own children.
He goes to school, plays with his guardian’s children, shares meals with them and on the face of it seems to be a real part of the family. But look closer and things start to unravel. None of his ‘brothers and sisters’ are made to work in the kitchen or do the laundry or sweep the floors right after school.
Then there are the numerous overt cases of child labour we see in our markets, shops and businesses. Children labour is a reality that exists with impunity in our society. We either choose to ignore it or wrap in a coating of charity and guardianship.
Meanwhile, those cases of assault, torture and sexual abuse, only make the headlines for a news cycle and are swept under the rug.
Around 60-70% of Naga home practice child labour, informed Subonenba Longkumer, Director of the Community Educational Centre Society (CECS) and Nodal Director for CHILDLINE, Dimapur during an awareness programme on November 9.
The number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide – an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years – with millions more at risk due to the impacts of COVID-19, according to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF earlier this year.
The report, titled ‘Child Labour: Global estimates 2020’ warned that progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years, reversing the previous downward trend that saw child labour fall by 94 million between 2000 and 2016.
“It affects the children physically and mentally, resulting to high rate of dropout” and takes them away from gaining quality education and this affect their future, Longkumer added, while presenting on the importance, impact, consequences, punishment and steps initiated by the Government to stop child labour.
Legislation and enforcement aside though, the real test is one of our community and our humanity.
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