DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
Child Labour Seen as
Normal
By
Diógenes Pina
SANTO DOMINGO, (IPS)
- The three-wheeled cart
piled high with scrap
metal slowly makes its
way down one of the main
avenues in the capital
of the Dominican
Republic. It is pedalled
by smiling 12-year-old
Julio, who with his
little brother Miguel
goes out every day to
scour the city’s
outlying neighbourhoods
in search of recyclable
waste, which they sell
to help support their
family.
Nine-year-old Miguel
perches on top of the
metal in the small
cart’s basket, watching
the shining cars whiz
by. Julio began to work
on his own three years
ago, and was later
joined by his brother.
They live with their
mother and youngest
brother.
Despite their young
ages, no one glances
twice at them as they go
about their day-to-day
work. In fact, 60
percent of people in
this Caribbean island
nation believe it is
reasonable for children
to work, as long as it
does not interfere with
their schooling and does
not cause them physical
or mental damage,
reported the study
"Dominican society’s
perceptions on child
labour".
"That is a very high
percentage," Catholic
priest Juan Linares,
director of Muchachos y
Muchachas con Don Bosco,
told IPS. The
non-governmental
organisation, founded in
1985 to work for the
eradication of the worst
forms of child labour,
provides support in a
broad range of areas --
education, health,
legal, sports, arts and
recreation -- to some
5,000 children.
The study released this
month was carried out by
the International Labour
Organisation’s (ILO)
International Programme
on the Elimination of
Child Labour (IPEC) and
the Centre for Research
on Education and Human
Development at the
Pontificia Universidad
Católica Madre y Maestra
(PUCMM), a Catholic
university in the
Dominican Republic.
The majority of
Dominicans do not see
child labour as a major
social problem, says the
study, which was based
on a survey of 2,200
households and published
on the occasion of World
Day Against Child Labour,
commemorated on Jun. 12.
"In many cases it is
seen as a source of
income for the family;
in others, the families
see child labour as an
alternative use of free
time for boys and
girls," María Elena
Asuad told IPS. Asuad
runs the United Nations
Children’s Fund’s
(UNICEF) Programme for
the Protection of the
Rights of Children and
Adolescents in the
Dominican Republic.
Asuad clarified that she
is not opposed "to the
chores that boys and
girls do in their homes,
on their farms or in the
family business, as long
as it does not go
against their health and
well-being, and does not
keep them from attending
school and enjoying
age-appropriate
recreational activities
and games."
For his part, Linares
said "I don't see why
many people think that
if the work is carried
out within the family,
and does not involve
pressure or physical
danger, it isn't
harmful." He added that
"perhaps it comes from
the idea that children
should be given
responsibility."
The study also found
that "68 percent (of
respondents) believe
work stands in the way
of or limits strong
performance in school
and admit that it
generally causes
children to flunk and to
eventually drop out of
school."
The national survey on
child labour, carried
out in 2000, estimated
that 430,000 children
and adolescents work,
and that six percent of
the country’s households
had at least one working
member under the age of
18.
ILO statistics show that
the largest proportion
of working minors in
this country of 9.4
million is concentrated
in agricultural areas.
Other large categories
are made up of children
who hawk fruit, bread,
peanuts and homemade
sweets on the streets,
shine shoes, or collect
bottles and scrap metal
for recycling.
"In the Dominican
Republic, for example,
girls are expected to
care for their siblings
as well as complete
household tasks. As a
result, almost twice as
many girls as boys
perform domestic
chores," says UNICEF’s
State of the World’s
Children 2007 report.
|
