December 20, 2006

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Children At Work

By Delmy Tania Cruz Hernández

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS --On a busy sidewalk outside Merposur, a large market in southern San Cristobal, a boy, Chepe, walking near a group of shoppers says: "Gum, candy, cigarettes, one peso." He shows a small box of his wares. When they decline, Chepe says, "Then give me a peso. Come on, just one peso." Throughout the day, some decide to buy, some just give him the peso. Others shoo him off or merely look surprised. Chepe walks on and stops at the corner, to wait for others who might buy a pack of gum or cigarettes, so he can take some money home.

José Pérez Encino, 8, known as Chepe, doesn't go to school. He is one of 37,000 children who work in the streets of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 85 percent of whom are indigenous, according to UNICEF. There are many international groups that work to eradicate child labor, but in San Cristóbal, there's one organization with another strategy: support child labor, by making it safer. The organization, Melel Xojobal, says it's not against child labor as long as the children are not exploited.

Children at Work

According to Melel Xojobal, which means "true light" in Tzotzil, child workers contribute up to 35 percent of the family income, and often make more than their parents. The group offers aid by helping kids find jobs. They provide support services too, like accompanying kids home who haven't sold anything all day and are afraid of facing their parents empty handed.

But not everyone supports Melel's mission. The International Work Organization, OIT, reports that one in seven kids works full time in Mexico, and they want it to stop. OIT's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, IPEC, has worked in 86 countries, including Mexico, since it was founded in 1992.

"We're against any kind of work by children," said Igone Guerra, general coordinator for IPEC.

According to IPEC, child workers face multiple risks. Without education, they face a future of work in the street. They are vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence from other street workers and police, and verbal abuse from clients. Drug addiction, including alcohol and cigarette smoking, are also constant risks.

"I smoke the cigarettes I sell, and sometimes I drink," 8-year-old Chepe said.

But Melel argues that when those risks are minimized, the work itself is important for indigenous children.

"We don't try to save them or pull them out of the streets. We try to help them value their work," said Marisol Vega, who coordinates Melel Xojobal's program for child street workers. Melel facilitates activities that include recreation and reflection, discussing the problems and challenges child workers face.

Melel also works with families in hopes that the children who work in the streets will not leave home to live in the streets. While large Mexican cities have large numbers of street children, such as Mexico city where some estimate as many as 8,500 kids live on the street, Melel claims they are only aware of six homeless street children in San Cristóbal. But, Haza believes the city's population of street kids will grow unless families are better supported by social service organizations and more government funds are earmarked for prevention.

In San Cristóbal, Lorena Satis Hernández, 9, sells cloth with other children in the plaza of the Cathedral of San Cristóbal. They also market cigarettes, gum, chayote squash, newspapers and clay animals. They shine shoes, collect trash, and even help with carpentry or construction if jobs are available.

Some say that many of the Indigenous children who earn a living on the street are in line with their cultural values, which place a high premium on work ethic. "Work is an important element in the indigenous context. From the time you're born, [the family] gives you the tools to earn a livelihood," said Antolin Diezmo Ruiz, an indigenous man originally from Chamula, a Tzotzil indigenous community, who works for Melel. He said that in some indigenous communities, children are only considered children until age 8 or 9, and at eleven or twelve they are considered independent and capable of earning a living on their own.

But OIT dismisses these cultural claims. The group has found success in cutting off child labor, saying that nearly 5 million children have benefited directly or indirectly from its work, including a marked reduction in Latin American and the Caribbean. The number of children who work in the region has dropped by two-thirds in the last four years, to 5 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 14, according to its Web site. Their mission includes establishing international labor norms that guide national legislatures and politics, also to provide technical assistance through IPEC for those countries that want to develop and apply practical strategies for eradicating child labor.

But Chepe's mother doesn't know what she would do without his support.

Chepe walks daily through the market with a smile and his box of gum, cigarettes and sweets, which his family buys for him to sell. His family's means are modest. He's the youngest son of Rosi Encino Martínez, a domestic worker who has been widowed for a year.

Chepe hasn't gone to school since he was 7, when they couldn't afford registration for Chepe or his sister. So he works. "I sell all day long, and when it gets dark, I go home," he said. That often means 16 hours of work or more.

"I don't want he or Mica [Chepe's sister] to work, but I'm a domestic worker and that doesn't give us much," said Martínez. Martínez's wages, $600 MXP a month (about $60 USD), aren't enough to cover the family's costs. So, Chepe and Mica work in the streets and their 16-year-old brother, Juan Carlos, is a construction worker. Between the four of them, they scrape together a living of about $1200 MXP (about $120 USD) per month.

Lorena's mother sees things differently. Lorena's work is a necessity, and a welcome one.

Both Lorena and her younger brother work. She sells cloth, bracelets and belts every day.

Children at Work

Lorena's mother, also named Lorena, said her daughter contributes income that the whole family needs. Though she had wanted Lorena to finish her education, now she is not planning to pay for school. "Sometimes I don't even want to go. I already know things. It's better that I help here,"Lorena said.

Lorena's future is uncertain. She said would like to return to school, but if she doesn't, her options are limited. "I want to marry and work in a store or...I'm not sure," she said, her eyes large.

Chepe wants to buy his mother a house. "Then I want to work or go to school or work in construction, or in carpentry like my dad," he said.


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