There are many places that have an ample amount of child laborers. The ones that we are focusing on are the top four. Many places have different ways of working children. Some job examples are mining, agricultural, factory, and construction. The top four places are Sudan, Somalia, North Korea and Myanmar. The people who are most affected by child labor are poor children between the ages of 5 and 17. Poor families need their children to work so they can pay their bills and have money for food. These children can not go to school if they work constantly to pay for their families. Below you will learn a little bit more about each of the places and their child labor issues.
Sudan is currently the 4th ranked in child labor. Many of the kids are assigned to fight in war or forced to work on farms. Young girls and many other kids are treated like slaves. During wars in Sudan, young ones are given the extremely risky job of fighting in war. When they aren't fighting against enemies, children in Sudan do construction jobs such as smashing rocks or mining in caves. They rarely return back home to their families. They do strenuous house chores for richer people as well.
Somalia is the 3rd ranked child labor country. Children under 15 years old partake in the most abusive and inhumane child labor. The laborers have to work with dangerous materials and equipment for farming. There are pesticides on the plants, and when workers spray the plants with these chemicals, the kids around the toxins become sick. They harvest many fruits that are native to the area with the dangerous tools. Additionally, children are captured and forced to fight in the army.
North Korea is the 2nd worst child labor country. Youths have been put into labor camps as punishment for their parent's crimes. Young children get captured and sent to prison camps to work hours on end for the rest of their childhood. They get covered in dirt and grim, work in unsanitary work spaces, and they barely get breaks throughout the treacherous day. These children work on maintaining railroads, clearing snow, dragging wood, and even doing the physical building of homes and workplaces.
Myanmar is the worst place for child laborers. Forty percent of kids never get an education. Children at age of 5 are recruited to the Burmese army. The child recruits have to physically fight with guns and other weapons against other armies. Children are forced to work daily, and barely get to see their families. Child laborers in Myanmar get a very low wage. Many children and teens get sick and injured while performing impossible tasks. Child laborers do not have medical care, so if they do get hurt or catch a disease they will never recover. According to a 23-year old man who risked being shot to escape child labor, “They beat us like dogs and cats," (Murdoch). A young child should never be put in that terrible situation.