Thus
far, I have spoken of minority groups whose differences, domestically and
internationally, are striking. However, from now on rather than speaking of
general minority groups I will focus on the many aspects of only one. Though at
first this groups does not stick out to the reader as a minority, it is the
most under represented group of all.
Children
all around the world go without a voice in close to all situations. Economic
status, educational availability, and religion propel their restrictions or
advantages. Parents speak for them and close off their ears to them.
Nonetheless, not every child speaks from an innocent place but not every child
has anything with substance to say either.
In
this post, I will be discussing how economic status comes into play and how it
correlates with children’s lifestyles later in life. The next two post will
cover educational availability and religion as variables that affect this
minority group and their many subset of implications.
Whether
they come from low-income or high income families is the basis of their differences.
Children
coming from middle class to high class income families experience a not too
rocky life style. Here, kids worry about being kids, maybe dealing with a few
chores around the house but learning responsibilities is not a second nature it
is their parents wishful thinking. Here the child’s human and civil rights are
protected under the availability if their parent’s resources. A great example
here in the united states is demonstrated through media outlets how children
with stable families are actually over protected by their parents who seemingly
monitor their every move in the attempt to control their exposure to possible
threat.
Children
from low class to poverish circumstances experience life through a narrower lens.
These children are not given the opportunity to achieve a variety of realities.
These children find that responsibility is more of a lifestyle then a choice
and at times human rights and civil rights are ripped away from them. Contrastingly
from the example previously stated children of financially unstable families
are at most times neglected and left to fend for themselves
In
America, a child coming from a high income family can be compared to a child of
the same status across the globe, so, internationally this view does not vary. Likewise
the same goes for low-income family children and this includes breaking laws to
some extent.
Today, more than250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work. Of those, more than 80million kids labor in extremely hazardous conditions. Another description for this is child slavery. Of those
children, who’s chaotic living situation were brought upon them by their
caretakers, more than 150,000
are American and work illegally on farmlands in our soil.
And here we
thought slavery was over…
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| Credits to: Javed Dar |
In
countries such as India, Kenya, Ghana, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Senegal,
and the list goes on–overpopulation is a fact. This is also a factor that
propels their families to abuse of their youngest members in this circumstance they
weave carpets in dimly lit factories, they crawl through cramped tunnels deep
below the earth's surface hunting for gems and coal, and they struggle not to
buckle under the crushing weight of bricks balanced on their heads in construction
sights. The abuse is endless and comes in many other forms, from paid dancers,to beggars, to harvesting organs for high profitable exchanges in blackmarkets.
In the United
States, these children are concentrated in South Western region were their
lives are spent on farmland and even in urban areas where they are forced to
become beggars as decoys for their parent’s loss of innocence to
attain higher profits. But the domestic abuse of these low class youthful
citizens does shine in comparison to that of their international counterparts.
Around the world, the most under represented
minority group is at the same time the most abused. Without a say in the conversation
of how they would like to live their lives, their mere existence for most was
based for their contribution to the families’ resources. This violation of civil
rights is seen differently depending on culture, nonetheless, as for human
rights it is an impenetrable truth that these children had stolen childhoods even before birth.
