Children - Terre des Hommes

More documents

Recommendations

Info

33 Serious health problems have already been documented in some areas. The impacts of polluted and scarce water are most severe on children, who suffer from living in unhygienic conditions and from inadequate water consumption. For example, around the chromite mines in Orissa, a study revealed that chromium present in the water is causing irritation of the respiratory tract, nasal septum ulcers and pneumonia. Children with sores all over their body are also described as a common sight. In the mica mining areas of Andhra Pradesh, people as young as 20 are suffering from arthritis. And water contamination from the mica mines has given rise to several health hazards such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. 120 In Tamil Nadu, communities living close to the lignite mines in Cuddalore district explained how earlier, they had no problems with their water supply. But now the lignite mining has gone deeper and deeper, the water supply has been affected and farmers are not getting enough water for their agricultural land. The flow of water has also changed as this has been diverted for mining. Their drinking water is now contaminated with dust, which the locals say is causing an increase in stomach problems. 121 A woman interviewed in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, explained how water was so scarce in their village, that she was unable to bathe her children. Her six daughters were covered in dust and grime, and when she was asked about their health and hygiene she explained how she had so little water, she could not afford to waste it on bathing her children, but instead had to save it for drinking purposes. 122 In Dhanapur, in Bellary district, Karnataka, the majority of the population was engaged in agriculture until private companies purchased land from the government and started mining there. Farmers complain that they no longer have access to water for cultivating their crops, as the mining companies are using the water for their activities. Their crops are also affected by the dust from mining. Many farmers have been virtually put out of business and have been forced to sell their land to mining companies. 123 Existing legal, policy or programme interventions on health workers. It prescribes the duty of the mine owner to manage mine operations and health and safety in mines. It also lays out the number of working hours in mines, minimum wage rates and other related issues. However, whilst it is possible that this is being applied in some of the larger, formal sector mines, there is no evidence of its application in the small-scale mining sector, where the vast majority of mine labourers currently work in India. pollution due to fines, dust, smoke of gaseous emissions during prospecting, mining, beneficiation or metallurgical operations and related activities shall be controlled and kept within “permissable limits.” However, this permissible limit is a highly debatable issue. Legislation to address child health problems in relation to mining is completely absent. Basic health programmes and services do not reach the children as the administrative machinery is not geared towards making local modifications to accommodate the peculiar situations of migrant and mining affected children. The PHCs are also not equipped to cope with the kind of diseases that the mining affected population are exposed to, such as silicosis. Even the barest support structures like the anganwadi centres that are intended to reduce child malnutrition, have found to be not functioning in many of these mining regions. Loss of Access to Education All children have the right to elementary education. However, in mining areas across the world, children can be seen toiling away in mines and quarries as opposed to attending school. Poverty is not the only reason for this. The global economy in which we live ensures that child labour suppresses wage levels; children continue to be employed in this sector 119. mines, minerals and People, Impacts of Mining on Women’s Health in India, 15 April 2003.. 120. Ibid. 121. Interviews in mining-affected communities, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, August 2009. 122. Interviews in Bhat Basti, Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, October 2009. 123. Interviews with farmers in Dhanapur, Bellary district, Karnataka, June 2009. 124. Background Paper by mines, minerals and People (MMP) for the Indian Women and Mining seminar, Impacts of Mining on Women’s Health in India, April 2003.
