Tütün yetiştirme çocuklar için tehlikeli. Tütün yetiştirmedeki çalışan çocuklar yeşil tütün hastalığı hastalaniyor. Sadece Malawi’de 78 000 çocuklar 5 yaşından itibaren tütün plântasyonunda çalışıyor. Ama bu çocuk işçilik aynen Brezilya’da, Hindistan’da, ABD ve baska ülkeler yaygın.
Koruyucu elbisesiz tütünü gübreliyor ve üzerine fışkırtiyorlar ile pestisitler. Her gün tütün yapraklarından çocuklarin derileri hakkinda 54 mg nikotinde kadar aliyorlar. Bu 50 sigara uyuyor! Bu sinir zehiri mide bulantısı, kusma, baş dönmesi, baş ağrıları ve ani kuvvetten düşmeler sebep olmuş.
Tobacco Residue: How People and Land in Bolivia Are Affected by Tobacco Growing from Marty Otañez on Vimeo.
Sigara kullanıcısı sağlık konusunda aydınlatmalara karşı körelmiş ama belki bu ileti ulaşabilir veya en az düşünceli yapiyor, ne aslında bu çocuklar icin ile sigara içmek dolaylı olarak acı çektiriyorlar.
What is it like to be a pregnant woman farming tobacco in Kenya? LARGE from Marty Otañez on Vimeo.
Tüm İngiliz yazı çeviremem ama burda İngiİizce:
Child labour: the truth behind cigarettes
The use of child labour in the cultivation of tobacco is very dangerous and is prohibited worldwide. Despite this, there are children working on plantations in all the major tobacco-producing countries. Many contract the green tobacco sickness as a result of their work on the fields.
In Malawi alone, there are about 78,000 children working on tobacco plantations. But child labour is also widespread in other countries such as Brazil, India and the USA.
Children from 5 years upwards prepare seedbeds by turning the soil and felling trees. They fertilise and spray the tobacco plant with pesticides without wearing any protective clothing. Close contact with the tobacco leaves during harvest, exposes children to the risk of contracting the green tobacco sickness, through the absorption of nicotine through the skin. In the case of children, just a small amount of the nerve poison can lead to nicotine poisening, causing nausea, vomiting, headaches and dizziness. According to research conducted by Plan International, child workers in Malawi might absorb up to 54 milligrammes of nicotine through the skin in one day- an amount contained in the equivalent of 50 cigarettes.
Helping their Families Survive
Through their work, these children are contributing to their families’ income- a help without which these would not be able to get by. This is due to the low prices paid for harvest by tobacco companies and plantation owners. As a result, farming families have to grow more tobacco than can be managed by the labour of adult workers alone. These farmers cannot afford to pay for seasonal workers. Children and relatives on the other hand are generally not remunerated. This is why tobacco farming is usually family work.
The use of child labour in tobacco farming is dangerous, since children are exposed to chemicals. Moreover, the plant itself is poisonous.
Injuries and diseases that can result from working in tobacco farming are
- Poisoning, e.g. the green tobacco sickness
- Skin rash, allergic reactions, breathing difficulties, vision impairment, chemical poisoning, liver damage, nervous diseases and infertility through contact with chemicals such as fertlizers and pesticides
- Bone and joint deformation caused by carrying heavy loads
- Back pains during harvest
- Sunstrokes
- Snakebites and mosquito-borne diseases
- Cuts and blisters
- Severe exhaustion and fatigue
Furthermore, this type of work interferes with the children’s development and prevents them from getting sufficient education to break out of the cycle of poverty.
According to article 32 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children may engage in work that is unhazardous and light in nature. As this is not the case with tobacco farming, children under 18 years of age should not be allowed to perform any tasks that are related to the production of tobacco.