child labor in turkey

             The first time you see a child hunched over a sewing machine in a hot, airless factory will never leave you. The kids who have to sew to survive; By Darragh MacIntyre.

             The first time that Darragh Maclntyre went to go see child labor with his own eyes just hit him emotionally. He goes to see the children while hiding a small camera to film it all. A boy, no more than 11 or 12, peeked up at Darragh with just the trace of a smile before the boy dipped his head again, back to work. Darragh quoted "It felt like a punch in the gut" 
            Darragh was told that child labor was endemic in Turkey. But Darragh wasn't prepared for the reality of it. Or the scale of it. One basement workshop was almost entirely staffed with children, many of whom couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old, the very picture of Dickensian misery. Darragh was in Istanbul investigating allegations that Syrian refugees and children are being exploited by the garment industry. And specifically that many are working on clothes destined for our High Street. 
             Note that secret filming is illegal in turkey and he was halfway through his investigation when a state of emergency was declared in the country. Yet finding Syrian refugees and children making branded clothes for the UK market was relatively straightforward. Only a tiny percentage of the estimated 3 million Syrians who have sought refuge in Turkey have the necessary work permits. To survive, they have to work illegally, without any rights, and for low wages. A made-to-measure workforce for the garment industry, and a reminder that one person's plight is often another's opportunity.
            Efforts are being made to get them into a nice and healthy education, but it's estimated that as many as 400,000 are working, and many of them in the garment industry. 
            As to my opinion to all of this happening in turkey, I think it's a bit unfair to the children, and I fell like the children that are working on their own will doesn't belong and shouldn't be in that factory to being with. But, in the same time I do feel like I understand why they are doing this. Because it's also an experience. But the way they are going about for these children is bad. I think, this child labor business happening in turkey is just cruel, ridiculous, and outrageous. 


(Picture cred: Darragh Maclntyre.)