34 because companies can pay them less than adults to carry out the same work. Privatisation and informalisation of labour has directly led to increase in child labour, particularly in the mining industry which keeps the workers impoverished and indebted in a vicious trap. A study carried out in a mining area in Tanzania revealed that children had been forced to drop out of school due to a lack of resources. Primary schools in this area were characterised by poor facilities, such as a lack of classrooms, textbooks and other teaching equipment. The low success rate of progression from primary to secondary school meant that children ended up working in the mines because of the lack of alternatives for further education and training. 125 “The main problem is the lack of education here. We are telling the government that we will give land and a building, but please give us a decent school. The mines can close anytime but if our children are educated, they can find a job elsewhere.” The problem of children accessing education in mining areas begins right from their birth. Despite an increasing recognition of the importance of early childhood care and education, these facilities are not available in many mining areas. A lack of crèche facilities and anganwadi centres in these districts means that mothers often have no alternative but to take their small children to work with them. As well as missing out on essential education and development opportunities, a mining site is one of the most hazardous places for a young child to be spending their days. ASER data reveals that several of the most heavily mined districts in the country also have some of the highest number of children aged between three to six years not enrolled in an anganwadi enrolled in an AWC. Among the mining communities visited in these two states, many people reported a lack of AWC facilities in their area. One of the main villages studied in Chhatisgarh was Gare village in Tamnar Block which has a total population of two primary schools, one middle school and one anganwadi centre. While the infrastructure and teaching leave much to be desired, the school set up by the Jindals is far away from the village and too expensive for the local people to send their children. Only the children of employees of Jindals, therefore, attend this school. In Khamariah village, a mining area in Chhattisgarh, there is an AWC, but only around 10-15 children attend it regularly. This is because the AWC building is dilapidated and people said it was too dangerous for children to sit inside as the roof may collapse any time. The records say that there are 28 children enrolled, but on the day our team visited only two children were present. Sometimes the mining companies simply encroach into the school premises or bulldoze the schools if they hinder their mining activities like in the case of Goa, and Andhra Pradesh where the school was use as a store house by the Birla Periclase agents. 128 With mines and quarries often located in remote areas, this is also compounded by a lack of or difficult access to education, particularly secondary education. The headmaster of the high school in Potanga village, Jharkhand, complained that mining activities are not good for children, as the quick money that they can earn from mining encourages them not to attend school. Education figures from the most heavily mined districts in India tell a worrying story. According to the most recent ASER survey by Pratham, Koraput and Rayagada districts in Orissa have some of the largest numbers of out of school in 2008. 130 Similar statistics can be seen in other mining percent of children remain out of school and in Jodhpur and Udaipur districts of Rajasthan — where thousands of people are employed in small-scale stone quarries — 12.1 per cent and 10.0 per cent of children respectively are missing out on an education completely. Mining is clearly not promoting education and development in these districts and is instead creating a culture in which children work rather than go to school. 125. ILO, Eliminating Child Labor in Mining and Quarrying: Background Document, 12 June 2005.Pratham, Annual Survey of Education, 2008. 126. Pratham, Annual Survey of Education, 2008. 127. Interview with anganwadi worker, Khamariah village, Chhattisgarh, November 2009. 128. Bhanumathi Kalluri, Campaign Against Illegal Mining – Experience of Samatha and the Tribals of Anantagiri, 1997. 129. Interview with headmaster, Potanga village high school, Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, September 2009. 130. Pratham, Annual Survey of Education, 2008.
Page 2 and 3: India’s Childhood in the "Pits" A
Page 4 and 5: iii Acknowledgements This report, c
Page 6 and 7: Table of Contents About the Study 3
Page 8 and 9: 4 List of states and districts visi
Page 10 and 11: 6 However, closer observation of th
Page 12 and 13: 8 In addition, almost all work perf
Page 14 and 15: 10 Impacts Children are affected di
Page 16 and 17: 12 is mandatory and this must be
Page 18 and 19: 15 National Overview Mining has imp
Page 20 and 21: 17 Table 1.2: Number of illegal min
