World Child Labour Day: An Obnoxious Letter From A Child

My birth on earth was imminent. Like a meteorite, I too enter earth’s space with the relics of my existence engraved in my body. Being under the impression that my journey from childhood to teenager to adulthood would be exciting and enthralling, I started craving the dreams of my aspirations and hopes but hardly did I know this mirage would shatter once I start growing up.

Yes, you understood right. The World named me “CHILD“. Society told me that in my eyes people will see the true vision of the world as it should be. As I clung to their false hopes, I began the construction of the castle of my dreams without realizing that not my presence but my abuse and exploitation in the workplace would be remembered worldwide as a Day of importance – WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOR.  

A Look into My Past

To bring world attention to the global extent of the child labour menace, the International Labour Organization or ILO as simply called launched World Day Against Child Labour in 2002. Since then June 12 of every year is marked as World Day Against Child Labour. Even the latest publication of June 2021 by UNICEF/ILO jointly states that the number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide i.e a whopping rise of 8.4 million children in the last four years.

Sensing the gravity of exploitation of children in the workforce at an age which is meant for enjoying and imbibing the mind with creative and innovative ideas that can bring change to a country’s economy and development, The Sustainable Development Goals, which is a collection of 17 interlinked global goals adopted by UNGA in 2015, has decided to end child labour in all its forms by 2025. The “8” points – Decent Work and Economic Growth, of the SDGs, cover the child labour problem.  

What I Feel?

Well having spent quite some years of my life in those horrendous conditions and environments, I had always believed in the power of education. I know the childhood I lost will never be recovered, no matter what policies, schemes, or rescue operations launch on a global scale. My hope question my future. The turn that my life will take place in the succeeding year.

I know the innocence on my face has got converted into a mature smile of my existence, the lines in my hands have got diminished by the use of hazardous chemicals, the skin rashes in my body speak about the environment in which I had worked, the respiratory organs through which I inhale oxygen (the air necessary for any living being’s existence) show an anomaly X-ray graph, the legs through which I walk have been abraded by the cobbles and pebbles I encountered, the hairs have turned white under the scorching blaze of the Sun. My whole body speaks about my past.   

I do not expect much but yes I want a life where I can read, write, explore, learn, play and discover all the small things which I have always carved by seeing those children who were fortunate enough to have a decent standard of life. I do not complain but yes a part of my heartache and often breaks down in tears thinking – Labour is an active factor of production in any country’s development and growth. But at what cost? By drudging those innocent children as labourers into the workforce at that tender age which is meant for enjoying and learning new things.  

The Last Words

My Days spend under the caves of those chemical factories
My night underwent behind those bars of history
Arousing the curiosity in my eyes, they shatter the dream of my trajectory
The hands that were supposed to hold the books were tightened with the grip of tools dynasty
Pledging to eliminate this menace they are promising me a bright future
But one question that hurdles my mind every time-
Who is responsible for my lost childhood? 
And what's the compensation that society needs to pay?

(The thoughts penned down are personnel and the collection of information from various documentary. The photographs used are my friend collections and internet images)