Comprehension passage from CHILD LABOUR AND CHILD TRAFFICKING - JSS2 English language Lesson Note

    CHILD LABOUR AND CHILD TRAFFICKING

            Grandpa once told me the story of a girl, named Hawa. She was taken away from her home at the age of nine, against her consent, due to the poor economic condition experienced in her home.

            She went through hell on earth. Her plight was worsened by the tedious tasks she was forced to do where she was taken to. ‘I wish I was never born,’ were the words of Hawa one day when the ‘going` became too tough for her.

            Her case was not that different from that of her counterparts who were trafficked to Europe to work as prostitutes on the basis that they were being taken there for schooling by some business men who pretended to be ‘God sent`. On getting to Europe they discovered that they had been deceived, and there was no going back.

            Hawa and her counterparts were enslaved, their basic human rights was taken away from them. Grandpa said victims are most of the time tricked and lured by false promises. At times they were physically forced; some were used as debt bondage.

            Children like Hawa are always sad, tired and unable to continue their education. Most of the time, they are exposed to serious hazards, including sexual harrassment and they are usually paid little or no money. They are exploited.