Al Jazeera's new series features people in the Third World, working dangerous jobs because they have to. The first episode, now available online, shows kids along the Amazon who hitch onto fast-moving passenger ferries to sell fruit. Lula has done a lot during his presidency to lift millions above grinding poverty, but his successor has a lot more work ahead of her.
Here is a preview of next week's episode, about truck drivers of Pakistan's Lowari Pass.
Here is a listing of future episodes. They should all be available online, eventually.
I wouldn't dare say I know the solution as I've never even been near the Amazon. But as I see it, the problem is as much cultural as it is social. There are no shortage of parents who see their kids as income opportunities rather than precious lives and are willing to turn a blind eye to the dangers they put their kids though so long as they're helping put food on the table.
ReplyDeleteIt's what Lula tried to address with the "bolsa família" program, which literally paid the parents to keep their kids in school. Even so, to change the culture of poverty is a challenge that lasts generations.
@F1O: The fatalism of the kid's mother was depressing.
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