It's Happened Before...

 You may be interested to know that child labor is not only a modern occurrence. During the Industrial Revolution and much of the early 20th century, child labor was huge in wealthy countries such as Britain and the United States. However, activists and politicians worked together to establish laws and regulations which eventually completely cleansed the first-world of child labor. Can we not do the same in today's world...?

While playing an important role in the Industrial Revolution, child labor was denounced and very often criticized - However, no steps were taken toward getting rid of the menace. Children worked an average of 70 hours a week with low wages, earning 10-20% of an adult's income. Their jobs ranged from errand boys and household servants to factory workers and builders - Some of these had serious effects on their health and state of mind, not to mention depriving them of education.

The 1819 Factory Acts were largely ineffective, and it was not before Lewis Hine's powerful photographs of child labor that it was first brought to national attention. In 1910, 2 million children under the age of 15 worked as laborers. Activists like Grace Abbott pushed for changes to child labor laws, even going so far as to propose a Child Labor Amendment, which is still "pending". With the 1936 Judiciary Act of Child Labor, the battle was finally won and justice had triumphed.

So, why not the same thing today? Well, the problems are many -First of all, child labor is more of a necessity in areas like India and sub-Saharan Africa, and deep-rooted in the tradition and business of these countries. Also, the US and Europe, as developed countries, had the resources and the organization to deal with this sort of problem, while today's poorer countries are often corrupt and disorderly. However, I and the thousands of others fighting against child labor refuse to be deterred - We will not lose without a long and hard fight.