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11 YEARS OLD GIRL TELL HER STORY OF SLAVERING

Child Labour is not a new phenomena. It is something that had been trending for years before this period. But what troubles people is the tendency at which these things emanate and how is spreading in different continents of the world: Africa, America, Asia, Europe etc. It was Saturday 16 January, 2018 when I went to visit a friend nearby where I reside. Between the hour of 7am to 9am.
Sound from his (Efe) window caption my attention. At first I wanted to ignore it but I couldn't. Hearing the sound from where I was. I decided to move closer to the window to listen, which forces me to write this experience. 

It was about an Eleven year old girl whose name is Gloria who hail from Mgbidi, Imo State, Nigeria. She was moved to Bariga, Lagos with the promise of her furthering her education in the city. But fate went against her. According to her she said. 'I was told by the woman who came from the city that I am brilliant and intelligent. Saying to my mum I don't deserved to live in the villagelHearing this, I was enthusiastic to go to the city to further my education.

Then, I was in Primary Four in the village. The woman promised my mother to take proper care of me. In fact, enrol me in one of the best private school at Bariga. Give me the best quality of life a teen like me deserve than rottening in the village where life is terrible for a lot of teenagers in the same age with me. To tell the truth, in my mind is dream come through and I was very excited.

Getting to the city is a different episode for me, she continued. The school I was promised was ashes in my palm. I never saw the four wall of that private school at Bariga. According to Gloria she said. "I wash her pants, fetch water, cook for her children. Yet the daughter does nothing. Just relax while I serve her like a slave". Gloria also mentioned. "Before I sleep most times was late in the night. I have to ensured the children went to bed before me".

While I was taking note of every recount of Gloria story. She mentioned a touching part that reflected the torture of a working class child as it had been during the Industrial Era in Britain where children were forced to work in the Mine - Factory in Manchester. She said. "Whenever I fail to carry out the domestic work assigned to me. I will be beaten" like Rag Trouser Philanthropist. Just like a day after spending hours to mob the floor. The daughter (younger to me) came to mess the floor. With that anger, I tapped her, why? 

The mother not asking what really happened, only hearing a tiny version of the whole account. Bounces out from her bedroom and send me to endless tears. Throughout that day, I was in tears, remembering my mother and regretted the offer of coming down to the city with her. Gloria mentioned while she was in the village with her mother that she was in Primary Three, managing with the mother and also doing fine. That in her life she hasn't been beaten terribly to the ground. 

But because of the terrible nature of life in backward countries like in Africa. Children from poor background are meant to go through this modern Child Labour. The shadow of modern child slavering is not peculiar to only neo-colonial backward countries. In fact, it sail across the shore of Europe, Asia, America, and the global world. Recent statistics reported that "worldwide 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are in employment. Among them, 152 million are victims of child labour; almost half of them, 73 million, work in hazardous child labour". (Fact & Figure: ILO) 

Undermining the ugly statistics released by International Labour Organization. Vanguard (13/2/2018) also gave a very terrible report on the condition about child labour and domestic torture in Nigeria. According to the report it states the rate at which it is growing. That more than 50.8% of the Nigeria child are engaged in child labour. Meanwhile, the fundamental question of how to put a stop to it had always been the endnote of every analysis. However, the failure of the system is not farfetched in allegation.  

Thus, this is a shadow covering the world, a lot of poor families due to the social contraction in society will resort their children embarking in slavering. Or domestic torture. Relatively this isn't their fault to lay blame on. But the condition that have given birth to this crisis. However, the experience of Gloria does not end here. From her lip, she voices out another terrible part she suffered most in the twelve months she spent with the woman before one day she threatened to kill herself if the woman she stayed with doesn't return her back to the village.

One of the incident she recounted while two women in the same compound I went for visitation, were interrogating her. She said. "one night after I was through with all domestic work instructed to do. As I was about going to have a nap. She called me to attend to her baby. Then I was tired. But because of the predicament before me I went for the baby. Picking the child, she nearly slip away from my hands. Immediately she sense it. The mother started insulting me".

That night I saw hell and can't find water to cool the heat. I was in the grave. Gloria in her sharp voices while I was taking note of everything she was saying. Mentioned. "She called me witch. Saying I wanted to kill her daughter". What pained me Gloria continued while narrating the whole story to the women before she will be returned to her biological mother. "I never have such intention. In fact, my mother never called me witch", she said. The women listening to her especially the one she briefly stayed with before being return to her parents; felt for her pathetic experience.

I too listening to the victim's story felt a big cut in my consciousness. In fact, it is hard to squeeze into ashes the incident of this event in my head without revealing the ongoing reality in our community people are forced to go through especially the poor. Averagely a lot of people thought Lagos is a golden city where all sorrows vanishes in the air. But the city is just a means not an end itself. It is piss and shit people eat and drink. In fact, it is a social contraction of what exactly class society is all about. The city where poor and rich are not in the same pool of existence. A city where politicians are dogs eating to bone the chicks. 

The same goes in all continents of the world where global capital takes charge of everything and is responsible to every child labour existing in the world. Ordinarily no parents will want to offer it's child for such tortured. But because of the socio-economic challenges that raid the poor, many were forced to take this path. Fundamentally, global capital are benefiting hugely from child labour. China is a big pool when it comes to Child Labour. This also doesn't exclude Asia, Africa and America respectively.

For example, in the United States of America who claimed to be the last bustop of civilization. A lot of children who falls in the same age of Gloria are into drugs for the barons, politicians protect underground who also are massively benefiting from.  Have contributed to the destruction of millions of children in Miami, Georgian, New York etc because of the failure of government not implementing policies that can improve better life for the poor. On the part of these politicians it is business first before the lives of these children whose future have been crushed pieces. 

Although the Eleven year old girl story is not peculiar. However, it is a confirmation of the growing tension around people specifically the total shift of the State from implementing program to guarantee good life that created this vacuum. The percentage of Child Labour will continue to rise faster if nothing realistically is done to curb it. This will amount government adequately putting life back into the appropriate form and content using all resources available to provide better life than piling sand for the finance cats to continue crossing. Without this, people like Gloria will continue to suffer the same fate even worst than hers.

By
Copyright @ Fidel Davy 
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