The boy stared at the rusted facade. Each beam, window pane and rusted tin sheets whispered to him of tales of the years past, of the days when they had seen the patter of little feet busily going about their work.
The boy remembered the suffocating darkness of the hearts of the man who had commanded the children and the darkness that surrounded him after twilight.
He had been rescued along with a few others but the men responsible had never been caught. He looked at the title of the school essay he was writing – “Child Labour” in bold letters.
Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s Friday Fictioneers. Linking up here.
thelavmuse.wordpress.com 
Interesting fact: Child labor laws don’t apply if you’re working for your family. Decades ago, I worked for the Child Protective Services hotline in a California county and got a call reporting children being made to wake up really early in the morning, bundle newspapers, and deliver them. It was quite a route and took a lot of time. Might have been the school calling because the kids were all quite tired during the day.
However as long as the children are working in a family owned business, the family can make them labor, even to excess (though I imagine that’s some sort of limit).
I once wrote a slightly related story called “The Girl from Svay Pak” about the child sex industry in Cambodia. Destitute parents will sell their virgin daughters into sex slavery but fortunately there are ministries there who are working to rescue those children and give them a safe place to stay.
Horrible how humanity has come to devalue the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.
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It’s indeed a sad state of affairs, James. Thanks for writing in.
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Where was CPS when I needed them, then? Sorry, I have no fondness for them. They believed everybody but me about the abuse I suffered, including working delivering news at 0200-0700 and then going straight to school, no meal, repeating same after school along with mowing yards, cleaning houses, and whatever else Mum could sell me to do.
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Wow. I’m sorry you had to go through all that, Jelli.
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Sorry I snapped at you James. Bad memory day, anniversary of a “Hell” day, too. Just wish CPS had listened to me is all.
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In a text-only communication’s venue, I didn’t get the tone of being “snapped at,” so no worries, Jelli. You have a right to be angry and I’m sorry if I sounded insensitive.
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We’re good.
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I am sorry you had to go through so much at such a early age. God bless for a brighter future
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A blight on children worldwide. Well written.
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Thanks Iain for sharing your thoughts.
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It’s amazing that the world has not changed since the days of Dickens… still an issue… and I guess I have a t-shirt or two that might have been made with child-labour
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Unfortunate but true. Thanks for writing in Bjorn.
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Dear Lavanya,
I remember waiting tables when I was 8 and filling salt and pepper shakers when I was five. Of course my parents owned the restaurant. 😉 To me it was fun. Very different than forcing children to work in factories. Well written and thought provoking.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It definitely seems different when you are helping Mama and Papa. Thanks Rochelle for stopping by
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It’s inhuman and the lost childhood would never return. Well written lav
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It is indeed. Thx Aks
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From climbing inside a chimney with a brush to working in sweatshops. I’d like to think those days are behind us.
Click to read my FriFic!
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Unfortunately not yet. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Topical. June 12th is World Day against Child Labor. Unfortunately there is little progress in its control in India.
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Sad but true story. Spread the word! Thanks for writing in yarnspinnerr.
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Touching story. I do believe children should be taught to work, but not to be used as if they were soulless little being who are easily replaced.
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Unfortunately the 🌎 is a cruel place. Thanks for stopping by.
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Good, almost too factual, story there. child labor sucks!
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This is a fictional story but unfortunately we are surrounded by plenty of real life stories in the 🌎. Thanks Jelli for writing in.
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How very topical in todays’ fractuous times. Lovely story.
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Thanks Neel. Glad you liked it.
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You tell a story of cruel exploitation. We should all be doing what we can to end it.
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Yes we should. Spread the word. Thanks for writing in Penny.
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This reminds me of how “insolent” schoolchildren were forced to work in camps in Busan during the mid-late 1980s, right around the Olympics time. Quite a sad tale there, and quite an interesting tale here. Well done!
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Thanks Miles. Glad you liked it.
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A story with a theme to be reckoned with. In the Uk children, malnourished and weak, were sent up chimneys as living chimney sweeps. Cor blimey, guv!
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True. Unfortunately it’s a problem worldwide. Let’s do our part to make things a tiny bit better. Thanks for writing in Kelvin.
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Good story with a moral. Well done.
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Thanks Liz.
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Such a topical story – poignantly penned and underscores the harsh reality of many children.
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Thanks Dahlia. Glad you liked it
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Thanks Danilo
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Thanks Mamie!
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