New Delhi (BBA) 14-year-old Sheikh Mohammad (name changed) was brought by his Maternal Uncle to Shahpur Jaat, New Delhi. Little did he knew at the time that his uncle would just leave him in a strange place with strange people stuffed in and working tediously in various dark, dingy and stinky rooms. Now it has been a year since that first day of his work, and Sheikh Mohammadhas been recognized as a trainee and given Rs. 500 per month. However, he does not receive this little money in hand. Furthermore, it is not enough to meet his necessities; so the necessity to meet his families' needs is out of the question.

Today, 14 bonded child laborers were rescued from Shahpur Jaat area, New Delhi, by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement) with the help of the Police. All the children rescued were from West Bengal and most of them were below 14 years of age, the youngest of them was only 8 years old. The four storey building had rooms crammed with children and adults working on the embroidery tables, 4-5 children were working on one table. The air was pungent with the stench of the open toilets and overflowing with filth. The children used to work, eat and sleep in the same room. Their belongings were stacked on the upper shelf. The contractor argued that children were given delicious food and all the facilities. However, the dustbin full of rice and the toilets filled with filth and dirt told a different story. Although one of the boys was covered with pox marks and open wounds on his face and limbs, he was stil found working on the embroidery table. He had not received any medical treatment.

On receiving information by the BBA, the police swung into action and came to the recognized area. It was because of their instant action that this rescue operation was a success.

Bhuwan Ribhu, National Secretary of BBA, said "After the exposure of 'GAP Indian 'slave' children found making low-cost clothes destined for Gap on October 28, 2007, The Observer,' children were still found working in the zari industry in the same area where this incident took place. It should not remain a media hype, but now it is important to take action. These children were trafficked and were literally sold by a middle man. GAP has demonstrated intent that the international company should work against child labour and it is heartening to see that the Indian law enforcement is following suit. Such incidents show that a holistic perspective is required in eliminating child labour from corperations, civil society, the government, and law enforcement. We firmly believe that corporations and the business houses should continue to work with India, and cancellation of the orders is not a solution. Instead of cancelling the order, the Business Houses should make sure that where ever their production is going on, the manufacturing units should not employ children and they should regularly monitor their contractors and sub-contractors to ensure that they are not violating any labour law."

Slave Kids Driving Economic Growth

"10-year-old unpaid workers who help clothing giants make billions." "GAP slave kids is a gloomy reality of Indian Growing economy." "Indian 'slave' children found making low-cost clothes destined for Gap" October 28, 2007, The Observer. These are some of the news headlines flashing across the world today. It is disheartening to imagine that an embroidered top that you are buying for your child is made by another 10-year-old whose life was traded into slavery for a mere Rs. 1,000 ($ 25).

Western Brands and Designers have been looking for cheap labor in India, but in the profit oriented business they forget to monitor that in glimmering, the future of thousands of children is diminishing. The question now is: Do we want this to continue?

Welcoming the move by GAP Inc. whose sweatshops in New Delhi were cited as involving child labor and their subsequent efforts to withdraw all products made by child laborers, Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson, Global March Against Child Labour said, "We are glad that after so many years the situation has changed a little as an international brand like GAP has admitted that there is child labor involved in their supply chain. We also appreciate their immediate response to this situation. But, we now need a stronger step towards this issue and to initiate a monitoring network like Rugmark that ensures that the products are free from child labor."

Bachpan Bachao Andolan/Save The Childhood Movement has been targeting the embroidery industry for the last 5 years, since its first raid in this sector on 3 September 2003 in Okhla, New Delhi, from where 7 enslaved children were rescued and then rehabilitated. Recalling that raid, Prof. R. S. Chaurasia, Chairperson of BBA, said, "It was one of the most difficult raids that we conducted in 2003. It was the most dangerous one, as no one was ready to believe that children were involved in the zari industry. The lack of political will toward the elimination of child labor is demoralizing for all the NGOs and Civil Society who are working against child labor. We have complained to various SDMs and labor minister to conduct raids in North West Delhi and South Delhi, but our complaints are now just a piece of paper for the officials. According to our investigations, more than 1,000 bonded child laborers would be rescued from these areas." In support of his above statement, Prof. Chaurasia recalled one incident in which they sought permission from the SDM, South Delh, on July 10, 2007, to conduct a raid, but to date they have not got permission to do so.

There are about 1 lakh child laborers in embroidery and zari sweatshops in Delhi and nearly the same numbers in Mumbai and elsewhere. Rough estimates show that there might be 5,000-7,000 embroidery units functioning in Delhi, with each unit employing around 25-30 children. Most of the children working in embroidery and zari workshops are trafficked from Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. The children who have been rescued through our raid and rescue operations have reported that they received as little as Rs. 20-30 a month and worked for more than 12-14 hours a day in small crowded rooms with poor lighting and ventilation. As a result, many had eye problems/infections and skin allergies.

One of the solutions for this must be in partnerships and collaborations in evolving innovative mechanisms of ethical trade, including monitoring and labelling of products. For a long time corporations been involved in the business of Corporate Social Responsibility by building schools, clinics, organizing health camps, etc. While this kind of approach has been effective in providing services to disadvantaged communities, the need of the hour is for the businesses to get their supply and manufacturing chains in order, moving beyond mere philanthropy to ethical trading practices. The consumers of the 21st century are more evolved and knowledgeable and need to know that products do not involve tiny hands and are not made from slaughtering a child's future by a child tattooed like a cow, so that his master can recognize him in the flock.

It is high time for the government to admit the existence of child labor, trafficked and bonded labor in the country. Instead of becoming defensive about trade tariffs and sanctions, the concerned departments should act to activate the law enforcement machinery and enforce the Bonded Labour Act, Child Labour Act, and cooperate with NGOs and trade unions promoting victims' assistance.

For more information contact:
R S Chaurasia
Chairperson
Bachpan Bachao Andolan
L-6, Kalkaji
New Delhi-110 019
Tel: +91 11 2622 4899, 2647 5481
Fax: +91 11 2623 6818
Email: info@bba.org.in

Umesh Gupta, Advocacy Officer, BBA