Experts agree that laws against child labor do not work in countries with few resources. And when these countries are in conflict, the number of working children increases; why, in 2017, the ILO appeals to: "protect children from child labor".
The ILO's objective is to raise awareness about the breadth of this problem and to join efforts to eradicate this phenomenon. According to UNICEF, there are "over 168 million boys and girls who work around the world." Most of these children carry out tasks that are dangerous to their health and many, even in the 21st century, have the worst jobs possible: they are slaves without any rights; above all, without the right to be children.
Hiding behind the overwhelming numbers on child labor and child labor abuse are the many stories of broken childhood. More than 9 million children are trying to survive in slavery and more than 1 million children have been victims of human trafficking.
Millions of children around the world are forced to work in domestic work as slaves: they cook, get water or fire wood, undergo physical abuse, receive little food and little rest in return. In many cases, they are victims of trafficking in human beings, or even of organ trafficking.
The Salesians are seeking them out in local markets or near the factories where millions of children work and even spend the night; they also address their employers or families directly to make them understand that children must have time to go to school, play and rest.
Across the globe, the Children of Don Bosco are finding minors in landfills, plantations, mines, on the street as street vendors, in ports, at work as car valets, parking attendants, or in textile factories, doing brickwork ... And they have proffered help with hundreds of works to: "protect children from child labor."
