The Child Workforce

"Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time." -Grace Abbott

one of the children's table at the factory

As an American, walking into a cookie factory employing children as young as 7 years old was riveting--it was something I never expected when my resident director said we were headed to "have a snack." As I stood watching the workers twist dough with their lightning-fast fingers, I became ever more grateful that I was born in the USA. I found out later that some of the children went to school for 4 hours in the morning, but some didn't go to school at all. It was something that was novel to me--I guess I always knew child labor existed in the world, but I never thought it would intersect with my life.

While visiting, one of the veteran workers let me try to slice some of the dough--but my efforts were deemed unacceptable and quickly discarded. It was amazing to see how fast these people worked--slicing roll after roll of soft, chocolate and vanilla dough. One of my classmates wondered how long it would take before these workers started showing signs of carpal tunnel or joint pains.

trying my hand at factory work

Two of the young girls seemed pretty fascinated by the group of Americans walking around and taking pictures. I saw them giggling and waving the corner--and I couldn't help but think if this was one of their only forms of entertainment.

The conditions in the factory were not bad, and none of the workers seemed to be over-worked or unhappy (although there were several cameras in the workroom). But there were a few things that really bothered me. Throughout the trip, the entire CLS staff were extremely perky and excited to have us try some of the baked cookies. They acted as an American tour group would visiting a Nestle or Oreo factory. They seemed indifferent to the fact that almost half of the factory workers were under 18. Moreover, the factory owner's home was set just in front of the factory--and the class difference was more than obvious. The owner's house was extremely excessive with an indoor waterfall and golden furniture. The ceilings were painted with a blue sky and clouds. As I walked through it, I could only think of the workers slaving away only 200 feet from the mansion I stood in.

This trip gave me a lot to think about. Is child labor a mere survival necessity or can it be avoided? When are children being taken advantage of and what is a true quality of life? And is it fair for the rich to entitled to every luxury while the disadvantaged work for hours each day?