Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America

Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America

wwwwwwwwww

G.K. Lieten Editor

Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America

Editor G.K. Lieten Alberdingk Thijmstraat 62 2106 EM Heemstede Netherlands G.C.M. [email protected]

ISBN 978-94-007-0176-2 e-ISBN 978-94-007-0177-9 DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Preface

The research for this book was carried out between 2007 and 2010 by an enthusiastic team of young researchers who each spent an average of 3 months on location, which varied from a mining district at an altitude of 5,000 m, to brazenly hot plantations in the lowlands, and the inhospitable city streets of three countries of Latin America. To gain access to the different sectors, and to the children and their caretakers, we were thankfully helped by several local NGOs and government departments in Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia. They not only offered us their kind collaboration in making initial contacts, but were also willing to have their initiatives related to child labour scrutinised. We are greatly indebted to them. We would also like to express our gratitude to the working children and their families for their time and sharing of ideas. Their voices are at the core of this project. The recommendations put forth in this report are the result of various meetings held in the research countries, whereby our research data was presented and local feedback was processed. Discussions took place at local presentations, with the working children and their families, at national seminars with policy makers from governmental and non-governmental organisations, and at public meetings. Special thanks go to the local NGOs that helped us prepare these meetings: Childhope in Guatemala, Terre des Hommes Netherlands in Bolivia and GIN in Peru. These workshops enabled us to evaluate our conclusions and recommendations and gave us the very special opportunity to discuss the policy implications of our research results with the most important actors in the field. In this way, we were able to bridge the gap that often exists between scientific research and policy implementation and hopefully the results of our research project will have a direct impact at the local level for our “informants.” We are also thankful to those organisations and institutes that made the research projects possible financially. We are grateful to the Ministry of Social Affairs in The Hague, the ASN Bank, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, Kerk in Actie, ICCO, Kinderpostzegels, Cordaid, Edukans and Plan Netherlands for financing this research, and for their ongoing support and advice.

v

vi

Preface

An enduring problem with child labour research is that efforts tend to be based on an ideology that questions whether or not child labour is acceptable. Evidence instead needs to be collected on a solid basis and with a comparative perspective, which this study has intended to do. Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America July 2010

G.K. Lieten

Note

The chapters of this book are summaries of reports, all of which are available for download from the IREWOC website (www.irewoc.nl): Child Labour in the Urban Sectors of Peru (Ensing 2008b) Child Labour in Mining and Quarrying in Cajamarca, Peru (Van den Berge 2008) Child Labour and Quarrying in Guatemala (Quiroz 2008b) Child Labour in the Mining Sector of Peru (Ensing 2008a) Child Labour in the Mining Sector of Bolivia (Baas 2008a) Rural Child Labour in Peru. A comparison of child labour in traditional and ­commercial agriculture (Van den Berge 2009) Child Labour in the Coffee Sector of Guatemala (Quiroz 2008a) Child Labour in the Sugar Cane Harvest in Bolivia (Baas 2008b) Child Labour on Sugar Cane Plantations in Bolivia (Baas 2009) Street Children in Peru: A Quantitative Report (Ensing and Strehl 2010, to be published) Project Director: Kristoffel Lieten Copyeditor: Sonja Zweegers Photographs: all photographs in this publication and the reports above were taken by the researchers, and are the property of IREWOC.

vii



The Foundation for International Research on Working Children (IREWOC) was established in 1992 to conduct anthropological qualitative research on child labour, to raise awareness and influence policy concerning this complex issue. IREWOC research takes a child-centred and holistic approach, exploring children’s own views and opinions within the wider context of poverty and unequal development. Its normative framework is based on established international agreements, particularly the ILO Conventions 138 and 182, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. IREWOC responds to the ever-increasing demand for policy-relevant knowledge. Anthropological research is conducted in close collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organisations active in the field of child labour. Working directly with policy makers is the most effective way to close the gap between scientific research and policy design.

ix



Contents

  1 Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America...................................................................................... G.K. Lieten

1

  2 Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima.................................................................................... Anna Ensing

21

  3 The Risks of Becoming a Street Child: Working Children on the Streets of Lima and Cusco........................................................... Talinay Strehl

43

  4 Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru.......................................................... Marten Pieter van den Berge

67

  5 Stone Quarries in Guatemala................................................................. Luisa Fernanda Moreno Ruiz

81

  6 Ore Mining in Bolivia.............................................................................. 105 Laura Baas   7 Mining at High Altitudes in Peru........................................................... 125 Anna Ensing   8 Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture......................... 145 Marten Pieter van den Berge   9 Coffee in Guatemala................................................................................ 165 Luisa Fernanda Moreno Ruiz 10 Children on Bolivian Sugar Cane Plantations...................................... 191 Laura Baas

xi

xii

Contents

11 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations....................................... 211 G.K. Lieten References......................................................................................................... 221 Index.................................................................................................................. 227

Contributors

Laura Baas  Laura Baas studied International Development Issues at the Radboud University Nijmegen, from which she graduated in 2004. She conducted research on urban youth in San Salvador during 2005 and later did research on child labour with the Dutch NGO HIVOS and with IREWOC. Her anthropological field research for this institute mainly focused on the work of children in Bolivia on sugar cane plantations and in the mining sector. Currently, Laura works for Servicio Internacional para la Paz (SIPAZ), an international peace organisation based in Chiapas, Mexico. Marten Pieter van den Berge  Marten Pieter van den Berge studied Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, where he specialised in Development Sociology. He worked as a research associate and project coordinator at IREWOC for several years, during which time he conducted fieldwork on child labour in urban and rural areas of several Latin America countries, working specifically on the themes of children as agents of change, worst forms of child labour and rural child labour in the Andes. Currently he works in the Knowledge Program on Civil Society Building of the Institute for Social Studies, coordinating a research project on social movement dynamics in Lima. Anna Ensing  Anna Ensing studied Development Studies in Nijmegen and Latin American and Caribbean Studies in Utrecht. She conducted research for Cordaid among urban youths in Peru and worked for a child-focused NGO in Colombia. Later, she joined IREWOC, where she conducted research on children working in gold mining, garbage recycling and at wholesale markets in Peru; on child labour in the leather production in Dhaka, and on working girls in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Anna now works as a project manager at TIE-Netherlands (Transnationals Information Exchange), an organisation that focuses on strengthening independent labour unions in different regions around the world. G.K. Lieten  Kristoffel Lieten is the International Institute of Social History professor of Child Labour studies at the University of Amsterdam and the Director of IREWOC. He has done extensive fieldwork, particularly in South Asia, on various topics related to poverty, rural development, labour relations, and of course child labour. Professor Lieten studied languages in Antwerp (Belgium), political sciences in Reading (UK), history in New Delhi (India) and obtained his PhD for a study on

xiii

xiv

Contributors

the triangular relationship between the colonial state, the Indian entrepreneurial class and the working class in Mumbai in 1928–1929. He spent many years in South Asia where he was a radio correspondent for the Dutch and Belgian radio during the 1970s and at intervals during the 1980s. Luisa Fernanda Moreno Ruiz (née Quiroz)  Luisa Fernanda Moreno Ruiz studied Cultural Anthro­pology at the University of Amsterdam. Her specialisations Development Sociology and Children & Development brought her to Medellín, Colombia to carry out a child centred research on street children and their perceptions on life. Luisa joined the IREWOC Worst Forms of Child Labour Project in Latin America in January 2007. She conducted research on child labour in the coffee plantations and stone quarries in Guatemala. Luisa currently works at SMS (Stichting Mondiale Samenleving) as a staff member in charge of the Voluntary Sustainable Return project. Talinay Strehl  Talinay Strehl studied Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. In addition to her specialisation in Medical Anthropology, she developed a great interest in ethnic and women’s social movements in both Latin America and Asia. She has conducted research on the indigenous Zapatista movement in Chiapas (Mexico) and on the rise of an indigenous women’s movement against large-scale open-pit mining in the Cordillera region in the Philippines. In June 2009 Talinay started working for IREWOC and conducted a child centred research on street children and intervention programmes in Peru.



Chapter 1

Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America G.K. Lieten

Child labour, despite a broadly accepted understanding that it must be eradicated, and despite the International Conventions, national legislation and various time-bound programmes, lingers on in many parts of the world, including Latin America, which albeit has a much higher GDP than countries in Africa and South Asia. Despite the commitment to include universal primary education leading to the elimination of child labour as one of the millennium development goals, to be achieved by 2015, it has remained difficult to tackle the problem. There are various reasons as to why it continues to be such a tenuous social problem, both on the supply side and on the demand side. And so there is also disagreement on the solutions. In fact, there is even disagreement on the extent of the actual problem of child labour (Lieten 2004, 2005). Since June 1999, a consensus has emerged on the urgency of addressing the worst cases and to work towards an agenda that will eliminate the ‘worst forms of child labour’ by 2016. These worst forms of child labour are listed in the ILO Convention 182, which was swiftly ratified by most governments in the world. Convention 182 defines two categories of worst forms of child labour: • The unconditional worst forms include slave labour, prostitution and pornography, child soldiers and children in illicit activities, particularly drugs trade • Hazardous work that, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of children A major problem with the second category is that it needs to be specified, in each country, what it includes and what it excludes. Legislation and regulation will benefit from detailed empirical knowledge about the effects that the work in each specific sector has on children involved and what types of child labour should be classified as a worst form. It is therefore relevant to examine specific sectors and to make a detailed study of working children’s exact activities, and to document the hazards they are exposed to.

G.K. Lieten () Alberdingk Thijmstraat 62, 2106 EM Heemstede, Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_1, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

1

2

G.K. Lieten

New Debates Child labour as a phenomenon actually emerged in Western Europe towards the late eighteenth century, as a ghastly by-product of the industrial revolution. It was a time when families became separated from their own means of production, e.g. a plot of agricultural land or a craft, and parents and children alike had to offer themselves to greedy entrepreneurs, for meagre wages and abysmally bad working conditions (Lieten and Nederveen 2010). In the following century, social and political movements against child labour appeared in the industrialised countries, and later in the decolonised countries, using a series of arguments. These arguments remain valid and form the bottom-line for national anti-child labour legislation in all countries. The arguments against child labour are manifold. For example, in the United States, according to Trattner, in his historical study of the National Child Labor Committee, the movement was inspired by various ideas: Motivated by pity, compassion, and a sense of patriotism, they argued that, for the child, labor was a delusion; for industry it was a fallacy; and for society, a menace. Child labor meant the spread of illiteracy and ignorance, the lowering of the wage scale and hence the standard of living, the perpetuation of poverty, an increase in adult unemployment and crime, the disintegration of the family, and, in the end, racial degeneracy. (Hindman and Smith 1999:27)

These indeed have been some of the arguments taken up by the anti-child labour movement in the past and present. In the recent past, however, the protagonists of child labour have turned these arguments upside down. They have questioned the eradication of child labour on ethical and humanitarian grounds and, particularly in Latin America, have proposed a culturally embedded approach, which defends the rights of the child to work. The issue of child labour can be looked at from different angles. Myers (2001) uses four different perspectives: a labour market perspective, a human capital perspective, a social responsibility perspective and a child-centred perspective; he maintains that each perspective can be used in order to reject child labour, but also to appreciate child labour (see also Judith Ennew et al. 2005). For example, even though child labour leads to adult unemployment, lowering of wages, intergenerational poverty and low efficiency, in many cases the economic contribution of children has forestalled or alleviated family poverty. The arguments do admittedly have validity. Child labour is often indeed the ultimate survival strategy. Scholars, however, use this unfortunate condition to defend child labour as a culturally legitimated right. Since there is no ‘adequately developed theory of why child labour would produce a negative macro-economic impact’ Myers argues, ‘ethnocentric imposition of context-specific North solutions’ would do more harm and ‘the labour market perspective can itself be a threat to children when it places adult economic and political interests before children’s’ (1999:33). Any argument, in this understanding, depending on the ethical position one takes, can be neutralised by the opposite argument. The problem of child labour thus appears to have become intractable. Indeed, the difficulty in the debate on child labour actually starts at the stage of defining the problem. Children are engaged in

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

3

a multiplicity of activities, including playing, leisure, attending school, learning, doing chores and engaging in productive work. Each activity attracts a subjective value, depending on the nature of the work, the age of the child and the socio-cultural context. Frequently, such activities cross boundaries and may simultaneously be work, leisure and education. Indeed, in the process of growing up, children and adults may consider the lighter forms of work as another way of playing and learning. Work thus may be considered as a sensible thing for children to do and need not necessarily be classified as a form of child labour that needs to be abolished. Such part-time work may be a learning experience, which, some have even argued, is superior to what children learn in school. It provides life skills that they shall need later on in life and has a positive effect on self-confidence and practical knowledge. Within that line of thinking, some scholars thus have objected to the principles underlying the anti-child labour movement. They prefer to restrict the concept of child labour to indecent forms of labour, i.e. working conditions which are ‘exploitative’. This, for example, is the position taken by the so-called regulacionistas in Latin America, in stark opposition to the erradicacionistas. It is represented by a powerful group of scholars who oppose the approach of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). They argue that the ‘abolitionist’ agenda was carried to other parts of the world through the colonial system and is still being imposed by Western-dominated international organisations with a basic disrespect for local cultures and the meaning of work within those cultures. They argue that the mainstream agenda assumes children to be ignorant of the world and to be unable to fend off its evils: ‘They are depicted as helpless victims, or potential victims, dependent on protection and rescue by adults. This is primarily a modern Western urban, middle class notion of childhood’ (W.E. Myers 1999:31). In a letter on 7 May 2010, preceding the Global Child Labour Conference in The Hague (10–11 May 2010), jointly organised by the ILO and the Government of The Netherlands, the main scholars supporting the right of the child to work (including, for example: Michael Bourdillon, Deborah Levison, Manfred Liebel, William Myers, Ben White, Martin Woodhead), sent an open letter to Constance Thomas, the Director of IPEC, asserting that there is ‘little or no countervailing evidence that a general ban on work below a given minimum age is protective or helpful’, that the conference overlooks ‘important practical issues increasingly raised by the extensive and accumulating evidence from anthropology, child development, economics, psychology, sociology and other fields’, and calls this a strategic loss of opportunity: Missing this opportunity to engage the fundamental issues means that … some very interesting findings about what actually does work for children are not picked up on and utilized. In the end, it is the children who end up paying the highest price when unaccountable institutions are content merely to promote what they already think and do and ignore the opportunity to avidly search out new facts and fearlessly explore the practical implications of them.

Bourdillon et al. (2009) argue that excluding children from the right to work is a fundamental denial of basic human rights principles. The international covenants, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, do provide for

4

G.K. Lieten

children’s protection and such protection ‘might seem to authorise a minimum-age policy’, but, they argue, protection should not take precedence over other rights. Abridging of children’s human rights would be legitimate only if it were demonstrated to be necessary and to be effective: However, Convention 138 meets neither of these conditions; it has demonstrated neither that the minimum-age approach is the uniquely necessary remedy, nor that the approach achieves its protective aims. It is not clear, therefore, that the ILO or its member states can legally exclude children from rights plainly granted to all without exception in the “International Bill of Human Rights”.… Refusing them trade union protection is an egregious violation of their rights that has no defensible basis in human rights law. That such denial is based on an ILO international convention declaring that “underage” children should not be workers at all is inconsequential. The stronger human rights provision prevails.

The academic protagonists of the right to work are associated with the ‘World Movement of Working Children and Adolescents’, which, for example at its 2nd international meeting in Berlin (19 April to 2 May 2004) stated in the Final Declaration: We, the world movement of working children and adolescents from Africa, Asia and Latin America, value our work and view it as an important human right for our personal development. We oppose every kind of exploitation and reject everything that hurts our physical and moral integrity.… We denounce the policies of the ILO that aim at abolishing children’s work. The ILO has failed to understand the realities of working children and the viable alternatives to exploitative labour.

During the Global Child Labour Conference in The Hague, MOLACNATS (Moviemento Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Niňas, Niños y Adolescentes Trabajadores), the pro-child labour movement, issued a number of statements by the child workers and on behalf of the child workers. The statements, while ‘fully rejecting’ ILO Convention 138 (on the minimum age) and ‘remaining critical and opposed’ to Convention 182 (the Convention calling an end to the worst forms of child labour), actually objected to the very concept of child labour: As regards C182, which considers the use, procuring, or offering of a child for prostitution, the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, or the use of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production or trafficking of drugs as the worst forms of child labor, we believe that these are criminal offences and flagrant violations of a child’s human rights. We are clearly against all of these phenomena, but calling them “labor” creates dangerous confusion and leads to purely repressive practices as opposed to truly liberating alternatives.

It agrees that children should not be engaged in certain activities, e.g. prostitution and drugs trafficking, but considers them as illegal activities, rather than ‘worst forms of child labour’. By doing so, it skips the problem of the much more numerous worst forms of child labour, activities which do not fall under the criminal activities, but which nevertheless could be considered as intolerable activities. Those activities are the subject matter of this book. It needs yet to be established that these worst forms (which are 20 times more numerous than the illegal worst forms) are ‘truly liberating activities’.

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

5

The regulacionistas have a strong presence in Latin America, particularly in Peru, where the Jesuit father Cussianovich founded IFEJANT, a Christian organisation for children and youths, and in 1995 created the MOLNAT (Movimiento Latinoamerica de Niňas, Niños y Adolescentes Trabajadores), which is considered to be an independent child labour union. In practice, most of the children in the organisation are in school or have studied up to a minimum level and at most do light forms of work, which even according to ILO standards would be permissible (Van den Berge 2007a, b). A major ideological representative of the movement is Manfred Liebel who has published various books in which he makes a plea for ‘child protagonism’, which expects adults to enter a new relationship with children; not one of authoritarian protectionism, but one that allows children to take responsibility for their own lives. Adults should not exclude children as workers and should start to realise that children also have the right to work and that, accordingly, they could take their lives into their own hands, as adults do. Liebel (2007:284) accordingly argues: The ILO is deaf to the concrete interests and needs of working children. Instead of preaching the elimination of child labour – currently step by step – the ILO should be recommended to ask exactly what could help to improve the situation of these children – while actually listening to working children and their organizations, and beginning a serious dialogue marked by mutual respect.

The debate between the erradicacionistas and the regulacionistas is conducted in different languages, loading different meanings onto child labour. On the one hand, the protagonists of the ‘right to work’ argue that there are multiple, competing definitions of child labour: ‘the term is not an objective, technical description of a single, observable set of human relations, but rather a rhetorical label that blends description with negative value judgments’ (Judith Ennew et  al. 2005:28). They further argue that the ‘worst forms language just adds to an already confusing list of imposed terminology’ and confront what they consider as indigenous Southern cultures with the stigmatising Northern cultural construction of childhood: Current scientific evidence suggests that not one construct of childhood or child-raising merits adoption as a universal model. Yet a Northern cultural construction of childhood and childrearing, which is now globally dominant, is incorrectly assumed to represent a scientific understanding of children valid everywhere and is the driving force behind many universalized social policies, including those governing child work (Judith Ennew et al. 2005:31).

In a subtle change in language, ‘child labour’ in the argument is being replaced by ‘child work’. The protagonists of the right of the child to work and some international organisations like Save the Children, actually hardly ever use the concept of child labour, mainly, as they say, because it has a negative image and they want to highlight the positive aspects of working children. ‘That is why’, argues Alejandro Cussianovich, the founding father of the Latin American child labour unions, ‘we consider it pertinent to emphasize a different paradigm, capable of confronting not only the ethno and adult-centrism, but also the ethics and culture of globalisation, which denies protagonism to all peoples and all cultures’ (Cussianovich 2002:5). The differentiated paradigm hinders a fruitful discussion with the ILO and with the mainstream movement against child labour. It confuses the issue by attributing

6

G.K. Lieten

a caricature position to the ILO; yet it is unfortunately mostly overlooked that the ILO is in fact not opposed to children working. On the contrary, it accepts the position that work done by children can be a normal and even beneficial activity: Millions of young people legitimately undertake work, paid or unpaid, that is appropriate for their age and level of maturity. By doing so, they learn to take responsibility, they gain skills and add to their families’ and their own well-being and income, and they contribute to their countries’ economies. (ILO 2002b:9)

For the ILO, and for the mainstream approach to child labour, the salient point is the agreement on dividing lines between child work and child labour, and between child labour and the worst forms of child labour. Children do a variety of work in widely divergent conditions. The work takes place along a continuum. At one end of the continuum, the work can be considered as beneficial, promoting capacities and a sense of responsibility without interfering with schooling and leisure; on the other end, the work done by children takes on the form of child labour and becomes harmful and exploitative. Child work takes many forms and ‘in some cases, such as traditional agricultural or handicraft production, it is carried out under the supervision of parents. Work of this type is often an integral part of the socialisation process’ (ILO 1986:14). It is helpful to refer to the caveat introduced by Alec Fyfe (1989:3–4) who on all counts has a long history of involvement in the struggle against child labour: There is little doubt that many children welcome the opportunity to work, seeing in it the rite de passage to adulthood. Work can be a gradual initiation into adulthood and a positive element in the child’s development. Light work, properly structured and phased, is not child labour. Work which does not detract from the other essential activities of children, namely, leisure, play and education, is not child labour. Child labour is work which impairs the health and development of children.

Indeed, not every kind of activity by children should be considered as ‘child labour’. Actually, a distinction should be made between work and labour. Work refers to any activity that requires physical or intellectual involvement. Labour is work that is applied with a specific purpose to generate products or provide services. Child labour is the subset of children’s work that is detrimental, negative or undesirable to children. Such a distinction between work and labour can be made for adult work as well, but children constitute a special case. Economists have tended to focus on the ‘labour’ aspect and have developed tools to measure the extent of child participation in labour processes. But child labour is not the involvement of children in labour as such (analogous to female labour or male labour), but is to be defined by the effect of the activity on the child. Child labour should be treated as one concept: it is work done by children in a specific context with a specific duration and with a specific potentially harmful impact. It is a concept that looks at the work done by an underage person from the interests of the child rather than from the point of view of economic accounting. Such a usage of child labour as one concept rather than as a combination of two words would include certain activities that until recently had not been included in the statistics, and could possibly exclude many activities that are now included. Child labour is work performed by children under 18, which is exploitative,

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

7

hazardous and inappropriate for their age, and which is detrimental to their schooling and development. That is also how it has been defined in article 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): ‘the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development’. That definition would exclude from the child labour category many instances of work done in and around the household: Child labour does not include activities such as helping out, after school is over and schoolwork has been done, with light household or garden chores, childcare or other light work. To claim otherwise only trivializes the genuine deprivation of childhood faced by the millions of children involved in the child labour that must be effectively abolished. (ILO 2002b:9)

Labour, at least until recently, had been conceived in terms of economic activities only, i.e. activities that could be captured by the System of National Accounts (SNA). Only the work producing values, either through products or services, whether in self-employment or in labour relationship, had been included in the sampling. Not all children who are working are economically active (work in the household, for example). In December 2008, SIMPOC (the statistical bureau of the ILO) agreed to go beyond economic activities and to include children in non-productive activities as well. Henceforth, household chores could also be counted as child labour as long as the work is considered hazardous. The qualifications as to what constitutes child labour are of a general nature and are difficult to translate into exact measurable figures. In short, although the general principles underlying international and national regulation are unambiguous, the concrete application is full of loopholes. Child labourers, it is agreed, are those entering the labour market under hazardous conditions or for long hours, or who work at home for too long and at too early an age. But then, how many hours should one work every day, and under which circumstances, to qualify as hazardous and harmful to the child and therefore as child labour. And child labourers are also those who are involved in household work beyond a certain threshold without producing goods and services that can be added to the national accounting statistics. In 1973, the ILO adopted Convention 138, which set the minimum age of employment at 15 or, in the case of developing countries with an insufficiently developed educational and economic system, at 14. Children, from the age of 13 onwards (age 12 in developing countries) are permitted to engage in light forms of work during a couple of hours per day. However, despite widespread ratification and international attention, the effective abolition of all child labour proved to be a difficult task. Two major considerations became apparent after the ratification of Convention 138. First, research illustrated the massive extent of the child labour problem, which led to an understanding that not all forms of child labour could be done away with instantaneously and that the most intolerable cases should be dealt with on a priority basis. Second, there was a growing understanding that not all forms of child labour are equally harmful. As stated in the 1997 UNICEF report The State of the World’s Children, child

8

G.K. Lieten

labour appears in many forms and not all labour is equally destructive or exploitative. The work takes place along a continuum. At one end of the continuum, the work is palpably destructive or exploitative: But to treat all work by children as equally unacceptable is to confuse and trivialize the issue and to make it more difficult to end abuses. This is why it is important to distinguish between beneficial and intolerable work and to recognize that much child labour falls in the grey area between these two extremes. (UNICEF 1997)

This realisation resulted in the decision by the ILO in 1999 to concentrate on the worst forms of child labour, while continuing to pursue the wider goal of reducing child labour in all its forms and adhering to the age limits. Convention 182 explicitly calls for immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of these worst forms. Each state is obliged to discuss, at a tripartite level – government, trade unions and employers – which employment/industrial sectors should be placed on their ‘worst forms’ list, and below which age work by children in that sector should be prohibited. Not all states have as yet fulfilled this obligation.

Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America The magnitude of child labour has always been a matter of debate (Lieten 2001, 2005). Children working within the SNA production boundary for at least 1 h a day are referred to as children in employment, but they are not necessarily child labourers. It therefore has not been unproblematic to provide an accurate picture of the extent of child labour. The figures that are presently provided by the International Labour Organisation and the World Bank, thanks to the introduction of new sampling methodologies in stand-alone surveys, are becoming more accurate, but are susceptible to errors. One problem relates to the invisibility of many of the child labour activities, particularly where legislation exists that bans such labour. It is difficult to access the places of work; survey instruments often falter because the information is collected by proxy and by field staff not properly trained; and the determination of the actual age of children is fraught with difficulties. Rapid Assessment surveys are cost-effective, but tend to miss the reality in the field, for which a more intensive stay would be required. As Boyden, Ling and Myers have argued, much research is conducted as a one-off event, providing what is often a fairly static picture of children’s working lives and school participation: Many of the impacts of work are manifested only in the longer term and cannot be captured in a single-stage investigation. Longitudinal research, then, is much more likely to provide an accurate picture of the range, schedules and intensity of work in different seasons or different phases of childhood … In practice, research into issues like child exploitation is often anecdotal and of no statistical validity. (Boyden et al. 1998:162)

A further problem with the collection of reliable information is even more serious. It relates to the very definition of what child labour is. Whereas child labour is a

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

9

concept that actually covers a miscellaneous category of children, the aggregated statistics erroneously suggest a homogeneous category of working children. A problem, as we have seen, also relates to the usage of SNA for delineating child labour. Richard Anker has referred to this problem as the mixed fruit bowl (2000). Recording one figure for the complex category of child labour, and analysing trends, equates putting apples and oranges in one basket; it includes children who do or do not go to school and may do light work in and around the household (e.g. on the family farm), as well as children who are at work most of the day and most of the year and who are impaired in their normal development as a child. The broad categories have a different rationale, a different impact and demand different solutions. The latter group has been referred to as the worst forms of child labour. In the latest aggregate reports and studies, the differentiation between these different forms of child labour is more and more being taken into account. In the latest ILO global reports: The End of Child Labour Within Reach (2006a) and Accelerating Action Against Child Labour (ILO 2010), the ILO is quite positive about the reduction in magnitude of child labour, and especially the worst forms: ‘The global picture that emerges is thus highly encouraging: Child work is declining, and the more harmful the work and the more vulnerable the children involved, the faster the decline’ (ILO 2006c). ‘Given these developments, we are optimistic enough to set the goal of ending the worst forms of child labour by 2016’ (ILO 2010:IX). This positive trend is even more so the case in the Latin American context, where the decline has been the fastest: from 17.4 million economically active children in 2000 to 10 million children working in 2008. Its share in the world child employment declined from 13.7% to 10.5%. This decline puts Latin America on par with some developed and transitional economies. It is well ahead of Asia, the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa. The data in Table 1.1 refer to all children in any economic activity. The size of the child labour problem, however, is distinctly smaller. Economic activity covers all market production, paid or unpaid, and production of goods for own use, i.e. all activities that are included in the SNA. Any child who has been working for 1 h/week is considered to be economically active, but not all this work is equivalent to ‘child labour’. A conceptual line needs to be drawn between acceptable forms

Table 1.1  Global trends in children’s economic activity by region, 2000 and 2008 (5–14 age group) (From ILO 2006c, 2010) Economically Child population active children (million) (million) Activity rate (%) 2008 Region 2000 2008 2000 2008 2000 Asia and the Pacific Latin America and the Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa Other regions World

  655   108   167   269 1,199

  652   111   205   249 1,217

127.3 17.4 48.0 18.3 211.0

96.4 10.0 58.2 10.7 176.4

19.4 16.1 28.8 6.8 17.6

14.8 9.0 28.4 4.3 14.5

10

G.K. Lieten

of work done by children (which may have positive impact on the child) and child labour. The concept of child labour, as we have seen earlier, is based on the minimum age limits as set by ILO Convention 138, the authoritative international agreement. It includes all children in any economic activity below the age of 13 in developed countries and 12 in developing countries, children in the 13–14 age (12–13 age) category engaged in activities that go beyond what can be considered as ‘light work’ and adolescents (>14) engaged in hazardous work. The aggregate data allow for positive conclusions. Child labour continues to decline. The global number of child labourers (age 5–17) stands at 215 million, 30 million less than in 2000. Among 5–14 year olds, the number of children in child labour has declined from 186 million in 2000 to 153 million (−18%) and the number of children in the same age category in the worst forms (the children engaged in hazardous work) declined from 111 million to 53 million (−52%). On the other hand, there has been an alarming increase in the number of adolescents doing hazardous work. The number decreased from 59 million in 2000 to 52 million in 2004 and then increased to 62 million in 2008, representing 16.9% of adolescent boys and girls in the world (ILO 2010:8). Although the child labour data are becoming more accurate, the overlap between economically active children and child labourers in many countries may still not have been identified. That may help to explain why countries in Latin America, in comparison with Asia, on the one hand have a much lower percentage of children in employment and a higher percentage of children in the worst forms of child labour (Table 1.2). Although statistics in the latest global reports are encouraging, national reports on child labour in several Latin American countries tell a different story. Child labour statistics of Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala (the specific countries included in this study) indicate that child labour may actually be on the increase. In Peru, according to the ILO and INEI data, the incidence of working children in the age category 6–11 is said to have increased from 2.5% to 21.7% between 1993 and 2001, and was expected to increase to 32% in 2005 (CPETI and MTPE 2005). The increase is as dramatic as it is questionable. Figures may show wide variations, depending on the sampling organisation. According to the ILO, in the year 2000 there were 248,236 children between 10 and 14 years economically active in Table 1.2  Regional estimates of child labour, 2008 (5–17 age group) (From ILO 2010:10) Children in Children in Children employment Child labourers hazardous work (million) (million) (%) (million) (%) (million) (%) World 1,586 305 19.3 215 13.6 115 7.3 Asia   854 174 20.4 114 13.3   48 5.6 Latin America/   141   19 13.4   14 10.0    9 6.7 Caribbean Sub-Sahara Africa   257   84 32.8   65 25.3   39 15.1 Other regions   334   28 8.4   22 6.7   19 5.7

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

11

Bolivia (ILO 2001), but the national census of 2001 showed 354,742 children between 10 and 14 years to be economically active (INE 2003). In 2002, 22.3% in the 6–14 age category was counted as working (Fassa et al. 2010:30). UCW also estimates that in Guatemala the number of child workers has been on the rise, from 14% in 1999 to 20% in 2000 to 23% in 2003 (2003). These indicators constitute only rough indicators of child labour and need further refinement. In the process of fine-tuning the data, Understanding Child Work (UCW), the joint agency of ILO, World Bank and UNICEF, has recently started to work using different statistical standards. One hour spent on economic activity is used as the threshold for classifying children below the age of 12 as child labourers. The time threshold in the 12–14 age category has been set at 14 h/week, the cut-off frequently used for light work in economic activity. In addition, a higher threshold of 28 h has been introduced for classifying household chores as child labour. The addition of the latter category raises the incidence of girl labour considerably. The data set in Table 1.3 suggest that Guatemala has a child labour incidence (below the age of 15) of, respectively, 28.8% for girls and 27.8% for boys. Excluding household chores, the incidence would have been 12.7% and 23.4%, respectively (Guarcello et al. 2006:21).1 These figures contradict the general view that child labour in Latin America has drastically declined. The explanation is clear: ‘Today, Latin America not only has countries with negligible child labour, including Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, but also has countries with some of the highest incidence: Bolivia, 25%, Peru, 28%, and Ecuador, 34%’ (Orazem et al. 2009:6). Although most countries have signed Convention 182, not all of them have complied with the obligation to identify the worst forms sectors and activities in their

Table 1.3  Child labour incidence according to gender in selected Latin-American and Caribbean countries (5–14 age group) (From Guarcello et al. 2006:21 (Table 5)) 5–14 household Labour 12–14 Economically active (labour) (excluding light labour (>28 h/ % Child labour week) work) <12 incidence (5–14) Bolivia M 16.0 23.2 – – F 13.1 21.1 – – Brazil M 3.7 12.7 – – F 1.8 5.5 – – Colombia M 9.6 16.2 3.1 14.4 F 4.5 6.5 4.4 9.1 Dominican M 15.2 24.3 10.4 25.7 Republic F 6.1 4.7 10.9 16.0 M 15.1 38.5 5.5 27.8 Guatemala F 8.7 19.7 18.8 28.8

See Table  5 in the UCW report compiled by Guarcello et  al. for the precise calculations. (Guarcello et al. 2006:21 (Table 5))

1 

12

G.K. Lieten

country.2 Even in countries where such lists have been development, actual information on what constitutes hazards and what effect policy has had is hardly available. There have been studies on specific worst forms sectors,3 but an overall picture of the worst forms, Fassa et al. (2010:260–261) conclude, is not available: ‘The systematic identification of hazardous work activities based on empirical evidence should be encouraged.… Today, hazardous child labour lists have been subject to little if any formal evaluation in terms of their impact.’ Official (governmental) surveys and other current methods do not lend themselves particularly well to finding the children in the informal or illegal labour sectors. Despite the unmistakable progress in enumeration, vast sectors are therefore structurally overlooked and understudied.4 A study conducted by UCW on child labour surveys in 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean indeed came to the conclusion that none of the surveys offer information concerning children’s involvement in the unconditional worst forms of work. The conclusion also has some relevance for the other worst forms of child labour. Large-scale surveys and rapid assessment surveys may not suffice as instruments to adequately capture the extent: Large-scale household surveys such as those drawn on for this study are ill-suited for capturing the prevalence of the unconditional worst forms because they are carried out illegally, or are considered socially unacceptable, and thus survey respondents are not willing to report them truthfully. Many of the girls and boys concerned also do not live at home, putting them beyond the scope of traditional household surveys. New survey methodologies therefore need to be developed and tested in order to account for children working in the unconditional worst forms in child labour estimates (Guarcello et al. 2006:5).

A further complicating factor is that levels of child employment may not have been captured adequately for, as Levison et al. (2007) argue, the proportion of children who work at some point during the year is substantially higher than the fraction observed working in any single month or week, which usually is the time period for observation in surveys. Their calculations on child work in the metropolitan Brazil suggest that the number of child workers should possibly be multiplied with a factor of 2 because of the pattern of work intermittency. Traditional measures based on a single reference week seriously underreport child employment ‘due to the propensity Of the 21 Latin American countries, national worst forms lists are available only for Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. 3  There have been several country reports on mining (Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Peru), garbage dumps (Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru), domestic labour (Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru) and child prostitution (Haiti, Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador). Several specific worst forms sectors have been identified; see for more information http://white.oit.org.pe/ipec/pagina.php? seccion = 44&pagina = 175 4  Children in domestic service, prostitution and armed conflict are particularly hidden from these common methods of data collection (U.S. Department of Labor 2006). For children in armed conflict, only one study was conducted by Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch 2003). 2 

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

13

of young workers to move into and out of the labour force’, possibly giving a misleading picture of the prevalence of child labour. The advantage of work intermittency is clear: children move into, but also out of the labour force, depending on seasonal opportunities and thus possibly combine work with education. However: While higher intermittency rates may have positive aspects for young adults, they also imply that more children than is generally recognized are putting in hours – sometimes many hours – into labour market activities each week, when their priority (especially for younger children) should be attending school regularly and learning. (Levison et  al. 2007:245)

Finally, the qualitative material in all studies is very poor. The perspectives of the child labourers and their parents themselves are often excluded, thereby underestimating their capacity to analyse and voice their own needs and to propose solutions (Green 1998; Kassouf et al. 2001). The focus generally is not so much on documenting and analysing the worst forms of child labour, as on analysing the interface between education and work (see for example, Salazar and Glasinovich 1998; Grootaert and Patrinos 1999; Ray 2000; Post 2001). This apparent lack of information is paralleled by shortcomings in interventions, despite the progress in previous decades (Brown 2001). In the wake of the ratification of Convention 182, several Latin American and Caribbean governments took the initiative to form committees that monitor the process of the progressive eradication of child labour in their countries. These committees often comprise governmental organisations, NGOs, trade unions and employers’ organisations, who occasionally work together to plan, implement and monitor a wide variety of projects and programmes, also regarding the worst forms of child labour. In spite of the positive trends, however, an overview of child-centred NGOs suggests that the majority of NGOs in the region are working with children who perform light tasks for only a few hours a day, and who are involved in activities that seem to have no lasting negative consequences on the mental and physical development of these children and which are actually tolerated under the norms of the ILO Conventions. At the same time, there seem to be significantly fewer NGO activities for children who find themselves in the worst forms of child labour as defined by ILO Convention 182 (IREWOC 2005). Additionally, most NGOs and GOs are geared towards improving the situation of working children in urban areas; there is far less attention paid to children in the countryside, who make up the vast majority of working children. Therefore, interventions fall short and still face several important challenges in the fight to eradicate the worst forms of child labour.

Research on Worst Forms In order to bridge the paucity of information and stimulate policy interventions, a comparative study on the Worst Forms of Child Labour was undertaken in 2006/2007 in seven different economic sectors in Bolivia, Guatemala and Peru. In 2008/2009,

14

G.K. Lieten

another research project investigated the worst forms of child labour in rural areas of Bolivia and Peru and in 2009 a large-scale study was conducted on the phenomenon of street children in Cusco and Lima (Peru). The research intentionally focussed on the hazardous worst forms, rather than the unconditional forms; the latter are universally accepted as detrimental to children’s moral and physical health, and are not under discussion here. The group of hazardous worst forms is, however, still in need of further specification. The first central research objective was to map the working and living situations of children in specific economic sectors and the consequences of this work for their physical and emotional well-being. As a result of this analysis, we hope to add more substance to the concept of worst forms of child labour. The second focus of the study was to investigate the reasons why these children are working in these worst forms sectors. The research results are expected to give important insights into the currently polarised debate between those who state child labour is above all related to cultural considerations and those who state that economic reasons are fundamental to the phenomena of child labour. The third objective, aimed to accommodate policy making in the field of worst forms, was to map the existing policy initiatives and to identify the best practices. In the face of challenges imposed by achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the UN, specific attention was paid to educational initiatives. Is education a useful tool in combating child labour, and vice versa, is child labour a significant obstacle to achieving universal primary education? The research started with a specific background mapping period in Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala with the objective to get a better overview of the specific sectors in which children are working and of existing child labour projects. Based on this initial research period, the following sectors were selected for study: coffee plantations and stone quarries in Guatemala; tin/silver mines and sugarcane plantations in Bolivia; gold mines, waste disposal/recycling and fruit/vegetable markets in Peru. During the elaboration of this first research project, we came to the conclusion that the vast majority of (young) child labourers work in the countryside, but that information and interventions seemed to be lacking, especially in Bolivia and Peru. This conclusion stimulated the second research project on Rural Child Labour in the Andes. Finally, in view of the persistent problem with street children and the meagre information on how they are related to work, a study of street children was added as a final study. The main research method was anthropological. Most existing studies on the worst forms of child labour are from a macro-perspective, based on statistical and quantitative methodology. Although these methods are useful in getting an overall view of the problem, they are not particularly conducive for an in-depth understanding of local situations and of (cultural) views and motivations of local actors. Precisely, this specific information is useful for policy making in a local context. Therefore, in our research projects, we collected insights directly from the source by conducting detailed anthropological fieldwork in the communities and ‘on the work floor’, and by documenting the views and opinions of the children, their caretakers, as well as development workers.

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

15

Using participant observation to study the worst forms of child labour often meant enduring extreme situations: conducting fieldwork in icy mining shafts, on a glacier at an altitude of 5,400 m in the Andean Cordillera, living with migrant labourers in desolate shacks on a sugarcane plantation in the lowlands of Bolivia, lacking all hygiene and privacy, or picking coffee for hours under the burning sun on coffee plantations in the Guatemalan highlands. Although they demanded the best from our researchers, these experiences certainly brought us closer to our ‘informants’, obtaining their trust and confidence and allowing us to observe more than just the socially accepted answers and behaviour. The study also involved more formal methods, such as structured interviews, and alternative methods such as taking photographs with the children and filling in questionnaires in a playful manner. The research revealed that these alternative methods in particular can lead to interesting additional information on how children perceive their living and working conditions.

