Child Slavery~~~

After a day of enlighten from Wesak Day, do WE as human really wake up and realize all the teaching and value of being a human.. Do we feel CONTENTED with what we have and when do we will feel ENOUGH with what we have?? I had to admit i never feel that and wish to have more and more.. I think this is the factor that drive us more away from enlighten and into darkness.. We never appreciate what we have and always complain and compare for the best.. Did we ever look for those who more poor and unlucky then us?? Because of $$$$, we betray our own kind and human nature that we could do anything even CHILD SLAVERY!!!! 

I wish all those who did this will realised the sin that they commit and please stand on their shoe and think for only ONCE.. How they feel?? For those who don't really expose to Child Slavery, let me share a brief idea on this matter..Many children in Asia are kidnapped or otherwise trapped in servitude, where they work in factories and workshops for no pay and receive constant beatings. This is usually how the whole things happen :-

Typically, an agent from the city arrives in the village.  He shows great sympathy for the child’s parents and a deep understanding of their plight and financial problems. He purchases two dresses for the mother and purchases a cow for the father (but the cow is an old sick cow which dies after a few months).  

In due course, the family’s new friend tells them that he could get a job for the child in the city where the child would be properly trained, receive wages and have good prospects for promotion. The parents, seeing this as the opportunity of a lifetime for their child to escape from rural poverty, agree. The agent gives them a piece of paper with the name and address of a non-existent employment agency.  

In reality, it is all a scam. The children live in a den or a squalid shed, with no prospects and no pay. Many are beaten with sticks and iron rods and not even allowed to see their parents. They are branded with red hot irons, burnt with cigarettes, starved, whipped, beaten while hanging upside down, chained up, abused in an intimate way, and kept locked in cupboards for days on end. Let's share some of the experience that i came across from all this poor victims...

One child, Shankar, described his experience thus:

“We were poked with burning cigarettes on the back and legs.  If we cried for our mothers we were locked in a room without air or enough light.  We were forced to work for 20 hours a day without pay.We were kept half fed and beaten up severely by our masters if we were found talking or laughing among ourselves. One night I jumped into the nearby River Ganges to kill myself to escape from this painful life. We were never allowed to go back to our parents, to our villages.”  

Some, like 14 year old Nageshwar, are branded by their masters with red-hot brands.  

Most sweatshops have windows and doors barred to prevent escape. The factory or sex den is guarded by thugs armed with cudgels and, occasionally, with guard dogs.  

The child’s parents hear nothing more from the child. If a parent gets suspicious, he or she may go to the address of the agency, only to find that it does not exist.  If the child’s parent finally tracks down the factory or den where the child lives and works, the master tells them: “I paid for his food and medicine”, and claims that the child cannot leave until the enormous fictitious “debts” which he incurred in keeping the child are repaid.  When, eventually, the police arrive, they throw the parent out.

“I was beaten for even scratching my skin and my father was beaten when he came to see me.  Ever since I started working, I haven’t been given either a wage or a single day off”.

— Ashok, 8 years, who worked a 21-hour day from 3 am until midnight in a carpet factory in India.

“I was not allowed to meet my parents for the 7 years that I worked, though I would often ask for permission.  The only response was more beatings”. “Two of my friends were killed.  They were wrapped in jute bags, which were tied to heavy stones and thrown in the river”

— Dilip, India

These children are the face of the slavery today and all this is not created like movie but FACT of life.. Is real and it's keep on going to the people.. Lastly, a meaningful song to that represent all unfortunate child in this world.. For any stories or opinion to share with, email to voiceout@hotmail.my.