The
International Center on Child Labor, Washington, D.C. North American Secretariat
of the Global March and the American Federation of Teachers organized a soccer
match between the children from the DC Schools and child laborers coming from
India, Chile, Nicaragua, Liberia, South Africa and Brazil. These children coming
from different countries were victims of worst forms of slavery. They were rescued
and brought into the rehabilitation centers managed by the partners of Global
March. The former child laborers played on teams that included students
from Washington, D.C.'s, Bell Multicultural and Cardozo senior high schools. Professional
players Marco Etcheverry and Craig Ziadie from the D.C. United and Ann Cook from
the Washington Freedom served as the game's coaches and referee, expressing solidarity
and support for the child laborers. The soccer game was an opportunity to
gain support for ending forced child labor and to bring the issue in the consciousness
of the US public and policy domain. Raising awareness about the atrocities of
forced child labor is the mission of ICCLE and the rescued child laborers are
themselves now activists spreading awareness. There effort is to mobilize the
political will and attention of the international community for enhanced commitments
towards rehabilitation of child laborers in worst forms of working conditions
and provision of compulsory quality primary education for all. ICCLE's effort
to link with AFT in bringing the issue in the US public consciousness is for the
fact that AFT represents some 1.2 million school teachers. The students from the
two Washington, D.C., high schools have studied child labor issues using the AFT-created
curriculum "Lost Futures: The Problem of Child Labor." |