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Abdullah,
7, welds in the metal shop where he works 12 hours per
day, 6 days per week, in
Kandahar
,
Afghanistan
on
Monday,
August 12, 2002
.
Abdullah earns US$1.50 per week. He works one block from
the main school in
Kandahar
,
but said he will not be able to go there when class starts
next month, since he is an apprentice at the metal shop.
The shop owner said he also started his apprenticeship at
Abdullah's age. (AP
Photo/ Tomas van Houtryve)
Lets
put this into perspective:
While most in Western Society might be
appalled at this graphic and fact we must recognize
that
Afghanistan
isn’t a 21st
century country. People
need to recognize this.
From
page 193 of A Brief
History of Economic Genius regarding work
conditions in
England
in the early 19th
century:
“Many
people lived a dozen to a room, with some over double
this.
A street
with over 200 houses was
liable to have less than forty primitive outside
lavatories. Those
who lived under these conditions was liable to have less
than 40 primitive outside lavatories. Those who lived
under these conditions worked long and hard.
A skilled
factory hand in Northern Ireland was required to work from
6 A.M. to 11 A.M. Monday through Friday, stopping at 6
P.M. on Saturday.” - a 97 hour workweek, which is 30%
more than the 72 hours Abdullah is working.
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