I analyzed at the article Child Labour: facts and how to help through the lens of “Pink” from Pink Floyd’s famous album, The Wall.
My opinion:
I see child labour as a serious form of suppression that some people may experience growing up, those types of circumstances shape individuals, and strip them of their innocence… only to alienate them in many different aspects in life. I am able to relate to these unfortunate individuals in many ways…
All throughout my life I have struggled with the traumatic experiences I went through as a young boy. I have encountered many things that I wish I hadn’t, and some of them I even brought onto myself. These children that are put into a workforce at such a young age have no choice but to endure the same types of abuse that I did, whether it is mental or physical.
Education System:
The school I attended tried to shape me into something I am not, just like these young labourers. It is an extremely oppressive world in many ways, and the education system was one of my most damaging processes I went through. They treat us all as if we are the same, and think that we need to all conform to their system and just fall in line. I hated my education system, and the people within it, so I built barriers between myself and others. I feel sad for these child workers that may not even have an opportunity to attend school, due to the work they are forced into doing. I am grateful for my chance to go to school, but not grateful for the experience within the system… I am sure these workers would say the same. They are alienated from their peers who have that opportunity to go to school. Sometimes, I am uncertain if it is me and my peers who are the bricks in the societal wall, or if it is the teachers and the authoritative figures who try to keep everyone else enclosed within their walls…
Family Alienation:
My father passed at a young age, and I had a Mother who was very overprotective, but I thought it was for my best interest. I was wrong. It wasn’t until later in life did I understand that I was robbed of many things in my childhood, exactly like these child labourers. They are forced into work by the interest of their parents or elders, without any choice or consideration of what they want to do. That takes a real mental toll on a person… It is a means of survival for some, which alienates them amongst others, because they are not given the same opportunities and are ridiculed because of their circumstances. I felt like this when I was made fun of for writing a poem while in school, and having the teacher embarrass me in front of the whole class, before slapping his ruler on my hand. It is a shame that these young children are pushed into something they do not want to do, by someone from their own family. It is the education system and government institutions that suppressed me into being an introvert. I built up a short tolerance for people telling me what to do, and big authority always trying to control my life. It drove me away from people, it made me want to stay as far away from society and the conformity it expected of me growing up. The child labourers feel like they are slaves to the system as well. It is like a trap that we are unable to get out of – especially at such a young age. Our innocence is taken right from underneath us, as we realized what was really going on. We are like robots to them, the big companies and governments that just don’t give a shit about us, they only want what is best for them.
The Institutions:
The government does not have enough intervention with topics like child labour. They are more concerned with keeping everyone in the same mind-set in society and having them all conform to their ways. I had lost my father at a young age in the war, as he was fighting for his country. And the government did nothing. I was a helpless young bloke looking for a father figure throughout my early days, only to one day come to a hard realization. There is no help out there from thebig institutions who claim to be looking out for our best interest. The child labourers are treated nearly as poorly as child soldiers for war. They are stripped of their rights and adolescence, with nobody to turn to as their own families have already alienated them and might have been the cause of putting them into the workforce. Accepting the fact that my mother, the schools I went to, the government were all against me… was a very difficult thing to endure. It seemed as though everybody was against me and the only solution was to push myself away from society and everyone within its grasp.
External Alienation:
The worst thing I could do is turn to another person or institution. So I didn’t. These child workers must feel the same way. When I was a young lad, my solution to deal with the stress of being different was to push myself further away from everyone and everything. All of these external forces have moved me to be alienated from society, from myself, and from feeling accepted. The similarities between myself and these child workers are staggering. As I’ve grown up I have realized that things change drastically the older I get and that I did not have a normal up-bringing, much like these young workers. I have grown up into a man now, and have been conformed into something I am not.
Accepting Alienation:
Although I never felt like I intended to become so separated from everyone, once I got to a certain age I saw that I needed to make a change. This happens during the song “The Trial” where I know that I’ve alienated myself because of the externalises and I needed to grow out of it. I wanted to make a change for the better and try to escape from this prison cell I created for myself, and that other people built up for me. The child workers have a similar path, but are not as lucky to be able to decide their fate at such a young age, so they must wait till later like I had to. Self-realization is a major part in my life story and I needed to step back and reflect on what I have become. I would hope that later in life their mentality does not damage them too heavily in order for them to make this judgement call. Accepting the fact that I had a different childhood than most, and that my situation was different allowed me to heal and grow out of the wall I had put up between myself and everyone else.
It was time to destroy The Wall.
Child Labour 