At least 2 million Afghan children are likely to be involved in paid work
1.5 million Afghan children serve as the breadwinner for their family
47 % of the labor force in Afghanistan ’ s brick-kiln industry is under age 14
About one-half of Afghanistan ’ s 24 million people are under age 18
Faisal , 12 , works in a hardware store for six hours a day , seven days a week after school . “ With money I buy bread and food for my family ,” he says .
Sources : United Nations agencies , International Labor Organization , Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission . Index Mundi , Pakistan Bureau of Statistics , Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit , and U . S . Department of Labor dren trafficked for work in agriculture , domestic labor and commercial sexual exploitation . And they do not capture the costs of a lost childhood or the long-term consequences of an education foregone .”
Faisal , a 12-year-old orphan in Kabul , Afghanistan , sees education as his way out . “ If [ we ] get education , we will improve our future and head off this bad life ,” he said .
The youngest of eight children , he lives with his older brother and sister at an uncle ’ s house in Kabul . Their father died seven years ago of heart problems ; three years later their mother died “ of another disease ,” he said .
He attends school every day until 12.30 p . m . Then he walks about a half-mile to a hardware store in the nearby bazaar . He works from 1 to 7 p . m . seven days a week and is paid 100 afghanis ($ 2 ) a day . He has had this job since he was 8 years old .
“ With the money I buy bread and food for my family ,” he said . “ My brother brings other things .”
His older brother also works . His 20-yearold sister “ is not married and lives with us and takes care of us .”
Work at the hardware store “ is not difficult , there ’ s no heavy lifting ,” Faisal said . “ Mostly I just collect what people need and put in bags or prepare it for taking .”
But his boss has a short temper , he said .
“ When I ’ m confused and I don ’ t know what to do , then he becomes angry with me and sometimes he beats me .”
Although he spends long hours at the shop each day , Faisal works hard to stay on top of schoolwork . Now in fourth grade , his midyear exam scores moved him from ninth to third position in his class , said Fazullah , one of the boy ’ s teachers . “ He studies very hard .”
Quality education lies at the heart of eradicating the worst forms of child labor .
Think back to Europe and the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries , when “ the introduction and expansion of free and compulsory public education provided a catalyst for the eradication of child labor ,” Brown wrote . Compulsory education was a “ lever ” for lifting children out of work and into school .
That can happen again . Just a single role model can create a ripple effect .
Mortenson believes it is young people who can , and will , make a difference .
“ We need to create more awareness of the exploitation of kids around the world , especially among the youth ,” Mortenson said . “ They can develop a collective consciousness of the global issues affecting children and motivate adults and policymakers to take action to reduce the severity and explosion of child labor and slavery .” y
Central Asia Institute joined the world in celebrating the October award of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize to child-labor opponent Kailash Satyart hi and girls ’ education advocate Malala Yousafzai .
They shared the award for their “ struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education ,” according to the Nobel committee ’ s website .
For CAI the award has particular resonance because it reaffirms the role of education in fighting child slavery .
“ Children must go to school and not be financially exploited ,” the Nobel committee said . “ In the poor countries of the world , 60 percent of the present population is under 25 years of age . It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected . In conflict-ridden areas in particular , the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation .” n
FA L L 2 0 1 4 Journey of Hope | 15