The salt fields in Kampot Province, southern Cambodia
12-year-old Jan Tria (right)(Photo: RNW/Eric Beauchemin)
Radio Netherlands
20-04-2006
Over a third of Cambodia's children work. Many of these children are 12 years old or even younger. The Cambodian government, together with the International Labour Organisation and charities, are trying to reduce the number of working children, particularly of those involved in the worst forms of child labour.
One of the most hazardous forms of child labour is working in the salt fields, where they distil sea water to collect salt. According to M.P. Joseph, the Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour in Cambodia, the work is extremely hazardous.
"For one thing," he says, "they work in the hot sun. The salt reflects the sun's light and can affect their eyes very badly. Secondly, the children have to carry loads sometimes as heavy as 35 kilos. That's almost as much as they weigh or even more. When the children rake the salt fields, they often suffer bruises or other injuries. Yet another health hazard is that the brine is very bad for the children's feet and hands. So it's a combination of hazards that makes it very dangerous."
Child labourer
Jan Tria is 12 years old. She works in the salt fields for three or four hours a day, three or four days a week. Sometimes, she says, "I'm tired, but sometimes I'm happy because I know that when I work, I'll usually have food to eat. But sometimes, even after a day's work, we have no food at home."
Jan Tria works in the salt fields of Kampon Province together with two of her siblings, her father and mother. "We earn 10,000 to 15,000 riel a day," says Jan's mother, or 2 to 3.20 euros. "If my children didn't help me out, my husband and I could still earn as much, but we'd have to spend a lot more time in the salt fields."
Schooling
The ILO estimates that there are 4,000 to 5,000 children working in the salt fields of southern Cambodia. As part of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour or IPEC, the ILO is hoping to get all children out of the salt fields and into schools by the end of this decade. Together with the Cambodian government, the ILO is taking a gradual approach to the issue, introducing non-formal education for the child labourers, as a first step towards their full enrolment in schools.
But it's an uphill battle because of the poor quality of education in Cambodia. "Teachers often don't come on time," says M.P. Joseph. "Even when they do, they're often not interested in teaching the children appropriately. The course content seems irrelevant at times for children and their parents because it doesn't provide them with the skills and knowledge they need for the job market."
Poverty
Another major problem in the fight against the worst forms of child labour is poverty. Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in the world, with an average annual per capita income of only 250 euros. In rural areas, such as in southern Cambodia, the poverty rate is 40 percent higher.
Most families living near the salt fields don't have televisions or radios or access to newspapers. So local charities and government officials are visiting villages in the area to talk to adults and children about the value of education. They're also teaching children about their basic rights, Cambodian law and trafficking, says Ma Bunchhoeun, the co-ordinator of the Cambodian Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights.
"The problem is that children and their parents know nothing about their rights. Many parents don't send their children to school not because they don't want to, but simply because they are too poor to do so. We tell the parents that their children can still go to work, but go to school as well. That's because the school day is very short: only two hours. The kids learn basic literacy and math. It may not sound like much, but it's a real improvement in the lives of these children."
Ambitious goals
The Cambodian authorities hope to completely eliminate child labour in the salt fields by 2009. Duong Savann of the Department of Labour and Vocational Training and his teams regularly go out to check whether there are children under the age of 15 working in the salt fields. "We talk to the children," he says, "to make sure that they are physically able to do the work. If they're under the age of 15, we tell them that they have to stop working. We've even found children who are younger than 12 working. We've informed the authorities about the situation, but Cambodia is a poor country and it's not easy to solve the problem."
Another problem is the general lack of awareness in Cambodian society about why children should be at school rather than at work. "Child labour has been seen to be good in the past," says M.P. Joseph, "and therefore people believe it will be good in the present and good in the future, which is not the case. Child labour may have been OK 50 years ago, 40 years ago, when the social and economic conditions were different but tomorrow young people will need knowledge and skills to function in this increasingly technical world."
