Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has raised the issue of changing “stupid” child labor laws in the U.S. because, he says, those from poor families don’t understand the value of work. While Gingrich, his supporters and detractors debate such an idea, thousands of children in Mali can attest to what happens when the government stays out of child welfare matters.

 

It is estimated that between 20,000 and 40,000 children in Mali work in gold mines, according to Human Rights Watch. Children as young as six have dug shafts, worked underground, hauled heavy amounts of ore and performed other physically-demanding tasks. They also have been exposed to mercury, a toxic substance used to separate gold from ore that can destroy the central nervous system.

 

Despite examples of child workers being exploited, both currently abroad and historically in 19th century America, Gingrich contends kids as young as nine should take jobs in their schools, which could include cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors.

 

“Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and nobody around them who works,” Gingrich told an audience in Iowa. “So they literally have no habit of showing up on Monday. They have no habit of staying all day. They have no habit of ‘I do this and you give me cash,’ unless it’s illegal.”

–Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Up to 40,000 Children Mine Gold in Mali: Rights Group (Agence France-Presse)

Newt Gingrich Expands on His Support for Child Labor (by Paul West, Los Angeles Times)

Evidence of Child Labor in Mali Gold Mines (by John Heilprin, Associated Press)

Mali: Artisanal Mines Produce Gold With Child Labor (Human Rights Watch)