Countries that continue to permit the repugnant practice of forcing children to labor under all kinds of horrible conditions should be denied markets for their products or be sanctioned in some way by the rest of the world.
A disturbing report by the U.S. Labor Department documents such shameful practices as tying young boys to the backs of camels used for racing because the boys' cries of terror cause the camels to run faster.Children as young as 4 work in silk thread manufacturing plants in India, sugar cane fields in Brazil and carpet factories in southern Asia. Young girls are forced into prostitution in Thailand.
Child labor practices represent some of the most hideous human-rights violations. The tiny camel jockeys are often starved and subjected to sexual and physical abuse.
The problem with enforcing laws limiting where and how much children can work is that many families in poor countries desperately need the income to survive.
Some type of outside help is needed to sustain these families so their children can enjoy relatively abuse-free childhoods and get enough education to enable them to eventually support their own families without income from child labor. It's a vicious cycle that must be broken.
Though child "sweat shops" are illegal in the United States and are closed when authorities discover them, fear of deportation has kept some illegal immigrant families quiet about child labor violations. If Congress reduces legal immigration, more illegal entrants can be expected - and with them more child labor violations.
The United States has some problems with child labor that should not be ignored, but children in other countries are much more vulnerable. Pressure should be brought to encourage those countries to enforce their own laws against such practices and provide help to the families involved.