SOMALIA CHILD LABOUR

By: Brian Lee 804

Population Child LabourSince 2000, 171 million child labourers (globally) have been freed but there are still many child labourers around the world. Asia and the Pacific have the most child labourers with 78 million because both areas have a greater population that are in poverty compared to other countries. There are 13 million child labourers in the Caribbean and Middle East. There are 9.2 million child labourers in North Africa where Somalia is located. There are 41% child labourers in Somalia. The child labourers are mainly employed in the primary industry such as farming and herding. Child labourers make less than $2 a day in Somalia. Fifty percent of child labourers work for their families. Most children die from hunger because 33% of child labourers eat once a day. This can effect the mental, social, and physical development of the child labourers.

Population and Poverty of Somalia

Somalia is the poorest country. Somalia’s poverty occurred with the downfall of the government and civil war. In Somalia, poverty is greatest in the rural areas. Southern Somalia is mostly a rural area and 43% of Southern Somalia is under the poverty line. Southern Somalia suffers from unstable economic conditions which has created poverty and civil war that has been ongoing for 15 years. Clean water and food is scarce mostly in southern Somalia.

Somalia’s Politics

In 2004 to the present, Somalia has a Federal Government. Syad Barre was the last official governor in Somalia, and he fled the country in 1991. There had been a civil war and instability in the government. The civil war started in 1991 and lasted about two decades. During those two decades, millions of Somalis died from the war and many were children. Many children died of famine during the civil war. Also, the war affected the region Puntland the most because many of the child labourers died. Puntland had many child labourers since the region is one of the poorest areas in Somalia.

Somalia’s Politics (Part 2)

With no Federal Government in Somalia from 1991 to 2003, Somalia had to rely on other countries in Africa. The economics in Somalia was poor because there was no government to pay for the exports and imports. The instability of the government caused difficultly for the TFG(Transitional Federal Government) since the government tried to find many candidates for the president of Somalia. TFG hoped the new president would bring stability and end the civil war. In January 8 2007, Abdulahi Yusuf Amed became president which brought hope to Somalia since he served as a military commander and had experience as a politician. In his four years in office, Abdulahi Yusuf Amed failed to make Somalia a better country resulting in the worst failed state in the world.

Somalia’s EconomySomalia has a strong informal economy but the country is poor. Large parts of Somalia have a high rate of criminal activity. There are no banks in Somalia. The primary job is agriculture where 65% of Somalis work. Somalis export livestock to the middle east. Telecommunication in Somalia is a strong area of the economy. However, when Somalia has new technology, the technology is usually stolen by rampant piracy. Somalia’s economy grew slowly when there was civil war and no government. Somalia moved beyond the current economy with international trading. The change of the economy is going to be difficult since Somalia’s trade in agricultural is scarce. With these economic crises, this creates more child labour.

Somalia’s Economy (Part 2)

Somalia’s exports is one of the poorest in the world because exports cost $300 million which is too expensive for Somalia compared to the USA. This means Somalia heavily relies on the imports. Somalia’s major imports are cereal, sugar and sugar products, edible vegetables, tubers and certain roots, animals, vegetable fats, live trees, plants and cut flowers. Somalia’s major exports are live animals, pearls, precious stones and metals, raw hides, skin and leather, meat, oil seed, grain, seed and fruits. Somalia’s major trading partners are Djibouti, India and Kenya.

Somalia’s Social Push FactorsDecades of destruction caused some Somalis children to migrate out of the country. The destruction in Somalia was due to the civil war. Most Somalis children immigrated to Europe because Europe has good education, health care, policing and peace, and advanced government. The goal for the parents was to send their children to a different country to get a good education and job, so their children can send money to their parents and then the parents can immigrate to the new country. Parents go to extreme measures to send their children to another country because in Somalia there is a lot of crop failure, livestock failure, rising food prices, poverty, and lack of economic opportunities . Also, 29% of the population has clean water, and 39% of Somalia population has access to safe sanitation. Somalis who live in rural areas have a 83% chance of obtaining diarrhea. Most Somalis children would travel through difficult barriers such as the sea, deserts and/or mountains to arrive at their new country.

