I think child labour is unthinkably
evil on all levels of humanity! Now, unless your talking about a summer job, paper route, working at Gamestop or a hip hop clothing store. I pray to GOD that these acts of creulty come to an end!

This is yet more proof that Muslim states are predominantly stuck in the dark ages and to deal with them on a current democratic level is a major mistake. Britain had poor houses 150 years ago yet we expect integration of a people who when they come to Britain are travelling not only geographically but chronologically. I feel Burkha’s, corporal punishment and the hold the religeon has over their society is also very similar to 19th centuary Britain with its many churches, hangings etc and women having to cover up and not having equal rights? Am I wrong?

Al you are. If you don’t think Christianity has a hold over the politics of the uk or even better example America. Burkha’s do you also complain about Turbans and Crosses its part of their religion what right do you have to change it. Child Labour was more like a hundred years ago in many countries. I suggest you research before believing every the Daily Mail and Sun write.

@ Al: “This is yet more proof that Muslim states are predominantly stuck in the dark ages… Am I wrong?”

Yes. Yes you are. Nepal’s population is overwhelmingly Hindu; Cote D’Ivoire’s is about 35% Christian and 35% Muslim and is not a ‘Muslim state’. Care to rethink that diatribe?

… in fact, I should have added, Nepal is the world’s only officially Hindu state. Perhaps, then, you could share some equally robust thoughts about Hinduism?

Why shouldn’t children work – in the third world ?? In fact why shouldn’t they work here in England ??
We (the western world) cannot keep trying to apply our values and senseabilities to the rest of the world !!!

Now – for major manufacturers using child and slave labour to produce goods as cheap as possible and then make obscene profit margins – that’s a different matter !!

I agree with JJ, we live in an imperfect world, and whilst i dont condone it people need to eat – not everyone can get a job in a Gamestop or a hip hop clothing store..

Henry, I stand corrected, perhaps I should have said foreign states and their nationals cannot be expected to integrate with our own society immediately and nor can we judge them by our standards. I dropped the “M” bomb in ignorance. Surely with some of the historical comparisons I made, which were not done with a racial motive but just how I personally see things, you can see my point I was trying to get across. To take it literally, expecting these people to be judged by our (current – note current, we have been as bad and worse throughout history) standards is like giving your cat a watch and then trying to chastise it for being late, the cat would have no idea of the time nor what it has done wrong. Half the worlds problems come from our ability take the moral high ground after we have systematically exploited every aspect of humanity to gain the upper hand does it not?
TOM, when has a christian man ever made his wife hide behind a cross or do turbans hide identity? If you believe I want to change Muslim religion you are wrong. I do however believe that the burkha is not quoted as being compulsary in the Koran and does certainly not have a part to play in British society. As for child labour being more like a hundred years ago in many countries , did you even read what I wrote and the comparisons I made or just get angry and jump on your soap box as soon as you read the word Muslim?? I thank you Henry for asking for my response (allbeit sarcastically) for what were incorrect comments but would also like to note that Tom however did make as bad a generalisation about me as I did previously. Rather than ask for input and debate he felt the need to “suggest” and dictate his statement at me. I dare say that if he does reply I shall expect more of the same. How many questions did you ask me again?
I am open to any info that anyone feels may help with this debate even if it came from the sun or mail and does not back up my side of things as I know I can be wrong and welcome free speech whilst accepting that of others

3 points:

1. Al is an idiot
2. Child labour is not a product of Islam, it is a product of poverty
3. The sad but undeniable truth is that people work in sweatshops because it makes them better off. For the overwhelming majority of children who are the subject of Stacey’s programme, the alternative is unthinkable; homelessness, crime, begging and prostitution. Bear that in mind before you say they should all be shut down.

As many people have already noted child labour is an unpleasant by product of poverty. However from what I can see nobody seems to have questioned why this poverty exists. In short there are two main reasons although many other interlinked ones; an exploding world population and the capitalist system in which we live in, which naturally creates an underclass.
It is an issue that all developed countries have had to deal with as well. Unless the country in question has a strong,stable, state system or governament it is a problem that will never be overcome, something Nepal does not have and is unlikely to have anytime soon, much the same as India. Both countries which I have traveled around extensively and have little hope anything will change anytime soon. In contrast I have also recently been to China where they control the population and where over the past 30 years they have managed to lift 200 million people out of poverty. This is a place that only opened up to economic development properly in 1979; whilst I appreciate it has it’s problems the reason it’s where it is,stong governament.
I therefore don’t really see the point of making programme highlighting a problem you can do little about and which the presenter appears to mearly use as a tool to show how fantasticly compassionate she is. To simply brand it as evil shows a lack of understanding, child labour is a part of life as much now as it has always been

at least ..the children are not sitting at home..sniffing glue, watching Porn,stuffing their mouths with cakes/chips and crisps and disrespecting their elders/teachers/stepmums/stepdads/real mums/real dads…and so the list goes on and on and on….

