June 12, 2008
AFP
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN school children took to the streets on Thursday to mark World Against Child Labour Day, calling for parents to send their kids to school rather than forcing them to work.
About 500 children marched through the capital carrying placards and banners with slogans such as: 'Work is not necessary for children, but schooling is,' and 'Child labour is unjust for children.' The demonstration was organised by the International Labour Organisation with the Cambodian government.
One of the marchers, 15-year-old student Roeun Ra, said his parents used to make him work by scavenging through garbage.
'Many of my friends cannot go to school because their parents ask them to work for money,' the boy said.
The World Bank said that last year some 1.5 million Cambodians under the age of 14 were forced to work, often in hazardous conditions.
Mr Chey Chab, undersecretary of state at the ministry of education, told marchers the government was working to prevent the children from being exploited.
'Children are like bamboo shoots and are the (future) strong force for the country,' he said in a speech, calling on all people to 'take care, protect, and think of the interest of children.' Following years of civil unrest and government mismanagement, Cambodia remains mired in poverty, with more than 30 per cent of its 14 million people living on less than 50 US cents per day.
About 500 children marched through the capital carrying placards and banners with slogans such as: 'Work is not necessary for children, but schooling is,' and 'Child labour is unjust for children.' The demonstration was organised by the International Labour Organisation with the Cambodian government.
One of the marchers, 15-year-old student Roeun Ra, said his parents used to make him work by scavenging through garbage.
'Many of my friends cannot go to school because their parents ask them to work for money,' the boy said.
The World Bank said that last year some 1.5 million Cambodians under the age of 14 were forced to work, often in hazardous conditions.
Mr Chey Chab, undersecretary of state at the ministry of education, told marchers the government was working to prevent the children from being exploited.
'Children are like bamboo shoots and are the (future) strong force for the country,' he said in a speech, calling on all people to 'take care, protect, and think of the interest of children.' Following years of civil unrest and government mismanagement, Cambodia remains mired in poverty, with more than 30 per cent of its 14 million people living on less than 50 US cents per day.
10 comments:
Why march? just quit working if you don't want to work. This is the silliest article du jour alright.
I don't know when HUN SEN see this horrible situation. When HUN SEN mandate his school system go after the children that left behind of education. I don't know if he still wants to keep Cambodian children uneducated or not, but I think he is really listen to HO CHI MiNH that "If you want to rule forever" you must keep your people uneducated or at least have sub-servent life style like. When they being stupid you can control them for life. HUN SEN, please open one of your good eye to see or scan what is missing around you. I hope you can make law that require all children inside Cambodia to school. And go after those company, or agency that hire children for work. Do it now until it is too late!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bullshit, so far Ho Chi Minh advices has help Cambodia to move in the right direction. All these kids who start their career early on in life will become world class experts of the trade when they become adult. This is certainly 10 times better than losers in long beach.
VOTE 2008,
all this suffering of child laboring, human trafficing, sex slave, land sell to vietcong, curruptions, attempt to abolish monarchy is totally due to THE CPP / HUN SEN / VIETCONG.
VOTE / SUPPORT ELECTION 2008
please help stop child hard labor; instead invest in motor vehicle to do all the pushings and pullings and transportings. this is the 2008 world, not the dark age or stone age, people. wake up, and see the world moving! stop being a "frog in the well" for too long already! open your eyes, cambodia, and see the big wide world. get out of your comfort zone and inspire others to do the same. thank you and god bless cambodia.
well, i guess some people on the blog is right when they say this can teach a child to appreciate what they have or have not, so when they grow up they will have many experience of how others who may be suffering from poverty and will be inspired to help them as they once were like that. so, in a way, it is a priceless lesson one can learn in life to appreciate and walk in others' shoes. take for example, most of our current leaders who had been through so much and knows what it's like to be poor and suffer hardship, thus, have a better view to help and wanted to help cambodia from poverty. i guess, it depends on how one looks at it, it is a blessing in disguise, perhaps, a valuable lesson in lesson, better start young and vibrant than old and feeble and sickly as young people are resilient, better than hands-on vocational training for young people. god bless.
in cambodian view, adult children or those old enough to know right from wrong is ok to put to work to help the family in many ways they can. it's the cambodian ways, not western way because this help to teach children to the lesson on life and business so when they finish school, they will become good business people. i guess it is ok as long as they are well fed and well dress like wearing shoes, at least and hat and not endanger themselves or others; and of course, they must not forget school either. god bless.
well, yes, this scene is very typical in asian countries, if you travel enough around asia to see. so, this is not unique to just cambodia, but all of asia, even in japan, especially in rural area, children do extra work to help supplement family's income after, granted they finished all their school work, of course.
well, school works is their priority, maybe after they completed their school works that they can help around the house. that said, i still think there ought to be a law in cambodia to limit the age of children labor. there are other ways, children can learn to be a responsible adult, hard labor is probably not one of them.
No, many great musicians started to play music before the age of 7. Similarly, these kids will be great expert of their field soon enough. It is not as bad as Ah Scam Rainxy painted it to be.
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