Living in the age of 3-D: Young People Must ‘DREAM’, ‘DISCOVER’ & ‘DO’

Why are some children born to work at the expense of their schooling, childhood and freedom? And why are others born with dreams and a future? ~ Kailash Satyarthi

What compelled you to make such a radical career change from an engineer to campaigning for children’s rights?

On my very first day of school I saw a boy of my age sitting outside – he was a cobbler and I could not understand why he was sitting outside and why all of us were going to school with new uniforms, new books and dreams and aspirations. One day I gathered all my courage and ran straight to the father of the boy who was sitting outside and asked him why he didn’t send his son to school. He looked at me as if it was such a tough question. Then he replied: “Babuji [Sir], I have never thought about it. My father, my grandfather and I started working since childhood and so does my son. Perhaps you don’t know that we are born to work.”

So that was his reply. But for me this is a question to which I am still trying to find the answer –why are some children born to work at the expense of their schooling, childhood and freedom? And why are others born with dreams and a future? I gradually made up my mind that I was not born to become an engineer and that I was not going to embark on a typical career path.

You have said in the past that you think that it will be possible to eradicate child labour soon. Do you think the UN’s new targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will be able to achieve this?

I am convinced that eradicating child labour and educating every single child is not just a dream and that I will see it with my own eyes. This is not just optimism but it is true, because the indicators are there. The number of child labourers has gone down in the last 15 years, from almost 260 million to 168 million. The number of out-of-school children has also dropped from 130 million to about 58 million.

The SDGs are much better formulated than the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For instance, within education, [the international community] is figuring out how important issues such as inclusion, equity, and equality are. Similarly with child labour and forced labour, there is very clear and positive language surrounding these topics. And regarding the interconnectivity with the rest of development, human rights discourses are much better reflected in the SDGs.

What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the SDGs with regard to children’s rights and education?

First of all, I still see a big lacuna in addressing the problem of child slaves. The number of child labourers has gone down but the number of child slaves globally is stagnant. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) 5.5 million children are victims of forced labour or slavery. And that number in my opinion has gone up, not down. Child slavery should have no place in our society. We want the abolition of child slavery in very clear and explicit language within the development agenda.

Secondly, it would be better if we had a more clear indication as to how we can have a more coordinated approach in dealing with issues such as violence against children. Child labour is there, forced labour is there, education is there –so we must address how these goals, which will affect the lives of hundreds of millions of children in the coming 15 years, can be seen and addressed in a more holistic and coordinated manner.

I am convinced that eradicating child labour and educating every single child is not just a dream and that I will see it with my own eyes. ~ Kailash Satyarthi

Do you think education is enough to end child labour and if not what do you think needs to change in the current education system to achieve this goal?

Education is a cross-cutting issue for most development goals and child labour is definitely one of them. We cannot think of eradicating child labour without ensuring quality, free education as a fundamental human right for every single child. This is because education is a preventive tool as well as a rehabilitative measure.

But it cannot work alone. The government should enact good laws and enforce them with urgency and professionalism.  Another important area is corporate social responsibility. In a globalised world, economies are becoming more dependent on the corporate sector and the corporate sector is depending more on supply, value and production chains. So we must ensure that no child is involved as a labourer in any of those production activities or supply chains. We have to work on several aspects, including enforcement, education and corporate responsibility, to address the problem of child labour.

What advice would you give young people today who want to pursue a career as social activists and want to make an impact upon the world?

I would say that, in spite of all the intolerance and violent attitudes, most young people are still very idealistic. They are looking for a better life for themselves, for the community and the world. We should give these young people voices, build their leadership abilities, and give them the driving seat to become pioneers and champions for their cause. Involving young people in the betterment of the world is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity we should all work on together.

Sometimes I tell young people that we already live in the age of 3-D. We wanted to see our televisions in 3-D; even our smartphones will be converted into 3-D so that we can shake hands without coming too close. So my 3-D suggestion for young people is:  The first ‘D’ is to Dream –dream big, dream for something better; dream for betterment of yourself and for the whole world, for all of humanity. The second ‘D’ is to Discover –every young person has tremendous potential inside, and it has to be discovered and explored. The third ‘D’ is Do—don’t be lazy, act now on what you believe in. Time is running out.

Kailash Satyarthi is a human rights activist from India who has been at the forefront of the global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labor. Since 1980, he has given up a career as an electrical engineer to begin a campaign against child slavery. As a grassroots activist, he has led the rescue of over 80,000 child slaves and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation. He has been the architect of the single largest civil society network for the most exploited children, the Global March Against Child Labor, which is a worldwide coalition of NGOs, teachers’ and trade unions.