Tuesday 1 February, 2011

Urgent Need for a Schindler's list??

This post I need much needed at this time than to post "Best of 2010". Tonight I was surfing through the channels in TV and got hold in BBC World. There was "Tropic of Cancer", a program to explore regions of Tropic of Cancer. This time it was about Bangladesh and the child labours over there. The host starts walking with a translator and a small boy who collects waste plastic bags and plastic items from road everyday. Gradually the host asks questions and the boy answers and the translator translates.

"How long have you been doing this?"
"Since I was 4. Now am 7."
"What's your work basically?"
"I have to collect the plastic waste items from road"
"What's your work timing?"
"I have to start early in morning and by afternoon I have to deliver it to the incharge person near plastic factory".

They have slowly reached the plastic factory. There the boy delivers and gets 35 rupees for that day. The host visits inside the factory and gets astonished to see all small kids working in bone melting heat. He describes that temparature inside is unbearable even for adults. Then imagine the situation of kids. A small boy Malik shows his hand which has just had a small kiss with the heater and almost skin became pale.

The host questions the incharge of these kids why they do all these non sense.
"You foreigners come once in a while and go away. Who will feed these kids after that? This is how it is. Just fill your camera and leave".

There completes the show.

I was dumbstruck. It's not only happening in Bangladesh. In India how many kids we see sleeping on roads and working in deadly factories just to fill their stomach one time a day. Government has separate Slum Clearance Board and still they are not cleared. Not even to a notifying mark. Government has SSA scheme such that all kids should be educated atleast until 14. That too is not working. But traffic police stand in all corners and collect sums of amount just for not wearing a helmet and stopping an inch over the STOP line.

In a country, where in each budget, the tax for Cars and mobile phones go down, but the tax for Petrol from outside stay still. Rice import tax stays still. Unless otherwise need arises, tax import of all needed commodities either increases or stays still.

I can only write or scream out the situation but really not capable of eradicating it. Feels ashamed. Though I cant eradicate this, I have decided to encourage them from other side. Like what actor Sivakumar is doing these many years. Educate a kid. This in turn makes them to study and not work.

I remember Oscar Schindler taking a list, including children, who gained him profit, in order to save them from Nazi's. I suppose such a list is needed now and each one of  us have to include atleast one in our list.

1 comment:

  1. i love this post.. good that you wrote for social cause.. lets try to do something more

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