For additional information, pictures, testimonials:
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/development/060421agl
One of the most hazardous forms of child labour is working in the salt fields, where they distil sea water to collect salt. According to M.P. Joseph, the Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour in Cambodia, the work is extremely hazardous.
"For one thing," he says, "they work in the hot sun. The salt reflects the sun's light and can affect their eyes very badly. Secondly, the children have to carry loads sometimes as heavy as 35 kilos. That's almost as much as they weigh or even more. When the children rake the salt fields, they often suffer bruises or other injuries. Yet another health hazard is that the brine is very bad for the children's feet and hands. So it's a combination of hazards that makes it very dangerous."
Child labourer
Jan Tria is 12 years old. She works in the salt fields for three or four hours a day, three or four days a week. Sometimes, she says, "I'm tired, but sometimes I'm happy because I know that when I work, I'll usually have food to eat. But sometimes, even after a day's work, we have no food at home."
Jan Tria works in the salt fields of Kampon Province together with two of her siblings, her father and mother. "We earn 10,000 to 15,000 riel a day," says Jan's mother, or 2 to 3.20 euros. "If my children didn't help me out, my husband and I could still earn as much, but we'd have to spend a lot more time in the salt fields."
Schooling
The ILO estimates that there are 4,000 to 5,000 children working in the salt fields of southern Cambodia. As part of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour or IPEC, the ILO is hoping to get all children out of the salt fields and into schools by the end of this decade. Together with the Cambodian government, the ILO is taking a gradual approach to the issue, introducing non-formal education for the child labourers, as a first step towards their full enrolment in schools.
But it's an uphill battle because of the poor quality of education in Cambodia. "Teachers often don't come on time," says M.P. Joseph. "Even when they do, they're often not interested in teaching the children appropriately. The course content seems irrelevant at times for children and their parents because it doesn't provide them with the skills and knowledge they need for the job market."
Poverty
Another major problem in the fight against the worst forms of child labour is poverty. Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in the world, with an average annual per capita income of only 250 euros. In rural areas, such as in southern Cambodia, the poverty rate is 40 percent higher.
Most families living near the salt fields don't have televisions or radios or access to newspapers. So local charities and government officials are visiting villages in the area to talk to adults and children about the value of education. They're also teaching children about their basic rights, Cambodian law and trafficking, says Ma Bunchhoeun, the co-ordinator of the Cambodian Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights.
"The problem is that children and their parents know nothing about their rights. Many parents don't send their children to school not because they don't want to, but simply because they are too poor to do so. We tell the parents that their children can still go to work, but go to school as well. That's because the school day is very short: only two hours. The kids learn basic literacy and math. It may not sound like much, but it's a real improvement in the lives of these children."
Ambitious goals
The Cambodian authorities hope to completely eliminate child labour in the salt fields by 2009. Duong Savann of the Department of Labour and Vocational Training and his teams regularly go out to check whether there are children under the age of 15 working in the salt fields. "We talk to the children," he says, "to make sure that they are physically able to do the work. If they're under the age of 15, we tell them that they have to stop working. We've even found children who are younger than 12 working. We've informed the authorities about the situation, but Cambodia is a poor country and it's not easy to solve the problem."
Another problem is the general lack of awareness in Cambodian society about why children should be at school rather than at work. "Child labour has been seen to be good in the past," says M.P. Joseph, "and therefore people believe it will be good in the present and good in the future, which is not the case. Child labour may have been OK 50 years ago, 40 years ago, when the social and economic conditions were different but tomorrow young people will need knowledge and skills to function in this increasingly technical world."
For additional information, pictures, testimonials:
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/development/060421agl
2 comments:
It is heart broken to see the Cambodian children in this kind of situation. This is what causes the country to be weaken.
Khmeng Wat Chass said
This is what Hun Sen and crony need to pay attention to.Hun Sen is not only physically impaired but mentally crippled.Walk the walk and talk the talk, if he is the man of his words.
Sickening of his abuses.
Post a Comment