Mahmud, 14, the youngest among six children of Mohasen Ali of Char Shayampur area under Motihar police station, has been working as a career at Shaheb Bazar kitchen market in Rajshahi for about six years because his daily income of Tk100 to Tk250 is integral to support his family.
“I have to carry kitchen-market goods either from wholesalers to retail shops or from retailers to consumers’ level regularly from early morning to afternoon,” he said.
A section of rich people practice the use of children as carrier of their grocery. The children not only carry the goods to these people’s car parked outside but sometimes to their homes also.
Narrating his harrowing experience Mahmud said some owner physically or verbally assault him when he complains about carrying the overloaded baskets. Some even pay him less than the earlier amount.
Besides Mahmud, there are at least 1500 children who works as carrier at the Shaheb Bazar kitchen market.
“Using children as carrier of goods is not only the violation of child rights but also detrimental to their normal physical and mental growth,” Prof Dr Anwarul Hassan Sufi of Psychology Department of Rajshahi University said.
The exploitation has become a common phenomenon as no one pays any heed to it. Carrying loads on head is worse for their mental and physical growth than any other risky jobs, he added.
Likewise, fate of more than 100,000 children of the city is uncertain as they are engaged in risky and hazardous jobs.
“These children are suffering from different physical and mental problems. As a result, there are increasing numbers of drug addicts and social crime every day in the city,” said Dr Moyeen Uddin, assistant professor of psychiatry department of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
There are 25-30 thousand children who are working in engineering workshops, welding factories, garages, vehicles, roadside hotels and as domestic help.
Low income parents are compelled to allow their children to do risky jobs as they cannot support it on their own. The ultimate result is physical and mental damages. Many even experience amputations.
“Children suffer from different kinds of mental disease like heavy social stress including mental depression. As a result the number of child drug addicts and criminals are increasing every day,” said Dr Komor Uddin of Department of Neurology of RMCH.
Babul Akhter, 10, who works at Stadium Market as an assistant of an engineering shop, said: “Every day I have to be present here early in the morning within 8am and return home after 10pm. I get only 45 Taka in exchange for 14 hours work per day”.
Quoting findings of different studies Prof Komor Uddin said heavy child labor disrupts normal function of brain. Most of the illiterate parents of workers are not aware of their children’s future.
