Child Labor Phenomenon: A Visual Communication and Anthropological Study in Egypt.

by

Heba Metwally

PhD. Candidate, Cairo University

IntroductionA twelve-year-old Omar, the batata

seller[1], has become an important issue in Egypt. Most of the Egyptian news and talk shows channels have tackled this accident. Omar has been killed in Feb. 2013 while he was present during the protests just to get money to help his family. He has only one hope: to sell his batata to the protesters, and to give money to his parents.

[1] Omar, the batata (sweet potato) seller, is a boy who is shot dead by a military conscript. The Minister of Defense has expressed his sorrow that the boy has died by mistake and that the perpetrator is now under investigation.

A twelve-year-old Omar, the batata

seller[1], has become an important issue in Egypt. Most of the Egyptian news and talk shows channels have tackled this accident. Omar has been killed in Feb. 2013 while he was present during the protests just to get money to help his family. He has only one hope: to sell his batata to the protesters, and to give money to his parents.

[1] Omar, the batata (sweet potato) seller, is a boy who is shot dead by a military conscript. The Minister of Defense has expressed his sorrow that the boy has died by mistake and that the perpetrator is now under investigation.

Unfortunately, no one of our rulers have cared for Omar or other

working children, and instead it was reported that relatives of high

officials have gained high positions in the governmental body

during:

►Mubarak

►The Military Council

►Morsi

►Adly Mansour

►El Sisi

Previous studies determine that:

► 215 millions of children suffer from child labor globally.

► Although Egypt is one of the signatories of the ILO Agreement 138 on "the minimum age for work", and Agreement 182 on "the worst forms of child labor", working children phenomenon is increasing to a large extent (Feteha & Gunn, 2011).

► Six months later after the Egyptian revolution, the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics has announced that there are around 1.594 million children between the ages of five and 17 working in Egypt (Amira Saleh, 2011).

► However, the Institute of National Planning, as mentioned in Saleh's article, has estimated working children in Egypt to be around 2 to 3 million children.

► Those children are suffering from bad circumstances. Fears have also elevated that this percent may increase due to the financial crisis and economic problems that Egypt suffers from after the revolution.

Local and International Efforts to Eliminate Child Labor

► The Egyptian law has banned the work of children under 15 years old because it has bad effects on the child health and future, and the child by that is forced to suspend his education (Darwish, 1998).

► Simon Ingram (2006) has highlighted the new national strategy adopted by the Egyptian Government against practice, and the programs that ensure adequate assistance for working children. Ingram’s study refers to the social workers who visit the working children in their workplaces and provide them with gloves, and other safety equipment.

► International Organizations such as the ILO and UNICEF have constantly assisted nations such as Egypt in dealing with this phenomenon, as well as, clarifying the working conditions of young children to the public opinion (Feteha & Gunn, 2011).

► UNICEF's child labor strategy in Egypt is based on: avoiding more children from involving into work; developing the quality of life of working children by offering them education, physical care and entertainment; collaborating with other organizations to improve working conditions for parents and caregivers (Ingram, 2006).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKApplying the Structural Functionalism theory (1920s) to child labor phenomenon, one may find that it has different dimensions:

► Social dimension: children grow in separated families with no linkage between the fathers, mothers, and children. Everyone depends on himself. Everyone is personally independent from the others, which force those children to work in this earlier age.

► Economic dimension: low income of the family, forces children to work earlier to achieve their essential needs.

► Cultural aspect: lack of interest in education value in the opinion of individuals which results in fleeing from education.

► Psychological aspect: is shown in the hatred of school due to the sense of failure. Finally, the missing role of the state, as the country, through minimal exerted efforts, fails to present the required role of support for those children, and this forces them to resort to work.

Research Approach

The researcher investigates the child labor phenomenon through:

►Field observation

►In-depth interviews

►Photography

►Drama analysis.

Methodological Framework► The study uses a descriptive and analytical methodology, as it aims to monitor and

analyze the features and characteristics of working children.

