Episode: 5
It’s been a week since I came to America, but I have nothing else to do except eat, drink, sleep, read and watch TV. It was raining for two days, so I couldn’t even go out of the house. Today, when the clouds cleared, Faisal and I went out to buy groceries. We arrived at Wal-Mart. (It should be noted that Wal-Mart is a large chain of cash and carry in America.) After leaving the grocery store, a young American girl came towards us. She was barely 10 years old. Fair-skinned, blond, hair reaching to the shoulders. She had chocolates in her hand. She stopped us and said: “Buy me chocolate, I want to buy a bicycle.”
Faisal took out his wallet and bought two chocolates worth $6 from him.
That girl was not only beautiful, but her condition was giving a hint that she belongs to a well-to-do family.
I am surprised that the name of America shines in the list of rich countries of the world and its young generation is suffering from child labor. What is the contradiction? At the beginning of the last century, the incidence of child labor was almost eliminated, but recent research on child labor in the United States shows that thousands, if not more, of children are currently victims of this situation. An estimated 500,000 to 800,000 children are still working on farms in the United States. About 100 years ago, American mines, tobacco farms, and textile factories began employing children as laborers. Till date this problem remains unsolved. In the face of unionization by workers in the United States, increasing demands for higher wages, protests, demonstrations, and threats of lockouts by railroad officials, some states in the United States are considering reducing the working class and its power. One way is to consider recruiting 14 to 17-year-old youth as laborers. Not only America but also western countries are facing this problem. Only in the state of Minnesota, 90 thousand demographers left their jobs in the days of Corona. Due to this situation, the state has more jobs and less employed people. In second place is the state of Iowa, where 75,000 people left their jobs as of December. The new legislation being introduced in both states will allow young people to work longer hours, while the working class will not feel the burden of work in case of illness or accidents, especially the young people in construction and Work can be given in meat packing sectors as these sectors have been badly affected in both the states. Efforts are ongoing and politicians with ties to big business are doing their best to hire young people to address the labor shortage. However, the other downside is that instead of giving attractive salary or wages, these children will be kept on low salaries with no benefits or facilities. It has been reported that through this project, children who have no parents or who are caught in severe economic crisis can be targeted. The moral aspects of such a situation are also different. I was in my middle age that much. Faisal asked this girl:
“Can’t your father buy you the bicycle; you will buy by selling chocolates?” “If my father wants, he can buy me 20 bicycles. He is very rich, but he says that when you buy a bicycle with your own money, not only will you realize the value of money, but will also love the bicycle bought with your earnings. You will take care of it and life will be more than that. My father is also with me. He pointed to a Mercedes with the driver’s door open and a soot-booted young man puffing on an American cigar. His eyes were on the same girl and us.
I was shocked to see and hear all this. The statistics of child labor in the United States became suspicious in my eyes. Future economists and businessmen were being produced here. A sense of responsibility was being taught at an early age. I also took out a 10 dollar note from my pocket and held it to the girl and I also bought two chocolates from her.
The girl gave me back $4.
I took the chocolate from her hand, requested to take a photo with her which she politely declined.
