Sherry Chandler » Children in slavery
Children in slavery
From the NYTimes:
KETE KRACHI, Ghana — Just before 5 a.m., with the sky still dark over Lake Volta, Mark Kwadwo was rousted from his spot on the damp dirt floor. It was time for work.
Shivering in the predawn chill, he helped paddle a canoe a mile out from shore. For five more hours, as his coworkers yanked up a fishing net, inch by inch, Mark bailed water to keep the canoe from swamping.
He last ate the day before. His broken wooden paddle was so heavy he could barely lift it. But he raptly followed each command from Kwadwo Takyi, the powerfully built 31-year-old in the back of the canoe who freely deals out beatings.
“I don’t like it here,” he whispered, out of Mr. Takyi’s earshot.
Mark Kwadwo is 6 years old.
Sold into endentured servitude by his parents, who don’t have enough money to feed him.
A story that tends to make my grilled tilapia taste like sawdust.
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1 Comment
1. MW replies at 1st November 2006, 2:59 am :
It kind of reminds you how sheltered we are in the U.S. Most of us, at least. It’s hard to believe that anything like this still goes on, and it’s sad that nobody in power here will lift a finger over it.
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