► The study also comprises an interpretation of pictures taken from field for those children and the different types of their jobs.

► The study mainly depends on the field approach. The researcher has used the field observation as a natural setting of qualitative research method of analysis through field visits to the manufacturing areas of Shoubra El Shahel and Shoubra El Khema, as well as, working children in El Obour City.

► In-depth interviews are also used to gather detailed information to understand the problem under investigation (Wimmer & Dominick, 2003).

► The study will also use the picture analysis method through the interpretation of pictures taken from field like children working in hard jobs in the manufacturing areas and in cleaning the streets or carrying and dragging fruits in a new city.

► The study will also analyze some of the Egyptian drama that fits the purpose of this study, as the researcher attempts to explore the representation of working children.

Operational Framework

► Population of the study:

1st population: working children and shops'

owners to explore the nature and reasons

of the phenomenon.

2nd population: Egyptian experts in their fields:

1. Policemen, who should apply the law on

ground

2. Cinema directors and media persons

(journalists), and Psychiatrists, to

investigate the effects and solutions to

eliminate the problem.

Operational Framework

► Sample of the study: ► The study targeted child labor issue and children who come from poor families with a low income, the sample of areas within the study will depend mainly on two areas, Shoubra El Sahel Area, and Shoubra El Khama Area, where slums and child labor exist.

► Sample of Child Labor in Streets:► An available or a convenience non probability sample of working children in different types of work is used through the field observation of children working at the mechanic shops or other different types of jobs.

► Movies Sample:► A purposive sample is used to select the different types of drama that fits the purpose of the research to explore the phenomenon in drama.

Research Hypotheses and Questions

► Research Hypotheses:

► RH1: There is a significant relationship between child labor phenomenon and living in slums in Egypt.

► RH2: There is a significant relationship between child labor phenomenon and the educational level of parents in Egypt.

► RH3: There is a significant relationship between child labor phenomenon and the socio-economic levels in Egypt.

► RH4: There is a significant relationship between child labor phenomenon and separation of the parents in Egypt.

► Research Questions:

► RQ1: What is the nature of child labor phenomenon and its reasons in Egypt?

► RQ2: What are the factors that cause the child labor phenomenon in Egypt?

► RQ3: What are the solutions to the child labor phenomenon in Egypt?

RESULTS OF FIELD & IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS STUDY

► Bad economic status and low family income of childrenworking in these shops.

► The negative role of school and its hatred.

► Failure of the educational system and the insignificant role of school.

► Children resort to learn a vocational job after their failure to continue their education.

► Incorrect Usage of New Technologies.

Bad economic status and low family income of children working in these shops

► For example Karam (12 years old) quits school education from two years ago during the fourth primary grade.

► His family consists of 6 members: Ahmed, the father, who works in repairing photocopy machines in one of the companies, and he obtains 600 L.E. (less than 90 US Dollars).

► His mum is working as a vegetable seller.

► According to his brothers: Mohamed is the oldest (19 years old) and helps the father in his work, Mustafa, 17 years old boy, who works in a chicken shop, and Noura, a 15 years old girl, and the only one who is still in education from the family.

The negative role of school and its hatred.

► Karam states that the reasons behind his fleeing from school are:

1. Miss Aziza, who beats him hardly, has led him to escape from school.

2. His mother does not have the amount of money (100 L.E. to 150 L.E) which is required by the superintendent to help him to cheat in the exam like the other students.

The failure of the educational system and the insignificant role of school

► Hajj Ahmed, a mechanic in the manufacturing area in Shoubra El Sahel area, says.

► His son Islam is working with him during the vacation after he finished his exams. He says, "my son passes and becomes the first of his class with our money.

► He assures that his son who has passed and is promoted as the first of his class to the fifth primary grade can not even read.

The children resort to learn a vocational job after their failure

to continue their education.

► Karam has asserted the importance to learn a professional work

that helps and maintains him and his family.

► Nour has also seen this professional work as a way to gain his

living.

