American children in the hidden corner

In this most developed country in the world, who cares about hundreds of thousands of tragic child workers?

I started working at the age of 8, worked for 72 hours a week, had long -term contact with chemicals, and used high -risk mechanical equipment ... This is not a novel plot describing the tragic life of children in the 19th century, but the real scene of today's American society.

Not long ago, a factory in Alabama was exposed by the media to hire dozens of children's workers. The teenage minors engaged in the high -risk work of metal treatment in the workshop, which caused widespread concern.

As early as 100 years ago, the American mine, tobacco farms, and textile factories were full of sweat and tears of children. To this day, about 500,000 children's workers are still engaged in agricultural labor. Among the 193 members of the United Nations, the United States is the only country that has not approved the Convention on Children's Rights. It has also been criticized by international labor organizations for serious child labor problems.

The case of being exposed is just the tip of the iceberg

Consumers may be difficult to imagine that the components they buy are produced by a group of children in their 10s. The factory involved is located in Moncorley, the capital of Alabama, in the United States. It has created components for various models such as Erant, Sonata and Santafe, a subsidiary of South Korea.

The matter originated in February this year. At that time, a girl under the age of 14 disappeared briefly, and was later found to work in this factory. Her 12 -year -old and 15 -year -old brothers also worked in the factory before and did not go to school.

According to the factory employees, these three children are only a small part of the minor groups working here in the past few years. Many minors came here through recruitment agencies, and some of them gave up their studies in order to take a long time.

A former employee who did not be named said that about 50 minors shocked in the factory, and another former worker said that he had worked with more than a dozen minors.

The 39 -year -old Tabata Moltri has worked on the assembly line of this factory for many years until he left in 2019. She said that the factory's business is very busy and depends on foreign workers to meet tense production needs. Moltri said she had worked with a immigrant girl. The girl came with her mother, and she said she was 13 years old. "She is too young to work in any factory."

It is understood that the factory involved has been punished by the US Vocational Safety and Health Administration many times for violating health and safety regulations, including squeezing and amputation hazards. Since 2013, the plant has been fined at least $ 48,515.

"Consumers should be angry about this." David Michael, a former assistant Labor Minister of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is now a professor at the University of George Washington, said, "These children should go to school instead of coming here in danger of life. work to earn a living."

According to Alabama and federal laws, minors under 18 years of age cannot engage in metal stamping operations in the factory involved. However, the law stipulates that it is just a piece of paper. This illegal factory is just the tip of the iceberg of the child labor problem in the United States.

According to the non -profit institution "American Farm Workers Employment Training Plan", it is estimated that there are still about 500,000 children's workers in the United States to work in agricultural labor. Many children start working since they are 8 years old. They work more than 10 hours a day. Many adults.

A 15 -year -old girl works in Tobacco Farm in North Carolina. Picture source: GJ

"When I went to work for the first time, I couldn't believe that people were so hard, but I only took such a little money. When I first started, I thought these lives were easy. When I was collected, I was tired and fainted. I slept until the next day. Wake up. "Joel, 13, said.

Hard work, but trying to help parents reduce the burden on life, is the common point of almost all child workers. Icell has worked on the farm at the age of 5. He hates the extreme weather of heat and cold, and the toilet is particularly far away, but all of them can be put aside because he wants to help his parents.

"(Working on the farm) always makes me tired and dirty, but I am glad to help my mother." The 11 -year -old girl Dalsi picked grapes under the scorching sun. Although it was very hard and the income was meager, the mother was sick. Let her feel urgent to make money.

There is suffering in the dangerous child workers

In addition to less money, more things, and hard work, children's workers also face many safety and health risks. For example, the long -term exposure of farm children's workers in dangerous chemicals such as pesticides may cause various health problems, such as asthma, dermatitis, learning disorders, leukemia, brain tumors, and certain cancers. A large number of tobacco farms in the United States hire a large number of children to engage in harvesting and drying tobacco leaves. Many children have phenomenon of nicotine poisoning, and some have been found lung infections. In addition, the sharp tools and heavy machinery that they should not be used at that age are also a great source of danger.

