Selling Children [Hardcover]

Jeremy Seabrook (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0745313965 | ISBN-13: 978-0745313962 | Publication Date: June 1, 2001

More than 40,000 children die daily in the developing world from avoidable sickness and disease. Tens of millions of children labour in factories, mines, mills and sweatshops, or scavenge for a living on city streets and dumps. In the so-called developed world, children's lives are similarly blighted by drugs, alcohol, sexual abuse and violence. Children of the rich are unhealthily obsessed with consumerist desires while children of the poor suffer from lack of opportunity. The global market is responsible for both of these ills.In Children of Other Worlds Jeremy Seabrook examines the international exploitation of children and exposes the hypocrisy, piety and moral blindness that have informed so much of the debate in the West on the rights of the child. Seabrook insists that the whole question of protecting children's rights, North and South, must take into consideration the structural abuses of humanity that are inherent in globalization. He addresses the key question of whether the West can turn its 'benevolent' attention to the evils of child labour in the rest of the world without first understanding that gross forms of poverty anywhere are part of the same global problem.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

London-based journalist Seabrook (Travels in the Skin Trade), who has written widely on labor, Asia and the sex trade, compares child labor in contemporary Bangladesh with that of industrial Britain in the 19th century. By including extensive testimonials from Bangladeshi children, he illustrates many disturbing similarities in the mills and factories of the two nations in the exodus to the city, social attitudes to poverty, and the absolute necessity of child labor to supplement inadequate family income. Seabrook describes the work of nongovernmental organizations in Dhaka, which envision a gradual elimination of the need for child labor and educate (with the cooperation and involvement of their employers) children under the age of 15 who work long hours. Seabrook questions whether the need for child labor will ever be eliminated in this part of the world, given that the region does not have the same historical means of creating wealth that the industrialized world had. The author poses many questions: Are we imposing normative or subjective values? Does a child really need an education? Can the South increase its wealth without slavery and colonialism? But he fails to answer any of them himself; instead, he relies on broad generalizations ("the disregard in Bangladesh for the individuality of children is a mirror image of our own excessive concern with individualism. It seems that human societies are destined to oscillate between extremes, neither of which brings satisfaction or fulfillment") to make sense of the phenomenon of nine- and 10-year-olds working 12-hour days and earning some 100 taka, or $2, each week.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

'[An] unusual capacity to juxtapose the experiences of different societies is the key to Seabrook's new book on child labour in the Third World. The subject could hardly be more topical. Yet Seabrook is wholly immune to demands fro a rush to judgment. Children of Other Worlds is not just a study of children's work in Bangladesh, but also a reminder of the debates about child labour in Britain ... Seabrook's passionate reporting and advocacy deserves a wide readership. Although his tone is sombre, he has a good sense of humour. The poor young women of Dhaka, he notes, have only three options: to make clothes, to wash them, or to take them off.' Richard Gott, The Independent 'Seabrook paints a harrowing picture of life for children cut loose from their family unit by economic or other pressures ... [He] has crafted an informative tale of the darker side of capitalism ... His empathy for the children he meets shines through, although his restrained anger is evident. Excellent.' The Irish Times 'Jeremy Seabrook pulls no punches in this examination of how global markets exploit children throughout the world - child 'consumers' in the West as well as child producers in the South.' The Lecturer 'Very mouth-watering and intellectually rich with a human touch. As a youth worker who believes in social justice, this should be a handbook for those involved in global community and youth work.' Philip Chilambe Kunda, Community & Youth Worker 'London-based journalist Seabrook, who has written widely on labor, Asia, and the sex trade, compares child labor in contemporary Bangladesh with that of industrial Britain in the 19th century. By including extensive testimonials from Bangladeshi children, he illustrates many disturbing similarities in the mills and factories of the two nations--in the exodus to the city, social attitudes to poverty, and the absolute necessity of child labor to supplement inadequate family income. Seabrook describes the work of nongovernmental organizations in Dhaka, which envision a gradual elimination of the need for child labor and educate (with the cooperation and involvement of their employers) under the age of 15 who work long hours. Seabrook questions whether the need for child labor will ever be eliminated in this part of the world, given that the region does not have the same historical means of creating wealth that the industrialized world had. The author poses many questions: Are we imposing normative or subjective values? Does a child really need an education? Can the South increase its wealth without slavery and colonialism?' Publishers Weekly 'Seabrook compares the plight of child workers in Bangladesh, at the present time, with those in Victorian Britain.' Marxist Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745313965
• ISBN-13: 978-0745313962
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,083,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cure the Source, July 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Children of Other Worlds: Exploitation in the Global Market (Paperback)

This ethnography served to not only shed light on the horror that is child labor, but it also served as a reality check. Child labor is terrible but the alternatives are worse. The revelation afforded by this ethnography is that laws against child labor do not solve the problem. Children will only find a new way to secure money. The new alternatives are worse and include begging, stealing, and/or prostitution. In fact, child labor is often their only way of survival.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thoughtful and disturbing, May 8, 2004

By 

Lisa S. Parham (East Meadow, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children of Other Worlds: Exploitation in the Global Market (Paperback)

this book is thoughtful and disturbing; it has research that may seem dry at times, but when you consider the human cost behind the numbers, it is horrifying. the author opens discussions about child labor and abuse within the context of social mores that are fascinating; then leaves the reader to decide for herself. well worth the read although i found myself unable even more convinced that child labor is a crime against humanity that must be stopped.