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The child labour laws in Queensland restricts an employee to roster a child on for twelve hours of work during a school week. The minimum age for delivery work is eleven years old (workplaceinfo.com).
In India, 12.6 million children are forced to work in order to survive, (stopchildlabor.org).
Walking through the streets of India I noticed that dozens of children are selling goods on the side of the road. They approach our Auto Rickshaws selling toys or begging for money.
In South Mumbai, when standing outside the chemist, a little boy (pictured) approached us begging for food with hand gestures. Common with most beggars.
We didn't have any food on us, but there was stickers. When he was given one his face lit up like a lightbulb and he ran away towards his mother on the otherside of the road.
I watched as he showed his mother his arm and his new sticker and was so shocked when she shook her head and showed him the food begging gestures instead. As if to tell him, stickers are not good you have to get food.
I have never been more grateful for the life that I live until I saw the streets of India. Little children should be able to play and enjoy sparkly stickers instead of being used as a sympathy vote with the beggers.
I saw worse. Yes, worse than children with supposedly sleeping babies in their arms.
I saw a woman drag around a boy, probably a teenage, clearly suffering some mental condition - possibly down syndrome. More than that, his legs were not straight and yet she was dragging him from person to person, begging for money and pointing to him in hopes of people being possibly decieved into giving their change over.
These poor children and disabled are victims of exploitation. There's no knowing whether they get to enjoy the earnings that the beggars collect, and even if they do, there's no knowing whether it's an even split.
In Australia, this doesn't occur - it would be frowned upon by the community and possible the legal system if done so. In India, there no regards to the ethics of this behaviour. I understand their circumstances are tough, but seeing this happen right before your eyes is heartbreaking.
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