TNAG-0783-FCO40-987-Employment-of-children-In-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 20

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Service trades

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In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and als in some industrial countries, many children work in small shops, restaurants, hotels, and as sweepers, shop clerks, garage assistants, barber-shop assistants, boys, shoe shine boys, street entertainers, street vendors and beggars. Children engaged in street trades are often

The children very young, homeless and exploited by adults. wander the streets for long hours late at night, with constant exposure to bad weather, dirt, fumes and traffic, as well as the most sordid aspects of city life.

(c) Domestic Service

Very young children (mainly girls in Central America, the Middle East and Asia) are brought to towns by their parents (or purported parents) and virtually sold into domestic service. These children are usually unpaid and the practice is often described as "adoption". Although the children may enjoy better conditions in some respects than at home, they are always liable to overwork, mistreatment and exploitation. some cases, for example, those concerning sham adoption of Indian children for domestic work in Central and South America, the child's status is very close to chattel slavery.

(d) Agriculture

In

This is perhaps the largest category of child labour. Here a distinction must be made between children working on land owned or worked by their parents, or caring for family animals, which is not of concern here, and their employment on plantations, or in other types of commercial agriculture. On plantations children often help their parents as part of a family group; the children assist their parents by picking tea leaves, coffee beans, weeding, spreading fertiliser or caring for plants. This is common in India and Pakistan. In Ceylon children work on tea and rubber estates, in Brazil, planting

In cotton, rice and sugar-cane and harvesting these crops. the United States many children of migrant farm labourers work with their parents. Modern farm work exposes children to the same and perhaps greater risks than other industries.

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