Children - Terre des Hommes
Children - Terre des Hommes Children - Terre des Hommes
98 Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act. In Gandhigram too, as in the surrounding area, all the displaced adivasi families suffer discrimination from the upper castes as they have been forced to live with them after relocation. At the village meeting, the people reported that around 40–50 persons from the village have migrated out to the cities, for lack of sustenance. Status of Anganwadis and Schools The mining activities, compounded by the displacement of adivasi villages for the Panna Tiger Reserve have led to a breakdown of institutional mechanisms, or where they exist, they are made irrelevant to the child in the current situation of impoverishment. The study team visited the anganwadi centres and primary schools which are the main institutions of support for education and nutritional development of the child. Of the total population of 200 in Umraban village between 60 to 70 persons are below 18 years of age. The primary school in the village has an enrolment of 39 children of which 21 are boys and 18 are girls, all of whom are STs. Of these children around eight, mainly girls, do not go to school but accompany their parents for work in the diamond mines and quarries or to take care of their younger siblings while their parents are at work. As this village is not very close to the road, the teacher is not regular and because of this, absenteeism among children was also reported. According to the survey conducted by PKMS, there are over 40 children below 6 years of age in this village, but there is no anganwadi facility in Umraban. In Mannor village, according to his survey, there are 126 children enrolled in the primary school of which 60 are boys and 66 are girls, all from ST families. There is no school building at present and children were found to be studying under a tree. However, a new school building was under construction at the time of this study. Only about two children have studied upto class V in this village. Mannor has mining activities very close to the village and hence 20–25 children of the age group of 8 years and above work regularly in the diamond mines and stone quarries. In this village, there is an anganwadi, which has an enrolment of 127 children between 0 and 6 years of age. However, only 25–30 children regularly go to the anganwadi, as the rest are taken to the mine sites by the parents because the anganwadi does not take care of the children all through the day. Bador village has a population of 650, as stated by PKMS, of which 200 children are enrolled in the primary school. There are 112 boys and 88 girls, with ST boys numbering 78 and ST girls numbering 66, and the rest are SC (three boys and one girl) and OBCs (49) and General (3). However, when the team visited the school there were only 30–35 children attending and the headmaster said that majority of the children go for mine labour work. The anganwadi in this village has an enrolment of 96 infants but only 80 attend the anganwadi regularly. There are 40 children in the age group of 0–3 years and 40 children in the age group of 3–6 years. The anganwadi is mainly managed by the sahayaka or assistant who is an adivasi girl but the anganwadi teacher, who is from the Yadav caste neither attends regularly nor treats the children with care. Hence, the women said that they are not too happy to send their children to the local anganwadi. The anganwadi worker said that three infants were identified by her, as severely malnourished, and she got the children admitted at the district hospital at Panna. In reality, the PKMS, expressed that most of the children are malnourished and do not have adequate diet or sanitation. Purana Panna is a gram panchayat village with a large population. It has a primary school with strength of 154 children, of whom 71 are boys and 83 are girls. Here again, as the mines are close to the village 15–20 children regularly go for work in the diamond mines, which are privately run by contractors, and do not attend school. The anganwadi in this village has 124 children, with 56 girls and 68 boys. Ten pregnant women and 16 women who have just delivered, are registered here. Of the children enrolled in the anganwadi, only 25–30 children go to the anganwadi regularly as the others are taken to the mine sites by their parents. Hence, most of the infants were seen to be in the mine sites, exposed to the dust from the quarries and this is a serious hazard to their health, particularly with respect to respiratory infections. Half the adivasi population who were displaced from Jhallar relocated to Janawar and settled in the forest land behind the village. This new resettlement colony, called New Jhallar, has a mini-anganwadi which is linked to Panna anganwadi and has 23 girls and 20 boys enrolled here. It is mainly taken care of by the sahayaka who cooks the supplementary food allotted to this colony. There is a primary school here but without a building (as it is forest land and they do not have permission to construct a building) but there are 15–20 children of school-going age here. There is no teacher appointed here,
99 but a teacher is sent from the primary school of Janawar village for an hour every day to teach the children. In Jhallar village, the sarpanch, who was instrumental in preparing the rehabilitation policy, said that there is only one primary school to which five girls and 10–12 boys go regularly. He stated that the literacy rate of the village does not exceed 5 per cent. The sarpanch also admitted that atleast 10–20 children below the age of 18 years are working in the mines or in tea stalls or other petty shops besides doing additional work at home like agricultural labour or grazing the cattle. In Gandhigram village the population is 250, and children enrolled in the primary school which is attached to Janakpur gram panchayat, is 135. However, only 70–80 children regularly attend school and the rest are involved in working in the diamond mines and stone quarries. The village is surrounded by both stone quarries and diamond mines on a very large scale and therefore the incidence of child labour working in the mines is higher. The anganwadi is closed, reportedly because of a case against the anganwadi worker. Children are, therefore, unable to access any supplementary nutrition in this village. Table 2.08 presents the official data, District Information System for Education (DISE report card 2008), regarding school enrolment in some of the villages where the above primary information was collected. There are