Peru The available child labour statistics on Peru stem from the 2001 National Inquiry about Living Conditions and Poverty (ENAHO) by the National Institute for Statistics (INEI and OIT 2002). In 2008, the INEI carried out a new national study on child labour, but no official statistical data have as yet been made available. In 2001, ENAHO registered almost two million children, between 6 and 14 years old, who were involved in economic activities, comprising 29% of all children in this age group (INEI and OIT 2002). This was considerably higher than the 16% of their 1996 survey. The economic activities of children between 6 and 11 have increased in particular. The vast majority (70%; 1.4 million children) are said to work in the countryside, particularly in the sierra.5 Nevertheless, almost all studies on child labour in Peru are concerned with urban child labour. The few studies on rural child labour deal with traditional agriculture, within the family context (see for example Alarcon 2001, 2006). No studies are available on child labour in the commercial agricultural sector in Peru. Peru has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and ILO Conventions 138 and 182. The Peruvian state initially established a minimum working age of 12, but during the modification of the Children and Adolescents Code in 2000, the new legal minimum age for work was raised to 14. This is regulated fairly strictly. For example, the 1991 Penal Code states in article 128: [T]he person who exposes the life of a person that is placed under his or her authority, (…) such as to submit this person to excessive or inadequate work (…), will be sanctioned with one to four years in prison. In case the agent has a parental link with the victim, or the victim is younger than twelve years old, the sanction will be two to five years. (CPETI and MTPE 2005)

The sierra regions, or highlands, are those that lie in the Andes Mountains; they comprise high plateaus known as the Altiplano, and high peaks.

5 

16

G.K. Lieten

The Child and Adolescent Code specifies that children who work for another person, may do so at 15 years old if the work concerns non-industrial agricultural work; at 16 years old in cases of industrial, commercial or mining work. For all other forms of work, children must be at least 14 years old (Nuevo Código de los Niños y Adolescentes 2000:art.51). The Code establishes a set of norms regarding working hours and the workload. Children between 12 and 14 are allowed to work for only 4 h a day, during the daytime, with a maximum of 24 h a week. The work of youngsters between 15 and 16 may not exceed 6 h a day and 36 h a week. Economic activities that take place underground, that involve toxic substances, that require carrying heavy weights, that are in any way harmful to a child’s health and moral being, are prohibited for all children below 18 years old (Nuevo Código de los Niños y Adolescentes 2000:Art.56–64). Upon signing the ILO Convention 182, Peru committed itself to an identification of the worst forms of child labour. However, the Peruvian government until today has no such official list, despite the fact that numerous studies have identified various types of child labour in Peru that should be listed as a worst form of child labour. In 2003, the Peruvian government created the National Directive Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (CPETI), with the intention to coordinate, evaluate and follow up the efforts made towards the progressive eradication of child labour. Its most important task is to enhance the National Plan of Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour with detailed plans of action (CPETI and MTPE 2005). The Ministry of Public Affairs is responsible for the inspections on the work floor. In 2005, the former president of Peru, Alejandro Toledo, instituted the Juntos program. The Juntos program consists of a monetary grant for poor families who remove their children from the working process, send them to school and take them for regular medical checkups. The program is available for those families living in extreme poverty and who have children under the age of 14. Except for the Juntos program, there is a strong focus on the young population in urban Lima, while those in rural areas are relatively ignored. In the research communities, the only governmental program encountered that was directly related to child labour was the Juntos program in the community of Cusibamba.

Guatemala Guatemala has a substantial child labour force, but exact numbers are lacking. Estimates vary between institutions, which base their calculations on different sources and definitions. The ENCOVI study (National Survey of Life Conditions), for example, claims that nearly one million boys, girls and adolescents are economically active or looking for a job. According to this survey, 20.3% of the total working population consists of minors (ILO/IPEC and INE 2003). In their report ‘Understanding Children’s Work’, UNICEF, World Bank and ILO state that in Guatemala, ‘one fifth

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

17

of total 7–14 year olds, over 500,000 in absolute terms, are engaged in work. Among 5–17 year-olds, 23%, or over 900,000 in absolute terms, are involved in work’ (UCW 2003). Some NGOs though have the numbers rise as high as 2.5 million (ODHAG 2006). According to the calculations done by (Guarcello et al. 2006), see Table 1.3, around 28% of both boys and girls could be classified as child labourers (23% of the boys and 13% of the girls if domestic labour is excluded). Despite some notable inconsistencies in numbers, some general tendencies within the child labour situation in Guatemala can be identified. The share of the indigenous children within the child working population, probably twice as many as non-indigenous children, is disproportionate. Two thirds of child labourers work in rural areas, but three fourths hail from rural areas (ILO/IPEC and INE 2003; ODHAG 2006). The Guatemalan Ministry of Labour has composed a list of worst form activities (Guatemala Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2006). Instead of identifying worst form sectors, worst forms activities were listed, according to some as a result of resistance from the coffee sector. The official explanation is that some activities in a production process may have a harmful impact, but these should not taint the sector as a whole, since many other activities are harmless. The list includes descriptions of types of activities that, because of their nature or conditions under which they are undertaken, must be considered worst forms of child labour. It includes activities undertaken by domestic servants, work in the pyrotechnic industry, garbage picking, and mining and quarrying activities (UCW 2003). Agricultural activities are also listed as hazardous by ILO–IPEC. It is said that, ‘Children in agriculture can be subjected to hazardous working conditions’ (UCW 2003). Guatemala is a country highly dependent on agriculture, and thus it is not very surprising to find a majority of child labourers in this sector; almost two thirds of 7–14 year old workers work on family land or for a finca (plantation). This sector is characterised by its informality, making labourers vulnerable to exploitation and instability (ILO/IPEC and INE 2003). According to the OPS (Pan-American Health Organisation), around one million workers from the Guatemalan Altiplano (highlands) migrate every year to the southern coasts to work in fincas, where they harvest several agricultural products, such as coffee and sugarcane. Between one quarter and one third of these workers is accompanied by family, resulting in an estimated half a million children migrating to the coast every year (Guatemala Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2001). The Ministry of Labour has not designated the agricultural sector a worst form. It does, however, list particular types of activities within the sector that are worst forms because of their nature or conditions under which they are performed. Among these activities are those involving the use of chemicals and manual hauling of heavy loads. The ILO mentions the coffee sector in particular: ‘On coffee plantations, children – mostly boys – work picking, sorting and carrying heavy sacks of the coffee beans. Working and living conditions for these child workers are often dismal.’ (UCW 2003) The country has a very youthful population: in 2005, 43% of the population was below the age of 15, a figure which is typical for Sub-Sahara African countries, but not for countries in Central America. Its literacy rate was also fairly low and in 2005,

18

G.K. Lieten

the youth illiteracy rate was still only 18%. One third of the pupils do not reach the sixth and final grade of primary education; only one third proceeds to the 3 years of basico (secondary education) and 3 years of so-called diversificado. Between the primary and diversificado stages, a significant decrease can be observed in school attendance. Whereas the net primary enrolment of 2004 approached 93%, in basico we saw an enrolment rate of only 31.33%. Of the students who completed basico, only 17.53% continued into diversificado (ODHAG 2006). School dropout and repetition rates were also alarming. Of every 100 children enrolled in primary education in 2004, 20 either dropped out or failed the grade. Women, indigenous people and the rural population are also overrepresented among the illiterate. Illiteracy affects 31.7% of the population above 14 (ILO/IPEC and INE 2003). Guatemala has ratified the CRC and Conventions 138 and 182, and the government has openly committed itself to prohibiting and eradicating the worst forms of child labour (ILO/IPEC 2000; Guatemala Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2006). The normal workday has been set to 8 h, but 14–17 year olds may conduct acceptable (non-hazardous) work for no more than 7 h a day (ILO/IPEC and INE 2003). Unfortunately, the Labour Code only applies to formal sectors, whereas a lot of hazardous child labour takes place in informal sectors. The constitution prohibits anyone under 14 from performing labour activities, except in the situations defined by the Labour Code (Guatemala Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2001). The General Labour Inspector (IGT) from the Ministry of Labour may authorise a working permit for an under-14 child in some cases, as defined in the Labour Code: if the child is an apprentice, if extreme poverty makes the child’s income indispensable for its family, if the work is light in duration and intensity and under the condition that the work does not impede with compulsory education (UCW 2003). If permission is granted, then a child below 14 may work no more than 6 h a day. A representative of the Ministry of Labour stated that inspectors are to identify these cases, but generally fail to do so since ‘there is a lack of inspectors, and there are too many companies to inspect. The budget is not enough and inspectors do not have access to the necessary means like adequate transport.’

Bolivia Bolivia has a population of over eight million people (ILO and UNICEF 2004:8) of whom five million live in urban areas and three million in rural areas. According to CEPAL, 63% of the Bolivian population in 2002 was living below the poverty line and 37.1% in extreme poverty (CEPAL 2005). Many people in the recent decades have migrated to the cities because of a lack of economic opportunities in the countryside. In the rural areas, 33.7% of people are illiterate, compared to 5.3% in the urban areas (ILO and UNICEF 2004:8) Children and youths account for half of the Bolivian population. The economically active population of 10–14 years in 2002 totalled 250,000 (Global March Against Child Labour 2002). Another ILO fact sheet reports the economically

1  Introduction: The Worst Forms of Child Labour in Latin America

19

active population of 10–14 years to be as high as 354,742 in 2002 (ILO 2006b). Estimations of children employed in the mining sector in Bolivia vary from 1,250 (ILO and UNICEF 2006) to as many as 120,000 Bolivian children working in small-scale mining (Henne and Moseley 2005). Children are often found working in commerce, agriculture, domestics, baby sitting, shoe shining, and mining. Children are also exploited in criminal sectors such as the sex industry and the production and sale of drugs. Child prostitution is a growing problem and children are reportedly used as drug mules. Convention 182 was signed by Bolivia on 6 June 2003. Bolivia’s Children and Adolescents (Código de Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes) sets the minimum working age at 14 years (Law 2026, Art. 126, 2004),6 but is it not relevant for the zafra (sugarcane harvest) as no children below the age of 18 are allowed to participate in this sector. Different articles of the code refer indirectly to children’s right to education and emphasise that children’s work should not interfere with this right (see articles 137 and 126). The Ministry of Labour (MoL) established the Commission for Progressive Eradication of Child Labour: Comisión de Erradicación Progresiva del Trabajo Infantil (CEPTI). CEPTI coordinates its projects with the ILO and USDOL, which finance large parts of the activities, especially those directed at the eradication of the worst forms of child labour. The MoL is currently drawing up a list of all the worst forms of child labour in Bolivia. Children’s work in mining and the sugarcane harvest will be on the list, as these sectors are already included in the CAC as dangerous for minors; other sectors are still under discussion. The CEPTI department is not very prominent within the Bolivian government. The MoL only employs 15 labour inspectors to work throughout the country to enforce child labour regulations and other labour issues (U.S. Department of Labor 2007:32873). The Bolivian educational system consists of 8 years of primary and 4 years of secondary school. Primary school is obligatory and free. Secondary school, locally referred to as medio, is non-compulsory. Upon completion of 12 years of education, children can proceed to advanced technical education or university. The Educational Reform of 1995 determined that education in Bolivia has to be bilingual, and teaching is done in Spanish as well as in specific indigenous languages (UNDP 2007). A statefinanced scholarship, introduced by president Evo Morales in 2006, and known as Juancito Pinto, has somewhat solved the financial obstacles to education. Children in the first to the fifth years of primary school are granted a scholarship of 200 Bolivianos (20 Euros) to be able to buy utensils and/or school uniforms. About 1,200,000 children receive this scholarship, which is funded by the nationalised gas and petrol industry.

Legislación Juvenil en Bolivia, available from http://www.cinterfor.org.uy/public/spanish/region/ampro/cinterfor/temas/youth/legisl/bol/iii/ index.htm, accessed in July 2008. The new Constitution, which was drafted during 2007, includes an article on child labour, stating that all forms of exploitation of minors should be prevented.

6 



Chapter 2

Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima Anna Ensing

Waste material processing and wholesale markets provide work for children in the informal commercial and service sector in urban areas. Approximately 60% of the economically active population in Lima Metropolitan Area is involved in the informal sector, which also absorbs the majority of working children in Peru (Espinoza and Rios 2006). It is estimated that approximately 30% of the children work in cities (Cesip 2007). According to the 2001 National Inquiry about Living Conditions and Poverty (ENAHO), 11% of the working children in Peru are involved in family businesses or selling at markets. The capital city has numerous retail markets and several wholesale markets, which function as distribution centres. The two principal wholesale markets in Lima are the Mercado Mayorista N° 1 for vegetables and the Mercado Mayorista N° 2 for fruit. In addition, streets around the two wholesale markets have been transformed into important commercial areas. The growing population in the Peruvian capital also produces a growing amount of waste material. Due to a lack of a well-developed central and formal plan for waste management, combined with the high rates of unemployment in the capital, the waste material business has grown dramatically since the 1980s. There are no statistics about how many people are involved in the processing of waste material, but in the district involved in this research, the collection and sorting of waste materials represents 27.6% of the labour employment (Cesip 2006). Children are also found working in this sector.

The Research Communities Research was conducted at the two wholesale markets and their surrounding areas, located in the poorest parts of the district La Victoria, in Central Lima. The Mercado Mayorista No. 1 has, according to the managing municipal company, A. Ensing () TIE-Netherlands, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_2, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

21

22

A. Ensing

close to 800 formal vendors; the Mercado Mayorista No. 2 counted around 700 formal vendors in 2000 (Empresa Municipal de Mercados S.A.). The number of informal vendors is much higher, especially at the vegetable market. The Mercado No. 1 for vegetables is administered by the Municipal Company of Markets (EMMSA) of the municipality of Lima. Through a contribution from purchasers and sellers, EMMSA provides the vegetable market with security guards and a cleaning service. The Mercado No. 2 falls under the responsibility of a cooperative company of the formal purchasers and sellers themselves. At this fruit market, purchasers and sellers pay their contribution to this private company, which in the same way provides them security and cleaning services. In addition, five unions of organised market workers are united in el frente de las 5 bases,1 which is also responsible for some of the organisational facets. Child labour in waste material processing was investigated in a community called Las Lomas de Carabayllo, in the Carabayllo district on the periphery of Lima. In 2004, Las Lomas had about 30,000 inhabitants (Cesip 2004, 2006). Las Lomas de Carabayllo is an end-station for waste materials collected throughout the entire Lima area. The presence of the garbage dump El Zapallal has promoted the proliferation of several activities related to the recycling of waste materials, such as sorting activities, which actually were prohibited in garbage dumps in 2003 with the application of the General Law for Waste Material2 (Centro Proceso Social 2005). Nevertheless, recycling-related activities turned out to be one of the most important sources of income for the inhabitants of Las Lomas de Carabayllo.

Working and Living Conditions of Child Labourers The child labourers in Carabayllo and at the wholesale markets in la Victoria come from poor and generally large families. Most parents are first- or second-generation migrants from the countryside. In some cases, the child labourers migrated on their own in search of work, and may be living with adult relatives, with their siblings, or even alone. The following statements illustrate some reasons for migration to Lima. Patricia (12), who works as a domestic maid (cama dentro) in La Victoria explained: ‘My parents died a long time ago. I came to Lima with my sister who earned some money and took care of me. Since I was 11 years old I started to work as a cama dentro. I live with the family I work for’. Melinda (17), who works in recycling in Carabayllo had a similar story: ‘My parents divorced and both started a new family. I lived with my mother and This united front consists of five groups of workers: two syndicates for adult porters (SUTMA and ATMGS), two associations for young porters (Warma Tarinakuy and Colibri) and one cycle taxi group (ASOTRAN). 2  Ley General de Residuos Sólidos 27314. Article 16 of this law prohibits sorting activities at dumpsites and only allows recycling at collection points, which is, however, not clearly regulated in Centro Proceso Social: Diagnósitico General Participativo. Gestión Informal de Residuos Sólidos de Lomas de Carabayllo. Lima, Alianza CIP Carabayllo (2005). 1 

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

23

stepbrothers. My mother can’t work much because of the baby. Therefore, when I was 14 I migrated to Lima to work and now I live with my aunt and uncle’. It is common to find working children living in broken or dysfunctional families, mainly as a result of divorce, disease or death, caused by the harsh living and working conditions. Many of the children working with waste materials in Las Lomas de Carabayllo live in houses without running water, sewerage or electricity and the environment is highly contaminated. Many working children in La Victoria live in the hills around the market area, which has high levels of domestic and street violence. Children may also come from other densely populated, poor and relatively unsafe districts such as El Augustino and San Luis. Some have to travel more than 1 hour to arrive at their workplace. Enrolment and attendance is free at all public schools, although students are required to pay for school supplies and a uniform. The centre of Lima houses many public and private schools. At the José Antonio Encinas public school, the majority of the students work at the markets. All classes are large and the level of education leaves much to be desired. Yet, several focus group discussions at the primary school in La Victoria made it clear that school is children’s favourite place to spend their time. Las Lomas de Carabayllo has two main public schools for primary and secondary students and some smaller schools, mostly private. In Carabayllo, many parents complain that teachers are lazy and that the quality of education is poor. Children living in Las Lomas de Carabayllo suffer from health problems related to their living conditions. Problems include diarrhoea and malnutrition; respiratory problems because of the weather, allergies, parasites and skin problems because of the abundant filth, dust and lack of hygiene. A specific problem in Las Lomas de Carabayllo is the air pollution due to illegal smelting of lead and rotting and burning garbage. According to a study by CESIP, kidney problems and backaches are also major concerns (Cesip 2004). This remote part of the capital has only one formal health post for its 30, 000 inhabitants. People must use private transport to get to the closest hospital, which takes approximately 15 min. Children and adolescents working at and around the markets suffer from tuberculosis, respiratory problems, skin infection, diarrhoea and lice, according to the nearest health post. In addition, the area experiences many adolescent pregnancies, psychological problems, sexual diseases, alcoholism and drug addiction. There are two nearby health centres and a public hospital. A CESIP study revealed that 72% of the persons in Las Lomas with health problems do not seek medical attention because of financial reasons (Cesip 2004). Some families therefore choose to treat themselves with natural or other alternative medicines.

Participation of Children at Markets The child labourers in and around the wholesale markets are either porters or informal sellers of produce. Trucks full of fruits or vegetables arrive at the markets between 2  a.m. and 10  a.m. Purchasers pay porters to help carry their products with a

24

A. Ensing

two-wheel trolley or in exceptional cases even manually.3 Young porters at the fruit market carry weights between 200 and 400  kg on their trolley. At the vegetable market, children carry much lighter weights. At the vegetable market, children of about 7  years old and up are found selling discarded vegetables informally for lower prices. They may earn between 5 and 10 sol during a working day. Other popular activities for children, especially girls, at the markets are the preparation, sale and distribution of readymade food and drinks from their parents’ small stalls. There are a variety of other activities at the markets, such as shoe shining for boys, sewing or other textile-related activities for girls, or waste collection. Whatever the specific activity, the traffic chaos, the environmental pollution, the putrefied vegetables and fruits in the streets and the high levels of delinquency, sale and consumption of drugs, clandestine prostitution, and youth violence make the markets inadequate places for children. The following quote (Leonel, 14, a porter at the vegetable market) shows how children experience the market at first, and how they familiarise themselves with it: ‘The first time I was a bit afraid. There were many drunken men who bothered me. Sometimes they get aggressive; they push you or pull your hair. Now I am not afraid anymore. I just don’t pay attention to the drunken men and they don’t bother me so much anymore’.

A young porter belonging to a formal syndicate at the fruit market

The fruit market is considered to be safer than the vegetable market because of its strict organisation and control. The young boy porters are organised into two adolescent associations. Adolescents can join at the age of 14  years, and only if they attend school. Porters who are not members are not permitted to enter the market. At the vegetable market, young porters are not organised and can start to This occurs only at the fruit market when there is not enough space to enter with a two-wheel trolley or when the porter has not been given permission to enter the market with a trolley.

3 

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

25

work at the age of 10, but the majority is between 14 and 17 years old. The children are cheaper than adults and generally earn between 10 and 20 sol a day (2.50–5 Euros). The adult porters at the vegetable market see the children as competition and try to keep them out of the market, mainly by shouting at them. This verbal abuse adds to the harsh conditions for the children working here. Another negative characteristic of the work that children perform are the working hours. Children may start working as early as 3 in the morning. Camila (8) collects discarded potatoes; she explained: I work every day at the market and collect potatoes, my mother sells them. Usually I arrive together with my mother at 3  a.m. and sometimes I go later myself. A friend of mine always arrives here at 1 a.m. She says that she is not tired. At night it is dangerous here, but my friend says she is not afraid.

John (13) lives far away from the market; he commented: ‘I work here sometimes with my mother. Today I started at 3 am. I live in San Juan de Miraflores, around 1 hour by bus from here, so I woke up at 2 am’.

Children as informal sellers of ‘second-hand’ vegetables

Children working at the markets do not have fixed working schedules. The markets are open 7 days a week and do not close on holidays. Many children in fact work every day, and never take a day off. Most children finish their work by the morning. Porters finish between 9 and 11 O’clock. Other children start school at 8, and so work until 7.30. Children who stay throughout the afternoon are exceptions; they are usually informal sellers. On the other hand, children who collect garbage are busy in the late afternoons and at night. Some young people, for example Benjamin (18), even stay the night at the market to be as early as possible and save the bus fare: I have worked as a porter at La Parada since I was 11 years old. I arrive here between 5 and 6 in the morning. Once I spent the night here, a few years ago. I wanted to start work early.

26

A. Ensing I slept on a bag of potatoes in a permanent stall and covered myself with potato bags. It is dangerous because there are people who want to assault and rob you at night, but if you cover yourself well with bags, it is fine.

Children in Waste Collection and Recycling Children who work in Carabayllo collect waste, work on a garbage truck or separate waste at a garbage dump. Both boys and girls in Carabayllo collect waste material in their neighbourhood during their “free” hours, normally with one of their caretakers. The collected material is either sold directly to the dumpsites, to a local buyer or stored at home to save up and sell in bulk. Children become creative and recognise many possibilities to make money from waste materials. Mario (10) is one of them: ‘I used to go to the place where the drunken men often fight. The next morning I would always find lots of broken bottles, which I sold to a garbage dealer’. Samuel (12) is also always on the lookout: With my younger brother we always find something useful! Once we were at school and the teacher wanted to throw away a big pile of papers. I asked if I was allowed to take it and I could. My bag was not big enough so I called my brother. Together we took it home. We also collect bottles, plastic or carton. My mother goes around and once we have collected a lot, we find someone who pays well and sell it.

Garbage trucks collect the garbage throughout Lima and sell a part of it to private garbage buyers in and around Carabayllo. Inside the trucks, while they are doing their rounds, the garbage is being sorted by male adults and adolescents. The working days are long, and the activities are tiring, working from 8 at night to 6 in the morning, or from early in the morning until late in the evening. The formal garbage dump is another place where some adolescents are found working, although not in large numbers since there is restricted access. Adolescents and children from 8 years onwards are more commonly found in small, informal and private dumpsites, usually adjacent to the house of the trader. The trader hires personnel to sort and clean the materials before he sells them. Activities include separating different types of paper, plastics, glass, but also dismantling and sorting through clinical waste (such as used IV tubing and needles). Traders are not involved in controlling who does what at their sites, neither are any protective measures in place nor special clothing provided. The payment is by weight. The price per kilogram differs per material, but ranges from 15 to 30 sol cents /kg (in the case of clinical waste). An average worker can earn between 6 and 14 sol a day (between 1.50 and 3.50 Euros), depending on the level of experience. Although workers at the dumps can come and go as they like, they usually start work at 8 in the morning and finish at 6 in the afternoon. The flexibility allows children to combine work with school. Children normally work with one of their parents, during the weekends, after or before school and during holidays. This way, they help increase the output. Children of about 14 years old also start to work alone and are more likely to work full time. Samuel (12) works with his mother and little brother:

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

27

‘We have to take the labels off the plastic bottles and cut the plastic ring from the neck. To get the labels off properly, we use a flame to melt the glue. My brother only uses his hands, because the flame can be dangerous. If it is a school day, I work a half day’. Victor (15) on the other hand, works full time at a dump: I am the oldest son of a family with five children. I work fulltime here and don’t go to school this year. At the moment I work together with my cousin in clinical waste. We have to cut intravenous tubes with a scissors. My other cousin also works here at the moment and dismantles syringes. Next year I will start to work on a garbage truck. I have done that before, with my uncle.

Boys working with clinical waste

The conditions under which children in both parts of Lima live and work conflict with national and international child protection laws. Children younger than 12 can be found working, which is under no circumstances legally permitted, and children from 12 years are found working under very poor conditions. Restrictions on working hours for adolescents are exceeded; they are found working even at night. The porters at the fruit market carry heavy loads that exceed even the maximum permitted weight for adults. According to Convention 182, all children at the vegetable market are involved in a hazardous form of child labour, since they work at a dangerous location. In the same way, working with waste materials is considered by CPETI to be a dangerous job for children. In fact, all activities concerning garbage are carried out in unhealthy and often dangerous locations. Important civil rights are denied as well. Many working children lack a healthy living environment, time for recreation and an adequate family environment. Education is often not available to the children because of work or because of poor quality and access.

28

A. Ensing

Consequences of Children’s Work The child labourers at the markets have physical complaints that are directly related to their labour activities, such as backaches from lifting and carrying heavy loads, or respiratory illnesses from the polluted environment. The child porters also face verbal and physical abuse at work on a daily basis (CIS 2003). Some children mentioned the high risk of accidents: ‘Once I collided with another trolley, my hand got stuck in between and was twisted badly. It hurt very much and I had to go to the hospital. That’s why I don’t do that work anymore. When I work now, I sell vegetables’ (Bryan, 10). Another, very common, consequence of the work at the market is exhaustion, caused by the early starting hours, long working days and high levels of exertion. Adult porters complained about problems with their backs, their kidneys and their waists; these problems most likely become more pronounced in the long run. Some children are not aware of the long-term consequences and prefer their porter jobs above other work. Omar (12) said: ‘I like the job I have. I used to work with my brother at his vegetable stand. I didn’t like that, because I was enclosed, people tell you what you should do; I couldn’t do anything. As a porter you are free. You can do whatever you like, you walk around. It is fun’. There are children who prefer to work rather than stay at home, because they get bored and feel enclosed at home. Work can also give children a sense of pride, as in the case of Paula (12) who helps her mother to sell juice at the vegetable market: ‘I began to work when I was 4 or 5 years old. We were selling on the street. I like it because I get to know many people. I also like it because after work my mother buys me something, and because we work together to achieve something; together we stand strong’. However, most child labourers prefer not to work at all. They consider their work to be too heavy. During a focus group discussion with children who work at the markets and attend school, the negative aspects of work for children were discussed. Most of the issues were related to dangers on the streets, such as the presence of drunken men, physical violence, thieves, kidnappings, traffic and drugs. The children consider themselves too young to effectively defend themselves. Also, they have no free time and little recreation. Although the children think that they are capable of working, they have other opinions when it concerns their own future children. Their own involvement in work turns out to be by necessity rather than choice. Valentina (14), who helps her aunt selling in the market, said vehemently: ‘If I had children I wouldn’t send them to work. I think that parents should fulfil their responsibilities; the problems are not the child’s fault. I would like my children to get on in life, so I would send them to school’. And Omar (12) added: If I would have children I would let them work when they are professionals, when they are 18 or 20. Then they can do something easy, like being a lawyer or a policeman. I wouldn’t want them to work themselves to death. If they start to work here at such a young age they will fail in school, and they won’t go studying anymore.

Many working children at the markets are ashamed to tell other children about their work. Leonel (14) never told the other children that he works: ‘I feel a bit ashamed

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

29

about it. I know it is good to be honest, and possibly I shall tell them in a while. After all, I am not doing something bad. At least I study and work; I never steal or anything like that’. Such shame and reluctance to talk about their work indicates a certain level of discomfort with the fact that they have to work. Waste recycling also causes severe health problems. In the first place, children are affected by the lack of hygiene in their living space. Furthermore, children and adolescents who work with the waste materials come into direct contact with hazardous materials. They mostly fail to see the risks themselves. Some are even tempted to consume food and drinks they find among the garbage, which can lead to serious health risks. When Christian (8) saw sweets wrapped in plastic among the garbage he was happy to pick them up. He argued: ‘My cousins taught me to always check the expiry date; when this is fine, you can eat them’. Adults mentioned sustaining injuries such as burns from acids, when working with bottles, or cuts from any kind of sharp object. All tasks are potentially dangerous because even bags with ‘innocent’ materials can contain hazards such as sharp objects, toxic liquids or human waste. Working with clinical waste is highly dangerous because of the risk of infection. Christian (8) said: It is dangerous; you can get infected with some disease. My mother once told me that someone died because she pricked herself with a syringe while working. I know that you should always be careful with liquids that come with the clinical waste. That’s why you should always take a piece of cloth. Although I work only with easy material like plastic bottles, I always have a cloth.

The waste materials also result in the presence of flies and other insects that are able to transmit disease. Most children find themselves capable of performing the tasks without harm, but admit that the work can be dangerous for them. Esmee (8), when reflecting on the work she did earlier, said that the work was heavy ‘but it was also nice in a sense. But yes, it can be dangerous and children should not do it. I wouldn’t let my own children do this work’. She herself had to start very early in life and worked on the dumpsite until they moved to another house: I worked from my 5th to my 7th year together with my family at a dumpsite. We lived in the jungle and when we came to Lima the owner of a dumpsite offered us a house at his dumpsite. My parents worked every day and, with the other children, I helped them after school. Peeling labels off bottles and such things. With a little knife we cut the ring from the bottle. Sometimes I cut myself but never seriously. My father used a fire to cut the ring but he didn’t let us do that because of the harmful smoke. It is dangerous work, not only because of the work. For example, around the house there were always nails on the ground and when I went to wash myself I could step in them. Fortunately I never got really ill.

Working at the official large garbage dump is no better. The work at the big dumps is carried out at night, which increases the likelihood of accidents and also limits and disrupts the hours of sleep for all involved. Workers suffer from back problems because of having to consistently bend over and having to carry heavy loads. Juan (20), who now works in shifts at the large garbage dump commented: The work is too heavy for a child. I went already to the garbage dump when I was 12 years old. This work is the heaviest I did in my life. Especially your lower back suffers from the

30

A. Ensing work, because of carrying the bags and bending over all the time. The first times I worked I got a strong headache, probably because of the gases from the garbage, but after a few times it goes away; you get used to it.

Children play amidst the garbage

Garbage produces methane, and breathing this gas in will cause serious headaches, drowsiness and can in extreme cases lead to unconsciousness (U.S. Department of Labor). The low learning capacity of the local children is, according to a local doctor in Las Lomas, explained by lead poisoning during the illegal lead smelting. Lead can seriously affect the neurological system. Fumes from burning garbage are dangerous when inhaled, and may cause immediate irritation or asthmatic attacks. Exposure can lead to reproductive, developmental and immunological problems. Children, with their undeveloped physiology, are more susceptible to all these risks (Zender Environmental 2007). Working at a private dumpsite, on a truck or at the formal large garbage dump is generally not enjoyed by children. Eight-year-old Christian (8) mentioned that some children make fun of him and his brother because of their work: ‘Some children laugh about the fact that my brother and I peel bottles. They say: ‘ha-ha-ha, you work and you earn very little money’.’ Obviously, he feels uncomfortable about his work, but also feels the need to help his mother. Working at the markets or with garbage has negative consequences for children’s education. Teachers commented that various children arrive late at school and miss hours of education. A CESIP study revealed that among school children, work is the main reason for non-attendance (Cesip 2004). This is the case with a significant

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

31

number of the children who work at the markets. Their work is almost without exception the most important reason for them to stop going to school. Often, working children plan to skip school for 1 year and then return. However, it often results in permanent dropout, as happened to Omar (12), who works as a porter at the vegetable market: My father told me that I wouldn’t go to school this year. I have five brothers and sisters. I live with my brother in Lima and the rest of the family lives in Huancayo. The money that I earn is for me; I use it to buy food and clothes. Sometimes I also send something to my mother. I also try to save money to go to school again next year. I haven’t saved anything yet so I am not sure I will make it. If I could go to school again, I would only work in weekends and on holidays.

Particularly those children who live without their parents are likely to quit school. They lack economic and psychological support. Once they start earning money, it becomes more difficult to return to school. Several children explained that getting used to earning your own money has a bad impact on the commitment to education. The adolescents often regret their decision afterwards. The porters at the fruit market are less likely to drop out because the association they belong to requires them to continue their studies; unfortunately though, as is the case with many other working children who also attend school, the exhaustion caused by their work negatively influences their school performance. Kathy (13), who helps her aunt and cousin collect plastic around the vegetable market, talked about her exhaustion: ‘We usually work from 9 p.m. to midnight or sometimes until 2 a.m.; I wake up every day at 7 a.m. for school. Sometimes I sleep in the afternoon after school, but that’s also the time I should be doing my homework because after work it is too late’. Jessica (13), who helps her mother to sell clothes, added: ‘We work every day from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.; in the morning I go to school and the only time to do my homework is at 11 p.m. or midnight, but then I don’t finish it and go to bed’. So, even though children go to school, they attend tired and exhausted, and rarely complete their homework. The children who have more demanding working hours cannot attend the regular school and attend the alternative education system EBA. Ten-year-old Flor has been working as an informal seller of vegetables at La Parada for 1.5 years. She works alone, but lives with her brother and sister-in-law in the centre of Lima. She works every day from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. or sometimes later, depending on her earnings. She goes to school from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and then does her homework. She complains that she is tired most of the time, and prefers to miss school than to miss work because of the money she has to earn. In waste recycling, primary school children attend classes in the mornings and are able to work in the afternoons and weekends, but this work results in poor performances and poor attendance rates. Although they usually are not missing school days, they are likely to spend less time and effort on their homework. Some children can manage, like Esmee (8), who used to work until 5 or 6 p.m. when they were still living near the sorting site. She recalled: ‘Then my father told me to do my homework. Sometimes I was tired after the entire day of school and work, but I always did my homework and I never failed class’. Many others, however, like Mario (10) do not manage: ‘Last year I used to collect bottles with my friend.

32

A. Ensing

I went almost every day and I forgot to do my homework. I got bad grades and almost failed class. Therefore, my mother doesn’t allow me anymore; I have to focus on school now’. Working children often come from families in difficult situations. Migrant families, for example, end up living in the least favourable areas of Lima. Moreover, generational conflicts between parents, who grew up in a traditional rural community, and their city children are quite common (Valenzuela et al. 2007). Having to put financial responsibilities on the shoulders of a child will also complicate family relations. Children feel pressed to earn enough money and parents can react aggressively when their sons or daughters don’t fulfil their expectations, as was the case with Daniel (10), a porter at the vegetable market: We are seven children at home; I am the youngest. My father and brother are also porters. My mother has been ill, already for a few years. I don’t know exactly what she has but she has to stay home and can’t work. So the money that I earn is all for her. I started today at 6 a.m. but I haven’t earned anything yet. When I come home without money my mother gets upset, sometimes she slaps me. I’ll stay until 11 a.m. and then I’ll go home. What else can I do?

Especially children living with adults who are not their parents are often given a subordinate place in the family. These children will do any kind of work and are aware of the need to fend for themselves. Flor (10), working at the vegetable market, and who left her own family with ten children to come and stay with her brother and his wife, had this to say: ‘His wife beats me a lot. I regret having migrated, but I don’t have money to travel back’. Yet, despite some negative experiences, most children in both sectors often feel good when they are helping their parents. Children are aware of the financial pressures and want to contribute; parents appreciate that. This in some cases even leads to a closer relationship between children and parents. Another consequence of child labour, often mentioned by adults working at the markets, is that the activities and the work environment increase the risk of children getting on the wrong track. Teodoro (50), an adult porter, has never allowed his children to work: ‘I think it’s not good for young people to work at the market, they go rotten. Here they learn to swear and to steal. Besides, the work is heavy. They should stay home and study’. Indeed there are numbers of children and adolescents, the so-called piranhas, who obtain their income by robbing people at the vegetable market, and who tend to use drugs. These children often start as workers, but eventually cross over onto the criminal path. Several friends of José (15), a porter at the vegetable market, chose the wrong track: They steal and do things like that. I have stolen twice in my life, when I was 13 years old. It was with friends, we stole from a parked car. The police captured us and brought us to the police station. Now I don’t do it anymore. Most boys follow their friends in their behaviour. But if you want to go on in life, you have to do keep clear of those things.

Also in Las Lomas de Carabayllo, the risk of going off track because of work is acknowledged. ‘Children shouldn’t be too much at a dumpsite’, one mother said; ‘because they will start missing school and won’t learn a decent job. There is lots

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

33

of delinquency and drugs around, and bad company, people with low education and without morals. I wouldn’t take my children there’.

The Worst Forms of Child Labour The various activities that children carry out in the waste materials sector and at the markets have been shown to have very negative consequences for children’s health. In addition, most children would prefer not to work and feel tired, bored or ashamed, which indicates a negative consequence for children’s emotional health. Safety is certainly a problem in the children’s working environment. Moreover, the fact that the work in both sectors also often has negative consequences for children’s family life and educational development implies that the activities should be defined as worst forms. The main difference between the two sectors is that the entire waste materials sector could be considered a worst form since it exposes children to hazardous working conditions and unhealthy living conditions. Work in the markets, on the contrary, is not necessarily harmful, when carried out for only a few hours a day under conditions of safety and protection. This is possibly the case with a majority of the children and youngsters at the fruit market, but this is not to be generalised. Markets also, for various reasons, such as the exceptional hours at which children have to work, should be identified as places where children under 14, as a rule, should not work. Not all the work being done necessarily has harmful effects, but by and large, the border between acceptable work and work with high risks for health, education and morals is very fine.

Why Do Children Work? Children’s involvement in labour in the two sectors can be explained by several factors, including economic, cultural, educational, safety and organisational. The first and most obvious reason for children below 18 to be working is money. The children help with the work because the family is not able to sustain its members with only the parental income. A lack of formal, well-paid adult jobs and high costs for basic services are reasons for children to contribute to the family income, especially in the case of large families when, in addition, one of the parents is ill or has died. Danny (12), for example, lives with his parents and eight brothers and sisters, but his mother is in hospital after a complicated pregnancy of the nineth child. The father, who works in construction, is unable to maintain his nine children and pay healthcare for his wife, and so Danny’s help is needed, before and after school. Many working children argue that they themselves have to start working to ‘relieve their parents from suffering’, or because they believe that helping is necessary for their own well-being. Christian (8), in Las Lomas de Carabayllo,

34

A. Ensing

wanted to work with his mother ‘because we didn’t have anything to eat! If I and my brother help my mother, she earns more and is able to buy food’. Lidia (11), in La Victoria, lives with her mother and four other brothers and sisters: I help my mother every weekday from 13:00 to 20:00 in a communal kitchen in San Cosme. I wanted to help her because my mother told me about her suffering. When she was 5 years old she was given to other people to work. She was without parents and she was beaten. I feel pity for her, that’s why I want to help her now.

Not all children work out of economic necessity, but choose to work in the weekends and during holidays to pay for personal non-necessities. Bryan (10) and Luis (9) wanted to earn money to join the school excursion: ‘Our parents said that they are not going to pay it, they don’t have it. We knew this market because it is close to our house and we saw other children doing this. We asked permission to work today and my mother agreed’. The children thus imitated peer conduct. Unfortunately, occasional jobs commonly lapse into permanent jobs once the young workers enjoy earning personal money. Local perceptions, norms and values are most definitely involved in the complex combination of causes that lead to child labour. Most of the children’s parents worked themselves when they were children and generally perceive involvement in work as positive; it is associated with learning responsibilities, honesty and an antidote to delinquency. Most parents and children make a distinction between the types of work that are suitable for children, such as selling for a few hours in the market, assisting the mother or the father, and the ones that are not, such as being a porter or working with waste materials (i.e. getting involved in the worst forms of child labour). Local perceptions do therefore not suffice in the full explanation of these forms of child labour. The involvement of many children in acceptable activities, however, may in practice cross over into harmful forms: they may start working longer hours, cutting classes, working alone, working at night, etc. Awareness of when work turns into harmful labour is sometimes lacking. A mother in Carabayllo explained: I started to work when I was very young. I had to work very hard and suffered a lot. I married to finally be able to rest a bit. I have never really known what adolescence is because I had to grow up so fast. When I got children I just thought that they had to work as well. I found it normal. It had been part of my life, but now I know it should not have been.

Most parents and children consider helping the family financially as an important aspect of life. In a focus group discussion of school going children between 11 and 14 years old, the large majority argued that children have the duty to help in the household. Paula, a working girl of 12 years old explained: Children have their rights and parents should not mistreat them. But children should also realise that they have duties. Some children don’t want to help their parents, even though their parents are poor. They are selfish. They don’t value the support their parents gave them.