Incorrect Usage of New Technologies

► Children tends to spend long times in front of the T.V. and Computer games, like Nour who is 17 years old and works in a manufacturing shop in Shoubra El Khama.

► Osta Magdi confirms that Nour, his brother's son has spent long times at the Cyber which led to his failure at school, and he has not completed his third preparatory grade.

Constructive Effects of Child Labor

1. Gaining and learning a new profession.

2. Ability to do a job.

3. Cooperation with the family.

Negative Effects of Child labor

1. Child prohibition of his normal and natural rights: s/he can't practice their right of education and playing, as the child spends the whole day at work.

2. Physical harmful injuries from the employer or the owner of the shop:

Karam says: "my uncle beats me and slaps my face to teach me”.

On his side, Osta Magdi, a shop owner, says, "I am praying for my uncle because he has taught me a profession that I earn money from". The physical injuries during his childhood are quite obvious on his hand. His uncle has done that because Magdi has lost his focus while work, so his uncle thinks that this is the best way to keep him focus while work by terribly injuring him with an instrument used in soldering.

Negative Effects of Child labor3. Exploitation of the family: This child is exploited by

his family in this small age, for he leaves school to find himself surrounded by larger responsibilities, as in Karam’s case.

4. Dangers that face the child during work: the child may be exposed to dangers during soldering or other dangers while dealing with the oxygen cylinder. In Magdi's shop, he is keen to do soldering works by himself, as shown in the pictures, but the problem if he is not present, and Nour or any other child tries to do it himself.

5. Dangers that face the child from incorrect breeding:if the owner of the shop obtains drugs, this will encourage the child to imitate him. Osta Magdi says his uncle used to have drugs, but he, thanks to God, has not imitated him, and he instead has preferred to continue his education till he obtains a secondary commercial school. He says that he is trying to forbid Nour to stand if there is a client who is known for obtaining drugs, in order not to see and imitate him.

6. Child labor is not authorized: usually shop owners refrain to mention the names of the working children because it is illegal. Children don't have any license to work below the acceptable age.

Pictures of Working Children in Other Different fields

Interviewing Specialists of the field

► Because the jurisprudents have neglected to intensively tackle child labor laws, the policemen have also neglected them during the actual practice of applying laws on ground, we don't find for example the policemen monitoring or observing those children on the actual ground to discover if those children are exposed to any harm or not, or to explore if they are working below the age of 15 or not. El Sayed and Walid (Personal Communication) "Although the law is present, the practice is lost".

► Nashae Said, a psychiatrist (Personal Communication), says that child labor is a socio-economic phenomenon, and the increase of the living levels of individuals is the only way to eliminate it. Said emphasizes that working in earlier ages may be accompanied by bad psychological effects such as feeling unsafe, fear and being scared from the future, suffering from loneliness and depression because of lack of a supporting system. The working children are more exposed to suffer from personality disorder. A child, who suffers from avoidant personality disorder and anti social personality disorder, may behave in an aggressive and violent way towards the society.

Interviewing Specialists of the field

► Waheed Shaban, a journalist at El Wafd Newspaper (Personal Communication), says that poverty is a main reason behind this problem in Egypt. According to Shaban, the father may be forced to make his son work in earlier age, between 10 years and 15 years, due to poverty and the bad economic circumstances. He adds that although the current Egyptian Constitution and all previous ones have warned and put tough restrictions in front of child labor, yet the problem has been tremendously aggravated in Egypt. He ensures that the whole society: government, media, NGOs, and businessmen have a role to face this problem and solve it. He ends his words by saying that the working child means an abnormal child; the working child means the society faces a psychological and behavioral disorder.

► Maged Habashy, a cinema director (Personal Communication), says that the cinema has no real role in its exposure to the child labor phenomenon. According to Habashy, the cinema’s role in that issue is characterized by being haphazardly unorganized, and this will never form a social awarness. He affirms that the Egyptian movies, as well as, series have not clarified the problem. He states that the phenomenon discussion is absent in drama because of the lack of serious finance and funding by the state, as well as, the absent role of institutions, which are responsible for these children.

