Children in the Workplace
Listen to the charming music as it allures my cobra...making it sway to the music I
play. If you are pleased with what you see, you can pay me in Indian rupees.
For the final act and just a few more rupees, we'll offer you a close-up visit with a
python. Just feel it's warm, dry skin...and its strength as it moves along your
shoulders and neck.
I'm walking beside you in my dirty, ragged work clothes. I have my hand out and a small child on my hip. I'm everywhere you go...in the city and in the country. I'm waiting for you to look at me...to see my sad and desperate look...that's when I know I have you hooked. At the end of the day, I go to he who pays me to be out there with you...and give him your payment of sympathy.
Women in the Workplace
As I sit here in my bright and colorful sahri, I can smell the wool pass through my dry
hands as it spins into a bright white line. Someday, this yarn will be woven into a
carpet. Around me, I can see and hear the different stages this yarn will go
through...the sound of the wooden bar of the weavers, the snipping of the shears, the
smell of the chemical treatment, and the swoosh of the cleaning shovels.
I can feel the pedal under my foot as I pace the speed of my sewing machine needle. I am part of a training program for teaching job skills to young women. We sew mens shirts, jewelry bags, and other items. On the wall, you can see the flat patterns we use in making our items. The directors of this training are trying to find a market for the items we sew.
The heat seems to engulf me as I sit with the potatoes spread out before me. I'm
sorting the potatoes by size and number of eyes. You can see the bags of potatoes
piled around me for the owner to sell. I live here on the farm with my family in one
of the laborers' homes. We receive payment plus our housing for working here.