It is also relevant to explore to what extent accessibility and quality of education have an influence on child labour. Education has established itself as a norm, but not yet as a priority. A teacher in La Victoria explained:

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

35

Many of the children in my class used to come without books, pencils and notebooks. When I speak to their parents they tell me that they are poor and don’t have the money to buy the school supplies. Most of the families have a television though, so I tell them: if you find your child’s education important let’s sell some stuff in your house and see if you can buy the supplies. Then they get ashamed and start to buy school supplies for their children.

Yet, poverty may be so pervasive that expenses cannot be provided to the child and that the child even has to start working if it wants to attend school. It appears that in the rural areas, where many families in Lima come from, the desire of children to study, combined with poor educational facilities in the rural districts, is a strong motivational factor for migration to Lima. Having arrived in Lima, however, the children are practically forced to work just to survive, thereby reducing the time and energy they can spend on schooling. Since the lack of quality education in the countryside has already put them behind others of their age, they often end up in a class with much younger students, and unfortunately, many children stop studying because they do not feel that they fit in and end up working full time. Valentina (14) is a good example of one such child who actually started working because she wanted to go to school: I was born in a village in Cuzco and lived with my parents and six brothers and sisters. I didn’t go to school because it was very far away. I wanted to study and learn Spanish, because I knew only Quechua, so I cried and insisted on that. Finally my parents sent me to an aunt in Lima. I now help her selling around the market area.

Children who were born in Lima and live with their parents also are faced with the costs of education, which often is a reason to start working. Since a lack of financial means is combined with a lack of educational motivation, many families do not prioritise educational needs. For many adolescents who completed secondary school, their desire to continue their studies is the main reason to work. With lots of effort, it is sometimes possible to pay for a course such as clothes making with the earnings from a job at the market or in waste materials. However, they are the exceptions; most youngsters do not manage to combine work with education. The low quality of primary and secondary education on the outskirts and in poor neighbourhoods of Lima is also perceived as a significant problem. Graduates have little chance of being accepted to a university due to the low grades obtained. Jerson (17), a porter at the fruit market, told of his experiences: ‘Sometimes scholarships are provided for short courses, and that is good. But often you are not accepted if you have studied at a school such as where we study. The quality is low and you are excluded already by the name of the school. What then is the use of such an education?’ Work experience, then, is seen as an alternative or additional form of education and is considered vital to obtain a good job. Child labour is also more likely to occur in neighbourhoods with a lack of child care facilities, such as wawawasis.4 The children who are kept with the mother during work are exposed to the work from an early age, increasing the chances that the

Literally “house of children” in Quechua

4 

36

A. Ensing

child too will start performing the same tasks. Leonel, a young porter explained: ‘I already knew the market because my mother used to work here and I knew where to rent the two-wheel trolleys, so when I needed a job I came immediately to this place.’ Even when the children are slightly older, some mothers in Las Lomas de Carabayllo do not want to leave their children alone while they are at work because of safety reasons. La Victoria and surrounding areas are known to be dangerous and even houses are not considered to be completely safe. Paula (12), whose mother works at the market selling orange juice, knew how difficult it was when her parents were separated: We are eight children at home, the three youngest are girls. My mother didn’t want to leave us at home alone. She doesn’t trust the neighbour and something could happen, for example, with the gas stove when are home alone. We had better all to go with her. Now my parents got back together again, so if one of my parents is home we can also stay home.

Finally, the lack of recreational opportunities for children and adolescents also contributes to the existence of child labour in the urban sector. Rosy (11) in Las Lomas de Carabayllo said: I sometimes go to look for recyclable material, alone or with friends. The money that I earn is for my mother. The nice thing is that we can walk around together. Sitting at home is sometimes boring. My mother gives me tasks to do in the household. Boys can go outside and play football, but girls stay more at home. I like to search for materials because it is less boring.

It is mainly the informal nature of the sectors, and thus a lack of control and implementation of the existing legislation, that make them vulnerable to child labour. In Las Lomas de Carabayllo, basically all activities related to garbage are informal and laws do not have much influence in this remote and marginalised part of Lima. The fruit market is more organised and admits only porters of 14 years and older, and who belong to the porters association. At the vegetable market, there is less prominent organisation, little true control and much corruption, which results in more child labour.

Interventions to Combat Child Labour In Las Lomas de Carabayllo and at both markets, several interventions have been put into place to combat child labour. A clear distinction can be observed between the interventions with an erradicacionista viewpoint and those that tend more towards a regulacionista position. Whereas CESIP focuses primarily on personal development and removing children from work, Warma Taranakuy and Colibri, at the fruit market, highlight the importance of improving working conditions for adolescents. At the vegetable market, the government implements the Programa Integral Nacional para el Bienestar Familiar (INABIF, Integrated National Programme for Family Wellbeing), specifically through its project Educadores de Calle (street educators). The idea is that social workers function as ‘channels’ to provide working children with the necessary support so that all children below 14 will go to school and stop working. The programme, however, is too limited to be effective.

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

37

In Las Lomas de Carabayllo, the NGOs CESIP and Centro Proceso Social have implemented projects to promote children’s rights, to reduce working hours for children and remove them from harmful activities (Cesip 2006; Centro Proceso Social 2007). To achieve this goal, CESIP handed out scholarships, packages of school supplies were distributed, free healthcare was provided, enrolment in the SIS5 was promoted, working adolescents were given technical training, and children, adolescents and parents were educated about values, personal skills and the risks of child labour. Specific workshops for parents were reserved for training in economic skills, combined with the provision of microcredit from a rotary fund (Cesip 2006). Centro Proceso Social organised workshops on the value of education and the dangers of child labour. Finally, business education and microcredit courses were offered, through which parents are enabled to set up their own business and abandon their work in waste materials. At the vegetable market, CESIP offered adolescents workshops on personal development and technical education. In 2001, the youth group Nueva Generación de Adolescentes que Trabajan (NUGAT, New Generation of Working Adolescents) was established. The group represents adolescents between 12 and 18  years old who work at and around the market and it organises events and recreational activities. Warma Taranakuy works to improve the prospects of working adolescents and to break the cycle of poverty and child labour. It established and supervises the Asociación de Menores y Adolescentes que Trabajan Warma Taranakuy (Association of Working Minors and Adolescents), to which most porters at the fruit market belong. The young members have certain requirements they must fulfil, such as attending formal education, and participating in weekly meetings. Their rights as members include the right to enter the market with a trolley, to receive educational support, first-aid when needed, a relatively cheap lunch, technical workshops, and scholarships, among others. Colibri is another youth organisation that belongs to el frente de las 5 bases at the fruit market; it aims to improve the labour conditions of working children whilst eradicating the worst forms of child labour. The interventions of CESIP and Centro Proceso Social in Carabayllo have had similar results in terms of efficiency and sustainability. The workshops that were organised to raise awareness among parents were efficient to a certain extent. Women were taught about their own rights and child labour. Since most children work in the waste material sector with their mother, the removal of those women out of the sector is a part of the process. The information on direct consequences of child labour successfully affected women’s attitudes. A mother explained: ‘I never knew that it was so bad for children to work with waste materials; we were used to it. I only heard this during the workshops’. The women who were trained by Centro Proceso Social and CESIP are expected to pass on the information in their neighbourhood. Despite the good results, awareness raising alone has appeared to be insufficient in eradicating child labour. As single mother Yvonne argued: ‘I was only able to

Servicio Integral de Salud or Integrated Health Service

5 

38

A. Ensing

stop the work in waste materials with my children when my oldest children found a good job and helped me with the household costs’. Awareness raising seems to be valued by the participants, but changes are less likely to occur without accompanying economic support. Persons who participated successfully in CESIP’s microcredit programme were very positive about their experience because it presented them with less harmful and better earning possibilities at home, enabling them to care for their children. To receive financial support from the microcredit programme, an agreement is signed in which the recipient agrees to abandon child labour. But only a number of the participants were able to set up a successful business. Centro Proceso Social’s microcredits were even less successful, as the project leader explained: It takes a long time before people with very little knowledge about business can start their own business and succeed. One year, as our project proposed, is too short. Besides, there are many unexpected problems that require money, such as healthcare. Many people have also a short term vision. This way, the fund is often spent on other things and the business fails.

The problem with both projects is that they only effectively reach women with perseverance. The more vulnerable people, facing a multitude of problems and living in extreme poverty and possibly less enterprising, are very unlikely to set up a successful business. Likewise, the most vulnerable children and adolescents are the most difficult to reach, and are least likely to attend workshops. The scholarship program appears to make a real difference for those who participate. The financial support helped Ronald (22) to get a dignified job: ‘I participated consistently in CESIP’s workshops for adolescents and I eventually received a scholarship to study computer skills. I always liked business and now I have my own business in the centre of Lima to sell computer parts’. Other boys, even after participating in the workshops and learning about the dangers of child labour and the benefits of education, did not receive a scholarship and are still working with waste materials. According to a CESIP project evaluation, 72.6% of the children and adolescents who participated in the project between 2002 and 2006 abandoned their work in waste material processing or other dangerous activities. Most of them participated in the project activities for 4 years. Most of the children who stopped working belonged to families with a mother and a father; their parents played an active role in the success of the intervention. The others were more difficult to reach (Cesip 2006). In the market sector, children who are members of NUGAT value the recreational activities and the space that is offered to study or just pass time; they emphasise the positive influence their participation had on their personal development. They like the talks, dancing, and sports. Adults come and talk about drugs and alcohol, sexual education or domestic violence. In NUGAT, the children learned to defend themselves and to claim their rights. CESIP also tries to reinforce the resilience of the children by strengthening their ability to defend themselves. However, many of the participants continue to work at the market. A CESIP social worker explained: ‘we try to improve adolescents’ working conditions, because most of them need a job. We try to convince the parents of young children to make them stop working, but this is difficult’. The most vulnerable children are the most difficult to reach.

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

39

This also applies to Warma Taranakuy and Colibri. Its members are adolescents, not young children, who usually combine work with school. Most of Warma Taranakuy’s members are positive about the way their membership has improved their working conditions. Jerson (17) had previously worked without being a member and was denied the rights that the members have. Later on, when he was admitted things started changing: ‘When I started to work at the fruit market as an informal porter, I was not allowed to use a trolley. I had to carry the load. Now that I am part of Warma I can put it all on my trolley. It is physically less heavy and you earn more because it goes quicker’. Safety and standing of the members has improved. Informal porters tend to be treated badly, but if that happens to members of the association, the adult organisers intervene. Such was the experience of Alfredo (30): ‘The adults of Warma Taranakuy protect you when the customers at the market don’t respect you. Once I was beaten by a guard. Then Moises criticised the guy and he got caught. I was amazed, but felt very good about it’.6 Young workers associations like Warma Taranakuy are successfully able to improve the working and living conditions. The interventions, in combination with the strict administration at the fruit market, have to a certain extent converted a worst form of child labour into a legal form of adolescent work. In addition, it contributes to a solution of poverty and child labour in the long term. The interventions could be considered as successful practices to combat the worst forms of child labour and create conditions for fairly well-regulated adolescent work under conditions which generally comply with legislation. Yet, the worst forms of child labour continue to exist, as the most vulnerable child workers are excluded from the organisational structure of the association. CESIP and its youth group NUGAT accomplish significant results on a personal and educational level; adolescents receive support to progress into less dangerous jobs and better working conditions. However, dangerous conditions at the market, which the children face during their work, have not been improved. Equally important, the intervention provides a form of child care, which is an important means to prevent children from joining their mothers during work. Unfortunately, the voluntary character of the service still leaves many children at work with their parents. CESIP’s intervention is successful for a very limited percentage of the working children at the vegetable market.

Conclusions We looked at the situation of children working at two wholesale markets in the district La Victoria and in waste materials processing in Carabayllo, in the peripheral zone of the capital city Lima. The living and working conditions of the children vary a lot, but there are also similarities to be found. In both parts of Lima, a sizeable portion of the population, Moises is one of the founders of the association and the main contact person for the boys.

6 

40

A. Ensing

including the working children, consists of migrants from the countryside. The migrants arrive in the poorest parts of the city, in the periphery, where they lack important basic services, or in the centre of Lima, where there is a serious safety problem. Working children come mostly from large families, but many families are broken, resulting in single parent households. There are also many working children without parents; they live with relatives or in some cases are left to fend for themselves. Most working children in Lima lack a healthy and safe living environment. Children perform a wide variety of activities. In Las Lomas de Carabayllo, boys and girls, starting from age 7 years onwards, collect waste materials in the streets and sort out different types of materials at a small dumpsite. Male adolescents from around 15 years onwards are found collecting and sorting out materials at formal garbage dumps or on garbage trucks. At the markets, most children work as porters or informal sellers of vegetables, food and drinks. A remaining group is involved in shoe-shining, the clothing industry, restaurant work, or garbage collection. Consequences of the work with waste materials, mostly due to the lack of protective measures, are primarily health-related. In addition, adolescents are more likely to stop school if they are also working. In La Victoria, there are some health problems as a result of the heavy weights which they carry, and children are tired due to their early working hours. Several children miss school for at least a year and the ones who do continue to attend fall asleep in class or do not finish their homework, resulting in poor results due to their lack of concentration. Migrant children experience additional familial problems; they are either separated from their families who stay behind in their rural homes, or the whole family is faced with the new challenges of city life. Many children feel either bored or unsafe during work. Adolescents working at the fruit market enjoy slightly better labour conditions, due to the safety measures in place, are able to start somewhat later and manage to go to school. These conditions are a result of the well-organised market. The consequences of children’s work in both sectors are generally harmful, even though they are not always perceived as such. A distinction between the two sectors, however, needs to be made. The entire sector “waste material” should be considered a worst form of child labour because of its harmful working conditions for all children involved. Markets as a sector need not necessarily be labelled a worst form of child labour: there are huge differences between working conditions at various markets. Hence, the harmfulness of work at markets cannot be generalised and can only be determined when looking at the specific market, activities and working conditions. However, the research shows that the majority of the working children at the vegetable market, as well as the young porters that carry extreme heavy weights at the fruit market, find themselves in a worst form of child labour. Work at markets should thus be strictly regulated and should be prohibited for children under 14. The reasons for most children to work are a combination of financial reasons, reasons related to childcare and safety, poor educational services and existing traditional norms. A lack of safety and sufficient childcare drives mothers to take their children along to the workplace. Children who work for economic reasons do this mostly to contribute to their family’s income or to be able to provide for their own

2  Child Labour in an Urban Setting: Markets and Waste Collection in Lima

41

basic needs. Educational services in the countryside do not suffice, are of bad quality or bring along too many costs, resulting in children’s migration and work in urban areas. Schools in the poorer urban neighbourhoods usually offer low-standard education and parents and children may decide that work experience is more helpful than school. Existing norms play a part as well. According to Andean rural tradition, children are accustomed to helping their parents and the adolescents are expected to cover their own expenses. Working and helping is generally perceived as positive for children and the thin line between such useful contribution and harmful work is easily crossed. Since the work is usually of an informal nature, such activities are easily accessible to children. The low income for adults also motivates the participation of children, as does a lack of organisation among labourers. Finally, working and living areas are so closely linked, which also facilitates children to work. In Las Lomas de Carabayllo, many NGOs are active with wide-ranging activities, including awareness-raising workshops for children, adolescents and parents. It is apparent that accompanying financial support is necessary in order to reduce child labour. Scholarships for adolescents and microcredits for adults to start a business prove to be successful strategies in reducing child labour, but only a relatively small part of the working families are involved. The most vulnerable working children are also the most difficult to reach. They lack the support of their parents or their parents are not able to bring about significant changes in their economic conditions. Youth organisations like Warma Taranakuy, which try to improve labour conditions at the fruit market, are able to improve young workers’ working and living conditions by offering educational support and protection and by setting an age limit for membership. Due to the interventions and the strict management of the market, working adolescents operate according to acceptable standards. At the vegetable market, CESIP and its youth group NUGAT obtain important results in awareness raising and in establishing education as a norm. Several children expressed satisfaction due to the workshops and some adolescents got a chance to continue their higher education studies without having to work. However, labour conditions at the market have not improved. The intervention, furthermore, is too small-scale to be effective.

Recommendations Based on the experiences of former and current interventions, and on the results of this research, recommendations for future policy can be formulated. Considering the diversity of working children and the combination of causes that lead to child labour, the solution requires a combination of strategies. • Orphans and abandoned children, but also young children in general, need adequate childcare, so that they are kept away from the dangers and the temptations of the work sphere, and so that they can enjoy a safe environment while parents work. Quality childcare is important to enable parents to work without taking their children along.

42

A. Ensing

• Income for working parents must be increased, so as to reduce the need for children to participate. The promotion of income generating activities can be a solution. Such schemes can be successful in some cases, but there are budget constraints and often the inability of many families to really turn self-enterprise into a success story. • The sectors should be subject to labour inspections on general working conditions, pollution and child labour. • Since children from single mothers and large families are more likely to work, such families should be targeted. Interventions should, in their effort to raise the family income, include gender equality and support for single mothers. • Separating working and living areas is vital to prevent children from living in harmful conditions and keep them separated from the lure and dangers of the workplace. • Education must be improved in both urban and rural areas, to prevent children from migrating in search of better education in the first place. Affordable higher education is also important. A system of scholarship as a reward for discontinuing child labour could be considered as an effective social programme. • Finally, international organisations should play a role in supporting the government institutions and, in combination with an alliance of NGO’s, not working individually but jointly, could help to coordinate interventions, which will less likely be counterproductive or contradictory. Decisions, concerning policies and interventions, will be made by a variety of actors, including state institutions, and will make use of the available joint experience and knowledge, thus increasing the consensus and sustainability.

Chapter 3

The Risks of Becoming a Street Child: Working Children on the Streets of Lima and Cusco Talinay Strehl

The term ‘street children’ was introduced by UNESCO after World War II, but it was not until 1979, the International Year of the Child, that it became more commonly used. Street children are generally assumed to be children and adolescents who come from dysfunctional families and who chiefly live on the streets. The broad classification ‘street child’ is imperfect and leads to misunderstandings and inefficient policy. There is in fact a wide range of street use, associated with a wide variance in street life. Many forms of street life are not intrinsically harmful. A valuable distinction has been made between beneficial street use, the street as a space for assumed adulthood, the street as a sign of school exclusion and a runaway place of degenerative estrangement (Williams 1993). The latter, the category of totally abandoned children, is a minority. Many children in fact live with their families, go to school and hang around or play on the streets for a couple of hours per day. For another category of street children (the proto-adults), the street may offer the illusion of adult self-determination and liberation from the restrictions associated with normative childhood. Because the overall term is insensitive to the differences among all the children that it attempts to categorise, a distinction was made between children on the street and children of the street. This categorisation is based on the level of contact the children have with their families. The first category (on the streets) consists of children who take to the streets for a livelihood, but who return home to their families and contribute to the household income; the latter (of the streets) refers to children without family support and who have come to depend entirely on the streets for survival (usually run-away children). We shall refer to the former category as ‘street-working children’ and to the latter as ‘street-living children’. While both groups of children have a special relation with the street, they occupy distinct categories of street children and have a different relation to street work and income-generating activities. However, the group boundaries are fluid, categories overlap and children can move easily back and forth from one category to the other. Within categories the children do not form a homogeneous group at all. Therefore, T. Strehl () IREWOC, Leiden, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_3, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

43

44

T. Strehl

scholars such as Glauser (1990:142), Tobias Hecht (1998), Panter-Brick (2002), Judith Ennew (2003) and Gigengack (2006) reject the of/on the street categorisation and underline that it does not respect cultural and contextual values. Although we should be aware of neither narrowing nor generalising the category of street children by dividing them into different categories, it is necessary to make some distinctions within the large and heterogeneous group in order to identify the specific problems they encounter on the street. Until now, the relation between street-working children and street-living children has been underexplored in literature. So too has the relation between child labour and street children. According to the National Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour in Peru (CEPTI), street work can be considered a worst form of child labour when performed under conditions that put the well-being of children and adolescents at risk (CPETI and MTPE 2005). Tejada Ripalda also names child labour as one of the factors responsible for children ending up living on the streets. He argues that the process of replacing home for the street often starts with parents sending their children out to the street for work (2005).

Street-working children from the countryside

We shall argue that although the nature of street work seems harmless, the working conditions imply high risks for health, education and morals of the children. Children doing street work are exposed to all forms of abuses and run the risk of temporarily or permanently ending up living on the streets. The risks of streetworking children crossing the line to become street-living children will be explored and so too the hazards that living and working on the streets imply.

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

45

Background and Research Questions In the last few years, several qualitative studies have been published on street children in Peru, with different outcomes. Some of these studies, like the ones by Invernizzi (2003) and Steel (2008), argue that street work done by children is important for their socialisation and development. Steel argues that the problem therefore is not the work on the streets, but the vulnerable position of being on the streets. However, Tejada Ripalda (2005) also stresses the danger of street work for a ‘proper’ socialisation of children and the very risks of the work resulting in ordinary street life. In his view, street-living children are marginalised and excluded from society. Despite these studies, during the past decade the ‘phenomenon’ of street children in Peru has disappeared into the background of the policy agenda (see for example Qosqo Maki 1998; Voces para Latinoamérica and Sinergia por la Infancia 2009). The children, who were once visible throughout the city centres of Lima and Cusco, are now subject to a policy of social cleansing. Children who work on the streets, as well as children who live on the streets, are being removed by the police from central city areas and main tourist hotspots, such as the central squares, where they traditionally spent much of their time. Consequently, the children have been banned to the invisible and marginal edges of the cities and the daily influx of children on and of the streets goes by unnoticed by most. A child-friendly policy should take into consideration the children’s needs, which are influenced by what the children do, why they find themselves on the streets and which problems they encounter on the streets. For that reason, by means of qualitative anthropological, quantitative sociological and child participative methods, answers were sought to the following questions: • What are the various reasons why children are in the streets? • What (labour) activities do they engage in on the streets and how do they generate income? • Which consequences do the children experience from their working or living on the streets and what are the specific problems that street children face?

The Research Setting In the second half of the twentieth century, Peru witnessed a rapid urban growth due to a massive in-migration from the rural areas, consisting of people in search of work or protection from the political violence of the 1980s and 1990s. Two expanding cities were Lima and Cusco, chosen as the fieldwork locations for this research. Lima was chosen because of its urban and metropolitan character and high number of street children, and Cusco because of its tourism industry and more rural and indigenous influences. Lima’s slums witnessed a rapid growth, between 1961 and 1993 in particular, doubling the percentage of the population living in slums from 17–34%. Thereafter, the quick growth of new settlements on the outskirts of the

46

T. Strehl

city appears to have slowed down and Lima’s contemporary youth consists mainly of these second-generation migrants from Peru’s countryside (Valenzuela et  al. 2007:36–37). Lima has approximately 1.6 million children and adolescents aged 6–16, of which an estimated 3.7% works. In 2008, approximately 20% of the Lima population lived in poverty (INEI 2008). The Andean mountain town of Cusco has also seen its outskirts expand rapidly during the previous decades with migrants from the countryside in search of work. This ‘archaeological capital of America’, and thus tourist hub, close to Machu Picchu, annually receives more tourists than there are residents. Poverty remains rampant and thousands of young children and adolescents find ways to survive. According to UNICEF & INEI (2008), 61% of the children and adolescents in the department of Cusco lives in poverty and 29% lives in extreme poverty. The precarious living conditions, lack of water and electricity facilities and the infrastructural deficiencies in the marginal neighbourhoods, force them and their families into the city centre every day to find ways in which to benefit from the economic opportunities. Many children opt for the street, or are sent out to the streets by their parents, to contribute to the household economy by taking up informal jobs, mainly as (ambulatory) street sellers, porters, shoe shiners or car washers. The different locations where the children can be found in Lima and Cusco relate strongly with the type of activity the children do. Children selling handicrafts and souvenirs, or shoe shiners and postcard sellers, are normally found in the historic centres of the cities. However, it is just a small number of the street child population that spends their time in these tourist areas. Popular places among street children are commercial areas and entertainment centres outside the historic centre, like in and around markets, shopping streets and areas with a high density of restaurants and bars catering for Peruvians. Big traffic intersections attract children that make a living with washing windscreens and doing acrobatic performances in front of traffic lights. Children who make music and ambulant candy sellers hang around bus stops and bus stations, where they can be seen jumping from one bus to the other.

Characteristics of the Research Population In different parts of Lima and Cusco, we conducted a background mapping on children and adolescents between 5 and 17 years old who depend on the streets for survival (Ensing and Strehl 2010 (to be published)). The age of all interviewed street-working and street-living children was relatively high; almost half of all children surveyed were between 14 and 17 years old; 38% were between 10 and 13 years and only 16% between 5 and 9 years old. Most street children come from poor families, in which the parents are either first- or second-generation migrants. Most street-working and street-living children in Lima and Cusco are either migrants themselves or second-generation migrants from Peru’s countryside. The main reasons for migration are poverty and the lack of jobs in the countryside.

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

47

Even though in Lima more than half of the street-living and street-working children were born in Lima, a significant 30% were born in la Sierra, the central highlands of Peru, which is also the poorest part of the country. More than half of the children’s fathers and mothers also come from la Sierra. Sometimes, the children themselves are first-generation migrants and still have parents living in the countryside. In many cases, the parents are poorly educated or illiterate. Especially in Cusco, it was often the case that (one of) the parents did not speak Spanish, but only Quechua. The picture in Cusco is similar: 60% of the children were born in the province of Cusco, while 40% had migrated to Cusco, either alone or with their parents. The majority of the children’s parents were born in another province and some of the children still lived in other provinces but seasonally migrated to Cusco to work.

Young brothers washing windscreens in Cusco

Most of these children usually sleep at home with both parents (33% in Lima and 47% in Cusco) or with only their mother (25% in Lima and 22% in Cusco). It is important to mention that, given the many broken families, many children

48

T. Strehl

live with a mother and stepfather. Moreover, the death of a father or mother is relatively high: 3% of the children in Lima had lost their mother and 8% had lost their father. In Cusco, 6% had lost their mother and 10% had lost their father. Separation from the parents for reasons other than death, for example work or poverty, is also quite common. There seems to exist a strong relation between family composition and the need for a child to work on the streets: more than half of the street-working children do not live with both the parents. Some of the children do not live with any relatives at all. They are the children living on the streets. In Lima, we estimated the total number of street-living children to be around 700, while Cusco counts an estimated 100 street-living children.1 In Lima and Cusco, we also found several third-generation street children: children whose parents and grandparents also lived on the streets. According to street workers in Lima, this is a phenomenon seen increasingly frequent in this fast growing city. In Lima, there are many more boys than girls working or living on the streets, 63% and 37%, respectively. The probable reason for this gender bias is cultural, namely local expectations about boyhood and girlhood. Whereas the streets are a permissible domain for boys, girls are expected to be at home with their parents, in the private space, and to be protected from the street dangers. Within the population of street-living children, this difference is even bigger: while 89% are boys, just 11% are girls. One of the explanations is that girls are more likely to put up with difficulties at home and to hesitate more to leave their homes, even when they are abused or maltreated. Besides, girls generally feel more connected to family members and they feel more responsible to help their family with problems. The streets of big and inhospitable cities, like Lima, are particularly unsafe for young girls. The risks appear to be fewer in Cusco. Compared to Lima, the difference between the number of boys and girls working on Cusco’s streets is relatively small. Of all children who were surveyed, 45% were girls and 55% were boys. However, within the population of street-living children, this difference was practically as big as in Lima: 82% boys, 18% girls. Most of the street-living children had gone to school at some point in their lives but dropped out before, or since, they started living on the streets. From the children who do not live with their family, only 16% in Lima and 22% in Cusco go to school. Of children working on the streets, but living with their relatives, these percentages are clearly much higher: 77% and 86%, respectively. The result is that many street children are illiterate or have difficulties with reading and writing. Most street children have to work full time to survive.

Earlier studies in the 1990s estimated the number of street children in Lima to be between 500 and 1500 while others estimate 1500 for the whole of Peru (Rios Céspedes and Ordóñez in: Tejada Ripalda 2005)

1 

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

49

Working on the Streets Among all children included in the surveys in Lima and Cusco, the most common activities are selling sweets, drinks, food, souvenirs, etc. (56%) and working in services (25%), including shoe shining, porting, washing cars/windscreens, selling mobile phone calls, arranging (collective) taxi passengers or selling the use of weighing scales. Other economic activities include playing music or singing on streets, in restaurants and in city buses (especially boys), street acrobatics (especially boys), posing for photos in traditional clothing with tourists in Cusco, recycling of waste material, begging or stealing and prostitution, especially in Lima.

Street-living girl working in prostitution - photographed here with her boyfriend

Many more boys than girls are engaged in begging and stealing, while more girls than boys work in prostitution. A considerable 35% of the children in Lima and 28% in Cusco said to spend between 10 to 24 h on the street. Many children, sometimes even younger than 12 years old, can be seen in Lima’s and Cusco’s streets working overnight, especially around café’s and discotheques, selling cigarettes and sweets to drunken men and women.

50

T. Strehl

The majority of the children and adolescents in Lima and Cusco, almost 40%, are alone on the streets. Around one third, usually young girls and boys, spend their time on the streets with an adult relative, mostly a father or mother, and an almost equal number are on the streets with friends or minor relatives. In the latter case, adults coordinate the activity of the child and keep an eye on the child’s safety and well-being from a distance. Rosada, a mother of three street-working children, admits that street work implies several dangers and that therefore her presence is necessary: ‘I don’t want my children to get in contact with the bad children who steal and use drugs, the pirañas, because I am afraid that my children will start to copy their behaviour’. Both boys and girls spend, as they grow older, increasing lengths of time alone and thus are increasingly susceptible to the risks. Children work in the streets because one of the parents told the child to do so (29% in Lima and 43% in Cusco), because the child has to earn money for his or her basic needs (37% in Lima and 31% in Cusco), or because the child wants or needs to help his or her family (15% in Lima and 20% in Cusco). The difference between ‘want to’ and ‘need to’ help was difficult to define: children wanted to help because it was necessary. This answer in fact overlaps with the first two answers; a child could often not remember if parents had instructed him, if he decided himself or if it was simply necessary to provide for basic needs. The reason for working is mostly a combination of the parents asking children to help out economically and the learning of useful skills. Nora, who is a single mother of five, all working as street vendors on the main square in Cusco, commented: ‘Look, I am a single mother; what will they do if I die tomorrow? My children have to know how to earn their own money and how to survive. So it’s necessary that they learn how to use their hands and be independent’. Earnings clearly increase with age. Among all children who earn money on the street, more than half hand this money over to (one of) their parents. Boys more often spend their money on their own basic needs, while girls usually give most of their money to parents or caretakers. Boys, unlike girls, spend money on luxury articles, such as mp3 players or mobile phones. The work is not easy and one of the dangers actually comes from the forces of law and order; their merchandise is often seized by the police and children have to put in extra hours just to rebuild the business. Mary, a single mother of six children ranging from 3–15 years old, and living in Cusco, commented: I used to work as an ambulant vendor of underwear around the San Pedro market, but these ‘monkeys’ [police] were always harassing me. They are corrupt. Several times they took away my merchandise. They say that I am not allowed to sell on the street but how can I pay a fixed market stall? I was working in the street to feed my children!

Her son Michael (7), who washes windscreens with his 3 brothers and sister at a big traffic intersection every day, continued his mother’s story. They started working one month earlier when their mother lost her stock of underwear in a police seizure: Because they [the police] didn’t let our mother do her work, we have to help her. There was no money left to buy us food or to pay my tuition fee, so we said “Mama, we will help you. You have to take a rest, because you are very tired”. Sometimes there is no food and we have to enter the restaurants to beg for food.

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

51

Mary explains that her children run fewer risks of being caught by the police, because they run faster and do not have valuable merchandise to lose. The example shows how policy measures can have unexpected and unintentional results. Instead of solving the problem of the presence of street vendors, the problems become worse by forcing adult vendors to send their children out to work on the streets, instead of working themselves. Children are more accepted in low street value services than adults, making them less vulnerable to merchandise seizure.

Young girls in Cusco selling souvenirs to tourists in the city centre

Working on the streets has various consequences. In the first place, it negatively influences school attendance. Having to work long hours on the streets is not only exhausting, but also has negative influences on school performance (Ensing 2008b). Work reduces the number of hours at school or the time spent on completing homework, which can result in a definite school dropout. Of all children working on the streets, but living with their family, 23% in Lima, and 14% in Cusco, dropped out of school. Having to work during school hours and not having enough money to pay for education were mentioned as important reasons. Working children who do attend school either work in the weekends or work outside of school hours. They, however, run a great risk of dropping out, because the work is tiring and less time and energy can be spent on homework, which results in poor performances at school. Besides, once a child becomes accustomed to earning money he/she is likely to spend increasingly longer hours on the streets and the motivation to do well at school is drastically reduced. The child will spend more time working or

52

T. Strehl

hanging on the streets and therefore has a bigger change of staying on the streets permanently. Many children (44% in Lima and 32% in Cusco) experience the streets as unsafe. Feelings of safety decrease as children get older. This might be related to the fact that older children are less frequently accompanied by adult relatives, but also perhaps because older children are treated as adults, considerably harsher and unforgiving than ways in which younger children are approached. The dangers relate to their working environment: the traffic and traffic accidents, pollution, violent passers-by and drunken men, gang members, thieves and drug users. Especially verbal and physical violence is perceived as major hazards (30% of all streetworking children in Lima and Cusco). More girls than boys experience sexual intimidation on the streets, while more boys experience physical violence and health problems and tiredness, mainly related to heavy jobs. Thus, although most activities carried out by street-working children are seemingly harmless and relatively easy, the ambient factors, the working environment in which these activities are performed, put the well-being, health and morals of the children at risk. Moreover, children who work on the streets run the risk of going off-track and becoming involved in even more hazardous and unacceptable forms of child labour, namely in unconditionally hazardous forms of child labour such as prostitution and drug trafficking. Street work in a malicious and violent street environment, especially if parental supervision is lacking, can damage the socialisation process of young children to such an extent that street work can result in a permanent stay on the streets and poorer working conditions.

The Transition to Street Life As said, street-working children run the risk of becoming street-living children. Many street-living children’s testimonies show that the experiences that young children had with street work were instrumental for them starting to live on the street. It is important to consider that usually a combination of factors cause children to live on the streets; these factors can be divided into so-called push and pull factors. The push-factors are negative factors within a child’s household that are pushing him or her out of the home into street life. These factors include, among others, domestic violence, parental alcoholism, low family income or unstable family income (children are sent to work to supplement the family’s income), neglect and abuse, a poorly functioning school system, high tuition fees, poorly educated parents and the loss of parents (Volpi 2002; Dybicz 2005). The pull-factors are aspects of street life that children experience as positive and a way to escape the negative factors at home. In other words, the pull-factors make the children opt for the streets, considering it a better option than living at home. Pull-factors, among others, include freedom, (economic) independence, friendship and love among (street) peers, opportunities to earn income, drugs, attraction to the city and the (social) entertainment in the city (e.g. internet cafés and game rooms).

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

53

This does not mean that street life is always an attractive alternative. The choice to turn to street life is for most children the last option in response to poverty, exploitation and abuse at home. It is not necessarily a positive expression of agency, but agency as a second choice. Although reasons to end up living on the streets are diverse, there is a relation between poor families sending their children to the streets as breadwinners and the permanent transfer of the child from home to street. When children work on the streets, either accompanied by family members or alone, their income successes or failures often become the centre of their parents’ positive recognition or disapproval. Parents put a lot of financial responsibilities on the shoulders of their children and become angry when their expectations are not fulfilled. Children feel pressured and will become more hesitant about going home after an ‘unsuccessful’ day of work. As they start spending a lot of time on the streets, children also start to compare advantages of street life with disadvantages of their home situation, with the possibility of finally replacing home with the street (Tejada Ripalda 2005:51–64). Especially if the child encounters family problems and punishments at home, the decision to not return home after a long day of street work is quickly made. By spending a lot of their time on the street, children can get used to the ‘freedom’ and independence that street life offers them. The children provided the following explanations: ‘being able to keep the money’, ‘having no rules’, ‘playing’, ‘not having to travel long distances’ and ‘being able to steal and buy nice clothes’. Some children explained that they befriended children living on the streets, while working on the same spots, and that these street children taught them to use inhalants, mostly Terokal (glue), and to play videogames. The working children became addicted to these vices and did not want to return home anymore, in the expectation that angry parents were waiting for them. Such dangers emanating from the environment also lead to children coming to Lima and Cusco from the countryside in the weekends and school vacations to earn money for home. However, the process towards living on the streets is a gradual one, in which the child passes through various stages. In these stages, a street-working child begins to replace his/her home-ties with street-ties and starts to affiliate with others on the street. Slowly, they learn the appropriate behaviour and skills to become accepted as a member of a street group. They may start by working during the day, first with adult supervision and then without supervision, then start to lengthen the time on the street, hanging around without working and spending more and more nights there. During each stage of this process, the child becomes more habituated to specific street culture and returns home less and less (Rizzini and Butler 2003). Juan-Carlos (14), Lima explained how street-work resulted in street-life: My street life actually started after my mother had died. Before my mother died, she always took good care of me. When I was alone with my father, it all changed. He didn’t want to pay anything. He was never at home. My older sister said “Juan-Carlos, you better work because otherwise we’ll have nothing to eat.” That’s when I went to the street to sell sweets; I was only 11 years old. On the Avenida Iquitos I met a group of street boys and I really liked how they dressed. I felt like a loser, wearing my crappy clothes. I started to befriend them and wanted to be like them. That’s when I tried Terokal [glue]. It made me forget my problems at home. After a while I decided to stay with them on the street and I started to

54

T. Strehl sleep on the porch of a church. Drugs have brought me many bad things, they made me leave home. Now it’s too late to go back.

Based on his experience, Juan-Carlos disapproves of parents in Lima sending their children to work. He knows what the consequences are and tells us that children should stay at home studying and parents should be working. Another example is China (15), who has been selling goods on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco with her mother ever since she was 5 years old. Although China mostly worked under the supervision of her mother, after she reached the age of 13, she made the transition to street life: Sometimes I stayed 3 or 4 days on the street, waking up on the Plaza. The street has really messed me up, because I didn’t want to go home anymore after work. I befriended many pirañas [street kids] on the Plaza and I wanted to stay with them. I started to like stealing and buy myself new clothes. At home we suffered a lot and I had to give all the money to my mum. I wanted to keep my own money … I was afraid that my mother would hit me because I spent the money on clothes. That’s why I hardly returned home anymore.

Another common situation is that parents living in the countryside send their children to live with other people (mostly relatives) in bigger cities, like Lima or Cusco, hoping that the child will be looked after and will have better prospects. Underlying causes for this decision are chronic impoverishment and a lack of employment opportunities in rural areas. Either the child is sent to the city to earn a living for himself, or the child is sent to support the family income in the rural area. Expec­ tations, both of parents and children, of ‘the good life in the city’, with better working and educational opportunities, pull rural children to Lima’s and Cusco’s streets.

Street-living boy shining shoes at night on Cusco’s streets

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

55

Often, life in the city turns out to be much more difficult than expected, or relatives already there refuse or are not able to support them. I met children as young as 5 or 6, mostly accompanied by older siblings, walking the streets of Lima and Cusco selling caramelos (sweets) and tostaditas (dried seeds) to be able to pay for a room at a cheap hostel for the night. The family members they came to live with either did not accept them or they exploited or mistreated them, resulting in the children living on the streets. Although their migration to the city did not turn out as they expected, i.e. they were not able to go to school or to save money, they did not return home because of shame, unattractive living conditions in their home villages, and the habituation to city and street life. For these reasons, a large segment of street children claimed to have no family to live with (Lima 25%, Cusco 41%). A lack of resources seems to make strained relationships within the household worse, causing a lot of stress for parents and children alike. Some children told me, for example, that they were tired of always having to look after their younger siblings and having to manage the house while their mothers were out at work all day. The overbearing responsibilities in the household and the lack of basic needs, like food, love, attention and diversion made the children leave for the streets in search of independence, material satisfaction and social bonding with peers. Mostly these kids come from deprived households in poor and often violent neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Lima and Cusco, or from deprived rural areas. In situations where the children suffer material deprivation at home, the street can offer the tempting illusion of freedom and relief from problems at home. This is illustrated by Filipo (11). He had arrived in Cusco from the countryside, with his cousin, 2  months previously: I was so bored at home; I was always alone with my younger brothers and sisters. My mother wanted me to wash their clothes and cook our food. We were living in an adobe (loam stone) house, just one room! If I was not helping in the house, I had to look after our cattle, waking up at 3 o’clock. Ai! My mother never cared about how I felt and she liked to command. When my cousin Braulio told me he was going to earn a lot of money in Cusco, I didn’t hesitate to accompany him. Now I keep my own money and buy new shoes. I already got used to it. My parents? They don’t know.

