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Said Farah-Ceh

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Working children: should we prohibit, permit or promote it.

For many years various international institutions (such as Unesco or the goverment) have fought against child labor, saying it is a way to exploit them. But since 1976 in Peru there is an organization of children and adolescents who are clamoring for their right to work, ensuring that through work they can get different skills, knowledge and social abilities.

* What is your personal position on this issue that concerns us all, in one way or another?
* If you were the minister of labor in your country, what position would you have to child labor.

Topics: Children's issues adult children children fun human rights working children
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    Gunjan

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    Jul 13 2012: I start my argument by emphasising that I am not counting adolescents of age group 14 to 18 as children.
    You see a child working for two reasons : a) Low family income, forces a child to earn money for self and family, often these children, as seen in my developing nations, are pushed into informal sectors of the economy, with no security of job (& sometimes life), they don't have any access to education, so their skills remain underdeveloped, thus in future as adults they may remain deprived of quality jobs.

    So coming back to your first point : They may of 'cos have better practical knowledge of society, than non working children of their age group. But since they lack education, so they lack skills, and lastly lack a bright future.

    Coming to second point of being a labor minister : I think this situation has got more to do with education ministry/department (i.e Human Resource Development ministry in our nation), because child works to increase family income, so if govt takes care of that child not just for education, but also by providing food and clothing, s/he need not go for work and can continue their education, get skills, thus in future they'll have a wider range of jobs.
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      Said Farah-Ceh

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      Jul 14 2012: Gunja, Im telling you. This group of children work because they want to, nobody is forcing them. I think there are more of this kind of kids who really want to work despite the economical situation of their family, probably just because they feel pleasure in what they are doing. And I also do not think is a matter of education, not everyone in the world has to be educated in a formal school, sometimes the streets, the markets, the real world is a a better school. For instances I see people who has a PhD, ut they haven´t work in anything yet, they have good memory but bad skills.

      Do you really think that a scholar degree asure you a better job?

      cheers!

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