Shrouded from the oblivious eyes of neighbours, children from across the globe have been victims of exploitations in all sorts of forms. Recently, the children of Myanmar have been facing inhumane treatment that no child should ever experience. Some may have secured a chance in harbouring the rightful justice for themselves ;however, many still remain in the veiled darkness of their fates, awaiting their turn. In order to bring justice, recognizing exploitations is crucial for all. Exploitation of children presents itself in three categories : physical, physiological and sexual. Victims in Myanmar continue to live in terror of experiencing it again which in turn becomes the community’s duty to alleviate the conditions of those who are desperate for help. It is vital for the community to educate themselves about child exploitation and get involved in spreading unwavering assistance to the children for their mental and physical health. This ensures a bright future for the children to reach colossal heights and build a beneficial future for themselves and others.
Child exploitation, by a general definition, is when an individual regards and treats other human beings as an object. It is common in most countries with people still trying to solve the issue. Physical exploitations include child labour, domestic abuse, or anything that causes physical harm. In Myanmar, the agriculture sector uses children as a source of labour in addition to industrial zones and service areas. Similarly, sexual exploitation consists of the repulsive usage of children by sexual means such as sex trafficking and mutilations of children’s organs, resulting in a damaged physical and physiological state. Sexual exploitations of Burmese minors are often conducted abroad and are heard of in rural settlements where education is not a priority. Both abuse stated above imprint an everlasting damage/toll on the mental-wellbeing of a child and takes an enormous amount of effort and money to relieve the traumatic event. Nevertheless, these mistreatments do not always appear to be distinct, which is why these cases should always be handled with care. The exploitation of Burmese children appears to be frequent and is still a pressing issue for many.
Due to Myanmar’s poor economics since the 1800s, a surge of child exploitation cases have risen on the horizon specifically in rural areas where sources are limited resulting in the usage of children for labour work in manufacture and service industries with agriculture dominating 58.3% of child labour cases. Private businesses in Myanmar are the root of overworked and under aged teens taking up 93.9% of child servitude. Most people do not recognize child labour and the fatalities of it because of how common and desensitized of a subject it is. For instance, the beloved tea shops of Myanmar mostly employ minors, making them work unsuitable hours of shifts with extremely low income. Additionally, human traffickers target Burmese minors – majority of which are females – who are seeking for job opportunities abroad into forced prostitution in countries such as Thailand, China and Malaysia. As recent technologies are being invented in an accelerating manner, newer techniques are being used to devise devious plans especially when it comes to child exploitations on social media. Recently, distraught have latched onto the minors living in conflict-ruled sub-urban areas of Myanmar where child soldiers are sent to the front lines armed with no proper training but only the lingering thought of their lost future. Such atrocities are still happening this very second and should not be overlooked in any way.
Private businesses in Myanmar are the root of overworked and under aged teens taking up 93.9% of child servitude.
Most children in Myanmar are exposed to physical and physiological risks from the objectified treatment that they experience. Industrial zones usually located in the outskirts of the city are mainly where child labourers face physical threats and malnutrition from the heavy workload that they battle everyday. Moreover, agricultural districts are hazardous for the long-term health of an individual and it has been reported by the Ballard Brief on the topic of Child Labour in Myanmar that a total of 2830 abrasions have been recorded in 2013 with 9.1% of the injuries involving in the injuries of the head and neck. Improper use of equipment during work such as inhaling or touching mercury and other unknown mixtures has ensued developing allergies, respiratory diseases, abnormal disorders and stunted growth. Not only do these disabilities result in brain irregularity, but also impairs the physiological state of children. They tend to develop PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), depression, anxiety, substance usage, dissociative identity disorder and some may even resort to self-harm and suicidal ideation. Unfortunately, mental care is often regarded as a myth to be debunked thus resulting in little records of physiological treatments of victims. Considering the amount of damage inflicted on child labourers, it has taken a toll on the physical and physiological state of the victim and it is the community’s role to nurse the victims back to the best condition possible.
In order to alleviate the conditions mentioned above, it is crucial to acknowledge the role we, as a society, play in wiping child exploitation off the map of Myanmar and around the world. Several measurements have been taken in the past to prevent exploitations, however, they appear to be insufficient and require more effort and assistance from people. The Myanmar Program on the Elimination of Child Labor and the Myanmar Mobile Education Project had taken actions on discriminating against child exploitation in any forms, from around 2013 up until 2021 where the programs could not proceed due to Myanmar facing an enormous political crisis. As important as it is for large organisations and the government to get involved, eliminating child exploitation starts with yourself and those around you. Start by educating others and yourself on the topic. This stage is crucial in identifying even the tiniest sign of an exploitation occurring right under your nose. If you know someone that is suffering from exploitations, do not be hesitant to contact the authorities and take actions. Stalling time will only make matters worse. Besides providing mental strength for the victim, supporting non-profit organisations that strive to erase child exploitation is a great alternative way to start as there are diverse groups of people with unique proposals, all walking towards the same destination.
Aside from all these great paths you can take to eliminate child exploitation, it all eventually comes down to yourself to be a part of this journey. Child exploitation is not an easy subject to handle and it is important to be sensible when bringing it up. It is an utterly revolting movement that is being carried out right under our noses by demoralised, soulless human beings who aim to objectify children only for their advantage. This leads to the increase of the injured physical and physiological states of victims who still have dreams of their own. Neglecting these situations, being a by-stander, might be the leading factor of still increasing rates of child exploitations thus why it is incredibly necessary to not be hesitant and partake in actions that are inhibiting child exploitations. Not only do your words and actions matter in igniting dreams of the child-victims, but also is significant in wiping child exploitation off the face of Earth.
Brooklyn
AIS, Mandalay, Myanmar
Citation
Sources : https://stopchildexploitation.org/education/types-and-forms-of-child-exploitation/
https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/media-room/national-statistics-on-child-abuse/ (Statistics)
https://www.unicef.org/myanmar/child-protection
https://ballardbrief.byu.edu/issue-briefs/child-labor-in-myanmar
The Burman Newspaper 
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