Cusco’s tourism sector can be identified as another pull-factor. Many children told me they had the idea before coming to Cusco that it would be easy to make money because ‘los pavos’2 were considered to be spending their money easily. By migrating to Cusco the children, just like many adults, hope to get a slice of Cusco’s tourist pie by working in informal jobs on the street. However, the expectation to earn good money in the streets is not the only factor landing children on the streets. In some cases it was not poverty, but the lack of love, affection and security at home. In Lima, many street children claimed to not sleep at home because of family problems: 37% complained about not getting along with (one of) their parents and 30% did not like staying at home. In Cusco, 12% complained about (one of) their parents; 12% did not like being at home; and 24% Literally this means ‘turkeys’, but in street dialect the term is used for ‘tourists’

2 

56

T. Strehl

preferred to meet friends at alternative sleeping places rather than sleep at home. Abuse and alcoholism were two main reasons for not liking it at home. So, leaving home and landing on the streets is a process. Poverty in itself does not drive children to the streets; many children living in extremely poor households stay with their families their whole childhood. However, poverty and material deprivation can be a major factor exacerbating stress on vulnerable families and putting children at risk, for example, through sending them to the streets to work. Entering the streets as young workers entails great risks, although not all streetworking children necessarily end up as street-living children, but most street-living children did start out as street-working children.

Street Life Once children have started living on the streets, there is generally no way back. They will continue to use the streets for income generation, as they work independently on the squares, main roads, sidewalks and alleys. Although the types of jobs are quite similar to what street-working children do, the experiences and relevance of work change for street-living children. First of all, contradictory to the stereotypical image of street-living children, these children appear to live relatively luxuriously, especially compared to street-working children. They often buy food, candies and soft drinks; they regularly buy new fashionable clothes and sometimes they can even afford accommodation. They keep all their money themselves, which makes them financially better-off than their streetworking peers who have to hand over most of their money to their relatives. Generally, they also earn more, although their income is insecure and varies per day. For example, in Cusco only 14% of all street-living children earn less than 10 soles per day (approximately 2.5 euros), compared to half of the street-working children living with family members. A reason for this could be that street-living children have more earnings from illicit activities, like stealing and drug dealing. Moreover, street-living children mainly work for their own basic needs and mostly are their own bosses. This gives them the freedom to decide how to schedule their days, when to work and when to play and rest. Their ‘working-day’ is quite flexible. This flexibility allows them to organise their own space. Augosto, for instance, likes polishing shoes in the streets of Peru ‘because I can quit work whenever I want to play soccer with the other street workers and not only on Sundays like most people’. Street-living children generally like their street jobs. Especially children with a talent for some kind of activity, like music or acrobatics, talked proudly about their jobs. Children also claimed to like their street work because, ‘I am doing something I am good at’, ‘with my friends’, ‘cannot be exploited’, ‘independent and free’, ‘earning my own money’, ‘learning languages and about other countries’, ‘learning maths’, ‘learning to negotiate, not to be shy and sell my products’ and ‘becoming friends with tourists’. On the other hand, children also admitted that they would probably not like to be doing this kind of informal work their whole lives, because

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

57

it has a bad reputation and is insecure. They justify their presence on the streets, but at the same time understand that it is morally and socially not the best option. Hilario (16) explained: ‘For now I like to make music in bars, but in a couple of years I hope to get a formal job, something stable. I would not like that people are still looking at me like ‘look that vago [idle person]’, no, I prefer to do something more dignified, like being an engineer.’ Street children have different strategies for making a living on the streets, ranging from real labour activities, such as shining shoes, to illicit activities, such as stealing and drug trafficking. A typical characteristic of the entrepreneurial strategies of street children are that they are often improvised. For example, selling products with a relatively low street value, like candies and postcards, demands very little starting capital and earnings do not have to be reinvested in new merchandise. The type of labour activity chosen often depends on the child’s talent and preferences and on what their friends are doing, as children learn from each other about the most effective ways of income generation and the most lucrative locations to practise these activities. In most cases, street children combine different strategies or switch regularly between legal and illegal income-generating activities. Luis (17), a boy who has lived in Cusco’s streets since he was 7 years old, explained: When I was small, we always used to beg for money and food in the restaurants, sometimes we also washed cars or I did malabares (acrobatics); when I grew older I learned how to earn money in a quicker way; I started to steal mirrors. Well, sometimes I also shined shoes on the Plaza and later on I sold paintings to tourists too.

William, a 13-year-old postalero (postcard vendor), also explained how he combines legal and illegal activities for his income generation: ‘If I don’t sell enough postcards to buy myself a meal, I’ll try to earn some money in a different way; sometimes pick pocketing a tourist while I pretend to chat with him.’ Street children are often accused of just being thieves because they like to earn ‘easy money’3, and they need money to buy drugs. The children themselves, however, feel shame and suffer from public humiliation and stigmatisation. They understand that it is simply socially unacceptable and looked-down-upon that adolescent children still earn their living with low-value jobs on the streets. It is a vicious circle, which pushes them further into delinquency. Junior (14, Lima) explained: I felt ashamed when I was singing in a cevichería [fish restaurant]; people look at you as if you’re a ratero [rat]. You can even hear them thinking ‘bastard’ and they tell us to ‘fuck off’. And if I tried to talk with them, telling them that I can’t pay my studies, they screamed at me even more. You know, if you get older, people don’t accept it that you still do these kinds of jobs. I don’t want to be called a piraña anymore, that’s why I learned to steal car mirrors.

Agosto (16, Lima) expressed the same dilemma, but has not yet sunk further into delinquency: ‘I sang because that was the only thing I knew. My friends taught me 3  One car mirror is worth 20 soles (5 euros) and the total act of stealing and selling will take a maximum of half an hour, while the earnings of a whole day of hard work, like selling sweets in restaurants, are not more than 10–15 soles.

58

T. Strehl

how to sing, but I always felt ashamed to ask people for money after the song. People say many bad words to you; they say that you’re a loafer and a beggar. Therefore singing makes me feel sad.’ Paradoxically, many children feel that they have no other option than to steal, because outsiders treat them like delinquents when they try to earn money honestly. Because stealing is a secret and hidden form of income generation, street children feel less ashamed and discriminated in this activity. Jose Bruno (15) explained, ironically, that ‘people oblige you to steal, because if you sell sweets people tell you to go away, if you ask them for money they won’t give it, but if you steal their purse they’ll reprimand us and say ‘why didn’t you just ask me to help you?” According to him it’s their own fault for becoming the targets of theft, because they were not willing to help street children. Kevin (12) had a similar belief: ‘When I am stealing, people tell me to go and work. When I am working, selling candies, the police confiscate my merchandise. How am I going to work if the police won’t let me? My only option is to laburar [steal], so I can afford a bed for the night.’ To avoid being called a piraña or ratero, names often used to refer to street children, they attach importance to their appearance. They want to look acceptable to the people around and thus have to earn extra money: ‘If a child is walking in rags and dirty clothes, outsiders will immediately recognise the child as a street child and associate him with all the evil things in the world’, according to an exstreet child. A street child therefore needs good clothes. A lot of money is needed to buy new clothes though, and this can only be achieved through illicit ways. Junior (14, Lima): ‘I find it important to look neat and wear nice clothes, because otherwise they’ll call me piraña; that’s why I steal’. The discrimination of street children appears to lead to some of the illegal and even criminal activities within this group. It must be mentioned, however, that although thieving is a common economic strategy and important part of street culture, not all street children agree with it. Some children said that they still prefer low status jobs to immoral and illegal activities. Sex work is another activity street children can engage in. This activity takes on different forms. There is the sex-for-commodity relationships with tourists, known as bricherismo4; the sex-for-money with Peruvians and tourists in hidden alleyways, closed markets or hotel rooms; clandestine street prostitution; and street girls offering sex to street boys in exchange for food, small gifts and drugs. The lastnamed activity was the most openly practised, although not considered sex-work by the children themselves. Street prostitution by young girls is especially visible in Lima on the Avenida Grau and Iquitos. In many cases, street girls are forced into prostitution by their street boyfriends to earn quick money in exchange for protection and affection. Another route is that street-living girls come into contact with prostitution through other girls living on the streets. Sex work is often promoted by Bricheros look for tourists to become their (temporary) partners with the intention of receiving money, commodities, drinks, etc. This act especially takes place in tragotecas and discotheques in the touristic centre of Cusco, like at the Plaza de Armas, Plateros, Pasaje Procuradores, Bélen, Av. El Sol, Plaza San Fransisco (ILO and IPEC 2007).

4 

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

59

street friends or relatives as an easy way to earn money. For instance, Nelly (12, Lima), who escaped from her alcoholic mother and has lived on the streets for the past 2 years, and who is ashamed to talk about it, explained: My cousin, who is 16, was already working in prostitution and one day she asked me to join her. I was 11 then. She said it is very easy and that we can earn a lot. Well, in that time I was already using drugs, like marihuana, cocaine, pasta [cocaine based paste], mixto [smoking pasta with marihuana] and bembos [smoking cocaine with marihuana]. I wanted money to buy more drugs and I had to pay for my room. We charged 100 sols each time. I didn’t like the job, but in 15 minutes I earned more than other friends did in a week!

As a result of police repression and violence towards street children in the city centres, many children have moved to the marginal outskirts of the cities. There they became less visible and increasingly alienated from society. The danger of a harsh repressive policy on street children is less supervision over the street child population, which makes them even more vulnerable and an easy target for child traffickers, drug dealers and child prostitution.

Consequences of Street Work and Street Life Once a street-working child starts to permanently live on the streets, the working conditions worsen and he or she will encounter more hazards like violence, sexual abuse, drug addiction, health problems and social exclusion. Overall, it is not so much the work itself that is hazardous, but the conditions in which the work is done. Obviously, street-living children experience more problems on the street than street-working children living with family. The quantitative survey shows that 90% of the street-living children in Lima and 84% in Cusco experience problems in the streets. Among street-working children, these percentages are evidently lower, but still remarkably high (respectively 79% and 63%). The needs that street-living children express are not so much related to material needs, but more to emotional needs. They feel that society does not accept them as they are and that they are therefore always discriminated against. They lack the feeling of belonging to a family, of having someone that really cares about them. Furthermore, street children hardly mentioned the fact that they had to work or not having a house to live in as their main problem, but emphasised violence, drug-addiction, discrimination by society, health problems and strained relationships with their families as the main problems on the streets. First of all, violence is an often mentioned consequence of street life. The vulnerability of street children makes them prone to different kinds of (sexual) exploitation and abuse. Street-living children experience more physical violence than street-working children (20% versus 8% in Lima and 14% versus 6% in Cusco). For the former group, this creates, together with verbal violence (20% in Lima and 26% in Cusco), the most problems on the streets. Most children have big scars on their bodies as a result of violence. They lack the social safety net of a family or

60

T. Strehl

Two young street-working boys in Lima

neighbourhood, which makes them vulnerable to threats from each other and outsiders. Although all street children are subject to violence, it is the emotionally and physically weaker who bear the brunt. Perpetrators of violence are street gangs, adult junkies, police, other street children or angry victims of the children’s thefts. Sexual violence was also reported, both by boys and girls. Street girls said to be approached by adult men who whisper sexual things, touch their private parts or even attempt to rape them. Girls are considered as an easy prey. This is probably caused by the image in Peruvian society of street girls as prostitutes, even when they are not working as such. Street girls also mentioned being bothered by gang members or street boys, pushing or forcing them to have sex. Several educators in Lima mentioned the habit of street boys to supply street girls with drugs until they are high and almost unconscious, to be able to sexually abuse them. Also street boys are the victims of gang rapes and sexual abuse, used as a means of expressing power within a street group. Older boys in a group (sexually) abuse younger boys to express their authority over them. Other explanations for (forced) sexual relations

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

61

between street children are their quest for affection and the fact that many of them have been abused in their early childhood, either at home or on the streets. The majority of street children pointed at police, municipal guards and other security forces as the main perpetrators of violence (around 42% of all street children in Lima and Cusco). The relation that street children have with police on the streets is obviously confrontational and problematic. Children often complained that the police do not allow them to work, chase them, detain them, maltreat them, insult them or snatch their money and products. Street-living children have, in general, more problems with police than street-working children, because of the illicit activities they engage in, their drug use and their social stigma of theft and delinquency. Street children generally talk about them as their biggest enemies and as extremely unjust: ‘They blame street children for everything that gets stolen, although we were not even near the incident’, explained Jan-Carlos (14, Cusco). ‘They always blame us, because they know we don’t have family or someone to defend us.’ Street children are not perceived positively by society, for many reasons. They exhibit behaviour that does not agree with the general image of the ‘good child’ in society, including the belief that a child should be with his family, should go to school, should not use drugs, should not steal, should not be violent and should not hang around on the streets. Therefore, particularly street-living children mentioned discrimination as a major problem. They are very much aware of their social exclusion and stigma of being, among others, ‘drug addicts’, ‘thieves’, ‘dirty’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘spoilt’. The stigma of street children is reflected in the nicknames: ratones (rats), pirañas (piranha) and fumones (smokers of drugs). They find these social prejudices unjust and express a strong wish to be treated just like anyone else in society and to be accepted. Jorge (15, Lima): Most of the time people don’t want to help me. If I ask them for food they won’t give it to me. They say ‘go to work piraña, fumon!’ That’s not fair, because we are not like that. Well, maybe drug addicts we are, but a piraña is a thief who assaults people, and I never do that. They just call us these names because we live on the street. But I am also a human being, just like them.

In general, the older a street child is, the more he or she is, or feels, discriminated against. The feeling of being excluded by others in society results in a low selfesteem and a lack of confidence. Discrimination results in a downward spiral. One of the factors that exacerbate the children’s exclusion from society is their drug addiction. Drugs are therefore unanimously mentioned by street children in Lima and Cusco as a problem related to street life. Of all street-living children in Lima and Cusco, around 60% uses drugs, compared to only 15% of children who sleep at home or at their relatives’ house in Lima and 5% in Cusco. The most common drugs are alcohol and the glue Terokal. At all times of the day, street-living children can be seen inhaling glue, although consumption is highest in the evenings and during night time. Terokal is mainly inhaled via plastic bags hidden in sleeves or openly, although some children also use plastic bottles. Other popular drugs are marihuana and cocaine-based paste (pasta), which is either smoked pure, with marihuana (mixto) or with tobacco. Especially pasta is known for the severe physical and psychological harm it causes in children. Also Diazepam, a drug to treat insomnia

62

T. Strehl

or anxiety, is regularly used by street children in Lima because it makes them feel good and suppresses feelings of shame during ‘humiliating work’. The majority of street-living children develop a drug addiction when they start living on the streets. Peer pressure is high and drug consumption is actually a criterion of acceptance in most street groups in Lima and Cusco. Nevertheless, most street children are aware of the consequences that drug addiction has on their health and future prospects. They said that that drug-use ‘destroys your lungs’, ‘makes you crazy’, ‘makes you forget all what’s important’, ‘makes you do bad things’ and ‘is a vice you can’t get rid of’. But despite their disapproval of drugs, and the knowledge of its evil effects, most children are not able to resist its temptation and become and remain addicted. Peer pressure, curiosity and hardships of street life play a major role in becoming addicted to drugs. The addiction further deteriorates self-esteem. Some children literally described themselves as ‘drug-addicted losers’. Deteriorating family relations is another problem street-living children referred to as a consequence of street life. When talking about family, street children regularly switched between blaming poor family relationships for their need to live on the streets, to blaming their street life for the bad relationships with their families. They mostly told of the horrible things their parents had done, resulting in their escapes, but occasionally would express their desire for their family’s presence and the guilt they felt over leaving home. Luz (16, Lima): Since I have been living on the streets, family problems affect me a lot. Since I left home my family lost all their trust in me and that makes me sad. It will never be the same and the problems at home have increased. My family is ashamed of me and my sister; they don’t want to know us anymore. They see us as liars. That is what I most regret. It’s easy to lose their trust, but difficult to restore it.

In cases where the children do have family contact, it is mostly the mother they see occasionally. Even when children had told of their mother’s violent behaviour towards them, still many spoke of them as valued persons in their lives. Even though friends replace family on the streets, the children still continue to choose family over friends when asked who is more important. Once children have run away from home, it becomes difficult for them to restore family relationships. They feel ashamed of their lifestyle, drug use or criminal acts and avoid family contact, even though they simultaneously express the desire for family contact. They are often afraid that family members will not accept them or disapprove of them and that they will be punished for having been away for so long. Whenever street children do return home, they only stay a couple of days on average, before returning to the streets again. In most cases, they immediately encounter the same problems that made them run away in the first place, and often they have become so adapted to street life that they cannot feel comfortable with living between four walls anymore. Interactions with family are mostly perceived as conflicts and contradict with the children’s dreams of how a family should be. Juan-Carlos (14), for example, stated that good parents should not send their children to work on the street. Nelly (12) thinks a good mother should not drink alcohol and beat her children. The children often expressed the wish to grow up in a united and peaceful family, but felt this was not an option for them. They had started working

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

63

Young girl from the countryside selling tostaditas in Cusco

on the streets because of poverty and because of dismal family conditions. That fate underlies their existence as street-living children. Health problems relate to environmental pollution, drug consumption, poverty, the cold and promiscuity. Health workers and street educators list respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and tuberculosis, skin infections, malnutrition, diarrhoea, structural injuries, bad teeth and psychological defects as the most frequent health problems for street children. A lack of hygiene in daily street life causes parasites and skin problems. Children often have no basic sanitary facilities, and sleep in humid, filthy and crammed illegal hostels or abandoned buildings, surrounded by drug waste, rubbish and excrement. Malnutrition and diarrhoea are the result of a poor diet and the cheap fast-food or waste-food street children eat. Children often have open wounds on their bodies after fighting with other street kids, the police or theft victims. These wounds easily become infected in the street environment. Continuous drug consumption, especially the sniffing of Terokal, often results in respiratory problems, chest infections, stomach aches, low resistance and psychological problems

64

T. Strehl

such as schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and even psychosis. An active sexual life, prostitution and sexual abuse lead to a high number of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV/AIDS. When asked what children do if they have health problems, the most common answer was ‘just endure’. When questioned about their future, most street children expressed their wish to not live and work on the streets their whole life. They all desire change; this reflects the discomfort that most street children have regarding aspects of their current lives. But when they attempted to return to school, they did not manage to stay there longer than a couple of days or weeks. The reasons for this low success rate are, among others, a lack of parental (mental, emotional and economic) support, a lack of discipline and structure, group pressure, drug addiction, low self-esteem, shame, discrimination in school and poor-quality education. After living in the streets and becoming adapted to street life, where timetables, strict rules and daily structure are basically absent, it is difficult for street children to keep up with fixed school schedules. Unlike the general impression of street children in society, street children’s wishes for the future are basically the same as the ones valued by society in general: having a family, having a formal job, finishing education, having a home, not using drugs, being respected and treated like everyone else. All the children hope someday in their life to acquire a status respected by society, although most of the children admit to making poor day-to-day decisions, which impairs the realisation of the dream.

The Worst Forms of Labour In Lima and Cusco, many children can be found working in informal jobs on the streets under hazardous working conditions, as defined in Recommendation 190 of the ILO Convention 182 (ILO 1999). First of all, many children under the age of 12 are working on the streets, which is by international and national law strictly prohibited. Moreover, also children older than 12 years are working under poor and damaging conditions on the streets. They work very long hours and children can be found working during nightly hours in child-unfriendly environments, such as nightlife areas with a lot of drunken visitors. According to Convention 182, hazardous forms of child labour is work that, among others, exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse and work carried out in dangerous locations and in unhealthy environments. Although the actual work that children perform on the streets is in itself seemingly harmless and light, the working conditions involve high risks for health, education and morals of the children. Children doing street work are exposed to all forms of abuses and run the risk of temporarily or permanently ending up living on the streets and, even worse, of becoming involved in an unconditional worst form of child labour, including illicit activities or prostitution. Furthermore, the emotional health of street-working and street-living children can be negatively influenced because of the shame and stigma street work involves.

3  The Risks of Becoming a Street Child

65

Because street children are considered to be delinquents, or ‘dirty thieves’, they are discriminated against, abused and maltreated. Moreover, many of the children reported deteriorating family relations and educational progress as a consequence of their work on the streets. Street work thus exposes children to hazardous working conditions and unhealthy living conditions and can therefore be defined as a worst form of child labour. A distinction is often made between children on the streets and children of the streets. We have described the transition from the first to the second. Children working in the streets usually belong to poor and disadvantaged families, and as children grow older they run the risk of being attracted by the peer culture of the streets and becoming isolated from their families and from mainstream society. As in all cases of hazardous child labour, many measures need to be taken. Conditional cash transfers and family counselling need to be tried as a general policy. It may help to recondition the family fabric and keep the children on track. Childcare facilities and weekend schooling may be helpful in keeping the young children in a safe environment, away from the streets if that is the work place of the parents. If children start to feel the street as the natural environment, they may become increasingly attracted by the street culture, which offers freedom, peer friendship and an income, elements which they may start to miss at home. Problems at school coupled with the lack of psychological support and a feeling that ‘nobody cares’ make it almost impossible for a street child to continue with school or to reintegrate into mainstream society. Particularly, the police could play a major role in breaking the vicious circle. Street children are not entirely innocent or without blame, but they could be approached with a proper understanding of their problems and a proper awareness of their aspirations, which then could be marshalled for a positive departure. Giving child-friendly training to police and coordinating with family extension services could go a long way in bringing a number of these children back on track. Helping them to gain access to proper medical services is of great importance on the path of reintegration. Much can be gained by medical and counselling extension programmes in the first stages of street life, with moderate and less incorporated drug consumption. The more addicted and adapted a child is to drugs and street life, the harder it is to offer adequate help and get the child of the streets. Organisations working with street children should also pay more attention to adequate preparation of a street child for reintegration in school, and more intensive tutorial support outside school. Within the educational system of Peru, a specialised program for street children and marginalised children should be developed and schools should pay more attention to disadvantaged youths.



Chapter 4

Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru Marten Pieter van den Berge

Cajamarca, the capital city of Cajamarca province, lies approximately 2,720 m above sea level, and has a population of about 165,000 people. Two of the country’s largest dairy factories, Nestle and Leche Gloria, are located just outside the city. The region is a cattle breeding area, and produces cheese and other dairy products. Many families also breed guinea pigs. Agricultural products include potatoes, wheat, maize, barley, rice and sugarcane (Gobierno Regional de Cajamarca 2003). However, the most important sector, and which has had the most dramatic effect on the socio-economic development of Cajamarca in the last 2 decades, is the mining sector. The Yanacocha (“black lagoon” in local Quechua) mine, the biggest goldmine of Latin-America, is located 48 km north of the city. The gold deposits were discovered in 1980, and production began in 1993. These days, it is owned by the US mining corporation Newmont (which owns 51.35% of the mine) and the Peruvian company Minas Buenaventura (which owns 43.65%). The International Finance Corporation holds the remaining 5%. Yanacocha has produced over US$7 billion worth of gold to date; in 2005 alone it produced 94.000 kg of gold. However, despite the gold extraction, Cajamarca is still one of the poorest regions of Peru (Ministerio de Energía y Minas de Perú 2006). More than 77% of the inhabitants live under the poverty line (159 sol or US$53 a month), and almost 51% live in extreme poverty (less than 100 sol or US$32). A majority of the population does not have access to electricity (Ministerio de la Mujer y Desarrollo Social). The people of Cajamarca are exemplary for the popular saying in Peru that many poor are sitting on a golden throne. NGOs and local environmentalist activists state that the mining project has led to serious social and environmental problems. Regarding environmental consequences, the mining operations use large quantities of a dilute cyanide solution that have contaminated the water sources, leading to the disappearance of fish and frogs, illnesses among cattle and air pollution (Ingetec S.A.). Despite the negative environmental consequences and resulting social protests, a massive labour migration to the city of Cajamarca has been the response to the mining

M.P. van den Berge () Former IREWOC researcher, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_4, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

67

68

M.P. van den Berge

opportunities and secondary jobs can be found in the hospitality services. Unfortunately, Mineria Yanacocha bought land from several hundreds of farmers in the region and many of these ex-farmers (ex-proprietarios) also migrated to the city of Cajamarca, which led to various social problems such as increased poverty and criminality (The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) 2000; Bury 2007).

The Children of Cajamarca: Growing Up in Poverty The fact that Cajamarca is still one of the poorest regions in Peru also has its effects on the conditions in which children grow up. A 2002 study, by the National Statistical Institute, found that 52% of children were chronically undernourished. According to the same study, child mortality was 51 per 1,000, and maternal mortality was one of the highest in Peru with 183 women dying for every 100,000 births (INEI and OIT 2002). In the Cajamarca region, there are more than 3,000 primary schools, with about 252,000 children enrolled in 2003. This was 90.6% of the total number of children in that age group in the region. Close to 10% (30,296 children) were thus not in school, with a heavy concentration in the provinces of Chota, San Miguel and Jaén. There were also a number of children (20% in 2002) who were enrolled, but who either failed or repeated the year, or who dropped out of school. A Regional Government report relates the high incidence of dropout with the phenomenon of child labour: “It is important to note that repeating the year has to do with the quality of education, while dropping out of school has to do with poverty, as the child has to contribute to family income or seasonal agricultural tasks, which obligates children to abandon school (Gobierno Regional de Cajamarca 2003). The last national study on child labour indicated that in 2001, one quarter of the children and adolescents aged 6–17 in Peru (1,987,000) work. In the Cajamarca region, almost 445,000 children (50.2% of all children in the age group 6–17) were working (INEI and OIT 2002). Of all the children, 46.3% attended school and were not working. In addition, 36.9% combined work with study. While 3.6% was inactive on both fronts, 13.3% of the children worked full-time. In 2003, approximately 1,753 children between 6 and 11 were classified as child labourers in the Cajamarca region. Child labour is thought to have its roots in family abandonment, alcoholism of the parents and a low family income, which forces the child to work from an early age. In rural areas, work for male children is traditional and therefore it is considered normal or natural that they perform agricultural tasks from an early age on; in the meantime, girl children are responsible for pasturing the animals, carrying water, and looking after younger siblings (Gobierno Regional de Cajamarca 2003). No data have been compiled on the worst forms of child labour; the regional government report only mentions a serious problem with prostitution among adolescents. In the city of Cajamarca alone, there are an estimated 46 brothels, with adolescents accounting for 30% of the prostitutes (Gobierno Regional de Cajamarca 2003). There are no data about the other activities on the national worst forms list, including mining and quarrying.

4  Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru

69

Underage Workers in the Cajamarca Region Although mining is economically and socially important in Cajamarca, studies make no mention of child labour in this sector. In actual fact, child labour in mining is found in small-scale artisanal mining, as this is primarily non-mechanised, familybased labour. Large-scale mining on the other hand is highly mechanised and monitored, which reduces the possibilities and need for children to work in this type of mining. The Yanacocha mining plant, the largest and most mechanised mine in the whole of the Latin-American continent, abides by Conventions 138 and 182 of the ILO and the national laws on child labour. Minors, under the age of 18, are excluded from the mines. Carlos Scerpella Cevallos, responsible for communication and human rights of the Yanacocha mine, explained: ‘It is impossible that minors enter the mine. The age is checked when contracts are signed. There is a fence with a strict border-control around the whole mining plant. Upon entering you have to show your entrance pass of Yanacocha, which will only be supplied when you are above the age of 18’. During the research period, several visits to the mines were carried out and indeed this strict control was observed and no child labour was found in the mining plant of Yanacocha. Although children were not found to be working in the mining plant itself, there is an indirect relation between child labour in Cajamarca and the mining cooperations. The mining company bought land from local farmers at extremely low prices. The ex-farmers then migrated to the city of Cajamarca, where they soon became impoverished. According to NGO representatives, a large percentage of the children working in the city of Cajamarca come from these impoverished migrant families. Nowadays, the mining company has social programmes for the farmers from whom they buy land. These programmes offer alternative work in the city so that they no longer fall into the poverty trap. Some farming families had moved to Cajamarca, expecting to find good jobs and to profit from the improving economy. They had hoped to find work at the companies supplying services to the mine or in houses of individuals working for the mine. These companies or persons are said to also contract children. Children work as housemaids or in restaurants, hotels and catering companies that offer services to the mine or to the people working for the mine. However, there are no exact data available on the numbers of children involved, nor on the exact activities they perform. One case could be documented in the rural village Pullucana, near the city of Cajamarca, where around 15 boys and girls aged 8–18, sometimes with their parents, were producing gold bracelets and necklaces. The activities consisted of getting silver or golden links from jewellery workplaces and then at home connecting them into bracelets and necklaces with little iron tongs. The work hours involved depend on the demand of the jewellery shop. Usually, children and their parents go to the shops to ask for work, but in cases of an urgent or large demand, the jewellery shop owners come to the village to distribute the work. The labour activities are considered, by most children, to be painstaking and boring. According to 14-year-old Sara, ‘You are sitting there all the time doing

70

M.P. van den Berge

the same stuff over and over again. It seems to take an eternity to finish a bracelet, it’s quite boring’. Another girl, 11-year-old Irina, commented, ‘You have to be quite precise as the links are really small, so you need hours working on one bracelet, which is pretty tiresome’. Some children reported specific physical complaints that seemed to be due to the nature of the work. Connecting the little links into bracelets requires quite some concentration and leads to eye irritations, as the 13-year-old Edwin explained: ‘Sometimes my eyes hurt after 3 h of work, as you have to work with very little links, which have to fit neatly’. Lesley, 16 years old, similarly commented: ‘It’s very precise work, therefore you need to focus really well, which makes your eyes hurt after working some time’. Another physical consequence of this work is muscle ache, especially in the back. Aralia, a 10-year-old girl commented: ‘Sometimes I work so concentrated that I don’t notice as time goes by. Then when I stop I notice I have been working bent over and that my back hurts a lot’. The adults did not think that it would have longterm physical consequences; Arecely, mother of Lesley and 33 years old, stated: ‘It is boring yes, but dangerous not really. You can divide your own time, so if your back or your eyes hurts you can just stop’. Furthermore, making bracelets and necklaces is combined with school; children work before or after school hours with a maximum of 4 h a day. So, although the work is painstaking and boring and badly paid, it need not necessarily be considered harmful to the health, safety or morals of children.

Four-year-old boy working alongside the road

4  Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru

71

Child Labour in the Chota Quarries Although there seems to be no direct relation between the large-scale mining in Cajamarca and child labour, several representatives of NGOs and the regional government claim that there are children working in artisanal mines in the provinces of the Cajamarca region. Due to the fact that these mines are located in remote areas, and access was difficult, no further information could be collected. Instead, it was decided to study in further detail the children involved in quarrying in the Chota region. Approximately 100 children are working in the stone quarries in the villages just outside the city of Chota, alongside the road leading to Bambamarca. We visited La Cangana and Santa Rosa; in both places we found about 25–30 working children. More than half of the children were younger than 14; the youngest child was a 4-year-old boy. An equal number of girls and boys were involved in the work. Parents were also involved when they were free from other activities.

Carrying the stones across the road

Large stones are collected from the hillside on the opposite side of the road. They are solid, non-porous stones, heavy to carry and difficult to break. The main activity of the children is to crush the stones to gravel with a hammer. The children sit on a little bench, a stone or a tin can and hold the stones between their feet. The stone is then repeatedly hit by a hammer using a two-handed grip. The size of the hammer correlates with the child’s age and own size. Tasks are divided among the children according to age. The older children retrieve the stones from the hillside and carry them across the road in cloth sacks or in sheets of plastic. These are then given to the younger or less strong children, who, together with the older children,

72

M.P. van den Berge

process these stones into gravel. There is no clear gender division in the tasks; boys and girls perform the same activities. Children are paid 0.7 soles per tin can filled with gravel (20 Euro cents). They can fill five to ten cans a day. The gravel is collected in one big pile, and then sold to construction companies per toneladas (500–600 cans). One adult couple, living in the house beside the road, supervises the activities. They do so in between their own daily household chores in and around their house. The female supervisor, Carla, commented: ‘I have to do all the household chores and in the meantime I keep an eye on the kids. In this way I can help them in case of emergencies, if they hurt their fingers or their feet or something’. Carmelo, the male adult, added: ‘I keep an eye on them, to pull them apart when there are fights, or to see they don’t get into traffic accidents’. Carlos, a 13-year-old boy working in the quarry, commented: ‘Carla and Carmelo help with the client who comes to buy the gravel and watch over us. Sometimes we have a fight and they pull us apart or they check to see that no one steals stones from others’.

Young girl helping out with agricultural tasks, in La Cangana

All children combine their working activities with school. Children mostly work in the weekends, normally only on Saturdays. Some, however, also work during the week before and after school. On a weekday, some children work 2 or 3 h before and after school and on a Saturday up to 8 or 9 h. On Sundays, children usually go with their parents to the market in Chota to do the weekly shopping, or they watch over the house or family shop while the parents go to the market. Children perform many other types of activities as well. Mostly they help their parents with agricultural activities and household chores. The amount of time spent on any of these activities depends on the agricultural season. In harvesting or sowing seasons, children are more occupied with agricultural activities than in crushing stones into gravel. Time spent on household chores and agricultural activities also depends on

4  Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru

73

the composition of the family. Children from one-parent families, or from families in which one of the parents has temporarily migrated, have to help more in the household and in addition work in the quarry and contribute to the household income.

The Impact of the Work on Children The main consequences reported by children and parents include wounds on hands, legs and feet, fractures and eye injuries. When the children hit the stones with the hammer, they occasionally miss and instead hit their own legs or feet, causing cuts or even fractures. 16-year-old Juana commented: ‘Our work is quite dangerous, every day there is someone who hits himself with a hammer, sometimes it’s not that bad, but sometimes it is and one has to cry and sometimes you can’t work anymore because of the wound’. Carlos, an 8-year-old boy, recalled: ‘Once I hit myself with a hammer and I had a limp for three days’. Nelson (11) reported: ‘I broke two of my toes chancando (hammering), which was horrible because my parents had to take me to the doctor, pay for the consultation and I could not work anymore’. Parents commented that they are very aware of the risks; the high probability of missing the stone is seen in the worn patches on the shoes, and all of the children exhibit work-related injuries in the form of scars on hands, feet, legs and eyes. Eye infections and injuries occur when shards of rock fly into the eyes. Many of the children complained of itchy or painful eyes because of their work. Pedro, a boy of 12 stated: ‘What happens the most is that the little stones get into our eyes. We try to wash them out with water, but sometimes they won’t leave and we can’t see straight because of the irritation and tears’. 10-year-old Angel remarked: ‘These stupid little stones get into your eyes really easily and sometimes won’t get out. Every day it irritates and we have to wash them out with water’. In one case, a stone could not be removed for a week and the eye got infected. These eye infections were also observed during the research. Other physical complaints include muscle aches, due to the strenuous use of heavy hammers and sitting in awkward positions all day. Nelson (11) commented: ‘When I first started I had muscle aches every day and also blisters on my hands. But you get used to it’. Carolina, a 14-year-old girl, complained: ‘It’s my back that suffers the most, having to sit bent over all day and hitting these miserable stones’. The physical consequences are exacerbated by the fact that access to good medical care is limited for children and their parents. A healthcare post is located in Chota, 25–30 min away by public bus, which comes by irregularly. The expenses for the transport, the doctor and the hospital can add up to 50–60 sols and the parents regret that they often lack the financial means to help their children (or themselves) in case of a (labour) accident: ‘That’s quite expensive for people who earn 5 sols a day. So sometimes, when we have an eye irritation I just wait to see if it goes away’. The health consequences are usually not assessed properly. Eye infections can have long-term physical consequences as inflammations can result in conjunctivitis,

74

M.P. van den Berge

which causes reduction in, and loss of, eyesight. Indeed, in the village of La Cangana, there were several adults whose sight had severely decreased because of the work; others mentioned ‘black spots’ in their vision. Generally, however, eye infections are considered to be highly uncomfortable and inconvenient, but not dangerous; as one parent stated: ‘It’s irritating that you can’t see for a while and have this itch in your eye, but we are already used to it, and usually it goes away after a while’. A 14-year-old boy reported: ‘It always irritates me, but in the end it’s something that passes’. Some of the accidents that happen are seen as ‘normal labour-related incidents’. For example, Ana, a mother of one of the children recalled an accident: ‘Once I broke two of my toes, and I could not wear my sandals for over 2 weeks. But then they healed. These things happen you know, and by time you get used to them’. Another mother stated: ‘The rotten thing is that you often get the stones into your eyes. In the beginning that is really frustrating, but in the end you know you will get over it’. The children themselves expressed similar thoughts: ‘When you hit yourself with the hammer, it’s really painful. But then again the first time is more painful than the second one or the third one’. The fact that parents and children appear to think relatively lightly of the risks may facilitate the entrance of children into this sector. The work also has non-physical consequences, including negative outcomes for education. According to NGO personnel, the children who are active in quarrying perform poorly in school. They suffer from aches and pains, are continuously tired and have weak concentration skills. The children themselves confirmed this; 14-yearold Juan commented: ‘When I have worked 4 h before school, I don’t really feel like going to school. More like going to bed, because it’s pretty heavy working like this’. And 15-year-old Julia added: ‘Sometimes I feel pretty tired at school and have problems to pay attention to what the teacher says. But I guess that it is because sometimes, when we are short of money, I have to wake up early to work’. Class repetition is, for these reasons, higher among the children who work, and IINCAP Jorge Basadre registered more dropouts among children who work than those who do not. The work also negatively affects the self-esteem of those children involved. Working in the quarry is considered a ‘poor man’s job’, and has a low social value. People involved in these activities are often victims of condescending behaviour, such as verbal insults, gossip and disdainful looks, which is why most adults prefer chipping the stones at more concealed areas, out of sight from the public road. Children do not have this choice, as they are unable to carry all the gravel back up to the road for sale, and are thus more visible and vulnerable to abuse from passersby. The children mentioned that they do feel ashamed and dislike the negative attention they get when exposed on the roadside. Julia (15) commented: ‘It is pretty embarrassing having to sit here, so that everybody can see you are poor’. Elvis (14) added: ‘When there is a lot of traffic I am quite embarrassed to be here. Sometimes they scream things at you from the busses; that’s really not nice’. The severe physical, emotional and educational consequences of the activities in the stone quarries in the Chota province harm the health, safety and morals of children, and can therefore be classified as a worst form of child labour as defined by the ILO Convention 182.

4  Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru

75

Reasons for Working The main reason for children to be active in the stone quarries is that they have to contribute to the family income. The main activities in which most adults in the small village of around 25 households are engaged are agriculture and livestock farming. Men occasionally work in carpentry and construction work, and women are also engaged in weaving. However, these activities are only occasional and referred to as chamba, informal irregular work. At times, women also travel to Chota to wash clothes, but it is never guaranteed that this activity will generate a profit because the bus ride to Chota is so expensive. All families have a little piece of land (0.5 or 1 ha) on which they grow corn or potatoes. Most also have one or two cows, guinea pigs (cuys), or some chickens or pigs. Some of the products, such as milk and butter, are sold for cash. However, this is not sufficient to cover the costs of daily expenditures. For example, Pablo’s family consists of father Angel, mother Veronica, and four children aged between 5 and 12. Their assets include a small piece of land (1.5 acre) on which they grow corn, a small number of chickens, a cow and guinea pigs. Their daily lunch consists of corn and eggs from their land and chickens; occasionally, they will eat one of their guinea pigs. The rest of their food – such as bread, potatoes, other vegetables, oil to cook in, and so forth – and expenditures such as their healthcare and children’s education, is mainly paid from whatever profit they can make from their cow. The cow gives 5 l of milk a day, which can be sold for 4 sols (about €1). This is their only fixed income; it is insufficient to survive. Quarrying is the only additional income-generating activity in the region. It does not require much investment (only a hammer) or any special knowledge. As it has physical and non-physical risks, this chamba is only used when all other options fail. Exemplary of this situation are Emmy and Felix; they have three children aged 10–14. Emmy and Felix chip stones near their house and their children near the road. Their land was lying fallow, awaiting the new sowing season. Felix and Emmy tried to find other jobs, but could not find any. Emmy wanted to start weaving, but did not have the money to invest in the wool. Felix tried to get another job: ‘I want to work as a carpenter or construction worker or anything that has to do with manual labour, but work is not available. Hopefully it will come soon’. In the meantime, they chip stones with their children: ‘We have to have some income, to buy food, pay the school. The only option for work now here is to chip stones’. During the agricultural season, in the sowing and harvesting periods, the parents, for example, Jaime and Eva, need all their time to work on their land. There is no time to look after the cow and to work in additional chambas, to earn an income. Therefore, their children, besides helping out on the land, are economically active as well, by chipping stones. Jaime commented: ‘It is not an ideal situation, but what else can we do? We have to sow, to be able to eat in the future. But in the meantime we also have to earn an income to be able to eat now. Therefore the kids have to help us out for a while, chipping stones is the only thing here with which they can help us’. Child labour in quarries in Chota is also influenced by migration. To contribute to the family income, many men migrate each year from La Cangana to the rice

76

M.P. van den Berge

plantations in the coastal areas. There they may participate in the sowing (in the months of December–March) or in the harvest (from May to August). This migratory work is considered to be a last solution, because it destabilises family life and increases the tasks for the women and children who stay behind and have to do all the household chores, take care of the land and livestock and have to replace the temporary loss of income until the father comes back with his earnings. For example, at the time of research one family, a mother with five children, was found working because of the migration of the father. They had taken out a loan to buy a new cow. However, the cow died and they were left without an income and with a debt. Elvira now works in the quarry with two of her children: ‘Until Manuel comes back, we are forced to work like this. What other jobs are there to earn a temporary income? As we have no money we need to work’. A more permanent loss of one or more family members (divorce, illness or death) can also result in a financial situation in which children have to work. Three girls in the community were found to be working because their parents had both died in a terrible car accident. They are now living with their uncle, who has four children of his own. Although their uncle helps them, they have to work to survive, as 16-yearold Marilyn explained: ‘Our uncle can’t take care of us, as he has his own children to look after. He helps us out with food and school, but it’s not enough. So we basically have to earn money for ourselves, to buy clothes and help out with the food’. There are thus a number of different economic reasons for children to have to contribute financially: a lack of job opportunities for adults in the communities, a temporary migration and a more permanent loss of a family member. The situation has been imposed by circumstances; children from economically better-off families in the same village, or surrounding villages, do not participate in the quarry activities. Better-off families mostly have one or both parents with a permanent job, such as a teacher or a local government or NGO employee, or they have larger parcels of land and/or more cattle. All the children found alongside the road come from the poorer families in the community. Work, apart from the economic necessity, also has a social meaning. It is considered to be normal that children help the parents during harvest and sowing seasons. Children may help to plough the soil, weed, sow the seeds, harvest the potatoes and corn, and so forth. Children are also expected to help milk and herd the cows, collect eggs, and care for the chickens and guinea pigs. And, of course, children are expected to help in the household. They help their parents for a couple of hours, thereby spending more time together and learning valuable things, which will help them later on in life. However, when talking about the activities in the stone quarries, parents use different, above all economic, arguments to justify the presence of their children: ‘We don’t have any alternative income, so they have to help us; how else can we pay for food and education if they don’t help us’. The various comments suggest that parents have a different view of an ideal childhood for their children; it may include light tasks in the household or on the fields, but certainly not work in the stone quarries. The children’s own motivation to work in the stone quarries also depends less on cultural

4  Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru

77

and traditional norms, as with helping out in agricultural or domestic activities, but indeed has a more profane economic reason. Some work is legitimised by cultural norms, but there is a general consensus that children and adolescents should not be engaged in the worst forms of child labour. Parents find it important that work should be done for short lengths of time only, and should never be at the expense of education. The three following statements by one mother and two fathers express this opinion: Yes I want my children to help me out here in the house. There is so much to do, and they have their responsibility as well. However, they should not be working like adults. They should go to school as well and prepare themselves for later. It’s good they help us out on the land a few hours. Then they are doing something useful and at the same time learn some skills as well. However, I do always ask them if they have homework, because it’s school that is most important for their future. I ask my sons to help me when they don’t have homework to do. There they can learn something and learn some responsibilities in the household. After all they are also eating what they are harvesting - but never at the expense of their education.

