Child Labor Widespread in Delta
A member of a non-governmental organization in the delta who requested anonymity said that children aged 10 to 15 are valued sources of labor for Burmese businessmen, fishermen and farmers, because they work for much lower wages then adults—between 300 and 1000 kyat (US $0.25—0.85) per day for children, compared to wages of 1,500 to 3000 kyat ($1.25—$2.50) per day for adults.
“Many fishing boat owners now prefer to hire children because of the difference in wages. Kids are willing to work for 300 kyat and meals,” he said.
Sources said that businesspeople in the delta also see children are easier to control and hard-working. Nowadays, children as young as eight can be found working on fishing boats, in restaurants, construction sites and with agriculture.
Myo Min lost his mother when Cyclone Nargis slashed through southwestern Burma on May 2-3. He now lives with his brother and works full-time aboard a fishing vessel in the delta.
10-year-old Myo Min said, “I’m tired, but I’m just grateful to be able to survive.”
Po Po, 11, lost his father and his elder brother in the cyclone. He then left school to work in a restaurant in Labutta Township. He washes dishes and earns about 5,000 kyat ($4.20) per month.
He admitted that he cries every night because he misses his mother.
According to a schoolteacher in Konegyi village in Labutta Township, many children are unable to continue their education because they are orphans or live with families that are struggling economically.
An estimated 400,000 children did not return to school after the cyclone, according to leading relief agency Save the Children Fund. Of those, Save the Children said they helped about 100,000 children get back to school.
The INGO estimated that about 40 percent of the 140,000 people who were killed or disappeared in the cyclone disaster were children. Many who survived were orphaned or separated from their parents, the agency said.
USDA will not contest in 2010 election:
An official in the USDA office in Hakha, capital of Chin state, said that there has been no decision to fight the elections that the Burmese regime has declared to hold in 2010.
"So far, we have no information from above to prepare for a transformation of the organization into a political party," an official in Hakha's USDA office, who declined to named, told Mizzima.
"We have not held any political campaigns," the official said. "Till now we are only engaged in activities related to rural development work."
The official told Mizzima that the USDA in Chin state will keep staying out of political campaigns but focus only on regional development work in the area.
"The USDA is a civilian organization. It will continue to function as a civil society," he added.
However, other sources in Hakha town said that USDA had actually selected a few individuals to be candidates in the ensuing elections.
"Most of the candidates are delegates who had attended the national convention," the source told Mizzima.
According to the source, USDA has selected national convention delegates U Thatmang, and U Lakung and another independent U Ngikung, a retired Township administration official as candidates.
The USDA official, however, denied nominating candidates for the forthcoming poll saying, "We did not nominate any one as a candidate but I can't say if the people will pick up individuals from USDA for their organization in future."
The USDA was established by Burmese military Supremo Senior General Than Shwe in 1993, and is the largest civil society in Burma with a membership of over 20 million.
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