Photographs on child labor

More than half of these children are exposed to the worst forms of child labor such as hazardous work, slavery, and other forms of forced labor, illicit activities including drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involuntary involvement in armed conflict. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 1 in 3 children work, representing a figure of 69 million children.

The 1997 Amsterdam Conference on combating the most intolerable forms of child labor and the Oslo International Conference on Child Labor in 1997 drew attention to the urgent need for concerted global action to end child labor, to urge the expansion of the collection of information, statistics and empirical research that would help to inform this action.

In the world, large numbers of children are involved in paid or unpaid domestic work in the home of a third party or employer. These children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The work they do often is hidden from the public eye, as these children may be isolated or work far from the family home. Stories of child abuse involved in domestic work are very common.

Steve McCurry is one of those photographers committed to his time. His photographs are famous for their expressiveness, always putting the individual in the front grasping him in an unprepared manner, so that the essence of his soul and his experiences can emerge in his face. Known worldwide as one of today's best "picture creators", he is especially famous for his evocative color photographs. He has captured the essence of human struggle and joy.

Photographer present in numerous warlike conflicts always tries to reflect the existing injustices in the world today. It is undoubtedly a reference in the world of the portrait of the disadvantaged world. McCurry became world-famous for being the author of the photograph The Afghan Girl, featured in National Geographic magazine in 1985 and rediscovered and re-photographed in 2002. In a recent compilation of photographs of his numerous trips of the last three decades McCurry published in his blog a set of 22 snapshots through which claims to denounce the life of hard work to which millions of children are subject each year.

Under the title "Childhood stolen" presents the photographs that are included in this post. Although some of the photos clearly show an abuse towards children who work for third parties, in others it is possible to observe that it is a very habitual and normalized reality of children helping to provide income in the home in which they live Is to take charge of the herd, help in the office of their parents, etc.). Unfortunately, this reality prevents them from having access to education, which could help them to have a more prosperous future.

Photographer: Steve McCurry