Organisations Focussed on Child Labour in Cajamarca The Peruvian government has delegated some of its responsibilities to regional governments, including the task of eradicating child labour; unfortunately though, this has been done without precise coordination. In Cajamarca, the department of social development is responsible for education, healthcare, housing and labour. The Regional Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (CERPETI) is the local department of the nationwide Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (CPETI).1 In CERPETI, the regional office works with local NGOs and other government bodies (such as the local representative of the Ministry of Labour and the national police force). Together they set priorities and discuss strategies regarding the eradication of child labour in the region. The most significant NGOs working in the field of child labour in Cajamarca include IINCAP, the Asociación Mujer Familia and MANTHOC. IINCAP Jorge Basadre2 has several projects for child labourers in different provinces of the Cajamarca region. In the city of Cajamarca, they work mainly with children involved in street trades and with child porters at markets. In Jaén, they target children

This committee, under the guidance of the Ministry of Labour, comprises state and non-state institutions that coordinate, evaluate and follow up the efforts made towards the eradication of child labour on a national level. Its most important task is to enhance the National Plan of Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour with detailed plans of action (CPETI and MTPE 2005). 2  IINCAP – Institute for Investigation, Capacity Building and Promotion (Instituto de Investigación, Capacitación y Promoción). 1 

78

M.P. van den Berge

working in garbage dumps and in prostitution. In Celendin, the children in the project are occupied in agriculture and construction. In Chota, they work with children in stone quarries. They work towards the eradication of child labour under 14 years of age, but do not consider it possible to eradicate all child labour immediately. One of their main strategies is to pull the working children into the formal educational system, to support them in their studies, and to keep repetition and dropout rates as low as possible. The assumption is that when children are in school, they have fewer hours to spend in the quarries. IINCAP helps parents to pay some of the educational costs, including enrolment fees and utensils, thereby also alleviating the economic needs that push children into working activities in the first place. They also offer child rights workshops in the hope to change general perceptions of child labour, and they try to provide protective gear for those children still working (such as goggles and gloves). Another strategy employed is one which aims to increase the adult income, thus decreasing the need for children’s contributions. For example, if an investment were made to purchase a stone grinder, production would increase and fewer hands would be needed. Although parents and IINCAP see a lot of potential in the mechanisation of the sector, they also mentioned several limitations. Most had to do with the organisational structure of the community and a workable agreement on the maintenance of the machine and rules on how the profit is shared. The Asociación Mujer Familia (AMF) focuses on housemaids within the city of Cajamarca. The central objective is to get housemaids into school and to improve their healthcare and working conditions. To help improve their working conditions, the housemaids receive child rights education at the AMF office, with the hope that their new knowledge will encourage them to demand their rights from their employers. Additionally, AMF teaches housemaids other trades such as sowing and weaving. AMF aims to eradicate child labour for anyone under the age of 12, and to improve working conditions for anyone older than 12. Manthoc Cajamarca3 organises working children into groups and offers them child rights education so that they themselves can improve their own working conditions. In addition, they offer an alternative educational programme specially designed for working children and recognised by the local government. They also offer a “labour programme” in which children can, for example, work in a bakery workshop for a limited amount of time, under good working conditions and learn how to make and sell baked goods. Regarding child labour, Manthoc is anti-eradication, and mainly focuses on the improvement of working conditions. Most organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, work together in the CERPETI. The different groups, however, do tend to criticise each other. NGOs accuse the regional government of not doing enough. A representative of IINCAP stated: ‘The regional government does not seem to be very much interested in the

 MANTHOC – Movimiento de Adolecentes y Niños Trabajadores Hijos de Cristianos (Movement of Working Children and Adolescents from Christian Working Class Families). It is a national working children’s organisation with representation on local, national and even international level. 3

4  Child Miners in Cajamarca, Peru

79

theme of child labour. They always prioritise projects such as building roads, parks and lanes. Also when we organise activities on child labour they often don’t even come’. The regional government blames inactivity on the bureaucracy and indeed on other priorities, as the official in charge of child labour admitted: ‘It is true that we give more importance to themes such as malnutrition and maternal health. The reason is that these themes are less controversial. Everybody favours better health, but on the eradication of child labour there is no consensus’. However, most seem confident that the department of social development is finally making child labour an important theme again and the co-operation within the CERPETI is a good sign. MANTHOC, however, decided not to participate in this forum, because of ideological differences. A representative explained: ‘The CERPETI want to eradicate child labour. For us that objective does not make sense in a context where children have to work to survive. As we want to improve working conditions, it would make no sense of joining a platform which is directed towards the eradication of child labour’.

Conclusions Improving the participation of the working children within the formal education system, as the only strategy to get children out of working activities, is not sufficient. This strategy has a limited effect on diminishing child labour as it does not address the main reason why children are working in the first place: a lack of family income because of a lack of job opportunities for the parents. Therefore, educational support should be accompanied by plans to combat the structural and economic reasons for children to work. Informal child rights education for children and parents might have contributed to a reduction in the working hours of children, especially as it teaches parents and children alike about the dangers of child labour; but increasing awareness about their rights and the institutions that can protect them does not automatically mean that children will actually demand these rights. Children often experience structural constraints, such as the low and irregular family income, and the competition in the supply market, which impedes them from demanding higher prices for their goods, as buyers would simply look elsewhere. Any strategy directed to end child labour should take these structural constraints of poverty into account. The installation of a grinder may help to increase productivity and make child labour redundant, but funds are unavailable and the social organisation around the grinding machine may lead to more conflicts than solutions.



Chapter 5

Stone Quarries in Guatemala Luisa Fernanda Moreno Ruiz

Retalhuleu lies in the south of Guatemala, on the Pacific Ocean. Despite the fact that it is one of the most prosperous regions, many of its people do not profit and live in poverty and under precarious conditions (Hernández 2006). A sizeable section of the population originates from the Guatemalan highlands. They migrated to the southern coast in search for work in the coffee, cotton and sugarcane plantations. The conditions for the quarrying activities in the Retalhuleu department in Guatemala have been created by the active Santiaguito volcano, which expels volcanic material into the Samalá River. Around 200 families, according to Victor Hernández (CEIPA),1 extract and process stones, gravel and sand alongside the Samalá River. Their labour is characterised by its informality. They sell their products on a small scale to truck drivers, who in turn sell the materials to building contractors or to any private individual as construction materials. Events like the 1976 earthquake, which gave the construction sector a great boost, and the expulsion of labourers from plantations after the coffee and cotton crisis, have increased the number of families working on the river banks. The mechanisation of sugarcane production, which made many families redundant, has further encouraged this trend of looking for work in informal sector industries, such as quarrying in Retalhuleu (Hernández 2006).

The Research Communities Fieldwork was carried out in the community Nuevo Pomarrosal. The inhabitants of this community used to live on the banks of the Samalá River. They were, though, constantly threatened by flooding and in 1999 the community of Pomarrosal acquired

 Before the CEIPA project took place, an estimated 300 families worked in the sector in Retalhuleu (Hernández 2006).

1

L.F.M. Ruiz () Global Society Foundation, Utrecht, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_5, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

81

82

L.F.M. Ruiz

a higher-lying piece of land, in the case they would have to evacuate some day. This eventually happened in 2005, when the river threatened to inundate their settlement and, with the help of CEIPA, almost the entire community was evacuated to the land that is now called the ‘New Pomarrosal’. In 2006, 77 families (416 individuals) were living in Nuevo Pomarrosal. The local authority is in the hands of the COCODE,2 the Community Development Council. The village is part of the San Felipe municipality. The second research area, Brillantes, is a plantation area along the main road to the Pacific on which rubber, cacao, citrus fruits and bananas are cultivated. The finca is owned by an association of the local labourers, Asoprobed. It is part of the municipality of Muluá. The accessibility of this community is reflected in a great variety of economic activities of the population. There is a marked social stratification that is expressed in the quality of houses and in the general well-being of its inhabitants.

Living Conditions The conditions in which quarrying children and their families live are closely related to the existence of child labour. The living conditions in Pomarrosal that will be described apply to the complete population, as all families are, or used to be, quarry workers. In Brillantes, only a part of the population is involved in the quarry (piedrín) sector. Although a comparison will be made with other inhabitants, the main focus will be on the piedrín families, among which some families are from other nearby communities.

Pomarrosal In Pomarrosal, although people do everything they can to manage, the economic situation is very precarious. During the time of the research, all 77 families in Pomarrosal were still living in houses made of wood and corrugated iron, which they had built themselves. The new brick houses that they have been allotted, had not yet been officially inaugurated. Before the allocation of new houses away from the river, all men, women and children were engaged in the extraction of gravel. The new location of the community, further away from the river, has forced them to explore other options of generating income. A majority of men and a few women still work in quarrying, but some have started working in one of the nearby coffee or sugarcane plantations. Men may also work in the great tourist attraction park IRTRA and some women have found jobs in housekeeping in San Felipe or Retalhuleu. Mainly because of the conditions in which they are performed, household chores are a full-time job for the women in the household. Wood is collected a full hour’s walk away. Access to water is difficult; there is only one communal water tap and a little (contaminated) stream; only a few families possess wells, dug 2

  The Consejos Comunitarios de Desarrollo are part of a government decentralisation strategy.

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

83

by CEIPA. During the rainy season rain water is used. Another important problem is the absence of a sewer system. In the community, there is one primary school with one small classroom and four big ones with furniture and electricity. From pre-school up until third grade, each grade has its own teacher, whereas only one teacher is in charge of the final three grades. There is a serious lack of teaching materials. Although most schoolaged children were in school during the research period, it is very common for girls to be withdrawn before the fourth grade. Illiteracy is thus common among young girls. A 13-year-old girl commented: ‘I was not in school long enough to learn to read and write. I don’t even know one letter. When I was in the second grade my father decided that I had to quit school. He didn’t have enough money to buy me all the things I needed. I wouldn’t want to go back, I never really liked school’. Among adults, illiteracy is also very high, especially among women.

Boys crossing the old railway bridge

Of the children who complete primary education, approximately half proceed to secondary school. Important barriers to the secondary school are the monthly fee and the transport costs to San Felipe. Although changes have been taking place in people’s attitudes towards education – they are increasingly acknowledging its benefits – gender traditions and economic restrictions continue to interfere with enrolment and attendance.

84

L.F.M. Ruiz

Basic health services are offered by an assistant nurse at the local health post. If people need more specialised help, they can go to the bigger San Felipe health centre (15 min by bus) or to the Retalhuleu hospital (30 min by bus). The most common health problems in the community include respiratory infections, parasites, diarrhoea and skin diseases. All are more common among children. A significant problem among children is malnutrition. The nurse referred to one girl who died of malnutrition: ‘This has to do with the bad economic situation. Finding work is a problem for many fathers. It is difficult here to feed a family’. At the same time family planning is still taboo. Most women have around five children and ‘it is common for them to have their first child when they are fourteen or fifteen years old’, according to the nurse.

Brillantes The Brillantes plantation is very close to the Samalá River, where quarrying takes place. Nevertheless, only a minority of the inhabitants work in the piedrín sector. Most men work at the plantation. The houses of the piedríneros are more humble; so too are their clothes. Their poverty is more severe and at the same time, they have more children, sometimes as many as six or eight. Most piedrín families also live in high-risk areas. In 2005, hurricane Stan caused a lot of damage to families in the region, especially to piedrín families. According to Victor Hernández, 50% of piedrín families live posando: ‘This means that they do not own land, but borrow small parcels on which to install a small shed to live in, generally on the most vulnerable grounds of the region’ (Hernández 2006). In Brillantes, a majority of the piedríneros live in La Linea, where the trains used to pass by. After the discontinuance of the train service, some families from outside the village built their houses on that piece of land and some even inhabit old train wagons that were left on La Linea. Because of the proximity to the river, women can easily combine labour in the sector with household chores. They go to help their husbands, who often unfortunately spend a considerable part of their income on alcohol. Alcohol abuse is a significant problem. It leads to verbal and physical abuse of women and children. Family disintegration was mentioned by several teachers as a common problem. Educational levels are very low among the piedrín families; most women are illiterate and also men have rarely finished primary school. Most children enter primary school, but only a few of them complete it. Lesbia (12) commented: I did not finish primary school. I have eight brothers and sisters. These are many mouths to feed. I enjoyed school a lot; I tried to never miss classes. I even got to be the best of the class several times. My teacher always talked to me and said that I had to finish school; she still asks me when I will return. But that will not happen, because my parents need my help to feed my siblings. I am not very strong, but together we can make just enough to eat.

Brillantes has the biggest primary school of the surrounding communities and the only secondary school in the area, but children from piedrín families rarely make it

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

85

there because of the high costs involved. The school has enough classrooms and teachers, but they suffer from a lack of teaching materials: ‘There is a shortage of books, and we have to improvise a little. In public schools this is a big problem, we cannot ask too much of the parents, so we have to manage with the little we have’.

A mother and her 14-year-old son in their home in Brillantes, which is an old abandoned train wagon

Brillantes has a small health post with very basic facilities and an assistant nurse. Consultations are free, but medicine is charged. Most quarrying families turn to the municipal capital Muluá where they can get free basic medicine at the health post. In cases where more specific aid is needed or in emergencies, people turn to the Retalhuleu hospital that is only 10-min away. A majority of the families is Evangelical and sometimes has more faith in the pastor’s power to heal than in a doctor. According to the local nurse, malnutrition is more common among piedrín families than it is among others, because they earn less and they have more children (four children on average). Furthermore, the living conditions make them more susceptible to disease. In both research communities, piedrín families are poor with high levels of illiteracy. Most piedríneros therefore have few, if any, labour alternatives and work in quarrying because it is the only option at hand. There is a high level of school dropout, especially among girls. A majority of children do not enrol in secondary education. The families live in very humble houses and may lack basic utilities like water, electricity and sewerage. In addition, they live in areas that are in danger of flooding. Access to healthcare is average.

86

L.F.M. Ruiz

Labour Activities: Children Within the Production Chain The families who work alongside the Samalá River collect and process sand, gravel and big stones. The geological conditions of the extraction location determine the materials in which they specialise. The people from Pomarrosal work at the river banks where they used to live. This is the first area after the source of the river at which people work. The river at this location is still fairly small and calm and contains much gravel. After extremely rainy days, the workers always go to the river, because they know that it will contain lots of valuable material. People go into the river with a large sieve to collect gravel in buckets, and discard the larger stones. The usable gravel is put in a gunny sack and carried to the bank, where it is gathered in piles per cubic metre (around 45 buckets) and left there until someone comes to buy it. Rodel (11): Did you hear the river raging this afternoon? It is because of the rain. My father gets happy when he hears it; it is a sign that it contains lots of material. Tomorrow he will leave early to the river, because yesterday was a really bad day. He has not sold any material during the past two weeks. Last weekend I stayed home, but Saturday I hope he will take me, so that I can earn a few quetzals if he sells his gravel.

Boy (13) carrying a gunny sack full of gravel to the river bank

When it is dry for several days, the workers might as well stay home. During the summer, they extract sand from the dry river banks. They do this by loosening the sand from the ground with a pickaxe. To separate the sand from the little stones within it, it is thrown through a fine sieve with a shovel. The sand is piled up and sold per cubic metre or per truck.

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

87

Further down the river, where it has reached its greatest force and mass, another group of people are found, mainly breaking up big stones. This specific place is called ‘El Zarco’. During high floods, the river carries rock and deposits a large amount of sediment on the river banks. The sedimentary sand and stones, and the material from the dikes,3 are extracted with pickaxes by families from surrounding villages. Big volcanic stones are separated from the massive rocks, that are almost impossible to break, and broken into smaller pieces with a large hammer and are then sold. The government has tried to get the families to stop this work, because they damage the dikes. On several occasions the police has been authorised to disperse the families, but they keep returning. Nearby El Zarco, in a location alongside the highway known as ‘La Vuelta del Niño’, child labour is directly visible; people all around Guatemala are familiar with the image of children sitting here in little sheds chipping at stones. Families bring sand and stones from the river banks up to the highway location. The stones are then further processed into piedrín: people sit on a stone or on a bucket, place a large massive stone in front of them, which serves as a table, and chip away at volcanic stones with a hammer. The sand and gravel is sold per cubic metre. Children can be found performing the same activities as adults, especially during school holidays. Nine-year-old Miguel explained how he and his siblings help out their parents: ‘I have nine brothers and sisters. Three or four are in school, and so am I. After school we come to work, but not always. During the summer there is a lot of work; then you can see us here every day’. Among the 20 families from El Zarco and La Vuelta del Niño involved in the research, about 50 children aged 7–17 were found to be working; with about twice as many boys as girls. Although children of all ages are taken along to the work area, activities such as carrying heavy buckets or rocks are only performed by children aged 12 and up. Smaller children may, however, transport sand and stones in wheel barrows. Thirteen and 14-yearold boys often earn some extra money as truck assistants on the trucks that come to buy the materials; this is the heaviest job of all. Sifting sand is considered somewhat lighter and may be done by children from about 10 years. Extracting gravel from the river is done from about the age of 12, but many parents consider it to be too dangerous and prefer to do it themselves: Roberto (13): I am helping my parents, this makes me feel happy. I often feel tired, but I feel no pain. But I think that this work is no good for children. My father also thinks that some of the work we have to do is dangerous for me. I am not allowed to go into the river to extract gravel. It is dangerous, especially when the water level is high. I mostly help my father to carry the buckets, he allows me to do that.

Very young children, as young as seven, are found making piedrín. This activity is considered to be less physically challenging than others, as it is done sitting in the shade and it does not involve the lifting of heavy loads. Even though the smallest

 Government bulldozers and excavators build dikes of sand and rocks alongside the river, in order to protect surrounding areas during the rainy season.

3 

88

L.F.M. Ruiz

children may not be intentionally put to work, through play they start to engage in the different activities that are carried out by their parents and their siblings. Gender is a differentiating factor for child labour in quarrying. In most families, girls do not perform loading or extreme lifting activities; yet they can be found carrying lighter, half-filled buckets of stones. Of course, there are exceptions; within several families, girls were found performing the same activities as their brothers. Francisca 14: I live alone with my mother and my brother. My father died many years ago. I do not remember him. My mother took me out of school because it was not enough for her to work alone. We sell big stones, we have to extract them, carry them and crush them. I do just the same work as my brother. It is heavy, but I got used to it. Most girls do not carry heavy stones like I do. My mother feels bad because I have to do that.

Girls’ participation appears to be more important among the most vulnerable families, such as single-female headed families and families dealing with debts or problems like alcoholism. Taking care of younger siblings is part of girls’ daily chores. During the working day they look after the youngest children at the work place and prevent them from getting into dangerous situations, such as crossing the highway. Quarry-family children can be found doing all sorts of other jobs too. They may sell fruit or mind cattle. They also help to perform household chores. Collecting wood is done by both boys and girls, while getting water, washing and cleaning is carried out by girls. In addition, the children in Pomarrosal also participate in the coffee harvest.

Labour Conditions The conditions under which labour in quarrying takes place create vulnerable situations for both adults and children. As there is no entity directly responsible for the labour conditions, there are no rules that stipulate working hours, wages, minimum working ages, etc. The exact labour conditions depend on the needs, willingness and capacity of the quarrying families and hazardous risks are not kept at bay. Some of the areas where people work may be public and people may work there without permission; others may be private and permission has to be granted by the owner. In some cases, like in El Zarco, the owner of the area rents a small place to a family to work. For every truckload of material that leaves the area the families have to pay taxes to the owner, who employs someone to collect the money. The family income varies approximately between 30 Q (€3) and 150 Q (€15) per day; the families who sell the bigger stones earn most. During a good season people can earn more than they would in, for example, agriculture. When demand is low, income is very uncertain and families can go up to 3 weeks without any income at all. Because income is generated per unit and not per hour, what families earn depends on their productivity and on the number of labour hands they can engage. Income also depends on the kind of material that one sells and is further determined by the price of that product at a specific moment.

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

89

Female-headed families always earn considerably less than male-headed families. Doña Raymunda lives at La Linea with her two sons (19 and 13) and her daughter (16). Her children are not in school and work with her every day from 6:00 to 14:00, crushing big stones with a sledgehammer. All her children perform the same activities; Doña Raymunda commented: My husband died many years ago. It is very hard to work without a man. My children have to collaborate. We earn barely enough to buy food and I had to get my children out of school. While other families may sell two truckloads per day, it takes us two days to produce only one. We never make more than 400 Q (40€) a week.

The dangerous waters in which many have been injured or even drowned

The income generated by the children’s contributions is considered family income and used for household expenses. Sometimes, the children are given a few quetzals as compensation. Only boys who work by themselves or on trucks earn money directly. Even then, most of it is handed over to their mothers. Working on a truck is relatively lucrative. Assistants receive approximately 50 Q (€5) per full load (loading and unloading) and they generally do two loads a day. Working hours vary a lot per family and even per person. Most people, though, start to work around 6 or 7 o’clock in the morning and return home between 12 and 2 o’clock in the afternoon, depending on the temperatures. An exception is the families alongside the highway who make piedrín. They stay until 5 o’clock, as their work can be done in the shade and is less physically demanding. Although most families rest on Sunday, a few prefer to add a little to their income. Twelve-year-old Brandon from Pomarrosal described his working hours for a typical working day: I start working at 7 in the morning, then we start extracting gravel and to look for a truck to sell our material to. At 10 we have a break and something to eat. At midday we rest a little bit more so that we do not get too tired. At 2 in the afternoon we eat, because if we don’t, we lose our strength. At 3 we go home very tired. During school holidays this is what I do every day, throughout the week, now I only do this in the weekends.

90

L.F.M. Ruiz

Only very young children and a minority of school-aged children, who do not go to school, can always be found at the river banks with their parents, as are a considerable number of adolescents, who may also work alone. The majority of the working children combine work with school and work generally during weekends and holidays, during the same hours as their parents. Another, smaller group may work before, as well as after, school hours and sometimes even during them. People that engage in quarrying have to endure high temperatures and sun exposure. They use caps and long sleeves to protect themselves. During the rainy season, they endure heavy rainfall that may also cause floods and wash away the material that people have piled up on the banks to sell.4 Many families from villages other than the research communities have to walk for more than an hour to get to work. Others use a bicycle. Since there is no specific road for bicycles or pedestrians and they walk alongside the highway, they are at risk of accidents. The same is true for the families at La Vuelta del Niño, who work beside the highway. Children have to cross the highway several times a day, often carrying stones. The people of Pomarrosal have to get to work by crossing the river using the dilapidated remainder of what used to be a wooden bridge: a cable, with two ropes to hold on to. Near Brillantes, a similar situation can be found. An old iron railway bridge is used by both adults and children as a shortcut to get to work. Buckets and wheelbarrows are used for transporting gravel, small stones and sand, while big stones are carried by hand or on the head. Although children are often spared by their parents, they deliberately carry materials in an attempt to help. 10-year-old Erwing explained: ‘This job is not too heavy. I always calculate my strength so I do not carry too heavy stones. But this is adults’ work. It is difficult to get the stones in the truck’. Several activities entail the use of shovels. In the Quiché department, where additional fieldwork was carried out for 1 week, shovels are used to extract sand from the water. One stands in the water and shovels sand from the bottom of the riverbed or stream; this requires considerable physical effort. It is even more strenuous for children, who use the same tools as their parents, which are not fit for children’s physical capacity and bodies. The activity also exposes the workers to contaminated water. Especially in the smaller streams, as in Quiché, children may spend hours extracting sand from water that contains the sewage of several villages and even of hospitals. Furthermore, working with stones and sand produces a lot of dust. During the dry season this is a problem. People do not take precautionary measures to prevent themselves from inhaling the dust. They also choose not to wear eye protection

 People may also lose their work in other ways: when the government machines build dikes to protect the area from flooding, they often undo people’s labour by burying it under masses of stones.

4 

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

91

when chipping stones. A few people do use rubber gloves to protect their hands from the hammer while smashing the stones. The majority of both adults and children, though, find these too uncomfortable to work with. In general, all families work in hazardous and drab environments, surrounded by stones, contaminated water and trucks. They nevertheless prefer quarrying above labour in the coffee sector (which is actually an option), as it is flexible, gives them independence and they do not have to answer to anyone’s demands. Moreover, they can earn much more during good periods in quarrying than they could ever do in coffee, or agriculture in general. A father of four working at El Zarco commented: I have been working here for a year, but I used to work in the coffee sector. In some way that is better, it is less tough. But here you don’t have a boss or fixed working hours. In fincas you have set wages and no opportunities to earn more. Here we sometimes make a lot of money, like in November last year. The minimum we make per day is 75Q (7.5€) and sometimes we even make 2500 Q (250€) a month. In coffee you earn about 30Q (3€) a day, while here we may sell two camionadas (full trucks) a day (80Q/8€ each).

The Consequences of Child Labour The activities that children carry out in quarrying and the conditions in which these activities take place have consequences for health, education and family life. Parents see quarrying as heavy and harmful, for both themselves and for their children and most parents feel bad when they see their children working. They experience the negative effects themselves and wish better things for their children. Doña Zara was interviewed whilst chipping stones alongside the highway. She works with her husband and two sons, of which one is grown up, who works on his own, and one 13 year old, who is in school. He failed a few years, but his mother wants him to finish school; she would like him to be able to do other work later on. His father likes the fact that he works, and feels it will keep him on the right track. Doña Zara arrives at work at 7 in the morning, and leaves at 6 in the evening. Her youngest son comes every day after school, but sometimes he comes to help his mother in the morning when his father goes out to work on a truck. Doña Zara commented: I feel really bad about my son working here, because it is heavy. My husband makes him work to learn that making pisto (money) is hard and to prevent him from going off track. Working on a truck is even harder. I do not want my son to be doing any of this work in the future, but it would be worse to watch him working on a truck. Every day I pray to God for my son not to be run over by a car. Several accidents have occurred. Once a car ran off the road and crashed right beside us. We were really lucky. If there was any possibility for me to do other work I would, like in a household and I would really like my children not to work.

Working on trucks is indeed often considered to be one of the most hazardous and dangerous jobs; it has caused deadly accidents. A 15-year-old truck assistant

92

L.F.M. Ruiz

revealed some of the risks of the work he does: ‘This work is dangerous. Sometimes the truck gets stuck in the mud and we have to get under it to release it. There is always the chance that the truck slips. Also, big stones may fall from the truck on your head, or when you are carrying them’. All children under 14 say that the work in quarrying is too heavy for them and that it should be done exclusively by adults. Thirteen-year-old Justo said: ‘This work is very heavy, it makes you become débil (fragile). Sometimes I feel I am going to faint’. Older children do not describe the work as being that heavy. When chipping stones, small eye injuries may occur; wounds on hands and feet are also very common. The people from El Zarco haul material from the dams and their greatest concern therefore involves big rocks that can tumble down from higher levels of the dam. A 13-year-old boy said: ‘I have escaped from being crushed several times, when big rocks almost fell on my head’. Another source of danger is the sun, which can cause serious headaches, burns or sunstroke. Some of the accidents that people suffer occur whilst travelling to work. Crossing the cable bridge or the old railway bridge has cost several people their lives. Although they are very aware of the danger involved and although there is another much longer route available, most labourers choose to take the risk to spare some time and effort. Some parents expressed their fear for their children’s safety: ‘I know that some people have fallen off the bridge and off the cable in San Felipe. Me and my sons cross the bridge every day, but I always fear for them’. Most parents and children mentioned suffering from respiratory problems, and muscle and joint aches. The dust, especially during the dry season, causes respiratory infections in the short run and may lead to serious lung damage after years of exposure. Children’s emotional well-being is also affected by the activities and working conditions. They sometimes feel ashamed about their work; Pablo (14) commented: ‘I would never want my brothers to do the same work. Not all the children from my class know that I do this; I do not like to tell them. I feel embarrassed. The ones who do know, say that I am a burro (donkey) for doing this work’. Ewing (15) added: ‘Some boys are ashamed and come to work through the bushes so no one can see them’. Besides feelings of shame, children expressed feelings of sadness during informal talks and interviews. Ten-year-old Luis was found gathering and carrying stones at La Playa with his grandmother and his cousin. His two younger siblings do not work here, but he is sent to work with his grandmother to help pay off a family debt. He comes to work by bus from Casa Blanca, where he lives. According to Luis’ cousin, Luis is one of the children who feel ashamed of doing this work. Luis himself denied shame, but nevertheless expressed negative feelings about his work: I feel sad to be here. I do not want to work, but my father tells me to. My father works at the IRTRA, so I come with my grandmother, only when I do not have to go to school. I sometimes cry when it is time for me to come to work, then my father hits me. Children should only worry about going to school. This work is dangerous. There might be a collapse, a rock

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

93

might fall on you, and the sun, uno se quema! (one gets burned). And your hands hurt. My mother does not want me to work here either. Working is just not good for children.

Child labour in quarrying also has consequences for education. In Brillantes, teachers pointed out that children who work before, after or even during school hours end up missing classes on a frequent basis and fall behind. In El Siglo, a community near Brillantes, 15-year-old Wilder works as a truck assistant for 1 week and goes to school the following week: I do not like to work, because I hurt my hands. I always work one week and go to school the next so that my hands can rest.…I start to work at six and stop at four…I have no father, only three older brothers and three little ones, who are also in school. I am the only one doing this work to help my mother and to have some money of my own…I like to have money. I want to have my own truck after I finish school. My mother wants me to study, I want that too. My work does not affect my school, because when I get behind, I borrow my friends’ books to catch up.

Wilder’s teacher explained that he allows him to miss out on classes because he knows his family needs it and that he would otherwise leave school forever. At least now he is learning a little bit. But he has observed that Wilder is seriously falling behind. There is a strong correlation between the number of hours that children spend working and their school progress. Also, children who work and study on the same day usually do not complete their homework, are tired during classes and, consequently, do not participate as actively as they should. A fifth grade teacher commented: Child labour is a problem, it affects the mental development of the children, they do not dedicate themselves to school and play. They are attached to work and learn less; they are not relaxed. It is rare for a piedrínero to be devoted to school; they lack time to really concentrate. Although they may be attending school when work is not required, work remains their priority.

Some of the working children do not go to school at all and, according to one teacher, all the children who are not in school are piedríneros. Another reason for children to stay out of school is that the early-on experience of earning money, even though it hardly ever goes directly to the children themselves, makes the children feel important. They have learned to experience work as more rewarding and beneficial than school and this acquired attitude tends to outweigh a sensitivity to the hazardous aspects of the work. The 11-year-old Jose is the oldest of three boys. He works every day with his mother before and after school hours. His father works on the truck he owns. Both his parents are very positive about Jose working. They prefer him to work instead of going to school, which they feel will probably not offer better prospects. Jose himself, who is in the final year of primary school, is not planning on continuing either: I do not like school very much; I do not want to continue. I like to work, because I sell sand and earn money. My mother saves it for me. I like to spend it with my brothers and sisters. I do get tired from work, but I still like it. I feel pain in my feet and sometimes I feel pain in my lungs and have difficulty breathing. As soon as I am old enough I want to be a helper on a truck.

94

L.F.M. Ruiz

The routine of doing this work creates habits. It limits the children’s perspectives and distances them from education. This may also be the case among children from Pomarrosal, who only work during weekends and holidays. Primarily among children who spend many hours working, education disappears more and more into the background, until children lose all interest in it. This is what happened to Marina (16): I like to work, because I am used to it and because I am always close to my mother. I would not like to do other work; I prefer to work at La Playa, because this is what I know and what I am used to and what I want to do forever. Of course it is heavy, but I never feel pain. I would never want to go back to school; I am used to work now.

In Pomarrosal, where different labour activities mingle and most children go to school, children maintain a broader vision of their future. In Pomarrosal, boys want to be mechanics, firemen, etc. Most girls would want to be teachers. In Brillantes, a majority of both boys and girls want to stay in the sector and extract stones or own a truck. According to teachers, children and parents in Pomarrosal have been able to broaden their prospects as, since the move, quarrying is no longer the only option and the community is less isolated.

Worst Form of Child Labour? The participation of children in quarrying conflicts with national legislation. According to both the ILO and CEIPA, there is no question about whether quarrying is a worst form of child labour or not. The nature of the activities and the labour conditions make this a hazardous form of child labour: ‘The contaminated waters, the high temperatures, the weight of the materials, the deficient equipment that is used to work with and the obsolete extraction technology make this work a worst form of child labour’ (CEIPA 2005:3). It is also recognised as such by the national list of worst forms of child labour activities. Activities in mining as well as in quarrying are mentioned explicitly: ‘Activities that imply the exploitation of mines and quarries … and the manual elaboration of piedrín’ (Guatemala Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2006). Victor Hernandez from CEIPA listed the effects that, according to him, make quarrying a worst form of child labour: Educational efficiency is reduced, their personal development is retarded and children learn that this is the world they are going to live in. They have very limited ideas of their possibilities. The work also causes injuries and makes children ill from solar radiation and contaminated water.

Both parents and children themselves agree that quarrying is hazardous. Minors perform unhealthy and dangerous activities that are harmful to their moral and intellectual development and that stand in the way of a complete education.

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

95

Young boy shifting heavy boulders by the river’s edge

Why Do Children Work? Finding out the reasons why children work is crucial when deciding what interventions are effective to combat child labour. Although all quarrying families are poor, poverty alone cannot explain why children work. Economic factors are at the core of the problem, but children’s work is often also stimulated by traditional beliefs and educational factors. Piedrín families do not possess land for self-subsistence. This makes them completely dependent on generating an income through external sources. The endowments of these families are limited: their lack of education and illiteracy seriously limit these people’s ability to find work. Yet, to extract gravel and stones they do not need education. Besides, they happen to live near the Samalá River where there is work in abundance. Nevertheless, the output of their labour is not enough for adults to cover all the family needs. In order to assure a

96

L.F.M. Ruiz

minimum income, parents bring their children along and thereby extend the total labour time. A teacher in El Siglo explained: The cause of this work is the absence of income possibilities. Proper labour jobs are hardly available. I think this work should stop for children but it exists due to a lack of other labour options. Parents take hold of everything they have, including their children. It is not fair, but it is understandable.

Most families consider the money the children help to earn to be family income and spend it on general family needs such as food and healthcare, or on debt repayments. Although most children receive no money at all or only a small amount, many say that they like to work because they are earning money. The older the children, the more money they can keep themselves and the more they work because they like earning money, not only for their families, but also for themselves. Thirteen-year-old Manuel commented: ‘I don’t like to work, but I like it because of the money. I get 40Q per cubic metre of sand, I give 20 to my father. I prefer to extract sand, but more to help on a truck, because I earn more money then. Sometimes 350 Q (€35) a week. My father prefers me to work, not to study.’ It is one way of legitimising the work he is doing and given the absence of alternatives, it appears to be a rational option. For many other children, however, the earning of money is less significant than the parental pressure on them to work. Some children are physically forced to join in the work, since they run the risk of being beaten when they don’t. Testimonies of several children clarified that they may more or less be forced to work: The work we do is dangerous. We can get hit by big stones and your nails can fall off. I like to work, because I am helping my parents, but I also get tired a lot so I do not always feel like working. It is not that my father forces me to work, but if I don’t, he feels offended because I do not contribute to the income. Sometimes, though, he does force me to go with him, when he wants to punish me for something I did (Jeronimo 15).

Although a majority of the families use the extra money generated by their children for basic needs, a few families spend it on educational costs, for emergencies or just to buy ‘extras’. The ‘extras’, however, suggest that work is not always essential for the survival of the family but that it may rather be a pattern of living. Jose (11) explained: ‘My mother keeps the money that I earn; she uses it for emergencies and I use the part that I am allowed to keep to buy whatever I want’. His mother added: ‘The children work for their own good. If they would not work, we would still be able to eat, but I would not be able to buy them the things they want’. The income Doña Haydee and her husband, who owns a truck, earn is basically enough to cover the most basic needs of themselves and their three children. In this case, although the family can survive on adult-generated income alone, the children are still willing to work. Although this is the case in only a few families with privileged positions, such as the possession of a truck in combination with a small family, it shows that factors other than economic necessity must also play a role. The successful child labour eradication in Pomarrosal further supports the argument that economic poverty alone cannot explain all cases of child labour. The distance to the river became considerably larger after the permanent relocation. This was a reason for most parents to stop taking their children and it made some adults abandon the sector altogether, even

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

97

though their economic situation had not improved in the new location. Apparently, the proximity and availability of labour in quarrying, i.e. the living environment, was a more significant reason for child labour than the economic necessity. Nevertheless, there are still between the five and ten families (from all 77 families that live in Pomarrosal) that keep bringing their children to the river during weekends. Some are female-headed households for whom economic pressures are particularly demanding; others are families that value child labour for other than economic reasons. Although the harmful nature of child participation in quarrying is commonly accepted, traditional attitudes continue. Child labour in general has traditionally been part of everyday life. It is not only common in quarrying: children are involved in animal care, the cultivation of corn, coffee picking and selling fruits. Many of the children work in quarrying because their parents have been working in it for decades. Little children familiarise themselves with the working environment and they learn the activities through play. As they grow, they automatically become more seriously involved. Many parents say that this work is the only thing they can pass on to their children, since they feel quarrying is the only thing they know. Work is furthermore regarded as a proper way for children to acquire skills and values like responsibility, politeness and diligence. The teaching of such habits has traditionally been done within the household and the community, through direct contact with the working adults, rather than in school through the teaching adults. A mother from Pomarrosal said: ‘Children have to learn to help and to be decent towards adults, to say good morning. They have to learn to behave, or else, what will people think’. Parents also may have their children working to keep them off the streets and becoming involved in criminal activities such as stealing. A grandmother, who works with her two grandsons stated: ‘Nowadays children should study, times have changed, but it is good though for them to work here, because there are a lot of bad things, like maras (youth gangs), they could join. It is thousand times better that they come to work here’. In Pomarrosal, a majority of parents have a positive view of the purpose and importance of education and they agree that education is better for children than work. Nevertheless, they sometimes make their children miss classes when they need their help getting wood or water. Parents’ positive attitude towards education thus is not a strict priority. This applies particularly to girls. The parents may want their daughters to be educated, but a majority thinks it is just not possible considering the role that their daughters are going to play in the future; the following statement from a young mother illustrates: ‘I want my daughter to be a teacher, but she probably won’t because she will find a man. She has to learn how to work’. The distinction between boys and girls is significantly more common in Pomarrosal than among families from Brillantes and surrounding communities, although in the latter, general attitudes towards education are less positive. The Brillantes quarrying families have not been convinced yet that education is a profitable investment and that it will significantly change their children’s futures. This causes them to thoughtlessly withdraw their children from school. First, it is not clear to parents what their children learn and how they can use their knowledge.

