Forum targets child labor

By MAUREEN MCGUINNESS- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

When 12-year-old Arnold Engel learned that there were children earning pennies an hour making the clothes and goods he was purchasing, he decided to do something about it.

"I decided to act on it more than think about it," said Arnold, who is now a representative of Free the Children, an international children's organization working to end sweatshop labor.

He will be one of three speakers at the Child and Sweatshop Labor Symposium at Christ the King Church in Westmere on April 25. Other speakers include Charles Kernaghan, head of the National Labor Committee, and Barbara DiTommaso, director of the Albany diocesan Peace and Justice Commission.

Active child

Arnold, who lives in Quebec with his parents and older sister, has spoken to many groups in both the United States and Canada. Like a typical 12-year-old, he enjoys playing baseball, hockey and soccer. Unlike other 12-year-olds, he can also discuss the conditions of child laborers across the sea.

"There are over 250 million children working, most of them in hard labor for more than 12 hours a day," he said. "In India, there are 50 million child laborers and 55 million unemployed adults."

Free the Children educates the public on sweatshops, tries to change the practices of companies that employ children, and raises money to buy children out of sweatshops and then provides them with an education.

Converted

Arnold became involved when he heard the 14-year-old founder of the organization speak at a conference.

"I heard everybody speak, but I really paid attention when I heard a kid speaking," he said. "I read up on the subject. The more I read, the more I knew I had to do something."

Since becoming involved with Free the Children, Arnold has become a more conscientious consumer -- although "there is no company that is fool-proof for not using child labor."

He is looking forward to soccer balls that Reebok is planning on producing without child labor. They will have a label indicating such labor has not been used.

Parish interest

Christ the King Church decided to hold the symposium to educate youth and parents to become better consumers, said Mary Malcolm, a member of the parish's social justice commission. The parish's location also played an important role in the decision.

"In Guilderland, we are host to the largest or second-largest shopping center in the northeast," Mrs. Malcolm said.

"We want to make people aware," she said. "It's something really and truly important, and something we can do something about."

(The Child and Sweatshop Labor Symposium will be held on April 25, 9 a.m.-noon, at Christ the King School in Westmere. For information, call 456-1644.)

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