leave them be…”Lord Krishna” will take care of them also

BLESS YOU AND ALL THE CHILDERN …May you all be shielded from harm

Amen

Satcey…”we need to vclean up our own backyard before going to our neighbours and complain about the stench blowing from their garden…”

if you sincerely pray to the almighty above, he will surely guide you and those who are truly concerned about the ”abused children of this planet”

such programmes often show a remarkable ”lack of understanding and often solve nothing..yours and BBC’s egos will ofcourse remain inflated!

i will not watch your progamme

xx

I will pray for you too…

I think the likes of stacey should mind thier own business…look at the state of the UK..with nursey workers commiting child abuse..do Indians make TV programmes about the filth that goes here in this society….stop wearing clothes from primark , Next, monsoon etc..cos thats what the children who u saw make…at least they dont laze around and are disrespectful to teachers or rely on the stae for living..

The religious people commenting on here are so irritating – Believing in some higher power strips you of any real opinion as you all share the same thoughts and spout the same psycho-babble. Please spare the more fortunate of us that aren’t terrified of some make-believe bedtime story.

Stacey Dooley is hot – Shes a little annoying, naive and sometimes innapropriate but she is trying. And she is gorgeous.

Just saw this programme last night and must say I was less than impressed with SD. SHe kept wanting to hug the kids, who weren’t comfortable with it. Not everyone likes hugs, whether you understand it or not just accept it!
She sat outside the big villa and made rather crass comments about the lady of the house. As it so happens in that country I assume the kid who’s working in there would rather do that than be sat at home in her mothers hut and starving to death whilst the ideals of the west are foistered on them. They got the girl out and sent them to sleep in a ‘hostel’, whilst SD and co I imagine went to a hotel? Why couldn’t they all go to the hotel? Is it cos they couldn’t justify the expense for the two ‘country’ girls? I believe taht was the reason. And that is the same logic the owners of the big house also use for not sending the girl to school. One issue may be bigger than the other but they are actually the same issue!
If the BBC want to get an impartial documenatry please send someone who is from that country and understands how things actually operate. Before you jump down my throat, you have to realise that child labour is part and parcel of this life! Should be eradicated but isn’t just yet. Don’t know for sure but I believe it wasn’t eradicated in the west till there was some sort of system in place to monitor children. No wars etc. Same as slavery. Not eradicated in the middle of an economic crisis was it? And by economic crisis in this case I mean the entire management/existence of the countries with this problem.
All in all I felt the programme was poor and fronted by some crybaby who didn’t seem to understand what was going on around her! Reads like a rant in all probability but it’s bugged me since I saw the show last night!

I was lucky enough to Nepal a few years ago to visit children I sponsor at a school outside Katmandu. A friend, who knew that I would cry the moment I saw the depravity, gave me some very sound advice…. she said ‘Whatever happens please don’t cry in front of the children, they won’t understand and will think they’ve done something wrong’. Much as I understand how difficult the trip was for Stacey I would like to share that advice for any future trips she might make. It’s OK to cry in the privacy of your room later, I did, but it was a very worthwhile trip and one of the proudest moments of my life when we handed over money to expand the school. Education is the key to the future for these children.

I think the charity workers should be concentrating primarily on the populaton explosion. As some one said attend to the root cause of the problem in the third world countries. Yes Hat’s off to China. India Pakistan Nepal all need to have a very strong incentivised family planning policy. Perhaps Stacey Dooley be putting her time money and effots into saving the future than running around galli’s(lanes) to uproot a child from a fairly secure home .

Ramal’s right. Until enough people ask the right question, nothing will change. You can pour as much money into the third world as you like, as long as people have more children than they can provide a better life for, you will have poverty and child labour and crime and starvation. Take away child labour and you just create another hole in the bucket, the world is running out of fingers…

I can’t help wondering what the benefit is to return the child Parang to a family that effectivly sold him in the first place? back to an Uncle who sold him initially, (as the guy seemed happy to do in the fisrt instance), to a step mother who beat him? to a village with no possibilities of education? – Of course he doesnt like working in the factory, so SD walks in and declares she will help ‘rescue’ him?

It’s an impossible situation and putting yet another white (quite ignorant even if she does have the best intentions) westener on our screens does not help. We know all this already, similar programmes have been on our screens for years. SD remarks that surley ‘they (the parents) would rather go hungary than sell their child’ — I cant believe she thinks they have a choice.

People have commented here about gods, money, desperation and social circumstances and yet the only commentor who seems to have thought about the kids is KH who remarks about crying in front of them, Which i agree with seeing SD crying every 5 minutes isnt beneficial

Finally I think SD is meerely an observer in this programme- she hasnt proffered any solutions and i don’t expect her to, but as far i can see she has gone to another country to insult what systems they have managed to build, and compare all conditions to britain- its unrealistic and i think the BBC thinks they can churn out a series of these programmes every couple of years and tick the ‘global issues’ box off their list, we never get to see further up the chain to find out why the situation isnt improving.