98

L.F.M. Ruiz

Second, they are confronted with a few young people who have managed to finish secondary school, but who are still working at La Playa. The 10-year-old Sara recalled: ‘Me and my sister left school. My father took us out, he thought it was a waste of time, because many boys and girls finish school and end up making piedrín anyway. He also prefers us to work.’ It is common for children to not withdraw from school abruptly, but rather move into full-time work gradually. Some of the adolescents previously combined school and work and have become used to quarrying. Once they have started earning money themselves, for example by working as a truck assistant, they start experiencing the direct rewards of their labour and begin to question the benefits of education. Teachers in both Pomarrosal and Brillantes say that negative attitudes are caused by a lack of education of parents themselves. They do not know what it means to be in school and what their children are learning. Parents we spoke to disagreed; they know what goes on in school, but feel that the quality of education is very poor and that their children do not learn anything useful there. Parents draw up the balance of what is more profitable: sending their children to school, knowing that they might not be able to learn enough or that it will not offer better prospects, or increasing the household income and their ability to survive by letting their children work. Many opt for the latter.

Strategies to Combat Child Labour Research in Pomarrosal collected data on local perceptions of the (ILO/IPECfunded) Project for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labour in Quarries in Retalhuleu. The project has been implemented by CEIPA. The purpose of the project, which started in 2000, was to contribute to the elimination of child labour in the production of construction materials alongside the Samalá River. Of a total of 20 quarrying communities, 18 were targeted. In 2005, the official project came to an end, but CEIPA remains involved, still hoping to reach the initial goal. The elimination of this type of child labour required a coordinated and multifacetted response. Nursing courses were offered to community members, and the local community was provided with medicine at lower prices. Parents received stipends and practical help in enrolling their children. They were also offered workshops on child rights and child labour, with a focus on awareness raising. Furthermore, education was organised during the holidays, to keep the children occupied. The NGO also handed out scholarships to secondary school students. A substantial effort focussed on creating alternative income-generating options for families, to prevent them from needing the income from quarrying. Special attention was given to women, since CEIPA believes that withdrawing women from the river banks inevitably withdraws the smallest children as well, and thus prevents them from growing up in this working environment. Courses were offered in tailoring, baking, carpentry, etc. Many women were provided with refrigerators (to sell ice and

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

99

ice cream). In order to promote communal organisation, CEIPA coordinated courses for community leaders, for them to develop skills and knowledge that could help them to succeed in the lobby for and coordination of community development projects. The NGO also promoted and coordinated the establishment of the ‘Asociación de Piedríneros’ to promote the interests of people working in this sector. The project turned out to have different results in different target communities, as the cases of Pomarrosal and Brillantes prove. In Pomarrosal, the project is considered a success by both CEIPA and many of the community members. Quarrying families from Brillantes and other nearby communities, however, are not convinced that the project has shown them many benefits. The main reason for Pomarrosal to be considered a success by CEIPA is the level of local organisation that has been accomplished. Before the project, there was no adequately organised committee representing the community and no communityfeeling among the inhabitants. Victor Hernández explained: We managed to make people take leadership and to take action on behalf of their community. In Pomarrosal, child labour has almost been eradicated and they have done it all by themselves. By developing their own community they have combated the root causes of child labour.

The local nurse added: ‘With the help of CEIPA, the committee has managed to take advantage of the opportunities; they have become involved and have been knocking on doors’. The most noticeable examples are the houses that the community has managed to acquire. Although CEIPA came up with the idea and took the first steps, the community leaders presented the official request to FOGUAVI 5 and did all the paperwork, until the houses were finally assigned. The community has managed to establish ties with the governing party in San Felipe. The leaders have been conducting lobby activities for community development initiatives, such as the realisation of a drainage system and sports field. During the relocation, the community was able to secure a school through the municipal authorities. People have come to see that with organisation they can change living conditions and improve living standards. It is difficult to measure the impact of these developments on child labour. Nevertheless, given that child labour is partially caused by attitudes that question the possibility of change and improvement, it follows that promoting community organisation and development can contribute to the elimination of one of the root causes of the issue. Reactions regarding the economic alternatives were not very positive among inhabitants of Pomarrosal, Brillantes and surrounding communities. Only a few of the people who had been offered an alternative income-generating activity are still profiting from it. A woman complained about the failure of CEIPA to provide continued assistance: ‘I received a tailoring course that lasted seven months, and then it suddenly ended’. Women have sold their pigs, do not use their sewing machines or have used the money they got to start a business to pay off their debts. The same lack of impact accounts for the awareness raising element. The school director said: ‘CEIPA has not managed to change people’s costumbres (habits). Parents still let their children miss school for wrong reasons. Their character has also remained unchanged; they do not accept critic and they are aggressive’. 5

 The Guatemalan Housing Fund

100

L.F.M. Ruiz

In education, according to Linda Ferris, the former project coordinator, the main result was that ‘many families find sense in educating their children. Small children were withdrawn from work and more children entered secondary school’. In Pomarrosal, people have indeed come to see more benefits in educating their children. The improvement of the school building has made school more attractive and the lack of labour opportunities has convinced many that without education finding work is difficult. Yet, mainly in Brillantes and surrounding villages, negative attitudes towards education are still widespread. The scholarships and awarenessraising workshops may have led to more school attendance, but they have not structurally changed educational quality and its ability to offer improved prospects. The fact that many children still work despite enrolment in school questions the contribution of the project to the eradication of child labour in Brillantes and surrounding communities. In Pomarrosal, fewer children are working, and those who still do, work less. The main reason for this seems to be the fact that the distance to work has become too large. There has been an abrupt separation of the working and the living area. This was an indirect result of the strategy of community organisation employed by CEIPA. The NGO guided the community towards the permanent evacuation, but did not take the initial steps. The initial idea came from some community members. It turned out to be a very effective remedy for the eradication of child labour. The new location is more accessible to the outside world and thus it has made the community less isolated from other economic activities and from the spread of new norms. New possibilities for work have presented themselves and children grow up with more knowledge of society and with a broader view of prospects, as the third grade teacher from Pomarrosal illustrated: ‘They get to know new things, commerce and technology, as the community is closer to San Felipe’. Educational infrastructure has unquestionably been improved. There is a better and bigger school that is owned by the community. The same teacher underlined that because people have to try harder to find work, they also have come to experience the benefits of education more and more. A majority of children have stopped working at the river and those who still participate in quarrying do so for a decreased length of time. Also, education has gained a much more important position in their lives. Doubts have been expressed about the sustainability of the interventions executed within the four project components (health, education, awareness raising, economic alternatives). Those were supposedly based on experiences in other countries, but unfortunately failed to take into account the local concerns and conditions, for example, the lack of local organisation and the existence of social conflict and discord. To some extent it also caused more conflict and division within communities as help had to be distributed fast and there was no time to analyse local relations. Some people felt that they were being excluded and that they were not receiving as much help as others. Moreover, the project adopted a very materialistic approach that has impeded the sustainability of the productive alternatives. After training, people received work materials and were left without further guidance. Some received the material without

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

101

training and on several occasions money to invest in a small business was assigned without follow-up. This provoked the obvious reaction of many persons to value short-term profit over long-term investments; they sold their materials or spent the money otherwise. For others, the small businesses are now no more than a way to earn a little extra money, as they have not been taught how to optimise their productivity or to commercialise their product. There still is, though, a great demand for interventions that help men and women to find alternative labour. To be sustainable, the project required more communication and cooperation between the NGO and the government. CEIPA’s interventions were directed towards the withdrawal of children and their parents, especially mothers, from quarrying. Yet the option of improving conditions within the sector remained unexplored. A majority of quarrying men and women believe that the best way to tackle child labour is by strengthening the position of men within the sector by mechanising part of the production process. Working with machines in a cooperative would make the labour easier, increase income and create a more stable situation for men, consequently stopping the need to take their wives and children to work.

Conclusions and Recommendations The quarrying families along the Samalá River all live in very poor conditions. They live in small houses of poor quality and some communities are in constant danger of flooding. Electricity is rare and potable water and drainage is absent. In the Pomarrosal primary school, there is a shortage of learning materials and teachers, which results in poor educational quality. Among quarrying children, in general, there is a high level of school dropout, especially among girls. The labour in quarrying is characterised by self-employment and usually long working hours, up to 10 h a day. Very young children, a minority of school-aged children and a group of adolescents accompany their parents full-time. Most of the working children combine work with school and work only during weekends and holidays. A small number of children, however, work before, as well as after, school hours and sometimes even during school hours: sieving sand, chipping, breaking, hauling stones and loading materials for the truck drivers. Among them are more boys than girls, and boys work for longer hours. Children may be given a small reward as compensation by their parents, but usually they contribute to the family income. The activities that children perform cause muscle pain and joint damage. Children are exposed to high temperatures under the blazing sun, causing burns and headaches. Working in and around the river involves contact with contaminated water and some labour-related conditions, such as dilapidated bridges on the way to work and strong currents, even present life-threatening situations. Children may be confronted with feelings of shame and sadness as a consequence of their labour. The school performance of children, who work before, after or even during school hours, suffers. The combination of school and work often leads to dropout.

102

L.F.M. Ruiz

Since the remuneration in quarrying is low and uncertain, children are needed to top up the household income. Proximity and availability of the labour can also be significant causes for child labour. Tradition is also an important cause of child labour: many of the children engage in quarrying because they grow up playing amongst the workers and many parents feel that this work is the only thing they can pass on to their children. Poor educational quality does not help motivate parents to keep their children in school. The ILO/IPEC Project for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labour in Quarries, implemented by CEIPA, was noticeably more successful in Pomarrosal than in Brillantes. The community leaders in the first community received training that has helped them to improve general living and educational conditions in the community. New social norms on the well-being of children have developed. Educational developments made school more attractive. In combination with the separation of the working and the living areas, this led to an enormous decrease in child labour. In both communities, women received courses that provided them with alternative income-generating options. This created possibilities for them to leave the river banks behind them. In Pomarrosal, many women stopped going to the river altogether. Scholarships in Pomarrosal have led to higher primary school enrolment and fewer hours of work for children. Yet the project failed in providing guidance to The Association of Quarry Workers, which has not succeeded yet in defending the quarry workers’ interests. Many labourers, however, underline the importance of such forms of organisation in strengthening their economic position and making child labour less necessary. There was also lack of guidance for people who received a course or funds to start a small business. Many abandoned their economic alternative. The participation of children in quarrying activities violates both the ILO conventions and national legislation. Children from 7 years onward are found to be carrying out unhealthy and dangerous activities in quarrying for many hours a week. Quarrying must be considered a worst form of child labour, and the eradication of child labour within this sector is a matter of urgency. This conclusion and other lessons learned throughout the research process have led to the formulation of the following recommendations for all organisations involved with child labour in the quarrying sector: • The establishment of effective organisation will help to establish new community norms concerning child labour and education. Leaders should receive courses on how to lobby and promote community development and long-term guidance by an expert is indispensable. • The existing association of quarry workers, if strengthened, could be a very good formal framework for the piedríneros to look after their interests and to see to it that laws concerning child labour are enforced. • Once a solid cooperation has been established, the provision of a stone crushing machine could successfully create a better economic position for the labourers. • Separating the work and living locations can help to eradicate child labour in combination with educational incentives that make school more attractive.

5  Stone Quarries in Guatemala

103

• Secondary school scholarships can withdraw adolescents from their marginalised positions, offer improved prospects and allow them to set examples for the rest of the community; much depends, however, on the proper choice of beneficiaries. • Awareness-raising campaigns designed to change negative attitudes towards education are only effective when combined with practical improvements in educational quality and relevance. • Creating labour options beyond quarrying for women is important. In the dynamic Retalhuleu area, many diversification possibilities within commerce and tourism can be explored. The ILO/CEIPA project proved that material help is not sufficient. Guidance and training on how to make the initiative sustainable are essential.



Chapter 6

Ore Mining in Bolivia Laura Baas

Until the mid-1980s, the Bolivian mines sustained the national economy, generating up to 70% of the country’s international income (U.S. Department of Labor and Care International 2006). The role of mining in the national economy diminished after 1985 when international prices for mining products decreased. The government handed over some mines to private enterprises or left them open for miners to establish cooperatives. International prices for mining products have been increasing again since 2005, and accordingly COMIBOL started to reverse the policy of privatisation. There are now four types of mining companies: state mining, medium-scale mining, small-scale mining and cooperatives. Mining cooperatives are groups of at least ten miners – although usually a few hundred – who exploit mines and share profits; in theory they do this according to an equal share, but in practice a hierarchy exists in functions and incomes. Today, at the Cerro Rico in the department of Potosí, there are 37 cooperatives with over 14,000 miners (U.S. Department of Labor and Care International 2006). In the Cerro Rico, mining activities are almost exclusively related to the extraction of ore from interior mines. In the Siglo XX district of Llallagua, on the other hand, male as well as female workers are also involved in the initial stages of processing, involving crushing and sieving. Work inside the shafts is done exclusively by males. In this district, there are five active cooperatives. Research was carried out in the Potosí department, which is the most deprived in Bolivia. The city of Potosí is the biggest town in the department, with around 160,000 inhabitants. Llallagua is the second city in the Potosí department, with 45,000 inhabitants (MMSD América del Sur 2002). Both Potosí and Llallagua lie in the Altiplano region of Bolivia. The absence of rural development has resulted in the migration of farmer families towards the mining centres of the Cerro Rico (Potosí), where silver, zinc and lead are extracted, and Siglo XX (Llallagua), where tin is found. These families of Quechua and Aymara origin take their traditional family and community values with them. Since colonial times, the cultural manifestations and traditions of Andean origin generated socio-cultural behaviours that L. Baas () SIPAZ, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_6, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

105

106

L. Baas

influenced the permanency of a certain type of work in the mines (U.S. Department of Labor and Care International 2006). This work is characterised by a high demand for physical strength and courage and comprises many traditions and rituals.

Living Conditions of Children and Families in Mining Migrants, adolescents as well as adults, come from all over Bolivia to work in the mines at the Cerro Rico in Potosí. In Llallagua, most miners are from the town itself and from neighbouring rural places. In general, miners’ families are poorly educated and have many children (4–10). Usually, the father works in the mines, and the mother takes care of the children and/or has a part time job in cleaning or selling food. In the mining sector, families are often broken, normally because of a death. Living conditions of the families living as guardas (mine guards) at the Cerro Rico are miserable because the clay houses do not have electricity and are deprived of drinking water. The houses lack basic sanitation facilities and consist of only one room. Especially in winter, life becomes very harsh at the Cerro Rico. Miners living in the city have less precarious living conditions than those living on the Cerro Rico mountain as they live in brick houses that usually do have water, electricity, toilets and bathing facilities. Many people live in houses in campamentos: neighbourhoods for the miners built by the state company. There are about ten primary and secondary schools near the Cerro Rico. The schools in the centres of Potosí, which are private, are more densely populated than the free public schools in the marginal zones towards the Cerro Rico. At the public schools, pupils still have to pay for uniforms, utensils and activities organised by the school, such as sports events and musical parades. The amount of money that has to be spent on education per child as well as the walking distance towards school defines the choice of a school. Children living on the Cerro Rico have an hour’s walk to get to school, and an even longer walk on their way back home as they then have to climb uphill. Parents and NGO workers worry about the children climbing the desolate mountain on their own with drunken miners around who have been known to (physically) abuse them. Almost all primary and secondary schools of Llallagua are public. Classrooms are at times packed with more than 60 pupils. Schools lack computers and internet services even though the pupils do need computers and internet to do their homework. In Llallagua, schools are located at walking distance from people’s homes. School situations in both towns differ considerably per educational centre. Thanks to NGO interventions, some schools have been able to (partly) reconstruct their buildings and/or buy new chairs and tables. Other schools lack chairs and tables and the buildings themselves are in a poor state. Moreover, most schools do not have enough teachers, or teachers arrive late or leave early. Some children reported that the teachers can get very angry and even hit them if they come to school late. In general, teachers are qualified enough to teach children basic knowledge.

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

107

Most young miners combine their work with education: 80% is in school. Interestingly, of those who had completely dropped out of school, all were boys. The tasks that girls do are done on a halftime basis and are easier to combine with school. In the mining town Potosí, the people working and living in the central Pailaviri zone have an emergency centre close to their homes and their work. A doctor and a nurse are present 24 h a day. Close to this emergency centre the health centre of the miners cooperative COMPOTOSI can be found. Bigger cooperatives like this one sometimes provide health services to their workers. On other side of the Cerro Rico, small health posts can be found, which are equipped with only a few first-aid supplies and medicines, and are usually unstaffed. People from this zone and from higher up the Cerro Rico are a long distance from good medical assistance. The general public hospital in Llallagua is situated a few kilometres downhill from the city centre. People generally consider it to be too far away. The hospital cares for people who are insured through the public health insurance scheme (Caja de Salud). There is a centrally located health centre staffed with Cuban doctors. In addition, nursing students carry out their internships at Llallagua schools, where they attend to the pupils. The harsh climate conditions and the poorly constructed houses, in both Potosí and Llallagua, lead to all kinds of health problems, but mostly respiratory conditions, such as tuberculosis. In general, children miss a lot of school due to illness. According to a representative of Medicos del Mundo in Potosí, children living at the Cerro Rico have many nutritional problems too. They rarely get three meals a day, and the food lacks nutritious variety. NGOs and religious groups provide meals for children who live on the Cerro Rico and in marginal zones of Potosí, as well as in Llallagua.

Children in the Mining Industry Children participate in the whole mining process. In both Potosí and Llallagua, it is important to differentiate between children below 14 and adolescents of 14–18, and between those who work outside the mines and those who work inside them. Mining work underground is mostly performed by male adolescents of 14 years and older, but the work in and around the ingenios (processing plants) in the open air is done by children and adolescents of all ages, and by girls as well as boys. According to observations made during this research, an estimate can be made of 5% of the miners in Potosí to be under 18 years old, which would be some 700 adolescents working inside the shafts, as there are about 14,000 miners in total (this last figure according to U.S. Department of Labor and Care International 2006). The children who help their parents to sort through debris outside the mines would account for several hundreds more. There are fewer children and adolescents involved in mining in Llallagua. Work methods differ somewhat in Potosí and Llallagua, although the general process is the same. Inside the mines, adult men and male adolescents from the age of 14 work by hand or with machines to open up the mines and extract the ore that

108

L. Baas

contains the desired metal. Using hammers, drilling machines and metal pins, the men make holes in the walls of the mines in which they put dynamite. Perforation requires a lot of strength, and so miners under 18 rarely do this work. They do, however, assist in this job by passing the tools and equipment and by carrying the rocks and stones out of the mine: I am 19 and I work together with my brother, who is 14. He has worked with me for two years. I do different kinds of jobs like perforating and carrying the ore out of the mine and my brother works as a perforating assistant, so he hands me materials and holds the end of the drilling machine. (Mario, 19, Potosí)

Combining explosives and paste to produce sticks of dynamite is also a daily activity for (adolescent) miners. These sticks are put in the perforations in the walls of the mine to further open up the mine. After perforating the holes in the mines, we put dynamite in the holes. You have to make the sticks yourself with a little tube and a fuse. I prepare them but I don’t light them; the older guys do that. We have to leave the mine quickly when they light them because the explosions are dangerous. (René, 17, Potosí)

An explosion leaves behind a pile of rock, which is then collected and carried outside. In Potosí, this is done with the use of metal carts called carros. In Llallagua, all the transporting is done manually. Inside the mines, miners use wheelbarrows to transport the ore from one place to another. Often this work is done by adolescents (14–18). I work in a mine together with my little brother. I use a wheelbarrow to transport the rocks in the mine and out of the mine. I usually do around 40 wheelbarrows a day, and then I go home. It depends on how much rock there is, how long it takes for me to fill the 40 wheelbarrows. The work is alright, I like working with my friends and my brother. (Rafael, 18, Potosí)

Miners perforating by hand using a hammer and a metal pin. Cerro Rico, Potosí

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

109

Because the work is physically very heavy, and because popular beliefs and traditions dictate so, women and girls rarely enter the mines. The underground activities in Llallagua are similar to those in Potosí, although fewer underage people participate. The Federal Mining Cooperative FEDECOMIN requires all miners to hold a work permit if they wish to enter the mines; the minimum age of a permit is 18. Young miners, however, are known to elude the controls at the mine entrances, by waiting for particular times of day. In Llallagua, the FEDECOMIN is able to control the entrances of the mines relatively effectively because there are only two entrances, unlike in Potosí where there are about 400. In Potosí, once outside, the rock is piled up in enormous piles or desmontes, from which the rock is carried away to the ingenios (processing or purification areas) in trucks. In the small ingenios, the ore is crushed with hammers or with heavy half-moon-shaped cement instruments called quimbaletes, which are seesawed back and forth over the ore. Next, the crushed ore is placed into a box, of which the bottom is made of gauze, which functions as a sieve. The ore is combined into a mixture of water, diesel and xanthate. The concentrated ore that is produced in this process contains 40–60% of the desired metal. More advanced processing plants use mechanised methods to further process the ore. In Potosí, children don’t work in the ingenios, as the work is considered to be relatively complicated. In Llallagua, the miners carry the ore to the ingenios on their walk back home, although occasionally trucks are used for the bigger loads. Here, children do participate in all activities in the ingenios, from crushing the ore, to processing and sifting it and putting it in sacks. Fifteen year old Marco tells about his work at the plants: I only work in mining during school holidays, not even in the weekends because I have to go to school and do homework. I work in the ingenios; I have never worked inside the shafts. Behind the ingenios, where the water flows out, there is always a bit of ore left behind. We put this stuff in bags and we take it to the plant where we sell it. It isn’t much, but what else can we do? During last year’s holidays we were working there with a lot of adolescents.

Although the work in the ingenios is done by both sexes, there are more male adolescents working in crushing and sieving than girls, who are usually more occupied with selling food and drinks to the workers. There is another group of working children, who live on the Cerro Rico mountain. Their parents are guardas (guardians) required to control entrance into the mines. They also assist the miners in getting them food, drinks, help with storing their tools and equipment, information, etc. Children help out in all of the related tasks, including administering first aid when accidents occur. Children combine the guarda-chores with school and help their parents before and after classes. The work they have to do can take between 2 and 6 h a day. Young boys and girls from the guarda families, until the age of 14, mainly work around the mines in the open air and carry out activities such as sweeping up the leftovers after trucks have removed most of the ore and splitting the rocks with hammers to find additional ore (picha). Children of a very young age participate in this so-called picha. A few children also are found selling ore to tourists. For the guarda tasks, there is no noticeable gender difference. Boys as well as girls perform the same activities.

110

L. Baas

Although migrants are usually men and adolescent boys, women and girls may leave their hometowns too, to start working as guardas in Potosí. Young migrants work for a few months until an alternative or something more important arises, like school or other work in their hometowns. Adolescent migrants who are studying at high school or university come to work in mining during school holidays and move

Two- and twelve-year-old girls working in the picha on the Cerro Rico in Potosí: sorting through mine debris using spades

back when school starts. Like one of the boys working in the remote Roberto zone of the Cerro Rico: This is the first year that I work in mining during the holidays, it is alright. I know the socios of the mine here so they don’t give me the heaviest tasks, which is okay. I come from a small town and have come [to Potosí] to study geology. In a few weeks classes will start again. I guess then I won’t be working here anymore because it’s too far. (Modesto, 18, Potosí)

The circumstances in which children work in mining in Potosí and Llallagua are harsh and can be very exhausting. They use heavy tools such as wheelbarrows, spades, hammers and spikes, and they carry heavy weights. Long working days and the dangerous working environment make work even harder. Adolescents working in the mines are stimulated by the other miners to work hard and to be loyal and

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

111

tough. Slow work, disloyalty and weakness are punished with negative remarks or employment termination. Children have to adapt quickly to the miners’ culture in order to be accepted by their colleagues and to keep their job. Before work, the miners sit around and drink, chew coca leaves, smoke cigarettes and chat with others. In this way, young workers are brought into contact with addictive and unhealthy substances at a young age. Their participation in drinking, smoking and chewing coca is encouraged by the older miners and helps them become part of the group. At lunchtime, some of the miners leave the mine to rest and eat something, but often they only eat before and after work, at the little food stalls close to the mines or sometimes the guardas cook for them. Working hours in the shafts are until 4:00 or 5:00 pm, depending on how much work has to be done. In many areas, cooperatives work in three 8-h shifts, which are approximately 8:00–16:00, 16:00–00:00 and 00:00–8:00. Underage miners work 5–6 days a week, between 4 and 10 h a day depending on whether they also attend school or not. In Llallagua, they work night shifts as well as day shifts, because age inspections occur mostly during the day. Students often only work during the weekends and school holidays. Sometimes, work days are extremely long, especially at the end of the week when work has to be finished: One Saturday, the workers of the mine Acogedora worked through two shifts. They started at 2:00 am and would normally have finished working at 7:00 or 8:00 am. This time, they had only rested for a little while, ate something and then got back to work again. When we [the rest of the family and I] went to the balneario1 they were still working, and they kept working until 4 pm. They managed to fill 2 trucks [16 tons]. Alejandro [15] and Jorge [19] were also working the whole time. (From research diary March 4th 2007)

Commonly, at the end of the week, the ore is removed from the mines, deposited on the desmontes and loaded onto the trucks all on the same day. A Saturday is a day of high production, and young miners work all day until the work is done. Primary school children go to school in the mornings and secondary school children have classes in the afternoons. Picha children work 2 or 3 h a day before or after school and do this almost every day. It takes families about a month to fill a truck with rubble if their children help them out a few hours a day. In the ingenios in Llallagua, children from 14 years onwards work full days; younger children who are still in primary (or secondary) school work a few hours a day after or before school, helping out their parents. Working in the mines is exposing oneself to dangerous situations and altering weather conditions, and so it is of the utmost importance to wear protective clothing. A miner needs at the very least a helmet, boots and layered warm clothing. Furthermore, a lamp is indispensable in the darkness of the shafts. Cooperatives, in which most miners work, do not supply any of these items, and thus miners are responsible for their own supplies. Commercial companies do supply their employees with protective clothing.

1 A balneario is a place where people can bathe and wash themselves, often using naturally heated water from sources like volcanoes.

112

L. Baas

In the ingenios in Llallagua and on the desmontes in Potosí, there are no dress codes or necessary types of clothing. The concoction used in the ingenios to purify the metals is toxic, and so people should wear gloves and masks to protect their hands and lungs, but they rarely do. Little children play in the ingenios, in the vicinity of the toxic solutions. The only protection most people employ are hats, to protect themselves from the sun. In Potosí, adolescent as well as adult miners earn a reasonable salary according to local levels, especially since the prices for metals have increased in the last 2 years. They can earn up to 1,000–3,000 Bolivianos (€100–300) per month. Keeping in mind that the Bolivian minimum wage is 500 Bolivianos a month, this is very reasonable. In Llallagua, there is less ore left in the shafts, and miners complain that they earn little money, or sometimes nothing at all when they can’t find any ore. Adolescents who work inside the shafts also earn about €5–10 a day and don’t complain about it. The socios, or leaders of the cooperatives, earn more than the average miner. Contracts are rare among miners; this increases the risk of termination, but gives them freedom to move from one cooperative to the next. Children who work in the picha, sorting through debris, do not have contracts either because they work with their parents who might have a (written or verbal) contract with the cooperative. Children do not get paid for their work; their help increases the family income. Sometimes though, children are rewarded in other ways. For example, two nephews (9 and 12) and a niece (14) of doña Gladys come over to her house at the Cerro Rico almost every day after school to help her in the picha. They don’t get paid, but stay for dinner and often sleep there too. Also, doña Gladys, a guarda, sells soft drinks to the miners and the earnings go to the nephews and the niece. Miners who live at the Cerro Rico and whose wives work as guardas have an additional income from the guarda-work. Guardas only earn 300–400 Bolivianos (€30–40) a month. If the guarda-income is the only family-income, it is much too little to survive on. In Llallagua, there are only two mine entrances, which means that the job of guarda is almost non-existent.

Consequences When observing the activities of young people in mining areas, and considering the ILO Convention 182, it is hardly surprising that the National Code of Adolescents and Children (CAC) prohibits their participation in the mining sector. These regulations (CAC and ILO) are appropriate and vital, yet lack effective implementation. Adolescents working underground in the mines are exposed to very dangerous situations. Articles 140, 133, 134 and 135 of the CAC are all concerned with risks and unhealthy situations for working adolescents, but are violated consistently because mining cooperatives continue to hire underage workers to do extremely risky jobs. All situations and activities involved in underground mining are categorised as a worst form of child labour.

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

113

Young children who participate in picha-work and in the ingenios also work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions. Even children who are present at the ingenios, without actually participating in any of the activities, are in danger. The same thing goes for picha areas on the Cerro Rico. The area is dangerous, even when children do not participate in the actual work, because of the presence of heavy machines and trucks, drunken miners and basic living and working conditions. In short, children working in the picha and living on the Cerro Rico are not only working but also living in hazardous conditions. Both the ingenios and picha are, correctly, included on the list of worst forms of child labour.

Workers in the ingenios wear whatever they choose, or can afford. Siglo XX, municipality Llallagua

Living in the middle of a mining town, in the Altiplano region, has serious consequences for the health of the children and adolescents involved. The NGO Medicos del Mundo (MdM) stresses that the fact that children and adolescents start working at an early age increases physical deterioration and decreases life expectancy. A serious problem is that there is little to no protective measures taken in mining activities. The work results in cuts and bruises, eye irritations and respiratory problems. The work they do is exhaustive, especially for the youngest children. The adolescent miners working underground experience a whole array of health problems. They shovel, push and carry heavy loads of ore, which leads to backaches and other physical injuries. The fluctuating temperatures within the mines, combined with the poor air quality, result in respiratory problems, coughing and pulmonary diseases, such as tuberculosis. There is always the risk of explosions and cave-ins. Many boys, working in the mines themselves, have lost their fathers in mining accidents or through mal de mina (mining disease).

114

L. Baas

Adolescents working with the heavy quimbalete, suffer from backaches and exhaustion. Xanthate, used in the purification process, is a highly toxic substance that causes skin and eye irritations and in the long term may result in damage to the central nervous system, reproductive system, liver and kidneys. It can also lead to dizziness, tremors, difficult breathing, blurred vision, headaches, vomiting and even death.2 A specific consequence of the social characteristics of mining in Llallagua is that, according to a local nurse, many youths sniff glue and drink too much alcohol. The working children and adolescents themselves do not complain much about their health problems; they stress the positive elements of their work. For adolescents, the fact that they work with friends outweighs the health risks. Like René (17) explained, the work is a lot more fun because he works with friends. I was looking for work so I went to La K’hasa [place in Potosí where miners meet in the morning] and I encountered people from this mine and so I came to work here. Later there were other friends who also wanted to work here so I brought them. It’s nice to be working with friends because you’re there inside and you’re talking and while talking you don’t really feel that you’re getting tired. With friends, without noticing, you’ve finished already.

Although René did have some doubts about work in mining at first, his doubts disappeared when he started to get used to it and realised that he was earning well. Carlos (18) stressed that feeling comfortable while working with friends helps to forget about the fear that one might experience during work: The mine is the ugliest face of Potosí, but I do like to work with my friends. Between friends you understand each other, you take care of each other and there is trust. With other miners you don’t feel this kind of compañerismo. With friends you enter the mine singing and playing. It is the happiness that takes away the fear.

The fear of miners refers to the risk of getting injured. Because many of the young miners’ fathers or other relatives have died or fallen ill from the work in the mines they are aware that something bad can happen. Younger children experience their work as something they must endure in order to contribute to the family income and feel happy about being able to help. Play turns into work around the age of 9 or 10; at this age, they start being responsible for their picha-work. Marcela (12), for example, has to take care of her 2-year-old sister when her mother is away. Marcela, at the same time, sorts through debris and attends to the miners who work in the mine they guard. She does her homework in between tasks. She is a very responsible and dutiful girl although she is only 12 years old and she feels like she needs to help her mother; her father died of miners’ disease and her older brother and sister are not living with them anymore. Marcela has sole responsibility for all that must be done. She generates a considerable part

From the National Industrial Chemical Notification and Assessments Scheme website; available from http://www.nicnas.gov.au/Publications/Information_Sheets/Safety_Information_Sheets/SIS_4_ Sodium_Ethyl_Xanthate_Liquid_PDF.pdf, retrieved August 2008

2

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

115

of the family income. The work puts a heavy burden upon her, but she claims to enjoy it: I like the picha-work; it is good to do because I can help my mother and I teach the work to my little sister [who is 2 years old]. I work almost every morning for about four hours before I go to school. Sometimes I don’t like it because it is cold and I get tired. But I want to help my mother because we don’t have much money and I wouldn’t know where else we could live.

The amount of work and level of responsibility that Marcela takes on, at such a young age, has an effect on her mental development. Teachers and school principals stress the consequences that work has for children’s education. They find that children become exhausted from work in mining. At the school Mixta 12 de Abril, the principal3 stated that children who work before or after school hours have worse school results than those who do not work. They lack energy and time to do their homework. She commented: Sometimes they come to school tired; they lack proper nutrition and are often sick. They get a cold or diarrhoea, and are coughing. Also, they lack motivation to go to school and don’t get much profit out of their school attendance.

Exhaustion is more severe among boys, since they work more and engage in heavier work. Children who combine work and study have extremely full days, with little if no free time. Work in mining makes it difficult to continue school because the work is exhausting. For adolescents, it is problematic to combine work in mining with school because they need to provide for food, clothes, education and so forth, for themselves and their family, which leaves them little time to study. About half of the adolescent miners are still studying and the other half has dropped out because earning money has become more important. In Potosi, René (17) explained that he does not expect to return to school; he thinks he is stuck in mining: I have stopped studying; I got to 7th grade of intermedio [1 year before finishing primary school]. I stopped going a while ago, 2 years ago. I can’t combine it with working because I always have to walk home; there is no car in the afternoon that can take us. So we always come home tired and there is no time left to go to school. If you work like us with spade, pickaxe and wheelbarrow, you get tired you know. You know, I always wanted to continue going to school, have classes with my friends. But I didn’t have money to go to school and my Dad didn’t have money either, because he got sick and doesn’t have retirement pay. So I went to work in the mines. And because he gets sicker all the time he needs a lot of medicines and that’s why I am working here. So, I guess I’m not going to be studying anymore. Yes man, I feel bad about it.

The family income now has to be earned by René alone, as he is the only son living with his father. Younger children, like Marcela, who do picha or ingenio work are more able to combine their work with education. Children as well as adolescents often comment that they like to study and find that in order to ‘become

3

Interview held March 28 2007

116

L. Baas

something in life’ they have to finish school. Therefore, boys working inside the mines feel bad about not having finished secondary education, but they view this as something beyond their power. The nature and characteristics of mining also influence family life. Guarding work, for example, takes such a central position in the life of a guarda family, that it completely defines the family structure and relations. Every family member has a task although tasks may be interchangeable. Because the work is so interrelated with the family structure, the children perceive their work as completely normal and part of their daily lives. Being a child in a guarda family on the Cerro Rico implies living in a complete absence of privacy. They live together with the whole family in a house with only one room. NGO employees mentioned the high risks of sexual abuse, brought on by close living quarters and excessive alcohol use of many miners. Family life can also be disrupted as a consequence of mining. Adolescents and adults who migrate from their hometowns to mining areas, in contrast to children of guardas, might not see their family members for a while. Adolescents who work inside the mines don’t go home in the weekends, as they usually come from far away, and only stay in the mining town for a few months.

Why Do Children Work? Children in Bolivia take part in mining labour activities due to a combination of factors. Poverty, together with a lack of alternative ways of professional development and strong family values push children and adolescents towards employment in mining.

Economic Reasons There are huge differences in salaries of miners, depending on one’s place in the hierarchy. The guarda families living on the Cerro Rico earn the least of all and are forced to take on additional jobs, like the picha, and to use their children’s help to increase their earnings. Since other productive sectors have not been developed sufficiently, people have to work in mining or move to other parts of the country to work. In the ingenios in Llallagua, the same family system can be found; children help their parents with their daily work and have specific tasks within the family. So, most children are a part of the family income generating system. Some, though, have to take on even more responsibilities as a result of death, illness, incapacity, or abandonment. This is true for Alejandro (15), who recently started working inside the mines during school holidays. Alejandro works in the mine that his mother guards and leaves part of what he earns with his mother and uses another part to pay for his education. He comes from a very poor family. For

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

117

the past 1.5 years (after his father died from silicosis – or miners’ disease) his family has been living on the Cerro Rico because his mother couldn’t find a job in the city that would generate enough money to feed the children. His mother is a guarda and works in the picha as well. Alejandro used to work as a bus assistant, but like his mother says, with this work one only earns about 5 [Bolivianos] a day (50 Euro cents). He also used to work in the picha. Alejandro is a bit frightened because his father died from mining and now he is doing the same job, but he doesn’t really want to talk about it. (From research diary March 2nd 2007)

Social Reasons The work in mining is a typical family business where all family members have a role. In the ingenios in Llallagua, like in the picha work in Potosí, children accompany their parents from an early age onwards and play while their parents are working or participate when they are old enough. People in the Bolivian Altiplano region are of Quechua and Aymara descent. In these families, it is common for children to actively take part in income generating activities and do household work. The boundary between what is work and what is not is vague. Also, children like Eva (14) and Hugo (9), who work with their aunt every afternoon doing picha work, don’t really perceive their work as ‘work’, but instead call it ‘helping’. Whether you call them ‘work’ or ‘help’, the tasks are part of children’s processes of socialisation, identification with the community, and understanding of cultural values. They teach the child to be responsible and understand the world around him or her. Mining is often considered to be a job passed from father to son. Boys are brought up with the idea that they will be miners and often do not aspire to anything else; young people don’t see alternative ways of earning an income, except for perhaps leaving the country to find work in Argentina, Europe, or the United States. There is a complete lack of other alternatives. Unfortunately, though, it can be said that the mining sector itself is poorly developed too. Working conditions are dismal, labour rights are ignored, and the sector has been mechanised only to the most minimal level. This goes hand in hand with a social environment in which people maintain traditional practices and beliefs, and who do not demand improved labour rights and an eradication of child labour. Children are considered eligible to become a miner around the age of 14 and participate in all aspects of the mining culture.

Educational Reasons With few (educational) options and with a general lack of interest in education, children start to work in mining. The reasons are related as people’s lack of interest is caused by the failure of education to guarantee a better job and future. In addition, the relatively high income generated by mining makes education unattractive due to its financial and opportunity costs.

118

L. Baas

Poor educational quality and unsatisfactory school conditions also have an effect on the work of children; disappointing conditions at school result in higher numbers of children abandoning their education in favour of work. Children also often have to travel far between home and school, and encounter all types of dangers on the way, which increases the likelihood of their dropout. Problems within educational institutions, such as failures to deliver classes, also push adolescents into work. No matter what the reasons of these young miners are to be employed in mining, the fact is that they perform jobs which by law are prohibited for them. This has to do with failing implementation of anti-child labour laws, as well as with a preference of employers to hire youths, because they are flexible, hard working and can be paid minimal amounts.

Strategies to Combat Child Labour NGO and GO Local Practices According to a newspaper article,4 and based on a study by INE (the National Institute of Statistics), there are 208 NGOs working in Potosí, of which 20 are concerned with children in mining. In Llallagua, there are only a few organisations working on this issue. This chapter presents the activities, results and sustainability of the most prominent NGOs, and of governmental institutions. As part of a sub-regional programme coordinated by IPEC and CEPTI (the antichild labour department of the Ministry of Labour), and financed by USDOL, the PETIM project was implemented by CEPROMIN in Llallagua, and by CARE in Potosí. This project ran from 2000 to 2005 and was dedicated to the elimination of child labour from mining. It sought to formalise production; modernise extraction and processing methods; diversify productive activities; and improve extended public services of health, sanitation and above all education.5 CARE has obtained additional funding to prolong the PETIM project in Potosí for 14 months. Llallagua clearly has fewer organisations working on child labour in mining than Potosí. CEPROMIN is in fact the only organisation working on the issue on a structural basis. The objectives of the PETIM Project consisted of getting young miners to leave their work in mining, finding alternatives for them to work, study and play, and raising awareness about the fact that child labour in mining exists. The implementation of a new 8-year project by CEPROMIN Potosí, called Promotion of Mining Youth and Family, started in 2006. One of the project objectives is to prevent children, adolescents and young adults from working in mining. El Potosí, “Los recursos de la ayuda externa no llegan necesariamente a los menores”, April 12 2007 5 IPEC, Programas y proyectos de erradicación del trabajo infantil en la minería artesanal, http:// www.oit.org.pe/ipec/pagina.php?seccion=42&pagina=107. Retrieved August 2008 4

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

119

CEPROMIN runs childcare centres in which young children living in the area can find day care and older children can come to eat lunch. One of its other relevant activities is to talk with cooperatives to stimulate them to take security into account and to avoid the use of child labour. Another active organisation is the Rural Development Centre (CDR). In the current project, ‘Youth in Mining on the Cerro Rico’, the organisation works with children of 8–12 years old, and 13–18. The project started in 2003 and will run until the end of 2008. CDR does not want to eradicate child labour, but prefers to improve the living conditions of children. Therefore, CDR organises workshops on tailoring, mechanics, etc., so youths will have alternative ways of earning money. Also, CDR pays scholarships, provides library services and helps with homework and organises literacy courses for adults. Wayna Pacha is also an NGO active in Potosí. The organisation has a children’s day care centre to which children come after school to eat lunch, do their homework and play. About 10% of the participating children are working children. They are not only miners, but also bus assistants, shoe shiners and construction workers. The project started in January 2007 and will run for 6 or 7 years. They meet every 2 weeks with the parents of these children to discuss themes such as education, prevention of illness and health education. State presence in the area of child labour in Potosí leaves much to be desired. The role of the Ministry of Labour in the child labour issue in Potosí is very limited. Inspections of the working conditions in and around the mines can only be held once or twice a month because, according to an employee of the local MoL department, the institute has too few resources.6 There is just one person to do the job and the local department does not own a car or truck. Also, the cooperatives are not very eager to let government employees enter their mines, because the state does not do much to improve the sector. The cooperatives just want to work according to their own rules and regulations. In general, it could be said that NGOs are much stronger and more active, when it comes to improving the situations of children working in mining and/or living in mining areas, than governmental institutions are. The latter lack resources to interfere effectively in the mining sector, because the problem of child labour in mining lacks priority at the national level. NGOs can do their work more easily with funds from international NGOs.