A report released by the US government in 2018 shows that from 2003 to 2016, 452 children in the United States died of work injury, of which 237 child workers died of agricultural accidents. In this statistics, agriculture is also the industry with the highest mortality rate of children's workers, followed by construction and mining industries.

According to data from the University of Pennsylvania, children's workers are mostly immigrants, from India, Vietnam, Africa, and Central and South America countries. They are mainly engaged in agricultural labor, housekeeping services, and factory production. Because of the lack of legal identity and economic constraints, even if they encounter exploitation and injustice, they often can only swallow.

The 7 -year -old boy worked hard under the scorching sun and picked strawberries. Picture source: GJ

With the help of illegal agencies, Guatemala's 16 -year -old girl Amilia came to Alabama from her hometown last year to work in a chicken processing factory in the town. If you want to work locally, you need to "legal" proof. "How old do you want to be?" The man who applied for a fake certificate asked Amiia. Here, the date of birth and identity information can be "customized" on demand, and age is one of the very important items, because federal law prohibits minors from engaging in sharp tools, heavy machinery, and dangerous chemicals.

A few days later, Ami Lia received a real and reliable ID card with her photos, false names and fake adult age.

Among the round shifts every Friday to six days, Ami Lia worked hard on the cold floor. She said that this is a bad smell and numb work.

The U.S. poultry factory, which is urgent to labor, relies on migrant workers to fill in work. With the surge in Chinese and American immigrants, more and more minors are joining the ranks of illegal workers. Immigration and labor experts are worried that minor immigrants holding false documents and dare not complain even if they encounter severe exploitation. They are worried that they will lose their jobs and are more afraid of being deported.

Amiia said that she knew she was facing various risks, including legal issues, income loss, repatriation, etc., but her debt pressure and higher salary relative to her hometown made her determined to stay. In addition to the back and forth chicken farm, she rarely leave her sister Rosa's trailer. When she does not work, she can only hide in a dark trailer to swipe her mobile phone. She also hopes that one day she can return to Guatemala, but first of all, she has to remit most of her salary home to help her parents pay off the usury loan.

Lisha is insufficient law enforcement in law enforcement

Like slave trade and racial discrimination, children's children's workers have a long history. As early as 100 years ago, the American mine, tobacco farms, and textile factories began to hire squeezing children's workers. Today, the phenomenon of children's workers still exists in American society. According to statistics from the US Department of Health and Public Services, 50%are minor children from overseas to the United States to engage in forced labor each year.

In recent years, although the authorities have also introduced some bill restrictions and protected minors, illegal incidents are still frequent. Some experts refer to the issue of child labor as the "epic failure" in the United States.

It has a long history of child labor in the United States. Picture source: GJ

According to official US statistics, in 2019, U.S. law enforcement officers found that 858 child labor cases violated the Fair Labor Standards Law, and 544 minors working in dangerous professional places. The largest union of the United States organized the Labor Federation and the Industrial Trade Union Federation that the Ministry of Labor Ministry of Labor only reported only 34 cases of child labor in illegal use of child labor each year, far lower than the actual quantity, which shows that law enforcement is not enough.

The non -profit institution "American Farm Workers' Employment Training Plan" pointed out that in the United States, child labor phenomena are almost ignored, because concealment of the interests of many people in accordance with many people: parents can get income Cheap products.

What's even more ironic is that in recent years, in the face of the shortage of labor caused by the epidemic, the United States has also approved the new bill in many places to extend the working hours of minors. Essence In October 2021, the US Wisconsin passed the bill to enable minors from 14 to 15 years to work until late at night. In July 2022, the governor of New Jersey signed a new bill, allowing people 16 to 17 years to work for 50 hours a week, and the working hours of 14 to 15 years old rose to 40 hours a week. Michigan has launched new laws that allow young people to engage in the supply of alcoholic drinks.

Every year on June 12, the "World -Non -child worker day" determined by the International Labor Organization. The UN General Assembly plans to eliminate all forms of child labor by 2025. Children are the hope of the future. Respecting and protecting children's rights, so that they are not engaged in heavy labor is the consensus of all countries. But in this most developed country in the world, who cares about hundreds of thousands of tragic child workers?

Produced deep -sea district studio

Written Wang Jiayi

Edit deep sea otter

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