Page 22 and 23: 19 Table 1.3: Key indicators in min
Page 24 and 25: 21 migrate to plain areas or are co
Page 26 and 27: 23 had no land to start with and wo
Page 28 and 29: 25 Although there is no data to sho
Page 30 and 31: 27 2,055 children enrolled in Santu
Page 32 and 33: 29 we will eat tomorrow,” said a
Page 34 and 35: 31 GURIA is a dark-eyed little girl
Page 38 and 39: 35 In several districts of Rajastha
Page 40 and 41: 37 Table 1.4: Total number of child
Page 42 and 43: 39 Bearing in mind that many of the
Page 44 and 45: 41 children are working in mines in
Page 46 and 47: 43 significant problem. A study car
Page 48 and 49: 45 Part II State Reports 1. Karnata
Page 50 and 51: 48 basic healthcare to its populati
Page 52 and 53: 50 Kolar district: Key facts Total
Page 54 and 55: 52 and pursued higher education. Th
Page 56 and 57: 54 has created a peculiar aesthetic
Page 58 and 59: 56 number of children working in th
Page 60 and 61: 58 almost every child is absent for
Page 62 and 63: 60 Table 2.02: Survey on children n
Page 64 and 65: 62 the village were cough, eye infe
Page 66 and 67: 65 Maharashtra State Overview Mahar
Page 68 and 69: 67 154 are in Maharashtra (making i
Page 70 and 71: 69 poverty, (ii) education, (iii) h
Page 72 and 73: 71 Quarry is a very big area spread
Page 74 and 75: 73 family works as a unit and manag
Page 76 and 77: 75 Table 2.06: Class-wise distribut
Page 78 and 79: 77 Children in stone quarries hit b
Page 80 and 81: 80 Literacy levels are also poor in
Page 82 and 83: 82 and quarrying in the state. Of t
Page 84 and 85: 84 Follow up interviews were carrie
Page 86 and 87:
86 At Thumbli village, residents ex
Page 88 and 89:
88 usually not strong enough to car
Page 90 and 91:
90 Inadequate Health Facilities Sev
Page 92 and 93:
92 Many of the Workers in the Mines
Page 94 and 95:
94 that 296,979 children aged betwe
Page 96 and 97:
96 This case study covered two mine
Page 98 and 99:
98 Traditional Forest Dwellers (Rec
Page 100 and 101:
100 in the mine sites ekeing out a
Page 102 and 103:
102 Conclusions Panna, once a rich
Page 104 and 105:
104 Commission, Government of India
Page 106 and 107:
106 The top five most mined distric
Page 108 and 109:
108 There are several other content
Page 110 and 111:
110 Table 2.11: Enrolment of childr
Page 112 and 113:
112 companies for their power plant
Page 114 and 115:
115 Jharkhand State Overview The st
Page 116 and 117:
117 population who live in these fo
Page 118 and 119:
119 around coal, but to also provid
Page 120 and 121:
121 Status of Anganwadi Centres and
Page 122 and 123:
123 due to multiple government duti
Page 124 and 125:
125 Uranium Corporation of India Li
Page 126 and 127:
128 farming and forestry. It is the
Page 128 and 129:
130 attendance at birth, the high p
Page 130 and 131:
132 were displaced for mining proje
Page 132 and 133:
134 the impacts are visibly evident
Page 134 and 135:
136 for construction and other indu
Page 136 and 137:
138 Table 2.17: School enrolment da
Page 138 and 139:
140 village also complained of cont
Page 140 and 141:
142 about the status of children in
Page 142 and 143:
144 exposed to the toxicity from th
Page 144 and 145:
146 for labour elsewhere. The prese
Page 146 and 147:
148 State Excesses and Human Rights
Page 148 and 149:
150 Table 2.25: Information collect
Page 150 and 151:
152 The DP Camp is far away from th
Page 152 and 153:
154 Naik and Mr. Prahlad Naid who a
Page 154 and 155:
156 Social Cost of Displacement As
Page 156 and 157:
158 Table 2.32: Comparative village
Page 158 and 159:
160 Rajabandha also has a low cost
Page 160 and 161:
162 on land to be acquired in some
Page 162 and 163:
165 Andhra Pradesh State Overview T
Page 164 and 165:
167 Mining in Andhra Pradesh Almost
Page 166 and 167:
169 small areas where there are qua
Page 168 and 169:
171 other families also working in
Page 170 and 171:
173 Nature of Quarry Work Tradition
Page 172 and 173:
175 Conclusions The three micro-lev
Page 174 and 175:
Part III Summary and Recommendation
Page 176 and 177:
180 Whose Child is India’s Mining
Page 178 and 179:
182 attention on child labour issue
Page 180 and 181:
184 are not working in the mines.
Page 182 and 183:
186 proposed to be the basis of th
Page 184 and 185:
188 explored, clear design and work
Page 186 and 187:
OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE RIGHT TO IN
Page 188 and 189:
193 Andhra Pradesh areas. Appr
Page 190 and 191:
195 Tamil Nadu Orissa informati
Page 192 and 193:
197 compensation for land and R
Page 194 and 195:
Annexures
Page 196 and 197:
200 Karnataka The tables below give
Page 198 and 199:
202 Drop-out children brought back
Page 200 and 201:
205 Glossary Adivasi: The term used
Page 202 and 203:
207 and educational development. Pa
show all

Children - Terre des Hommes

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?