Outcome When looked at in numbers, effects of governmental and non-governmental efforts to eradicate child labour in mining are minimal. CARE and USDOL state that through the PETIM project, 10% of the 602 participating children got out of mining and the

6

Interview held April, 2007, Potosí

120

L. Baas

other 90% reduced its number of working hours (U.S. Department of Labor and Care International 2006). Other organisations don’t mention numbers of children who left their work in mining as a result of certain anti-child labour projects. It is improbable that the total number of child labourers in mining has decreased: the financially motivated impulse to join the sector makes it difficult for NGOs and GOs to eradicate child labour from it; the financial benefits attract many youths, especially to the Cerro Rico. Nevertheless, the projects have had several important results. The PETIM project in Potosí and Llallagua reached out to mining families to inform them about dangers for children in mining and to stimulate alternatives. Schools participated by educating students about the dangers of working in mining and the benefits of education. Through workshops and awareness raising activities, the PETIM project has been able to demonstrate that poverty and lack of productive opportunities are not the only causes for youths to participate in mining. The project helped miners, their children and teachers become aware of the cultural aspects that make children participate in mining and of its hazards. The children themselves are happy about learning something practical that is different from mining: My little brother and I have both participated in the t-shirt printing workshop of CEPROMIN. It was nice, we learned it well. I also participated in the sowing workshops. Now I study administration. My brother wants to do the [CEPROMIN] workshop for baking bread as well. We are both members of the mineritos group and we stopped working in the ingenios. [The people from CEPROMIN] told us that it is dangerous and that we’d better continue studying. My father does work in the mines. (Tania, 16, Llallagua)

People were enthusiastic about their experiences with the project. A very positive result of the PETIM project is that schools have been rebuilt, became better equipped and cleaner during the project. Parents liked the fact that their children have a library where they can do their homework and that they are stimulated to become something else than a miner. The child shelters that have been established by NGOs and GOs have proven to be effective in keeping young children out of mining related work. Older children (from around 10 years onwards) are, though, less easily attracted by the centres. Once they get older, they no longer visit the day care centres and dedicate their time (after school) to working in picha or ingenio work or working inside the shafts.

Sustainability Notwithstanding the positive results of the interventions, the sustainability of the efforts to eliminate child labour in mining can be questioned. Most organisations in Potosí and Llallagua implement projects that meet urgent needs, in an attempt to improve the situation of children and adolescents in the mining sector, but ignore some of the structural problems. An important factor that causes child labour to continue is the lack of a mining policy that stimulates modernisation and industrial security of the sector and that respects labour rights, and child rights specifically (U.S. Department of Labor and

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

121

Care International 2006). In Llallagua, the cooperative federation FEDECOMIN is trying hard to make sure that people under 18 cannot enter the mines by controlling the mine entrances. The age inspections in Llallagua make sustainability of the projects more probable. The most notable hindrance to sustainability is the low level of collaboration between organisations. Groups such as CEPROMIN, Voces Libres and CDR all have child care centres with various aspects like providing lunch, day care, and education, but do not communicate much to agree on which organisation focuses on what, who and in which areas. Ever since the PETIM project, implemented by CARE and CEPROMIN ended in August 2006, coordination of the sub-commission has been weak or non-existing. In CEPTI’s 10-year plan to eradicate the worst forms of child labour in Bolivia, the actors (ministries, NGOs, international organisations) have failed to coordinate their activities effectively. Because of a lack of coordination and cooperation, NGOs are often looked upon as responsible for people’s basic needs; this responsibility, however, should obviously lie with the state. There is also little cooperation with groups such as FENCOMIN and the mining cooperatives. Working towards the eradication of child labour in mining without these actors will in the end indeed be unsustainable and counterproductive as the cooperatives are very powerful.

Conclusion and Recommendations The children in the mining areas Potosi and Llallagua live and work in deprived conditions, lacking potable water, electricity, protection against the extreme climate, privacy, health services and basic sanitation. The conditions make their work even harder and more dangerous, and contribute to their work being defined as a worst form by the ILO. On the Cerro Rico in Potosí, guarda families, including their children, guard the mine entrances and sort through mine debris (picha). Children in Llallagua are involved with crushing and sieving ore. Girls tend to be more involved with selling food and drinks to the miners, while boys crush and sieve the ore. The working children are not the only ones exposed to the dangers of the work, but so too are the little children who accompany their parents to the ingenios in Llallagua where the ore is processed; all people present come into contact with the toxic xanthate. The adolescents who work inside the shafts are (almost) exclusively male. Relatively, in Llallagua the control systems are more strict, which results in fewer underage workers in the mines; in Potosí, the governmental control system fails to keep youths out of the mines. The adolescent miners found here work as helpers of the adult miners; they carry ore out of the mine after perforation and explosions, using spades, wheelbarrows and carros. In the long-run, they are exposed to diseases such as mal de mina (silicosis) and tuberculosis that often lead to an early death. Children often experience eye infections, back and joint aches, respiratory diseases, malnutrition and diarrhoea.

122

L. Baas

Children in mining mostly manage to combine their work with schooling. Most children finish primary school and often try to follow secondary school classes, but many drop out before completion. For children under 14, work is sometimes a reason to give up studying. Adolescents are more likely to leave school because of their work in mining; they are attracted by the quick money. Once out of school, they are unlikely to return. Children in mining towns take on familial and household responsibilities at an early age; they take care of siblings, contribute to the household income and go to school. Especially children from one-parent households, but with many children, have to work and are mentally as well as physically burdened with the wellbeing of the family. The housing situation allows very little privacy, if any. Houses are small and people live on top of one another; there are many rumours of sexual abuse, although none confirmed. Parents, however, openly fear sexual harassment of their children by drunken miners. Despite the hazards that work in mining brings along, people are willing to accept them because they have good salaries compared to workers in other sectors. Once integrated in mining, it is hard for young boys to leave and they quickly take on adult habits, such as drinking alcohol, smoking and chewing coca leaves. Also, because educational options are few, many youths decide to stake their futures on mining. For young children, the main reasons to be working in mining are economic and social. Mining is family work, and so children grow up helping out their parents with whatever chores; the family income has to be generated through joined forces. Moreover, the line between what is work and what is not, is vague in Altiplano regions and working (relatively light activities) is perceived as a normal part of growing up and therefore of childhood. The dangerous and exhausting work inside the mine shafts, however, is not perceived as part of growing up and is merely born out of financial necessity. Several organisations have tried to combat child labour in mining in both Potosi and Llallagua. The PETIM project has been successful in creating awareness about child labour in mining among miners, their families and teachers in both areas. The project was implemented by CEPROMIN in Llallagua and CARE in Potosí. Child shelters have been established by different organisations so as to maintain the nutrition of the youngest children and give their parents the freedom to work during the day. These initiatives meet the immediate need of parents to find a safe place to leave their children while they themselves are occupied with their daily businesses. These initiatives work well, but contribute little towards the eradication of child labour in mining because they reach only the youngest children and not the adolescents. Many of the little children still work in picha or ingenio work after having had lunch at the child shelter; only the very young ones who cannot work stay there all day. Projects to eradicate child labour from mining have mostly focussed on meeting the basic needs of people living in mining areas. Unfortunately, political lobby from NGOs and collaboration between mining federations and cooperatives and the local government labour offices has been lacking.

6  Ore Mining in Bolivia

123

Based on the research results some recommendations for the eradication of child labour from mining can be made: • NGOs should direct more attention towards projects for adolescents. Most projects have been focussed on younger children (until 12) and less attention has been paid to the prospects of the older ones. Stimulating technical education for adolescents could be a solution to the lack of opportunities. NGOs should pressure the government to offer higher education on a more structural basis, so that youths can become professionals and not be included in the mining sector. • NGOs should pressure the government into allotting more funds and personnel to the formalisation of mining, especially in Potosí where anti-child labour regulations are not being upheld. In Llallagua, the mining federation’s structural system of age control has resulted in less child labour in the Llallaguan mines. NGOs and GOs should work together with mining federations and cooperatives when implementing anti-child labour laws, so as not to let the federations and cooperatives feel excluded from their own sector. Formalisation of the mining sector should focus on the implementation of anti-child labour laws, through strict age inspections, while simultaneously improving the general labour conditions. Better labour conditions, such as mechanisation (better supply of air and electricity, decreased risk of cave-ins), will lead to fewer fatal accidents and thus reduce the need for children and adolescents to start working in an attempt to replace the older generation. • NGOs should lobby for the professionalisation of guarda work. Their goal should be to remove the homes of the guarda away from the mine’s vicinity, thus moving their children away from the direct risks and dangers presented by the mines and the miners, and from their contact with mining that may lead to their eventual employment in the sector. • NGOs and GOs could improve (or lobby for improvement of) the infrastructure and resources of school. Schools should also integrate the theme of (the dangers of) mining into their curriculum in order to continuously make children aware of the dangers of the sector. • NGOs should become more involved in advocacy and give advice to the government instead of taking over its role as a service provider. NGOs could take the initiative to integrate the state, NGOs and mining cooperatives, in developing plans to eradicate child labour from mining.



Chapter 7

Mining at High Altitudes in Peru Anna Ensing

Although in the mining sector in Peru, which represents only 4–5% of the Gross National Product (Glave and Kuramoto 2002), formal employment appears to have decreased, the number of subcontracted labourers, who often work in an artisanal manner, has in fact increased. The Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM) estimated that, in 2002, there were approximately 22,000 artisanal miners in Peru, and according to the ILO, around 150,000 persons are directly or indirectly involved in artisanal mining (Glave and Kuramoto 2002; Cruz et al. 2005). Gold exploitation particularly is associated with artisanal mining because of the low investments needed to initiate work combined with the high price for the product. Peru is the principal gold producer in Latin America; 12% of the gold production comes from artisanal mining (Romero et  al. 2005). Artisanal miners exploit deposits without title possession or any other contractual agreement, generally in isolated places. For them, mining is a survival strategy. In the mining area, gold purchasers pay the miners directly according to the current price. They then sell the gold to bigger companies, who bring it on the national and international market. This relatively long chain, from the mines to the final consumer, hides the fact that the artisanal miners get a very low price for very hard and uncertain labour. Although artisanal mining traditionally has been a male dominated sector, nowadays the participation of women and children is significant. Mining, however, both by international conventions and by national laws is considered to be a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, according to ILO, one third of the persons involved in artisanal mining of gold are children (ILO 2003).

A. Ensing (*) TIE-Netherlands, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_7, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

125

126

A. Ensing

The Research Areas Artisanal mining in Peru occurs mostly in remote areas. The selected research areas, Santa Filomena and La Rinconada, are clear examples of a combination of poverty and a failing state presence, both in infrastructural provisions and in terms of weak implementation. Santa Filomena lies at an altitude of 2,400 m above sea level in the Lucanas province in the Ayacucho region. According to estimates the current population is approximately 2,000. Santa Filomena, which falls under the Sancos municipality, has the status of a caserío (literally translated as ‘small village’). It has a mayor, whose main tasks include controlling and administering public funds, and solving problems such as divorce, delinquency or death. An important development in the history of Santa Filomena, making it different from many other mining communities, was the organisation of the miners into the Sociedad de Trabajadores Mineros de Santa Filomena (SOTRAMI) in 1991. The artisanal miners became formally recognised as the legal exploiters of Santa Filomena: they became owners, bosses and workers, all at the same time. At the time of the research (May 2007), SOTRAMI had 163 artisanal miners who pay 5% of their earning as contribution. The members choose a board of directors every year, which makes decisions about all important developments and rules concerning mining. La Rinconada, in the San Antonio de Putina province in the Puno region, one of the poorest regions of Peru, is located at an altitude of 5,400 m above sea level, and has temperatures ranging between –15° and +15°. A large section of the population is considered to be temporary, and thus exact numbers of residents are difficult to determine. Numbers fluctuate, depending on the harvest season and the price of gold, but it is estimated to have around 10,000 permanent residents (Care Peru 2004; Red 2006). La Rinconada has been recognised as a centro poblado, a ‘minor municipality’ with a mayor. Generally, there is less organisation and more informality among the miners in La Rinconada than in Santa Filomena. Another big difference is the presence of a private mining company, la Corporación Minera Ananea S.A., which is the legal owner of the mine, but exploits just a section of it for its own production. The rest of the terrain is outsourced by the company to the independent miners, the so-called contractors, who hire workers to do the actual mining. The technology they use varies from thoroughly mechanised to entirely artisanal, depending on the funds and professional knowledge of the contractor in charge. In general, conditions in this section of the mine are harsher than in the company’s area. Whereas SOTRAMI in Santa Filomena has a public function as well and to a certain extent takes care of the necessary services, in La Rinconada, no such form of organisation exists and public services are left unattended. The two areas are different in many respects. Differences in social and political orga­nisation create variations in the production chains of gold mining. The working children of the two areas therefore experience dissimilar working and living conditions.

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

127

Living Conditions and Education Santa Filomena is a small village with hardly any internal variation in living conditions. Working children and non-working children live in the same kinds of houses with more or less the same facilities. Houses are mainly constructed with straw, sometimes covered with plastic from the inside, to protect from wind and cold. They are small and offer little protection, but the weather is always quite mild in Santa Filomena. In both villages, children complained about the lack of vegetation. In Santa Filomena, comp­ laints also included the lack of water and, for adolescents, the lack of recreation. The living conditions in La Rinconada are extreme in many respects. The majority of the houses are made from corrugated iron, sometimes lined with cardboard to help withstand the cold. Nevertheless, these materials in no way protect the families against the severe cold in the winter season. The use of mercury in the mining process has contaminated the earth and rivers and the lack of an organised garbage system results in garbage strewn all over the place. Although there are a few public toilets, the lack of a sewer system means that people generally use public spaces. There is no running water, and people obtain water from wells or from the melted ice, which is often contaminated. Roads are unpaved, both in the village itself as between the village and the rest of Puno. Electricity was recently brought to a large section of the village. Because of a large population growth, commerce, both in goods as in services, is growing, but so are criminality, prostitution, illegal nightclubs and general fear among the population, without a police post to protect them. Both locations are migrant villages, composed of people in search of work. In Santa Filomena, the move normally entails settling down permanently, with the exception of migrants who come only during holidays. In La Rinconada, migration is more often on a temporary basis. Mostly men move to the mining community and return after some time to their hometown. In case they stay for longer periods, they bring along their wives and children and some people indeed have lived in La Rinconada for 20 years. The insecure situation of many migrants leads to various social problems within families. La Rinconada is especially notorious for its high incidence of alcohol abuse, domestic violence and divorces. Women are, furthermore, in constant fear of being abandoned and having to raise their children alone; unfortunately this happens a lot. Children and adolescents without any relatives live in the worst conditions and are also most likely to work fulltime. In Santa Filomena, the same problems occur, although to lesser extent, thanks to regulations set by SOTRAMI to control, for example, alcohol abuse. Primary and secondary education is available in both communities. In Santa Filomena, there is one primary school and one secondary school (both public), as well as a public kindergarten and a crèche established with private funds by the women’s organisation. La Rinconada has one public primary and one public secondary school. Since these are too small for the entire child population, many private educational centres have been established. Younger children can attend one of the five crèches or kindergarten. According to information from parents and school personnel, all children in Santa Filomena attend primary and secondary school, and usually also kindergarten.

128

A. Ensing

In La Rinconada, non-enrolment and non-attendance are more of a problem. Kindergarten is not considered very relevant, and many parents only enrol their children in primary school after the recommended age. Girls tend to drop out of secondary school prematurely; often because they marry or become pregnant. There are also a number of children who have no (supporting) relatives and who do not go to school, since they must work fulltime for a living. A 2006 Red Titikaka study revealed that 5.5% of children of school-going age don’t follow any form of education (Red 2006). Schools have problems with finding enough teachers willing to work in the isolated area. Another problem is the infrastructure; the schools lack inventory such as furniture and sanitary facilities. In La Rinconada, the poor conditions of the buildings hardly protect the children from the cold, and the distant location is also a barrier for many children to go to school, mainly in winter when roads become dangerous. The road is also said to be unsafe for girls. In Santa Filomena, the distance, weather or safety issues are not a problem. Despite the conditions at school and the inadequate conditions for doing homework (absence of electricity, little space, cold, etc.), children were very positive about school. Their parents on the contrary complain about the bad educational quality. In both areas, the access to health services is limited. In Santa Filomena, the small health post is run by two trained women, but the facilities and resources are extremely inadequate. The nearest hospital is 4 h away by car. La Rinconada’s situation is even more serious. There is only one health post in a village with more than 10,000 inhabitants; it has only one general doctor, supported by two nurses, one obstetrician and two assistants. By car it takes about 5  h to arrive at the nearest hospital in the village Huancané. The unhygienic conditions cause infections among children, who are also affected by malnourishment and growth problems. There are an alarming number of chronically undernourished children, a significant number of children with nervous system problems and various physical complaints,1 and children with a below-average intellectual capacity (Red Titikaka 2002).

Children in Gold Mining and Processing Gold mining activities are similar in both Santa Filomena and La Rinconada. In general, the chain of production includes the following processes: mining the gold ore, sorting the ore from the debris (pallaquear), grinding and amalgamation, and selling the gold. In both Santa Filomena and La Rinconada, there are several stages of the chain in which children and adolescents participate. A distinction, however, should be made between participation during holidays and participation throughout the year; child labour is much more present during holidays. There are also clear age-related differences in the participation of children. Generally, the working children can be divided into three groups: children from 1 to 7 years old, children between 8 and 14, and adolescents in the 15–18 age group. Children suffer from neck pain, aches and tingling in arms and hands, and pain in the lumbar region, etc., probably caused by pressure on the vertebra as a result of heavy lifting and poor posture. 1 

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

129

In Santa Filomena, a survey on working children has actually never been done, but the IPEC’s project to eradicate child labour from artisanal mining in Santa Filomena noted that the entire population of 500 children was considered as ‘working or at risk’ (ILO 2002c). In La Rinconada, it is also difficult to state the exact numbers of working children. A Red Titikaka study in 2002 showed that 20% of the children below 15  years old were directly involved in the mining processes and 90% of randomly selected children had at one point participated (Red Titikaka 2002). The work inside the mines consists of perforation, blasting and the transport of ore and debris out of the mine. Perforation has traditionally been done with big hammers and chisels, but is more and more done with motorised drilling machines to accelerate the process. Perforation and blasting result in deposits of ore and debris, which need to be transported out of the mine. In Santa Filomena, this used to be done manually, but since 1999 a winche2 has been in place in the main mine to help with the process. The winche has replaced the children who used to perform this task. In Santa Filomena, boys from 12 years onwards can be found working inside the smaller independent mines assisting with manual or mechanised perforation, carrying the ore and debris out of the mine using a manual winche or on their backs, and with pulverising the ore with a hammer. In La Rinconada, an estimated 40% of the working children between 15 and 19  years old work as a saquero, the person who carries debris and ore out of the shaft (Red 2006). The adolescents use a wheelbarrow, a small trolley on rails or carry it in bags up to the entrance of the shaft.

Boys working the quimbalete in Santa Filomena A winche is the mechanised system of a miners’ trolley that is pulled by a cable along a set of rails and lifted out of the mine. In places without a winche miners operate a hand driven windlass to heave out smaller containers of debris and ore.

2 

130

A. Ensing

Children above 7  years old, mostly girls and mainly during holidays, can be found working in pallaqueo, which entails sorting the ore, by hand, from the debris, which has been transported out of the mine. According to a Red Titikaka study, about 40% of working children between 6 and 14  years old and 16% of working children between 15 and 19 are involved with pallaqueo (Red 2006); pallaqueo is the most common activity for young children. They sometimes work alone, but usually they work with their mother. Sandra (15) said that she actually likes the work: ‘Pallaqueo is not too heavy and I like to be together with my mother, brothers and sisters. My youngest sister doesn’t work, she plays and we look after her’. The older the children are, the more they work. During the school year, very young children who don’t go to school join their mothers at work; they help, they play, and at other times they just wait until their mothers are finished working. One of the pallaqueras in La Rinconada commented: I always go early to the pallaqueo place, around 5 in the morning, but you can go whenever you like. Sometimes my son goes with me. He is seven but knows very well the difference between ore and debris. That is good, he has to learn it! There are also children that don’t work; they are younger and just wait for their mothers. Sometimes they bring some water to their mothers to help them.

Once the ore has been collected it has to be processed further to isolate the gold from the rock and other minerals in which it is embedded. This is done by amalgamation, a hazardous job. Children participate in this process as quimbaleteros. Quimbaletes, which are owned by individuals in the villages, are homemade constructions with a massive stone laid into a bath-like structure, also made of stone, and a wooden plank fixed horizontally to the top of the stone. The quimbaletero is mostly engaged with seesawing the plank to grind the ore. He is also responsible for mixing the ore in the bath with water and mercury into an amalgam. The mercury dissolves the gold, separating it from the encapsulating rock and minerals. In Santa Filomena, quimbalete owners employ, among others, boys between 15 and 20 years old. Relatives of the quimbalete owner may start working as quimbaletero even at the age 12 for a few hours a day in the summer or in the weekend, and 14 year olds are found to work fulltime for one month in the summer. During the summer, most of the quimbalateros are youngsters from town. Three summer workers of 15, 16 and 17 years old commented: We are from Arequipa. We came here in search of work. Last summer two of us were also working at the quimbalete here, so now we know the owner. In Arequipa there is no work. We sleep and eat here and use the money we earn to take back home. Apart from quimbaletear we sometimes crush ore, and carry bags with relave. In the night we only eat and sleep; on Sundays, we wash our clothes.

Instead of hiring quimbaleteros to process the ore for the clients, quimbalete owners in La Rinconada rent their quimbaletes to the mining families, who then do the work themselves. This results in an even higher presence of young children in this hazardous work. Children join their parents, or older brothers and sisters, from a very young age; real participation starts at about 8 years old. They can be found

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

131

standing on top of the stone and moving it back and forth. According to Red Titikaka, 33% of children between 6 and 14 years old in La Rinconada work the quimbalete; in the age group 15–19 this drops to 8% (Red 2006). As with other activities, most children can be found at the quimbalete centres during the weekends and holidays. Viviana (16) explained: I came in the weekend to help my parents who work here. My family is from the countryside and don’t have much money. This is the only way for them to earn money. I live in Juliaca, where I study. Today I was on the quimbalete for two hours. We finished crushing all the ore which my parents had, and so after this we went home.

Before going to the quimbalete centre, miners from La Rinconada have to break the big pieces of rock into smaller pieces (chancar). They normally do this at their homes, where their children actively help them (aged 8 and up). Children consider this as a very normal household chore and don’t complain about it. In a classroom of 40 11-year-old boys and girls, more than half regularly helped their parents with either chancar or quimbaletear. The last part of the process consists of purifying the gold by heating the amalgam, thereby evaporating the mercury and leaving behind the gold sediment. In La Rinconada, people heat their gold–mercury amalgam in their own houses, and although no children are involved in this process, they are in the vicinity and inhale the fumes. In Santa Filomena, there is a communal retort in which the amalgam is heated. Due to the preciseness required by the purification process, children are not often involved. But adolescents, who have come to work in the small mines during the summer months, may heat the amalgam, as the 16-yearold Jesus does: I live in San Luis, the village next to Santa Filomena. I worked with my friend in a mine and obtained some ore. We came to Santa Filomena because all quimbaletes were busy in San Luis. We paid the quimbaletero and went to the retorta. You have to be careful not to breathe in too much smoke, it is dangerous, but burning is not difficult. You see the gold changing. If you don’t know it you can also ask the buyer to burn it for you. We sell the gold, divide the money and pay for a trip to Lima.

Whereas boys are more likely to be involved in actual mining or gold purification, girls are more frequently found in other mine-related activities, such as selling drinks and food on the streets and helping their parents in their retail activities or restaurants. In both villages, children participate in selling, buying and carrying water that has been obtained from wells or from melting ice and snow. According to the residents of La Rinconada, many girls below 18 also work in the informal bars, nightclubs or in prostitution. Contrary to adolescents who grind their own ore, and who may earn an income if they golpear (have a fortunate day), children who engage in pallaquear or who assist at the quimbaletes are not paid. Their work is considered as help to the family, which collects its income after selling the gold. The children may receive a small amount as a reward for their help. Quimbalete assistants on the other hand may earn about 500 soles (125 Euros) a month, which is as much as the older quimbaleteros earn.

132

A. Ensing

Young boys working the quimbalete; here they are feeling the amalgam to see if it has been sufficiently ground. They do not wear any protective clothing or face masks when handling the mercury mix

Labour Conditions General working and living conditions in the mining villages are harsh. The contaminated air in both villages and the excessive dust in Santa Filomena have an impact not only on working children, but also on children who are not actively engaged in mining. In La Rinconada, the extreme climate and altitude worsen the situation. Working hours in mining may be extensive, especially for adolescents. A working day in the mining villages may start at 5 or 6 in the morning and last up until 5 or 6 in the afternoon. Quimbaleteros in Santa Filomena often work until 8 pm and sometimes continue into the night. They normally work 7 days a week. Children in the villages who go to school and who do not work full time, usually join their parents before or after school hours, during weekends or holidays. Although in Santa Filomena safety measures are in place, youngsters, especially when they work in the smaller mines, do not follow the advice to use helmets, good shoes, gloves and masks. Many entrances to the smaller mines are very narrow, which limits levels of fresh air inside. SOTRAMI’s safety rules for working in the Santa Filomena quimbalete centres are also often ignored. These rules include wearing a helmet at all time, wearing gloves when touching the mercury mix and not employing children. Workers commonly use a helmet, although mostly to be protected from the sun. Gloves, on the contrary, are felt to be inconvenient during the work, and their use is therefore rare, as are any measures to prevent people from inhaling the mercury vapours that escape during the purification process. The owners state that they agree with the

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

133

rule against the employment of children. Adolescents, however, are usually not considered to be children and participate freely, especially during holidays. The lack of organisation and supervision in La Rinconada’s informal mines results in even fewer precautions. The national laws and international conventions, with respect to child labour, are unfortunately not reflected in reality. Children under 16, which is the minimum working age for mining, are clearly found working in the mines. In La Rinconada, child labour is widespread and adolescent quimbaleteros in Santa Filomena work 12  h a day with harmful substances. Furthermore, those children who join their mothers with pallaquear in La Rinconada work from 3 or 4 in the morning, and thus are technically working at night, in conflict with the law. The saqueros who work in mine shafts often carry heavy weights and inhale dust at dangerous levels. The local residents appear to consider the national laws somewhat irrelevant to their situation and conflicting with their own ideas about child help and work. In La Rinconada, it is generally accepted that male adolescents from around 15 years old start to work, i.e., earn their own money rather than help their parents. In Santa Filomena, there is much more consciousness and concern about meeting the legal obligations. Adolescents from 15 years old are, however, allowed to enter smaller mines during holidays and work as quimbaleteros. These activities are not considered to be extraordinarily heavy or dangerous. The lack of other employment opportunities forces young people who live in mining villages into mining and the laws and the possible harm may then be self justified. Children who participate in mining activities are not only working under conditions from which they should be protected according to the law, they are also living in conditions that deny certain basic rights. Legally, children have the right to a clean and safe environment, to healthcare and to education. The reality of the mining sector denies children these rights, as the poor living conditions in the research communities show.

Consequences of Child Labour Child labour in mining has consequences for education, health and family life. Studying the consequences allows us to draw conclusions about the different mining activities as a worst form of child labour. In Santa Filomena where only some children and adolescents work during holidays and other combinations of work and school are rare, people are convinced that work activities aren’t causing any harmful effects on education. The research revealed, however, that working in mine-related activities and living in mining villages can in fact negatively affect children’s education. First, the children come into contact with mercury and the effects it has on their nervous systems results in longterm consequences for their ability to learn. Second, the quality of education in mining villages is poor; negatively affected by the geographical and often social

134

A. Ensing

exclusion of the village. Consequently children are less likely to be accepted into higher education. Finally, young migrants, who work at Santa Filomena during their school holidays, sometimes decide to stay longer to continue working. 16-year-old Gabriel explained: I came here two years ago for the first time during the summer. My family lives in Apurimac, but I couldn’t find a job there. I worked the entire summer as a quimbaletero and this year I decided to stay after the holiday. I want to work longer because I didn’t earn enough in the last months to pay all that I need for the next year. I am planning to stay for another year here and start the 4th grade next year.

For these boys, work is certainly an obstacle to their education. As experience shows, they rarely return to their education, and are more likely to keep working instead. The high levels of participation of children in mining activities in La Rinconada are directly related to the low levels of participation in education. Children who work on weekends and outside school hours have worse results at school because they have less time to do homework, are more likely to be tired and unproductive in class and are more likely to miss classes (Red 2006). Most children in La Rinconada, however, argue that their work doesn’t affect their education. For example, Mariluz (12) stated: ‘I help my mother quimbaletear during the weekend and sometimes after school. I do my homework in the mornings or evenings, and have enough time to finish it’. It was observed that children who work are more likely to miss a day at school than those who do not; or, a child is more likely to miss school on days that he or she works than on other days. 14-year-old Irma commented: ‘I only don’t go to school when the weather is very bad or when I have to help my mother’. During focus group discussions with adolescents between 14 and 18 years old in both villages, another consequence of work for education became apparent. They argued that when adolescents start to work and earn their own money, it is very difficult for them to return to school. In their words: ‘Once they get used to money they don’t want to lose it anymore. After being able to buy the stuff you need, it is difficult to decide to study and live in poverty again’. In their opinion, this is in fact the worst consequence of working. Health consequences for working children depend greatly on the type of activity performed, and in which village the activity takes place. The most severe health effects are found in children active within the mines, or with the quimbalete; both activities are primarily performed by adolescents. According to the working boys in Santa Filomena, their work inside the mine is quite hard. Julian, a 16-year-old boy who worked for the summer in a small mine, explained: The work in the mine is very hard, harder than the average job. I didn’t like it so much. I wasn’t used to it, that’s why it was tough for me. I worked because I wanted to earn money. It is better than quimbaletear because that is boring and earns less.

Small accidents are not uncommon. The independent mines are often steep and access is poor. A 12-year-old boy in Santa Filomena, who worked for 2 weeks in a small mine with his older brother, said that ‘the work was risky because one could

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

135

easily fall’. The mines are also extremely dusty, which often causes respiratory problems. Former working children in the village admitted that the work definitely causes serious health problems, but that they often only arise some years later: I came to Santa Filomena in 1992 and started to work during holidays in the mine. It was my first experience in mining and I had to carry the debris away. Every holiday I worked for three months. Nobody told me at that time about health problems. Now I have silicosis and I developed an allergy for dynamite. When I smell dynamite, I get very weak in my entire body. Because of these health problems, I am not able to work in the mines anymore. SOTRAMI gave me a job above ground. (28-year-old Nicolás)

A pallaquera family in Santa Filomena; the children only play or linger, but they inadvertently also learn and are exposed to the elements

In La Rinconada, conditions differ to a certain extent. Some mines are dusty like in Santa Filomena, but others are wet and cold because the shafts are actually cut into the ice. Some mines have steep sides and there is a high risk of falling. The work as saquero is harsh; the boys run in and out of the mines with heavy loads, at an extreme altitude. A particular danger of working by the entrance of the shaft is the risk of being hit by falling snow or rocks. A common accident in La Rinconada is gassing; this is when poor ventilation causes the mines to fill up with gas, resulting in the miners fainting or even dying. Furthermore, working in extreme weather conditions, at such an altitude, causes an array of general health problems. In Santa Filomena as well as in La Rinconada, adolescents sometimes assist in perforation activities (using hammers or other drilling tools). Rock shards cause eye injuries and hands are vulnerable for cuts and even breaks.

136

A. Ensing

Pallaqueao is commonly described as a soft activity by children, who don’t dislike doing it. Women who work frequently in pallaqueo, however, complain of back pain because of the kneeling position they assume for the task and because of the heavy loads they carry home. They also suffer from bronchial problems, brought on by the dust, and general discomforts from working in extreme climate conditions. The complaints reported by women indicate the potential long-term hazards for the children. Even children that are present without actively participating are affected by the severe weather conditions and the dangers of landslides and avalanches. Young quimbaleteros also experience physical complaints from their work. The 15-year-old Carlos commented that, ‘during the first days of working my feet hurt because of the movement, but now I got used to it’. Many Santa Filomena residents commented on how, in the long run, back problems are caused by the continuous blows to the body during seesawing the quimbalete plank. Unlike in Santa Filomena, in La Rinconada, it is the cold that causes problems. Children who accompany others, but who do not participate, also suffer from exposure to the weather conditions. The most significant hazard of working in the quimbalete is the direct contact with mercury. According to a 1998 ISAT study, conducted in Santa Filomena, the health of both adults and children was affected by the work. Quimbaleteros inhale the mercury vapours and touch the mercury. Also, when heating the amalgam in the retort, mercury vapours readily enter the environment. Generally, mercury causes irritations to the skin, serious damage to the brain, the nervous system, the liver and the kidneys, among others (ISAT and Proyecto GAMA 2004).3 The use of mercury in gold purification also affects the environment and all the people and animals in the area. It enters the air and goes into the soil, the groundwater and the rivers, contaminating the water and food. The mercury comes into children’s homes and play areas. There are much fewer mercury gases in the air in Santa Filomena, with its communal retort, than in La Rinconada, where people heat the amalgam in their own homes. However, even with the new retort, those who do the actual heating continue to be directly exposed. Working in mining also has consequences for the relationships of children with their family members; they either migrate and work with their families, and are thus exposed to all the dangers of a migrant village and the mining activities, or barely see their families at all if parents and/or children migrate and work separately. Children and adolescents alike argue that it is positive to work together with relatives. Relatives will protect children from working too hard or from other forms of exploitation. Fourteen-year-old Victor worked in his uncle’s small Santa Filomena mine, during the holidays. He said: ‘It is much better to work with relatives. An unknown employer could easily exploit you, but a relative will not, working with a relative means that you will be assured your payment and good treatment’. Most of the adolescents who migrate alone to the villages don’t see their families for the entire summer period. While some enjoy their freedom, others miss their family.

3  Also see the Dutch Ministry of Health website http://www.volksgezondheid.gov.sr/dossierskwik. htm

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

137

Why Do Children Work? A significant number of children work in the mining industry, for a multitude of reasons, such as financial (linked to the family situation); existing norms and traditional patterns; availability, accessibility and quality of education; matters of child safety and also specific characteristics of the mining sector. According to the Red Titikaka study on child labour in La Rinconada (Red 2006), ‘the principal causes that oblige children to participate in mining activities are in the first place that the incomes of their parents don’t suffice to cover the necessities of the family’. This is especially the case in single mother (pallaquera) households. In Santa Filomena, only the children of single pallaqueras contribute to the family income. Alcohol abuse is also a reason why children’s financial contribution may be needed, especially in La Rinconada. Children without parents or other caring relatives are also more likely to work fulltime to cover their basic needs. For some children and adolescents, however, mere survival is not the issue. In Santa Filomena, it is not uncommon to find male adolescents between 14 and 18 years old who spend their earnings on luxury goods, such as new clothes, internet access or trips. These adolescents, and some children, such as the 12-year-old Kevin, explain that work is a way of becoming independent from their parents: ‘I worked for 2 weeks in a small mine with my brother. With the money I earned I bought a football, the necessary school supplies, and a football shirt from Barcelona’. Fourteen-year-old Jorge added: ‘I worked during the summer as a cowherd. I gave most of the money I earned to my mother. She bought me an MP3 player. I kept a bit for myself which I use to go on the internet’. For these youngsters, the mining related activities are one of the very few opportunities to make an income. Gold mining promises success in terms of money; ‘el oro jala’, or ‘gold attracts’ is what many people called it. This is certainly true for young people, for example, a 15-year-old in Santa Filomena: ‘I could work on a public bus or in construction, but working in gold mining earns much more’. The attraction of gold should not hide the fact that because of the unequal power relations in la Rinconada and the insufficiently lucrative mine in Santa Filomena, these artisanal miners are among the poorest of the Peruvian population. And if children or adolescents from these areas want to work to either help their parents, or earn a little extra for themselves, the only money-making opportunities are mining activities. That is an additional disadvantage of their poverty. An important distinction is made locally between trabajo (work) and ayudo (help). ‘Work’ is usually considered to be fulltime employment, whereas ‘help’ includes all sorts of activities that contribute to the work of others and are not performed on a fulltime basis. Most of the activities in which children are involved are considered to be ‘helping’ rather than ‘working’. With these definitions, the existence of child labour can easily be denied, as shown in the following statement: Children below 14 years old often join their mothers. It would be dangerous to leave them at home. They could hurt themselves in the kitchen and nobody would be around. At the

138

A. Ensing

pallaqueo site, they help their mothers to bring water, or they separate the types of ore. Some people confuse this with work with mining, but this is not the case. The children don’t even come close to the mine (Mother in La Rinconada).

Children are supposed to ‘help’ to alleviate the pressure on their parents and play an active role in the household. When asked how children can help their parents, the suggestions included several activities that could be considered as work or even as a worst form of child labour such as pallaquear, crushing ore at home or grinding the ore at the quimbalete. Adelio (11) from La Rinconada said: ‘I help my mother in preparing breakfast and washing the clothes; I help my father chancar the metal, I prepare his clothes and in the weekend I grind the ore and help him to sell the gold’. Adolescents from 14 years and older are usually not considered to be children anymore and are therefore locally not included when speaking about child labour. Adults share the opinion that adolescents should work to ‘take their responsibilities and to avoid being lazy’. Especially adolescents would, in the eyes of adults, become lazy and spoiled if they didn’t work. Gustavo, an adult worker in Santa Filomena warned against adolescents following the wrong path by not working: ‘What would become of all these young people if they wouldn’t work? We see this in Lima, where there is not enough work: young people hang around and join criminal gangs. Working would protect them from delinquency and teach them discipline and responsibility’. Children and adolescents mostly agree with adults. Furthermore, children generally like ‘helping’ their parents and contributing to the household. It gives them a feeling of satisfaction. Two boys (12 and 11) in La Rinconada: ‘When I help my father with his work he gives me a tip. I give this to my mother to help her’ and ‘We children also have to accept our responsibilities at home; otherwise we would become lazy and throw away our future’. Yet, at least some parents are able to distinguish between activities defined as a worst form and other activities. Carina, an 11-year-old girl, told me: ‘I am not allowed to join my mother to pallaquear because this damages children’s health’. A mother in Santa Filomena said: My son is 14 years old and he worked for two months during summer as a cowherd in a nearby village. He wants to work, to buy his own clothes, to go on the internet and so on. Last year he worked in a small mine, but I don’t allow him to do that anymore, because it is polluting and he is still young. For the same reason I don’t allow him to work on the quimbalete. But working as a cowherd is fine; he works in the fresh air, in the nature.

In La Rinconada, however, this distinction is barely ever made, possibly out of ignorance, possibly because most families there are desperately poor in an extremely desolate environment and cannot allow themselves to make such distinctions. Despite the need for a contribution to the family income and the existence of traditional believes, most children are aware of the importance of education and many of them have ambitious expectations. Given the poverty of the parents, in both villages, it is therefore very common for adolescents, especially boys, to pay

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

139

for their own educational requirements. They may start by only working during the summer months, but since the costs are high, some youngsters have to continue to work while studying, or work for a year fulltime to collect enough savings. They agree that studying and working at the same time is hard and often ends up in failure of one or both. On the other hand, adolescents may also start working because there are no educational facilities at all. Before Red Titikaka implemented the IPEC project in La Rinconada, the number of primary schools and the available places per school in the village were limited, and the quality was dismal. Many children were excluded from education and became more vulnerable for child labour (Red Titikaka 2002).4 All youngsters agree that they would opt for education instead of work, but circumstances sometimes make this hard to realise. In the long term, education could be a strategy against child labour, because it breaks the vicious circle, but the practical implications of education (proximity to mining areas, high costs, lacking quantity and poor quality) may indirectly push young people into work. It is important to stress that also other important services available to children, besides education, play an important role in keeping them away from the work site. The child care centres or wawa wasi 5 are either not available or of poor quality, and mothers prefer not to leave the toddlers in their care. Women have had to look for other child care solutions, such as leaving the children at home, alone or with relatives. This is a relatively good option in the safe Santa Filomena, where the pallaquera women organised a system through which there is always one or more women not working so as to care for all the children. This is completely different in La Rinconada, where less social cohesion, political and social organisation exists. The high incidence of criminality and alcohol abuse cause women to barely trust their neighbours or male relatives; leaving their children with them is not an attractive option. For many women in La Rinconada, and some exceptions in Santa Filomena, taking little children to the work place is the best, or only, possible option. These children often experience and learn the work while playing or lingering and since that is their lived-in environment, they may gradually move into child labour. Finally, the way in which both mines are organised in terms of ownership, management and technology also marks a difference between the two mining areas. The production chain in La Rinconada is much more accessible for children and adolescents than in Santa Filomena. In Santa Filomena, the entire chain is more or less controlled by the formal organisation SOTRAMI, which does not allow children to participate. In La Rinconada on the contrary, the control of the production chain is limited. Looking at the demand side, some employers actually prefer to employ a

4  These speculations are deducted from Red Titikaka’s experiences in La Rinconada and not observations made during the research. 5  Literally “house of children” in Quechua

140

A. Ensing

child rather than an adult, for particular activities, such as working the quimbalete in Santa Filomena, or assisting in the quimbalete centres of La Rinconada. Young workers are more agile than adults and more likely to accept lower wages. Employers in La Rinconada don’t take the responsibility of protecting youths from the harsh work. They argue that by employing the adolescents, they are helping them in their difficult situation.

