"White Gold" Harvest

When the country of Uzbekistan was occupied by the Soviet Union, prior to 1991, two thirds of their cotton was harvested by way of machinery. Now the use of machines in the cotton harvest has dropped to 10%. Cotton, otherwise known as “white gold”, is now harvested by hand, many of who are children. Every year schools are shut down and the children are forced to work in the cotton fields. The schools are shut down in the fall and the schoolteachers and administrators send the children into the cotton fields. This process is organized and controlled by the central government. The students work in the fields every day for about two months until the harvest is brought in. The teachers are given quotas that each child must fulfill; often the quota is 50 kilograms of cotton a day, which is about 110 pounds. If a child falls under their quota the shortfall is carried over to the next day and they are threatened with expulsion and the dropping of their grade in school.

These children must live in makeshift dorms if the cotton farm is far away from their village; some barracks have no electricity, windows or doors. They work up to ten-hour shifts with one break for lunch and the water they drink is irrigation water. The children are charged for food and shelter so at the end of the day they see no payment for their hard work. It’s ironic because Uzbekistan has signed two conventions against child labor by the International Labor Organization and two conventions on forced labor also by the ILO. Although, the Uzbekistan government has refused to allow the International Labor Organization along with any other international observer access to the country to see what is going on in the fields. The country of Uzbekistan is denying any act of forced child labor. The government is signing conventions with the ILO on Minimum Age of Employment and on Prohibition and Immediate Action for Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. It also approved the National Action Plan (NAP), which is directed to ban all forms of child labor and organize local bodies of power.

These conventions look good to the public eye but behind the scenes there are children being forced to work under harsh conditions. Uzbekistan is not abiding by the terms of the conventions the have signed. The country is turning a cheek to the problem and attempting to cover it up with plans for abolishing child labor in their country. There must be better laws put in place and real ways of regulating them to ensure that this child labor is put to an end.

photo credit: http://www.cottoncampaign.org/2011/04/07/who-will-monitor-forced-child-labor-in-uzbekistan-ilo-still-barred-by-uzbek-government/