child exploitation

Photos by MDDHL Maroua 385

Children worked all day long to break these rocks apart. They bring us to the subject of the exploitation of minors, especially forced labour, which must be eliminated. Here, these children find themselves in the street and in Koranic schools rather than at home. These orphans, lacking a way to support themselves. The exploiters profit from the innocence of these minors. The exploiters (whether parents of marabouts [Islamic religious leaders and/or teachers]), at the end of the day, are obsessed with using these children to fulfill their own monetary needs. We need to call for action with parents and the area’s administrative authorities.

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Photo by MDDHL Maroua 495

Children from a Koranic school are wandering around in another part of the city, carrying their Koranic slates on their heads. We took this photo to show how trafficking of children takes place. It is part of MDDHL’s mission to fight against the trafficking and exploitation of children. Maroua’s satellite office wants the administrative authorities to sensitize parents and religious leaders on the rights of children, to sanction those who exploit kids, and to thoroughly understand rules and guidelines relating to the rights of children. The partners responsible for changing are the State, specifically Social Services, and parents.

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Photo by MDDHL Mokolo 497

I asked these children why they were carrying wood – it’s hard work! They said that they did it by order of their parents in order to eat. So, this is a violation of the rights of children because the parents are poor. Since it is a violation of children’s rights, MDDHL can intervene with parents.

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Photo by MDDHL Mokolo 497

Through this work the orphans feed and dress themselves. In the picture you can see the children. Often on television talk about ending child trafficking. I tried to ask the children why they were doing this [ie., working]? They answered that their family forced them to do it in order to have money for soap, to grind millet at the mill, to pay for their holiday clothing, and to afford school fees. I say that if, for example, human rights are the rights of men and children too. We can approach their families to talk to them a bit about their children so they can bring their children up well.

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Photo by MDDHL Mokolo 385

Here we see a young kid who is deprived of his rights – his fundamental rights. If I took the initiative to take this photo, it is because the kid is a victim of injustice. If you try to see a little closer, you will see that the little boy sleeps in a place where there is really no security. He doesn’t have anything to sleep on or anything to cover himself with. And if we look at the place where he sleeps, it is without a door. This is caused by the irresponsibility of his parents. Sure, he may have been orphaned of his mother, but his father still lives. Nor is this to say that his parents are poor. They are just irresponsible. He was chased from their house by his new “mother” [his father’s new wife], so now he lives in the street. Each night he camps somewhere spend the night. If we were in the room, we could see how we feel colder, especially in this rainy season. How often does one live somewhere without a door or a blanket? What should we do in a situation like this? Is he not a human being like all others? What has done that was so bad that he deserved all this? Can we witness this and do nothing? MDDHL wants parents to stop abusing their children and to respect their rights – parents need to be advised about their children’s rights.

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Photo by MDDHL Mokolo 385

This photo is just a dramatization – here I set up a dramatization of a parent who commits violence against his progeny by menacing him with his power. This old man is threatening his kid with a knife in hand. By looking at this picture we can think of other cases where children are the victims of this type of violence committed by their parents. This remains a failure to respect the rights of children because from our perspective parents tend to seek to impose themselves. Parents need to be educated on the rights of children and parents need to stop threatening and abusing their kids.

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