Somalia’s Social Push Factors (part 2)

On November 27 2013, a cyclone struck Puntland and Middle Shabelle, an agricultural area, resulting in hundreds of homeless families. Three hundred Somalis died and 10,000 Somalis were injured including child labourers. Millions had livestock that were depleted by the cyclone, and 65% of Somalis depended on their livestock. For example, Mohamed Osman Jama had 150 goats, and half of those goats were lost by the floods created by the cyclone. Standing crops were destroyed because of the strong cyclone winds. Heavy rains caused the Shabelle river to over flow causing 10,000 Somalis to leave to Jawhar town. Jawhar town is a refuge area.

Somalia’s Pull FactorSweden is ranked ninth in the world for top country. Many people migrate to Sweden for their strong labour force. Sweden’s immigration laws changed in 2008 to allow employers to bring non-European labour migrants into the country. New comers to Sweden have little education, and arrive in Sweden to obtain better education. People in Sweden have good social and economic factors. For example, nursery schools (kindergarten) are for children ages 1-5, and 8 out of 10 children go to nursery school providing advanced development and learning. Children have more opportunities in life, regardless of gender. Attending primary school provides a better future for children. Swedish students have good reading skills. Upper secondary school is optional and free of charge. Schooling is free in Sweden except for nursery schools and higher education. Seventy percent of Sweden`s education is financed as taxes. Also, Sweden`s education system helps disabled students to succeed.

Somalia`s Social Pull Factor (part 2)

Swedish people are living longer due to the health care system. Women’s average life span in Sweden is 83.7 years and men’s average life span in Sweden is 80.1. In 2013, 19.4% of the population in Sweden is older than 65 years old. Fewer than 3 out of 1000 babies and fewer than four out of 100,000 die in birth. Sweden`s economy is modern and highly industrialised. Timber, hydropower and iron ore are used for trading and strengthens Sweden’s economy. Sweden has excellent standards for their extensive welfare benefits. Sweden is known for high taxes, and has the second highest total tax revenue with 47.8% behind Denmark. Sweden is an export-oriented market economy. Sweden’s engineering work force accounts for 50% of output and exports. The crime rate in Sweden is high. In 2013, there were 8,360 robberies, 85,200 burglaries, 21,000 home burglaries, 54,700 pick pocketing mostly to tourists, and 15,300 cars were stolen.

Somalia`s Barriers

Somalia is a small country that is smaller than Texas. The climate in Somalia is dry and hot. Temperatures fall as low as 0 degrees Celsius in the mountains. Mount Shimbris height in Somalia is 2,416 metres, which is the tallest mountain in Somalia. There is crop failure since there is little rain in Somalia. Water breakdowns can cause floods. The Indian Ocean surrounds Somalia, and 25% of Somalia is covered in the Sahel desert which makes people travel long distance. The Sahel desert covers Northern Somalia. The plateau regions in Somalia are high at an average of 1.829metres.

Somalia`s CultureThe language in Somalia is Somali which is related to Swahili, an Arabic, Hebrew and Amharic language. The population in Somalia is mostly Muslim. Arabic is the second most common language in Somalia. Somalia parents give their children three names. The first name is specific to an individual. The second name of the children are from their fathers even if the children are female. The third name is their surname. Women who are married don’t change their last name. Somalis (men or women) who have high status in their community are most respected. The high status are strong character, able to lead, are educated, wealthy, tribal family history and can communicate with everyone in the community. Children and elders have mutual respect in the community. Men are usually head of the household and go to work everyday. Women stay at home and look after their children. It is unacceptable in the culture for men to stay home and look after their children. Family is extremely important to Somalis culture. Somalia culture are based on clans and tribes.

Somalia’s Culture (Part 2)

It is easier for the government to locate families based on the tribes and clans. Clans and tribes make it easier for the government to find people who are in poverty and who are wealthy. The government can find child labourer in poor tribes or clans and pay less. The government can also find wealthy adults and pay them a high salary. This creates a cycle of rich people remaining rich and poor people remaining poor. The rich people stay rich because they can have an education that provides a good future and receive more money. The poor people stay poor because their pay is less than $2 a day. This means poor people have difficulty paying their taxes, are not educated, and have a hopeless future.

Video

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