variations in the primary and secondary sources of information which shows that secondary data is not completely accurate and in many places, there is no data available. However, there is more variance between the enrolment figures of children and the actual numbers regularly attending school which only reflects that if children are not in school, they most certainly are found in the mine sites or in other places of work. Child Labour in the Diamond Mines and Stone Quarries The people in the villages the study team visited, described how they find that mine labour is unsustainable in several ways because their children are forced to work in the mines. In village Bador, a Gond explained how two of his sons, both below 18 years of age, were forced to work in the stone quarries and diamond mines, as a result of his illness. The man used to work in the mines but had become ill with malaria and TB. Therefore, the boys started working in order to support the family and to purchase medicines. Most of the boys and girls start working by the age of 10 or 12, with more girls found in every site. They keep shifting from mine site to mine site, wherever the contractors give them work, either in the stone quarries or in the diamond mines. The parents said that as future bread-winners of the families, they have no choice but to learn the work early in life as they do not anticipate any other opportunities for their children, given their situation of poverty. In Janawar village the elders reported that every child in the village is involved either in mining activities or in domestic chores as the land given by government is not fertile and it has made them impoverished. Officially the rehabilitation project has provided substantial cash compensation, but in reality the displaced families are found everywhere Table 2.08: Primary school enrolment data for some villages in Panna district District Block Village Total enrolment SC ST OBC Others Panna Panna Jhallar 21 0 1 20 -- Janawar 113 2 18 92 13 Umraban Data not available -- -- -- -- Gandhigram 232 82 23 111 107 Mannor 73 3 21 38 51 Hardua 173 25 47 58 75 Rakseha 517 18 56 272 24 Others=Repeaters, CWSN and Muslim Note: Discrepencies in totals exist but the data is as given in the DISE report card Sources: DISE report card, September 2008
- 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 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
99<br />
but a teacher is sent from the primary school of Janawar<br />
village for an hour every day to teach the children. In Jhallar<br />
village, the sarpanch, who was instrumental in preparing<br />
the rehabilitation policy, said that there is only one primary<br />
school to which five girls and 10–12 boys go regularly. He<br />
stated that the literacy rate of the village does not exceed<br />
5 per cent. The sarpanch also admitted that atleast 10–20<br />
children below the age of 18 years are working in the mines<br />
or in tea stalls or other petty shops besi<strong>des</strong> doing additional<br />
work at home like agricultural labour or grazing the cattle.<br />
In Gandhigram village the population is 250, and children<br />
enrolled in the primary school which is attached to Janakpur<br />
gram panchayat, is 135. However, only 70–80 children<br />
regularly attend school and the rest are involved in working<br />
in the diamond mines and stone quarries. The village is<br />
surrounded by both stone quarries and diamond mines on<br />
a very large scale and therefore the incidence of child labour<br />
working in the mines is higher. The anganwadi is closed,<br />
reportedly because of a case against the anganwadi worker.<br />
<strong>Children</strong> are, therefore, unable to access any supplementary<br />
nutrition in this village.<br />
Table 2.08 presents the official data, District Information<br />
System for Education (DISE report card 2008), regarding<br />
school enrolment in some of the villages where the above<br />
primary information was collected. There are variations in<br />
the primary and secondary sources of information which<br />
shows that secondary data is not completely accurate and<br />
in many places, there is no data available. However, there is<br />
more variance between the enrolment figures of children and<br />
the actual numbers regularly attending school which only<br />
reflects that if children are not in school, they most certainly<br />
are found in the mine sites or in other places of work.<br />
Child Labour in the Diamond Mines<br />
and Stone Quarries<br />
The people in the villages the study team visited, <strong>des</strong>cribed<br />
how they find that mine labour is unsustainable in several<br />
ways because their children are forced to work in the mines.<br />
In village Bador, a Gond explained how two of his sons,<br />
both below 18 years of age, were forced to work in the stone<br />
quarries and diamond mines, as a result of his illness. The<br />
man used to work in the mines but had become ill with<br />
malaria and TB. Therefore, the boys started working in<br />
order to support the family and to purchase medicines.<br />
Most of the boys and girls start working by the age of 10 or<br />
12, with more girls found in every site. They keep shifting<br />
from mine site to mine site, wherever the contractors give<br />
them work, either in the stone quarries or in the diamond<br />
mines. The parents said that as future bread-winners of the<br />
families, they have no choice but to learn the work early in<br />
life as they do not anticipate any other opportunities for<br />
their children, given their situation of poverty.<br />
In Janawar village the elders reported that every child in the<br />
village is involved either in mining activities or in domestic<br />
chores as the land given by government is not fertile and it<br />
has made them impoverished. Officially the rehabilitation<br />
project has provided substantial cash compensation, but<br />
in reality the displaced families are found everywhere<br />
Table 2.08: Primary school enrolment data for some villages in Panna district<br />
District Block Village Total enrolment SC ST OBC Others<br />
Panna Panna Jhallar 21 0 1 20 --<br />
Janawar 113 2 18 92 13<br />
Umraban Data not available -- -- -- --<br />
Gandhigram 232 82 23 111 107<br />
Mannor 73 3 21 38 51<br />
Hardua 173 25 47 58 75<br />
Rakseha 517 18 56 272 24<br />
Others=Repeaters, CWSN and Muslim<br />
Note: Discrepencies in totals exist but the data is as given in the DISE report card<br />
Sources: DISE report card, September 2008
Change language