Strategies to Combat Child Labour The worst forms of child labour, as defined by the ILO, include all activities that are by their nature or conditions likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. This chapter has shown that the consequences of children’s work in mining depend on the activities that they engage in and on the conditions under which they do this. Without trivialising the risks for the working children, seeing all of them as one group generalises the activities and their accompanying risks and creates a bias that can lead to unjust policies. The children most at risk are the young quimbaleteros and saqueros since they perform heavy physical tasks, they work with toxic substances, and in an unhealthy environment without sufficient protective measures. Although children who occasionally work in pallaquear or chancar certainly also run risks, they experience somewhat less grave consequences. On the other hand, the health consequences of mining affect all working and non-working children who live in the mining villages. All children suffer the negative effects of pollution, harsh weather and poor services. Most mining related activities thus have negative consequences for health, safety and morals and also non-working children deserve attention. In this respect, it could be concluded that working children in La Rinconada and Santa Filomena should certainly be included on the worst forms of child labour list. Now the question is to what extend the anti-child labour movement has been successful in eradicating these worst forms. Santa Filomena is often presented as a village in which the ILO has had a big impact with their regional programme aimed at the elimination of child labour. La Rinconada is a more complicated location, in which both the ILO and local NGOs have been, and continue to be, active, but where child labour nevertheless persists. In 1998, the IPEC started one of its two pilot projects in Santa Filomena. Based on these experiences, the Sub-regional Programme for the Prevention and Progressive Elimination of Child Labour in Artisanal Mining in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru was started. La Rinconada was one of the selected communities for this programme. In addition, both mining villages also experienced projects of other NGOs or state interventions, and both villages have some form of organisation among the miners. In 1998, the Peruvian NGO CooperAcción started the implementation of the IPEC project to eliminate child labour in artisanal mining in Santa Filomena. In a

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

141

period of 5 years, CooperAcción worked on four main areas: technology, efficiency and working conditions; alternative income; public services; awareness raising and community mobilisation. The focus was on children between 6 and 14 years old. The first electric winche was constructed to replace the manual labour of children transporting ore out of the mines. A new processing plant replaced the artisanal processing system of quimbaletes, in which many children were involved. A fund for new initiatives for miners and women, to complement family income and eliminate child labour, was made available. Miners could obtain credit to increase their productivity and women received training sessions in which they identified possibilities for micro-enterprises. The educational infrastructure was revamped, teachers were trained and the first secondary school was established. The programme also established a health post with permanent staff. Awareness raising and mobilisation took place at many levels. A Local Management Committee was established, in which representatives of all local organisations participated, to promote the social and economical development of the community. The IPEC project in La Rinconada was carried out between 2001 and 2004. The first phase of the programme was implemented by the local NGO Red Titikaka, the second phase by the NGO CARE. The basic strategies decided upon were: awareness raising, organisation and citizen participation, improvement of local public educational services, and health and environment management. Red Titikaka organised a campaign to change parents’ and children’s attitudes towards child labour. The focus was, like in Santa Filomena, on children between 6 and 14 years old. The community leaders were trained in topics such as participation, democracy, education and the prevention of child labour and local committees were established and were expected to take decisions about social and economical development and monitor the programme. To increase school attendance Red Titikaka constructed classrooms and organised training sessions and complementary activities for teachers to increase educational quality. Health campaigns were organised and the health post was improved. During the second phase, CARE constructed child care centres, installed ecological latrines at schools, implemented campaigns about public sanitation, installed garbage containers and improved the health care centre, among other activities concerning education and health. The projects varied somewhat, but had common basic structures. The outcomes, however, differed drastically. Contextual factors influenced the impact of the interventions, the successes and failures, and the sustainability of the projects; this contributed to the better results in Santa Filomena. First, La Rinconada is larger in both population size and geographical extension. Also, there are many more working children in La Rinconada than in Santa Filomena. Its population is, in addition, predominantly migrant, which further complicates community organisation, implementing social security and monitoring labour activities. The presence of local organisations is important for the interventions related to child labour. Especially the formal miners’ organisation in Santa Filomena, lacking in La Rinconada, has been crucial for the development of the village. Since there are no significant unequal power relations, practically all miners in Santa Filomena

142

A. Ensing

benefit from the projects, and they are therefore all the more likely to comply with the rules concerning child labour. In La Rinconada, interventions related to mechanisation would bring economic benefits to the contractor, but few to the common miners and their families. The lack of organisation is also found throughout the production process. The labourer carries out basically all the activities himself instead of outsourcing it to an organised branch. This system facilitates the participation of children; because everyone is fending for themselves, no one is able to effectively monitor labour conditions. The most effective development in Santa Filomena has been the instalment of the winche. By mechanising the mine, the need for children’s contributions decreased and productivity, along with adult income, increased. No children work in Santa Filomena’s main mine anymore. However, the benefits of the main winche are not felt in the smaller and more independent mines, since no winches were implemented there. Also a processing plant was established in Santa Filomena to replace the quimbaletes and indirectly eliminate the work of children in processing. However, many miners have only small amounts of ore they wish to process and still use the quimbaletes. The strategies have only partially solved the problem, but have shown its potential level of success. In La Rinconada these specific interventions haven’t taken place at all. Another successful strategy in Santa Filomena has been the health information campaign. Men and women all argued not to have been aware of the risks involved in mining activities. After having received the information, they were less tempted to send their children to work. In La Rinconada, however, awareness raising was less successful. Residents complain that they are open to advice and suggestions, but health and human rights information must be accompanied by other strategies to make alternatives possible. The alternative income generating activities for women in Santa Filomena seem to have been successful for women with perseverance. Others failed to complete the training because of a lack of time or willingness. In La Rinconada, women are enthusiastic about alternative income activities, but they generally consider the new activities to be additional income generators, rather than replacements for the pallaqueo. The participation of children in pallaqueo thus doesn’t necessarily decrease. Educational incentives and the increasing school capacities have increased attendance and most likely decreased the number of fulltime working children in both ­villages. It turns out, however, that children are very able to combine school with work in mining, as long as it is not fulltime. A difficulty in both villages has been to include adolescents in the project. Since they are not considered to be children, the community residents do not consider their work to be child labour or damaging to them. Strategies that are at one time successful may not continue to thrive, because the organisational structure of the village, the population or the environment may have changed. Migration causes the influx of new, impoverished families in search of a livelihood. More structural changes must be made if patterns in a migrant village are to follow suit.

7  Mining at High Altitudes in Peru

143

Conclusions and Recommendations Santa Filomena and La Rinconada are at various stages of development, but still both lack important basic facilities and social services. The artisanal process of gold mining has little advanced technology and pollutes the environment. This especially affects children. The consequences of mining work are most severe for adolescents because of the particular activities they carry out, but all working children, and even the non-working children, are exposed to health risks involved when living in such a highly polluted environment. Despite the international conventions and national legislation, children are involved with a wide range of activities in the mining sector. While male adolescents are more often found at the quimbalete or inside the mines, younger children and girls are usually involved in sorting or crushing the ore. School participation has increased, although many mining activities can easily be combined with education, and adolescents are still likely to choose fulltime work rather than school. The majority of children and adolescents work during school holidays. Children’s participation in artisanal mining can be explained by a variety of reasons. Some parents prefer to take their young children to work because of the lack of safety in the village and distrust among its inhabitants. Children commonly help their parents, considered to be a valuable phase in a child’s development and socialisation process. Because living and working quarters are currently not separated children can easily help their parents. Adolescents generally work to contribute to the family income, to be able to provide for their own basic needs and education, or even to afford personal luxury expenses. A large part of the production chain in Santa Filomena has been formalised and mechanised; both factors limit the presence of children. In La Rinconada labourers are not organised and more children are working. The lack of a feeling of ownership among the miners negates all sense of responsibility and thus little is done to organise and improve conditions or to prevent children from working. Both communities have been the beneficiary of ILO interventions to combat child labour. While the general approach of the projects was the same in both villages, the villages responded differently to similar interventions, because of their varying social, climatic and industrial characteristics. The ILO intervention in Santa Filomena showed that child labour can be reduced by formalising and mechanising a part of the production chain and by improving the welfare of the miners’ families in the process. The results seen in La Rinconada have shown that awareness raising on child labour issues is not effective as long as structural needs, such as safety and family income, are not improved. Alternative income generation can be effective, but only if these activities are at least as lucrative as participation in gold production. Unequal power relations between owners, contractors and miners, combined with an elaborated production chain, have made interventions as applied in Santa Filomena, impossible to implement in La Rinconada.

144

A. Ensing

Based on the experiences of former and current interventions, recommendations for future interventions can be formulated: • Interventions focussing on the mechanisation and formalisation of the production chain, when applied under the right conditions, can help to reduce child labour. It would be conducive under conditions of high equality among labour relations. • Since many working children contribute to the family income, interventions should aim to increase this income through income generating activities that provide employment opportunities for parents. Micro-credits are useful to start a new business, or to expand an existing one. By forming cooperatives people can build up larger investments and benefit from economies of scale. It is also important to provide and stimulate alternative employment opportunities that are less detrimental for adolescents than mining activities. • Child care centres are necessary to enable working parents to bring their children to a safe place while working. Also, child care and support for orphans should be provided, to prevent them from working for their survival. • To bring an end to the damage caused by mercury (both to people and the environment in general), mining methods need to change. Technical support is needed to actualise systems of ore processing that do not use mercury. Since advanced systems will not be viable for small amounts of ore, miners will have to be convinced to form cooperatives instead of working individually. • Separating the village into living quarters and a mining area is necessary to prevent children from living in harmful conditions, and it will reduce the incentives for them to work in mining. • The provision of free education would diminish the need of adolescents to work; improved quality and relevance of education would reduce the likelihood of them ending up in unskilled and hazardous labour. Improving education also entails training teachers; this should, however, be accompanied by incentives for teachers to come to and stay in the village. • Dissemination of information on the risks of child labour in mining can be useful to prevent parents from bringing their children to the workplace. • The CPETI unites the most important forces against child labour on a national level and assembles a large amount of knowledge and experience. Supporting its interventions would contribute to joint actions working in the same direction, which will increase the consensus and the sustainability of the interventions. In conclusion, all strategies must be integrated for them to be successful. The presence of children in mining activities is explained by a number of factors, none of which should be dealt with piecemeal. Each mining village has its own set of traditions, power relations and mining management, and interventions should take the local context into account.

Chapter 8

Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture Marten Pieter van den Berge

Of all working children in the age category 6–17 years in Peru, the vast majority (70%, 1.4 million children) are known to work in the countryside, with a clear overrepresentation of children between 6 and 13 years old (CPETI and MTPE 2005:26). Child labour is particularly present in the sierra1 regions of Peru and the majority of working children and adolescents are involved with farming or herding. Although the vast majority of working children work in rural areas, almost all studies on child labour in Peru concern urban child labour. Of the few studies that have concerned rural labour, the focus has been traditional agriculture, mainly within the family context (Alarcon 2001, 2006). These reports, however, do not present any statistical data. Additionally, there are no studies at all on child labour in the commercial agricultural sector in Peru. Peru is governed by several national and international laws, rules and conventions, which relate to child labour. Peru has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 2 and ILO Conventions 138 and 182. The Peruvian state initially established a minimum working age of 12, but in the modification of the Children and Adolescents Code in ILO 2001, it was raised to 14. The Peruvian government has established various official agreements to protect children from illegal or ­dangerous forms of child labour. According to the international and national legislation, children may work from 12  years onwards, where light activities are ­concerned. On the large-scale commercial exporting plantations, such as the one in ICA, one must be 16 years of age, although a judge may grant a work permit for those aged 14–16. The sierra regions, or highlands, are those that lie in the Andes Mountains; they comprise high plateaus known as the Altiplano, and high peaks. 2  Article 32 deals specifically with child labour and states ‘States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.’ 1 

M.P. van den Berge () Former IREWOC researcher, Amsterdam, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] G.K. Lieten (ed.), Hazardous Child Labour in Latin America, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0177-9_8, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

145

146

M.P. van den Berge

The Research Setting To study child labour in traditional agriculture, fieldwork was carried out in two small indigenous communities in the department of Cusco in the Peruvian Highlands (Altiplano): Ccasacunca and Cusibamba. Fieldwork in the commercial agricultural sector (mainly export) was carried out in the department of Ica, specifically in and around the villages of Santa Cruz de Villacuri and La Venta. Ccasacunca is located in Anta province in the department of Cusco at an altitude of 3,640 m. All inhabitants (around 200 families) are primarily Quechua speakers. Spanish is spoken by the majority as a second language. Access is difficult as public transport only reaches the community in the weekends. There is one public phone and no computers. In addition to cattle breeding, farmers cultivate potatoes, broad beans, wheat, barley and corn. The grounds are communal property and are divided among its inhabitants (the comuneros) for use. The agricultural activities are mostly self-subsistence. Public works are decided upon in the General Assembly of the community, in Quechua referred to as minka. Another traditional form of labour in the community is ayni: this is work that one comunero does on the land (charca) of another comunero with the expectation that this labour will be paid back in due time. The community offers no other income-generating activities. Cash is made through the sale of agricultural surpluses at neighbouring markets in the weekend, and through migration, especially outside of the sowing and harvest seasons. In Ccasacunca, the kindergarten and the primary school provide classes only in the mornings. The primary school has 4 teachers and 134 students, of which 69 are boys and 65 girls. The secondary school is in Izcuchaca, which is a 1.5  h walk. Besides the school, there are no other state institutions: no police or any official administrative representative. The second rural village, Cusibamba, is situated at about 20 km from the provincial departmental capital Cusco; it is considered to be ‘very poor’ (Plan Peru 2007). The village (180 households) is situated at approximately 3,640 m. Agriculture and life stock farming are the main means of production. The villagers work on communal lands, mostly for self-subsistence. As in Ccasacunca, the more traditional working arrangements of minka and ayni are in use, and the necessary cash income is generated through migration. Cusibamba is one of the villages that supply porters for tourists hiking to Machu Picchu. There is a primary school with 117 children (49 boys and 68 boys), and 5 teachers. The nearest secondary school (colegio) is in Corcca, about 1  h away, which means that parents are hesitant to send their daughters to school. Some children are sent to godfathers or other relatives living in urban centres, but in a number of cases, and this was found in Ccasacunca too, their hosts mistreat them and they are set to work. The province of Ica was identified as a relevant research area to study child labour in the commercial agricultural sector, as it is home to the largest agro-exporting plantations of Peru. The most important products are asparagus, grapes, paprikas, mandarins,

8  Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture

147

onions, avocado, artichoke and cotton. Peru is in fact the largest exporter of asparagus in the world.3 Santa Cruz de Villacuri, more popularly known as ‘Barrio Chino’, is a small village along the highway. It is located in the Pampa de Villacuri, which is an immense desert area, populated with several large plantations and small settlements inhabited mostly by the labourers of these plantations. Most houses in the village are built from cardboard and straw, some of them donated by the Red Cross after the 2007 earthquake destroyed many of the original homes in the village. There is no running water and people have to buy their water from trucks. The majority of the residents are labour migrants living temporarily in the village during the different harvesting periods of the vegetables and fruits. There is one kindergarten and one primary school, both are in a poor state. The nearest secondary school is in the departmental capital Guadalupe. As there is no public transport to or from Santa Cruz de Villacuri, most of the adolescents hitchhike their way to school. Other children choose to walk, which takes 2 h. Just as in the two rural communities in Cusco, there is no official state representation in Santa Cruz de Villacuri. It has no mayor, no police force or even a garbage collection service. The second village in the Ica province was La Venta, or La Venta Baja (600 families). It is situated in the district of Santiago, south of Ica on the highway Panamericana Sur. Although this is still desert area (and therefore dry and hot), it has several small parcels of land where cotton and several other products are grown. Whilst most families earn a living as wage labourer on the surrounding plantations, a sizeable group is involved in small trades such as running a store, a restaurant, etc. The houses of several of the economically better-off families are made of brick. The houses of the less fortunate are made of mud and cardboard. The village has a kindergarten, a primary school (352 children) and, as the only research village, its own secondary school with 394 children. Regarding healthcare, again La Venta is better equipped than the other areas: there is a medical post with a doctor.

Activities in Traditional Agriculture Practically all children under the age of 12  years in the rural communities are involved in herding tasks. Sometimes, they are accompanied by their mothers, but usually they go out on their own, even children as young as 5. After the age of 12, more girls than boys are found in herding and boys start to work more on the land, also in nearby villages. The children have to get up at 4 am to prepare breakfast, which they take along to the grazing grounds. Children then go to school at 8 am

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departamento_de_Ica

3 

148

M.P. van den Berge

and return to the grazing ground after school at about 1 pm. The secondary school is a 1.5-h walk away, which does not leave enough time for herding, and so adolescent girls tend to drop out of school. The children are also very active in agricultural tasks, such as ploughing, sowing, maintenance and harvesting. Adolescent boys are usually involved in the more physically demanding tasks, whilst adolescent girls tend to the lighter tasks, including lunch preparation. From December to February (school holiday), and from March to April (during school term), the children work all day. The day starts at 4.00 in the morning and ends at sunset. During the agricultural off-season, maintenance tasks and weeding are occasionally done before and after school hours, mainly by adolescent boys. In addition to the agricultural tasks and herding, children perform domestic tasks in and around the house; they help to clean the house, wash clothes, look after siblings and cook. They help with cooking early in the mornings, but when children come home from school, parents are often still working on the land, and so the children normally prepare their own lunches as well. On the land, the children who are too young to actively help in agricultural tasks look after their younger siblings. When parents are working on the land, children are responsible for house chores and siblings. It is not uncommon to see 5-year-old children looking after their younger siblings, including lighting a fire and cooking. Children have varying complaints about their responsibilities, especially about their herding and agricultural activities. Some complaints regard physical ailments. Mariela (14) stated: ‘During the harvesting season, we do the same work for several days in a row. We have to finish as otherwise the vegetables will go bad; so its work, work, work. These days you wake up with muscle aches and blisters on your hands’. Her father apologised: ‘During these seasons we ask the best of the children. I don’t have any money to pay workers, so it’s the only way we can manage to get everything off the land in time. I know they are sometimes worn out, but it’s the only way to get the work done’. Herding is a monotonous job. Most children stated they would love to stop herding as they are fed up with doing the same thing every day, waiting for the evening to come. Edgar (11) complained: ‘I would really like to work in something different when I am an adult, herding is just so boring; doing the same thing every day, just waiting and waiting, the days seem endless’. But herding is also a taxing job. One of the most often heard complaints was the fear of children that their cattle would be attacked by a predator. Jorge (9) recounted how once his sheep were attacked by a puma: ‘I have never been so afraid as I had to scare it off and I was all alone. I screamed, threw stones and luckily had a big stick. Eventually it went away; I hope this never ever happens again’. Narda (13) states: ‘Luckily it has never happened but the worst what can happen is that a puma comes and attacks your animals. That is what everybody fears, being attacked by a puma, when you are not paying attention. My parents would kill me if our cow were to be eaten by a puma; we want to use it for when my sister marries’. Cattle is the family capital. Losing such an asset would have a significantly negative impact on the family’s finances. The responsibility for such an asset was found to negatively contribute to the psychological stress of children.

8  Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture

149

Herding girl with a sling and a boy with a pickaxe, on their way to work

The numerous responsibilities and accompanying stress lead to poor school results. Many children cut classes, especially during harvest time. One teacher in Cusibamba commented: ‘When we leave in our car to go back to Cusco we see them working on the land. In that period sometimes more than half of my students don’t show up’. When they attend school, children often are too tired to concentrate because of the domestic chores and labour activities in the morning. ‘As I get up at 4.00 a.m., it is sometimes difficult to listen to the teachers. Sometimes I am just too tired’, explained Jorge (12), who herds his cattle every morning. Eva (10) confessed: ‘Yes, I have fallen asleep in school, but that’s because we have to get up very early to herd our sheep’.

Why Do Children Work in Traditional Agriculture? The few studies on rural child labour in the Andean region usually refer to the indigenous socialisation process (see for example Domic Ruiz 1999; Galvez 2002; Alarcon 2006). Knowledge of cultural norms and values are passed on to the next generation through work: ‘This type of knowledge you don’t study in school, you acquire it by developing within a social context, accompanying one parent to work’ (Alarcon 2006). Carlos (33) said: ‘My son sometimes complains when I ask him to help. But then again it is also important he knows how to work the land, how to sow, harvest and weed’. A 28-year-old father from Ccasacunca added: ‘My father taught me how to work, now I pass it on to my son. It is the way we work here, and without it we don’t eat. So by taking my son out working, he will be a bit better prepared

150

M.P. van den Berge

for the future’. The knowledge to be passed on is partially gendered, or as one father argued: ‘Boys can wash clothes when they are young. However, when they are older they have to work on the land and girls wash the clothes, just like they will be doing in their grown-up lives’. Girls’ participation in domestic chores is mostly culturally established, but the level of work is also determined by the fact that girls have to walk long distances, through desolate areas, to attend secondary school. Parents worry that the girls are exposed to too many dangers during this walk, both natural and social, and therefore choose to keep their daughters at home instead. Santusa, the 34-year-old mother of two adolescent girls: I prefer my girls to stay at home than to let them walk for 2 hour through the deserted mountains. You never know what happens there, they can be attacked and meet boys that force themselves upon the girls and they may get pregnant afterwards. No, it is far better they stay at home until we have a secondary school here.

Pablo (30), the father of an adolescent daughter, made a similar suggestion: ‘You know how adolescent boys are, they go after girls. Especially in the mountains when nobody sees them, they can do anything. That’s why I prefer keeping my girls at home’. In his report on child labour in a rural Andean community, anthropologist Rodríguez Valle (2008) states that in the Andean highlands a basic difference is made between the good and the bad child. Good and bad, he argues, are tightly linked to labour activities within the family and the community. A ‘good’ child helps in the household, listens to the parents and goes to school. The ‘bad’ child is lazy, disobedient, outspoken and performs poorly at school. One father in Ccasacunca said: Children have many responsibilities, school is important, but they also have to help us on our land. Of course you don’t give a chaquitaqlla [a foot plough] to a 5 year old. Until they are 5, children can only play, once they get older they can help in herding and they can help their mother in the home. When they are older, like 12/13 years old they can help with ploughing. Everything depends on their age and capacities.

However, the traditional norms on gender, age and responsibilities seem to be changing. Several comuneros do send their sons and daughters to secondary school and even indicate a wish to send them on to university. Several parents expressed an opinion that it is more important for their children to study than to work in their free time. One father stated, for example: ‘My parents thought that education was not that important for girls, but those are the thoughts of the old generation. I do want my girl to study and be someone in life, that’s why I sent her to school’. Elvira (28) has two little daughters, and she is one of the few mothers in the community who can read and write Spanish. She commented: I know that some mothers don’t care about their daughters’ education as they think that they will never leave the community. But even in the community, it is important! The only way we will be able to improve our community is through people who have studied, so that they can invent plans to improve our organisation and our production. So everybody should send their children to secondary school and university.

8  Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture

151

Yet, despite the new insights, the children of these families continue to work, and for obvious reasons. Poverty is one of them. Since most families cannot pay for wage labour, they are dependent on their own labour force, including the children. In addition, in the community itself there are few, if any, opportunities to generate a cash income; but cash is nevertheless needed, for school and health care, among other things. Many comuneros migrate (temporarily) to nearby villages to earn cash, which leads to an increase in the work of women and children. According to one mother: ‘My husband left to work in construction work in Cusco, so who is left with all the work here: me and my kids! Therefore the kids have to go with the cattle while I work the land. Who else will do it?’ Jorgecito (11) added: ‘I used to help only in the mornings, but since my dad left to work in the mine, me and my brother, we go every day with the cattle while my mom washes clothes and works the land’. Ironically, migration is usually undertaken to provide better educational opportunities for the children. Paul, one of the fathers who works as a day labourer on a large plantation stated: ‘I want my children to have a better future than I had, so I want them to go to secondary school and later University in Cusco. But it costs money, so I have to go and work. I know my wife and children suffer, but we do so to be able to improve our situation in the future’. Graciela, a mother with 3 children, added: ‘My husband works in the city and now we can save a bit and send Carlitos to secondary school and perhaps later to Lima where the schools are better. We now have to work double, but hopefully it is worth it’.

Commercial Agriculture The agricultural products cultivated in Rica department represent 65% of Peru’s total agricultural export. Child and adolescent labour in the commercial agroexporting industry is a delicate subject. To be able to receive an exporting certificate from the Peruvian state, plantations must comply with the national Peruvian labour norms, which clearly indicate that children under 16 years are not allowed to work in commercial agriculture. Children know this and will use false identity cards to fool contractors. Krista (14), living in Santa Cruz de Villacuri and working during school holidays on the surrounding plantations, said: Most of the plantations don’t want to hire children, so we have to invent ways. I sometimes use the ID of my sister who works in the city and doesn’t need it. Others go to Ica to make false IDs. In this way we are able to work and earn some money to help our parents.

On the large-scale plantations, it is usually the contractors, not the actual owners, who are in charge of hiring labourers. One supervisor on a large-scale export plantation, however, confided that the owner of his plantation is American and lives in the USA, but that he is consulted on issues regarding contracting minors: I discuss contracting these kids with my boss, especially as in the US they think differently about letting children work. I tell him about the situation of poverty these kids live in and that by contracting them he is doing them a favour. I tell him: “Boss, you will give them

152

M.P. van den Berge

some pocket money and at the same time you are earning money because you have to pay them less than adults; so actually it is a win-win situation”. And then he said, “okay Jorge, just do what you think is right”.

Many children and adolescents under the age of 16 years were found to be working on different types of plantations. Most of them did not work directly on the exportplantations, but on large-scale plantations that sell their products to the export-plantations. Through this system of outsourcing, a part of the production process involves children and adolescents. In Santa Cruz de Villacuri, children and adolescents were mainly found working on large-scale export-plantations. In La Venta, children were working on middle- and small-scale plantations. According to the research findings, around 50 children were working on the large-scale plantations of Santa Cruz de Villacuri; they were found harvesting asparagus, grapes, onions, bell peppers, mangos and oranges. Most children were aged 14–16, but about 10 children were 12–13. Older adolescents confirmed that they had begun working at much younger ages, often at the age of 12  years. Children in the age category 12–15 are usually accompanied by other older family members or an older friend. The children and adolescents claimed to be working on the plantation mainly during school holidays (December to February) and occasionally in the weekends. During these periods, the children get up at 5 am, and board the plantation buses at around 6. On some plantations, a working day ends at 1 pm because it is then considered too hot to work. However, several children reported working until 7  pm, with a break at lunchtime from 12 to 3 pm. They are given workloads (tarreas) to

Cutting asparagus

8  Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture

153

be completed during the day. Some children skip school or give up going to school altogether, since it is impossible to combine this type of work and schooling. For some tasks such as weeding, planting and checking the irrigation tubes, the gender differences are not significant, but for most other jobs, boys are often preferred because of the physically demanding tasks. As one contractor said: The work is really hard and therefore more suitable for boys. Girls get tired more easily and therefore won’t be able to complete the working criteria for the day. If there is sufficient manpower on offer we prefer contracting men and boys. The work is often too heavy for girls. However sometimes we lack workers, then we do contract girls.

Children are involved in several activities, from planting to maintenance (thinning out, weeding and cleaning) and of course harvesting. They also are engaged in activities such as pension. Pension is the task of preparing the breakfast for the labourers, which they bring to the fields.4 A dozen children and adolescents stated that they get up at 2 am to help their mothers prepare these meals. After cooking, the children usually go to sleep again for an hour or two before going to school. In La Venta, children and adolescents were also found working on large-scale export-plantations, but in smaller numbers. Of the group of 30 children that we studied, only 3 had work experience on the large-scale plantations (a 13-year-old girl and two 16-year-old girls). All the other children, however, had been working on middle- and small-scale plantations. The plantation owners and the 23 subcontractors live in the same village as the children; therefore, recruitment is mostly arranged through informal networks of friends and family. These smaller plantations, however, still have a connection to the larger export-plantations as they sell most of their agricultural products to them. Because the small- and medium-scale plantations do not produce for the export market directly, they do not need the export certificates of the Peruvian government and are less subject to monitoring by the labour inspectors of the Ministry of Labour. Since these plantations produce mostly for the internal market, they attract less international scrutiny. On all plantations, regardless of the size, children complain about the extreme climatic circumstances under which they work. The plantations are located in desert areas, and so plantation work entails exposure to the burning sun and average temperatures of around 40°C. In addition, the dry sand is a problem; it constantly causes irritation to eyes, ears and mouth. In an attempt to protect themselves from the elements, the workers wear long trousers, long-sleeved t-shirts, hats and gloves. They also cover their mouths and noses with strips of cloth. Various statements by the children indicated that these weather conditions indeed have serious consequences for physical health:

As these lunches are often included in the rent of a labour migrant, preparing these meals is usually referred to as pension (bed and breakfast) by the children.

4 

154

M.P. van den Berge

• Working on the plantation is very hard; you have to work bending over with the sun on your back. You feel like you are being fried alive. (Juana, 14, working on an onion plantation) • The sun here is unbearable; your brain is cooking and your whole body is burning because of the heat. (Ernesto, 16, working on an asparagus plantation) • I imagine hell is like this, with these temperatures. It’s just so hot you can’t think anymore and at the end of the day you feel sick from the heat. (Irma, 15, working on a paprika plantation) • Working on the plantation makes your head spin; when you start working for the first time each day you have headaches, and you barely make it to lunchtime. (Walter, 12, cutting asparagus in Santa Cruz de Villacuri) • I myself once fainted because of sunstroke and my friend as well. It’s horrible as you have to vomit and are sick for several days. (Luisa, 15, working on an asparagus plantation). Some physical complaints depend on the specific activity undertaken. For example, as cutting asparagus or picking onions entails a stooped position for much of the day, there were many complaints of backaches. A boy of 15  years commented: ‘Working like this, bending over all the time, it really kills your back. It hurts and sometimes one just can’t sleep from the muscle ache’. Backaches are also caused by carrying heavy loads, such as wooden crates full of fruit or vegetables. Miguel (16): ‘Especially carrying the full crates of asparagus to get them ready for transport really kills your back’.

Picking cotton

8  Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture

155

Activities such as picking oranges, cotton and grapes result in different physical problems. Here, the most common problems are blisters and cuts, as explained by Jorge, a 15-year-old working on a cotton plantation: ‘The plants are very hard, so picking the cotton leaves marks on your hands, especially on the first days working’. Insect bites are also a large concern. Although unlikely to leave permanent damage, bites are a real nuisance. There were also some reports of the spraying of chemicals in areas where children and adolescents are working. The spraying is carried out by adolescents. This exposure to chemicals obviously poses a serious health threat. In La Venta, two adolescents were observed spraying chemicals in a cotton field, and Carlos (14) commented: When we are picking cotton sometimes they start spraying in the row next to us. It’s prohibited to spray in the same row that we are working, but when it’s the row next to us, they say it’s no problem. Really young children can’t carry the backpacks with the chemicals and they say it’s bad for your lungs as well. That’s why you can start doing that only at the age of 16.

The plantation workers also have to endure harsh treatment from supervisors. Verbal abuse is motivated by the smallest event, such as taking a small rest. Several girls working on the plantation mentioned sexual harassment too, although most was limited to sexual remarks and jokes regarding the girls. Julia (15) commented: ‘Work conditions on a plantation really do depend on the supervisor. Almost all are harsh on us as they want us to complete our tasks (tarreas) they assign us no matter what. Several also make sexual remarks, which are very rude’. Lidia (16) working on an asparagus plantation commented: ‘Some of the supervisors are a real nuisance. They always pick on girls, by making filthy remarks if you know what I mean’. Children and adolescents also mentioned they are often not paid when unable to complete the tasks assigned by the supervisor. Angel, a 15-year-old commented: ‘Often the supervisor does not want to pay us when we are unable to finish the assignment he gave us. This is unfair as perhaps we did not meet his standards, but we did work so he should pay us!’ The hurtful attitude of supervisors towards the children and adolescents contributes to an increase in workload and stress, particularly on the large-scale plantations. The supervisors on the smaller plantations are normally acquaintances of the labourers, often living in the same village, which implies more flexibility in the working hours and a more respectable behaviour towards the workers. Some plantations provide old school or city buses to transport the labourers, which are comfortable. However, the majority of plantations simply use flatbed trucks or semi-trailers, on which the workers are tightly packed together, without the possibility to sit, and without shelter from the elements. This method of transport is especially uncomfortable for children because of their size. Juan (14) explained: ‘You are so tightly packed together, one can hardly breathe in between all the grown-ups. Everyone is pushing for more space it’s really uncomfortable and scary’. Irina (15) added: ‘In these trucks one is transported even worse than cattle: we have even less space and all the sand comes into your eyes. It’s horrible.’

156

M.P. van den Berge

Unlike the activities involved in traditional agriculture, most of the work on commercial plantations seems to have little impact on education. The children only work on the plantations during school holidays, and occasionally in the weekends. One particular task, though, does interfere with schooling somewhat; children who help their mothers prepare pension before school hours, attend their classes exhausted and unable to concentrate, resulting in poor performance. 10-year-old Rosemary commented: ‘One has to wake up at 4.00 to make breakfast, as most workers want to eat at 5.00. Afterwards I go to bed again and sleep for an hour or two. Then it is horrible to get up again as I am really tired. In school I sometimes fall asleep and the teacher screams at me’.

Why Do Children Work in Commercial Agriculture? Contractors, supervisors and owners use several arguments to justify the hiring of children and adolescents. First of all, several supervisors stated they wanted to help the children by providing them with an income. A contractor of an asparagus plantation commented: I know the level of poverty in the villages. People have to live on one dollar a day. The children come to me for work as they live in miserable circumstances. Their families sometimes even have difficulties in sending them to school. By giving them a job we are actually doing them a favour, as they can pay for clothes and school fees with the money they earn here.

Although this argument suggests altruism on the part of those who contract minors, the behaviour actually results in a vicious circle: the poverty of the villagers is strongly related to the low wages paid to the adults working on the plantations, resulting in their children having to pitch in. Another argument is the fact that hiring underage workers saves on wages, which has a positive effect on profits. In the weekends, especially on Sundays, when adults demand higher wages, it is more profitable to hire children, who are paid less anyway. This is also generally the case in times of labour shortage or high workloads. As one supervisor in La Venta said: ‘During harvest we just need to get these asparagus out of the ground to send them on a ship to the United States or Holland. So we hire everybody we can, women and children alike’. Supervisors also admitted that children are more docile: ‘Adults often complain about everything; about their wage, the climate, that we give them too many tasks, and so on. Minors are easier to deal with; you give them tasks and most of them just do it without whining’. The words of another supervisor from a plantation near Santa Cruz de Villacuri: The adult workers here are known for being difficult labourers. Once I assign them tasks they may think it is too demanding and just walk out. As there are many plantations which need labourers, they can get work anywhere easily. With the kids you don’t have that problem: they are more obedient as not many plantations want to hire them.

The majority of the children and parents mentioned poverty as the main reason for children to work. Indeed, much of the money earned by younger children goes to

8  Children in Traditional and Commercial Agriculture

157

the parents and is spent directly on basic needs, such as school fees, school books and uniforms, food and clothes. The children sometimes are given some pocket money that they can spend freely. Poverty is especially significant in cases where younger children are found working. Younger children only work on these plantations out of real economic necessity. The economic necessity is in many cases related to broken families (after migration, illness or death). 13-year-old Mauricio, for example, works on an asparagus plantation during holidays and sometimes on weekends. He lives with his father, mother and 3 little brothers. His father is a day labourer on one of the plantations. His mother had a stroke last year and can’t get out of bed anymore. His father’s wage does not cover the daily costs of the family, which means Mauricio has to pitch in. His mother explained: ‘Working on the plantations is no children’s work. It ruins your back, one needs to be strong. But since I was sick and can’t work anymore, there is nothing more we can do. I am glad Mauricio is helping us because otherwise we would starve, but I am also sad he has to suffer’. Another example is Juana (14). She lives with her mother and her 3 siblings in Santa Cruz de Villacuri. Her father left to work in Lima and never returned. Her mother works in a factory, packing asparagus. Juana and her sister work on a nearby asparagus plantation during the holidays and occasionally in the weekends. Her mother commented: Sometimes it hurts me seeing Juana like this working under these harsh circumstances. Working on the plantation is not suitable for someone of 14 years old. We tried to get other work for her, but it was impossible. So we have to keep on going like this because we really need the money for food and clothes.

So, younger children (under 14) generally only work on plantations if severe poverty forces them to do so. However, when children reach 14–15, parents feel that their adolescent children have a responsibility to contribute to the family income and that plantation work is no longer inappropriate. Carlos, father of 16-year-old Henry who works on a paprika plantation, remarked: Working on the plantations is no work for young children. It’s bad for your back, so you need to be strong. But Henry is already 16, a strong boy and an adolescent with his own needs like expensive clothing and going out with his friends. He needs to learn how to be responsible and independent. Therefore I think now it’s okay that he makes his own money.

When children and adolescents themselves were asked about the reasons for working, again many mentioned poverty. Often-heard arguments were ‘we are a poor family and we need the money to eat’ or ‘my parents don’t make enough money, therefore I have to work’ or ‘we don’t have any money, who else will buy our food and clothes’. Children often mentioned that they, and not their parents, had decided that they should look for work. Fifteen-year-old Iris, who worked on an orange plantation stated: ‘I know we don’t have enough money, and I didn’t want my parents to suffer anymore. So I looked for work so I can buy my own clothes’. Another boy stated: ‘I don’t want my parents to suffer more than they do. It’s difficult for them to pay all my costs. So I decided to go and earn the money myself’. Sixteen-yearold Maria from Santa Cruz de Villacuri, who had worked on different kinds of plantations since she was 13 years old, wanted to work on an asparagus plantation

158

M.P. van den Berge

to save money to pay for a school trip. She commented: ‘My parents are short of money themselves, and I can work, so I can make my own money to go on the school trip’. She asked for her father’s permission, but he did not allow her to work because school exams were coming up: ‘It’s good she feels responsible, but sometimes these kids think too much of money instead of their school. Now it’s more important that she studies than that she goes on the school trip’. Maria was very disappointed not to be able to work: ‘Now I can’t go on the trip’. Not all children worked just to cover basic needs. Some also liked earning to be able to afford a little extra, such as nice clothes, sweets, or in the case of adolescents, to be able to go out and have a drink. For example, 14-year-old Julia lives in La Venta and has worked occasionally since she was 12. Her mother is a shopkeeper and her father works as a day labourer on different plantations. She has a brother who lives in Lima and who sends them money once in a while. Together, they make enough money to pay for Julia’s schooling, clothes and other basic needs. However, during holidays, Julia always goes with a friend to work on a nearby plantation. She explained: ‘My parents pay my school, but don’t give me anything extra. I want nice clothes and perhaps a mobile phone in the future. As they don’t want to give it to me, I work’. Sixteen-year-old Juan’s family pays for his daily needs, but Juan started working on the plantation ever since he got a girlfriend: ‘My parents won’t give me money to go out with my girlfriend, to drink something or to go out in Ica. So to give my girl a nice time I have to work’. The children also stated boredom as a reason for working during the holidays. When not in school there is little to do in the villages, and work is considered to be a better option than doing nothing. ‘The village is deserted during the day, it’s very boring. If you go working than you’re with friends and you earn money along the way!’ stated 14-year-old Raoul from La Venta. Joel (15), working on the cotton plantations near La Venta, added: ‘during holidays it’s no fun to be left here in the villages, as everybody leaves to work. It’s better to go working with your friends than to stay behind in a boring place’. Children in these settings rarely leave school to work permanently, unlike their peers in the traditional rural setting. This seems to be motivated by a slightly betteroff economic situation, combined with a more influential norm on education. In comparison with the families from the small rural communities in Cusco, the land labourers in Ica earn much mo