 |
|
Child Labor and the Global Village is a photo project in which photographers work on indepth photo essays that show the complexities of the issue of child labor. In 1996, project director Julia Dean proposed to send out 11 photographers to very different places of the world to document the story of the world's child labor force.
It is estimated that nearly 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work around the world. Many of these children live on the streets, but some are providing the only income for their families at home. Most of these children are robbed of their education and their childhood. They work in fields in the United States, in industrial factories in Asia, in garbage dumps in Southeast Asia, and they fall victims as slaves to bonded labor, domestic service, and prostitution.
To date the project has sent out five photographers: Clarence Williams, who photographed child soldiers in Burundi; Jon Warren, who photographed children working in a garbage dump of Phnom Penh; Brian Finke, who photographed children who live and work in the train stations of India; Ernesto Bazan, who photographed children in the mines of the mountains of Peru; and Al Schaben, assigned to cover the story of children working in Indonesia.
The intention of the project is to bring about social change. The photos and stories are not intended to leave viewers without hope, but to inspire ideas for change and solutions. Some photographs show the strength and determination of children struggling to survive in an unjust world. Others show the loneliness and boredom of lives forced too soon into the grown-up world. Some show the dangers, the terror, and the inhuman effects of child labor.
The Child Labor Project has recently posted a web site with a sampling of photos from three of the photographers who have returned from their assignments: Brian Finke, Jon Warren, and Clarence Williams. They can be seen at www.childlaborphotoproject.org. Along with the photos are stories written by the photographers. Links to organizations working to find solutions to child labor and a section of questions and answers about child labor provide useful information for readers who wish to find out more.
Child Labor and the Global Village: Photography for Social Change has
received funding from both the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and from
the Women's Division.
URL: http://gbgm-umc.org/news/2001/jan/childlaborbm.stm