FINDINGS► Results show a significant relationship between child labor

phenomenon and living in slums in Egypt. Most of the interviewees from the children are living in poor areas or slums such as Karam, who lives in the end of El Wehda St. in Imbaba, Nour lives in a narrow lane, and Islam lives near his father's shop.

► The results also display a significant relationship between the child labor phenomenon and the educational level of parents. For example, Karam's parents have no education. While Osta Magdi who has a secondary education refuses to have his children with him in the shop, as he prefers that they should continue their education and focus on their studies.

► The results have emphasized the significant relationship between child labor phenomenon and the economic status. All working children are seeking a source to increase the family's income due to poverty.

► However, no significant relationship appears regarding the fourth hypothesis because the results do not show a relationship between the phenomenon and separation between the parents.

FINDINGS

► According to the research questions, one may have been introduced to the nature of the child labor phenomenon, its reasons, motives, factors, and effects through in-depth interviews, as well as, through photography taken from the field. The study shows the importance of photography to present the child labor phenomenon.

► To answer the third research questions, the researcher has investigated opinions of security, psychological, media, and cinema specialists regarding child labor problem in Egypt. Security officials agreed upon the misapplication of laws which do not prevent the child from that destiny, while psychologists have emphasized on the bad psychological consequences of this phenomenon. Journalists and cinema makers have criticized the absent role of the state and emphasized the importance to form a social awareness concerning this phenomenon. The best way to solve this problem, as being elaborated later in discussion, will be through applying laws on the ground and protecting children even from their parents.

Ways to solve the problem

► Through the whole study, one has realized that everyone in the society has a role in this problem. The state has a role by maintaining and applying the established laws concerning child labor in earlier ages and approving new regulations, on both the legislative and executive levels to protect those children.

► By prohibiting child labor in earlier ages (before 15 years), and consider it a criminal act that deserves punishment for whoever perpetuates or participates in it.

► NGOs should have a better supporting role because their role is very limited. It is significant to establish charitable institutions and organizations under an actual supervision and true monitoring from the state. These institutions should be responsible for presenting the support for those children.

► Awareness campaigns of the threats of the phenomenon, its reasons, and solutions should be carried out especially through the religious places and the media. They should play an effective role in attracting people to participate in establishing charitable organizations that support children.

► Another way to resolve this problem is by giving additional pensions to families with lower incomes through governmental and non governmental institutions. Activating the role of the social worker and the policeman in that regard is noteworthy through pursuing those cases and practice laws on the ground.

► All the society through governmental bodies, charitable institutions, and even individuals should work together on improving the performance of orphanages and child reform institutions through a qualitative and a quantitative support. These reform institutions should be a real shelter, not just like a jail, and provide actual protection for those children even from their parents.

RECOMMENDATIONS► The call to combat child labor, through the international exerted efforts, is such a

significant thing. Therefore, societies should unite in that process through individuals, communicators, anthropologists, and all the country's institutions (especially an executive body like the Egyptian Ministry of Interior in Egypt), for the children have to enjoy their childhood without any heavy burdens on their shoulders.

► Anthropologists, sociologists, educators, communicators, journalists, policemen, individuals, institutions, responsible governmental bodies, and the whole society should not stand aside from that issue. Ethnographists as well as film makers should repeatedly present the problem. It is more recommended to produce an ethnographic film, or a documentary that introduce the problem through moving visual pictures, and not just depend on these still pictures. It is significant to investigate the role of Egyptian drama in stereotyping the image of orphanages or reform institutions, and whether this image is right or wrong in reality. Another factor that should be investigated which is fleeing from education due to watching the TV or playing games on computers.

► It is also recommended that the Egyptian Ministry of Interior should review its role in that regard with the help and support of anthropologists and other specialized experts to find the appropriate mechanism to apply law on ground in order for Egypt to reach a high rank in combating the worst types of child labor by 2016.