Im happy for the kids who have had a promising outcome from this programme, but what about all the other children seen in the factories? whats SD going to do for them? as far a i can see it made a good programme to help these children but thats it- a programme.

I agree with what Johann says about people having more children than they can care for but that is also true of the UK and other western countries. It is also important to remember that a lot of these sweat shops are in place to provide cheaper products for the west and therefore we are accountable for these problems to a certain degree. On the religious front although i personally believe that the majority of historys worst conflicts have been in the name of religion i feel that this situation is less to do wwith the worship of a higher power and much more to do with the worship of money!

I think no matter how evreyone should try and stop it. Your not helping someone glued to your computer bickering about it. Evreyone has been a child so it think it is wise to stop and ask your self what would I think if people treated me like that. I don’t know how a lot of people sleep at night knowing there is a young, innocent child out there who wants to do so much but can’t.
Child Labour happens to much around the globe and I personally want to do something to stop it after seeing the show. Even if its just getting in touch and asking how to help or going to Nepal, Africa or India and talking to the kids or maybe providing for their comunity

I strongly believe that child labour is extremely bad.
no child deserves that, none at all, no matter where you are from no child deserves it. I am a teenager myself and watching what stacey is doing makes me cry, imagine seeing children your own age working on a cocoa farm or in a factory making embroidery. Things like this are stuff that make me thank god for my life and appriciate it as well. If you watch the one about the cocoa factory, the scars those children have is unbearable to look at yet alone bear. Scars like that never leave a child’s body. Imagine one of those children in 15 years and you ask them how was your childhood. Some would probably lie to you to hide the truth while the rest would burst out in tears and let it out or some would just be silent. Child labour wont just stop today because you and I say so, its a gradual process and that is why I envy those children and their braveness. For them to wake up every morning and do such a daunting task.

I think what stacey is doing is excellent. she is making our rich country open their eyes. We should all aprechiate what we all have. Who would want their kids workin like that? I think more people should donatemoney to the charitys that help them kids and people. Its awful to see and we just turn our heads and pretend its not happening.

Having just seen the first episode on Nepal, and not having come across Stacey Dooley before, I must say she is so tedious and insensitive it is beyond belief. The very model of a ill-informed patronising do-gooder. Indeed, so awful as to be compelling.

She was obviously (eventually) told to pull her head in by the aid organisation staff. Her incessant touching of the boy she attempted to reunite with his father was clearly making the child very uncomfortable. Nonetheless, she just couldn’t stop.

Her aims are laudable. The way she conducts herself is not.

These people weren’t starving before “certain” greedy agressive nations interfered in their societies. “Civilizing” them into a greed based system where the disparity between groups increased monumentally, increasing crime, deforming family values, etc. I suppose progress by western standards is a lot of useless toys and a broken system that opresses the people. Hooray for colonialism and imperialism — screwing up the world for centuries at a time. Yay, europe!!!

Having watched the doco and read your comments I am bemused by your general lack of compassion. Yes Stacey is naive but at least she was prepared to make an attempt to change things.

She understood that education is the key to change. There is a co-relation between poverty and education. People with education have more abundant lives with less crime, conflict and reduced family size.

So you can choose to sit back and eat your cheap chocolate etc like the landed gentry of the 1800s or you can choose to consume “Fair Trade” items.

Remember “If it is to be it is up to me”. These are little words but they are very impowering.

Did you misunderstand my post Alister? I most certainly feel compassion for these exploited children and revulsion for the circumstances that keep them under this yoke.
The point I was trying to make is that Stacey appears to be staggeringly ignorant and self-serving. This show is aimed at the youth demographic – one hopes it is intended to be a cautionary tale: that worthy aims can be achieved despite the ugliness of ignorant do-gooders.

Why are you saying that she is naive? For what? For getting emotional? Do you think that means she doesn’t know the extent or severity of the problem? Considering that she was inexperienced with the subject and just 22 year old at the time these were filmed I’m actually quite impressed with her. Yes she appears surprised by some things but in part that could be to get the point across to those who aren’t aware of it. They were obviously made to appeal to certain demographics (i.e. young people who are often too wrapped up in themselves and their own insecurities to see the big picture). We are all ignorant to some extent and she seems to be very thought out in her remarks. You should listen to yourselves talk as if you had an idea.. it’s sad. At least she’s trying.

B.E. I am sorry you misunderstand me I made the comment “Yes Stacey is naive” Because of previous comments in the thread, however I did finish the sentence with “but at least she was prepared to make an attempt to change things” I also went on to complement her on her understanding that education was the ladder that will help raise these children from their plight.

With regard to your comment about appealing to young people I am certainly not young but I have written to my preferred chocolate provider supporting their selection of raw material from Fair Trade providers.

Just as a question, did you also have rant at Bill for the “staggeringly ignorant and self-serving” comment or SW etc.

Oh.. sorry, that wasn’t really directed at you Alister. More in general at those who have a go at her for no good reason. Sorry I didn’t make that clear. It’s great that you support good decisions by your providers and make them know that you’re aware of it as a consumer. :)