Beaten and Burnt: Myanmar’s Invisible Child Servants

Myanmar's new democratically elected government must deal with the pressing problem of child labor, which has grown to include tens of thousands child victims. These children most often come to the cities from poor rural areas, hoping to find jobs as domestic helpers for the country's rising population of wealthier, urban middle-class households. Though research on the topic is still insufficient, Myanmar ranks as the world’s seventh-worst for child labour, and it is estimated that one in five children aged 10 to 17 (about 1.7 million people) are working, according to UN-conducted 2014 census data. This particular topic has come to light given the recent escape of two young girls in Yangon, who have told stories of a life equivalent to modern-day slavery (see http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37448243).

Human trafficking and child labor have been allowed to flourish primarily because of a justice system that favors the wealthy. “Child helpers” also have no legal protection and many fear going to the police to report abuse because law enforcement is easily paid off by owners. Foreign companies with factories in Myanmar are not free of guilt, however, as this article makes clear (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/21/hm-factories-myanmar-em...).

In response to these issues, Myanmar’s foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to promote human rights in her country when she addressed the UN on Wednesday. Many are dissatisfied, however, that she failed to mention the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are persecuted in the predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.