Children are naï
ve, gullible, and blissfully ignorant (and thank God for that)of their rights as citizens of this world and inheritors of our tomorrow. Unable to protect themselves, they are easily forced into labour or lured and cajoled into exploitatio
Match-Sticks & Silver Needles-Children of Lesser God-2
Fourteenth of November is celebrated as the Children's Day in India. On this day let's give a thought to the poor children given into bonded labour due either to extreme poverty or sheer villainy. Here are three more poems from the Children of Lesser God series. Each poem is about a different industry, where children are employed for either a meager salary, or sometimes 'for-free', under the pretext of being 'taught the trade'...STONE BREAKER
He breaks stones
With his tiny hands,
Under the scorching sun
By the dusty road,
The chips of the stones,
The grains of hot sand,
Mottle his young lungs-
Depositing into a mosaic of disease-
That he can hardly breathe with ease,
While his calloused hands,
Tell his tale with ease...
The stones that he has broken,
Lie embedded in the road,
Trampled by the multitude;
The road stands for years,
About the child,
I have my fears...
Note: Stone-dust, inhaled into the lungs, causes Silicosis, a form of Pneumoconiosis-interstitial fibrosis of the lungs, giving rise to shrinkage of lungs, reducing their vital capacity, and causing breathlessness and wheezing.
***
SILVER-NEEDLE FACTORY WORKER
The silver that brightens the needles-
In the factory that he works-
Pokes deep into his tiny being,
Giving cramps in his belly,
Pricking sensation in his thighs,
Driving him to near blindness
To stupor and deafness...
'My salvation?'-His outcry!
While, his escape from this drudgery,
Is,
Like getting-through-the-needle's-eye...
Note: These children get afflicted with Mercury-Poisoning; the poem describes its symptoms.
***
MATCH-FACTORY WORKER
He works in a match factory,
That little boy;
The gun-powder in
The match-stick-head,
Burns deep into his soul,
Burning the desires of his childhood,
The dreams of his boyhood,
The scorching burns to the core,
The sorrow burns him to the socket...
And one day,
He is blown-up!
In the factory-fire!
-The end of his desire...
Note: The dangers of working with gunpowder are obvious.
***
Last word: Accordiing to the Child labour laws in India, including the 1986 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, the policy of the government is to ban employment of children below the age of fourteen years in factories, mines and hazardous employment. Ironically, this law is broken everyday, everywhere by millions.
Author: Zoya Zaidi
Aligarh (UP) India
Copyright©: Zoya Zaidi
Poetry by Zoya Zaidi
Read 1785 times
Written on 2005-11-09 at 05:48
Tags Children
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