160000 migrant children in West Bengal brick kilns

Kolkata, Mar 16 : Every year thousands of children, invisible and unheard arrive into the several hundred (4000 approx) of brick kilns situated across West Bengal.

These children are forced to migrate along with their parents who are pushed into distress migration from the neighboring states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa and come into parts of West Bengal to work as unskilled and semi skilled daily wage laborers at the brick kilns.

Brick making being seasonal in nature and function, operates during the dry seasons of the year. The influx of seasonal migrants into the brick kilns of West Bengal begins from the month of October. Prior to the onset of the monsoons during end of May and the first week of June, the furnace in the brick Kilns close down production.

During these eight months, an average size brick kiln produces 30 to 35 lakhs units of bricks, employing about 250 to 300 laborers. Each similar type brick kiln therefore accommodates about 80 to 100 migrant families who temporarily reside in the kiln site for the entire production period.

It is estimated; about 30 to 50 children in the age group below 18 years reside in each of these 4000 (unofficial data) brick kilns which adds up to an average of 160000 children.

Mostly, these brick kilns are located away from the villages and local habitations and therefore operate in isolation. The frequency of coming in contact of these migrant families with the local community or vice versa is minimal.

One of the most evident indicators that prove the exclusion of these migrants is; negligible or complete absence of any government scheme or provisions benefiting these migrants in the place if migration no matter how universal the schemes and provisions are meant to be.

'Accessibility' is an issue which has by and large determined the socio-economic, cultural and political facet of basic Rights of individuals and particularly the multitude of children from this excluded migrant community.

NGO Save the Children, in West Bengal begun intervention with this migrant community in the brick kilns from the year 2007.

The objective was to facilitate ensuring the Rights of children in brick kilns focusing on the Right to Education, Protection and Basic Health.

The intervention included an operational area to comprise a total of 80 brick kilns situated in the districts of Malda and North 24 Pargnas of West Bengal.

Till date, the three years of collaborative efforts of working with different identified players like the Brick Kiln Owners, Parents of the migrant children, Government line departments, Panchayat Raj Institute members, Community members, Youth Groups and local NGOs has provided for bringing out vital learnings and achievements in facilitating changes in the lives of the children in the brick kilns.

Throughout the project span, despite achieving encouraging results like brick kilns being declared "Child Labour Free" with immense support from the kiln owners and the local administration, challenges still remain on issues around accessibility of these migrant children to culturally appropriate education and basic health and nutrition services as a matter of Right.

The project findings as challenges reflect;
· Migrant children in the brick kilns get involved in work because they do not have access to formal education in the place of migration.

Save the Children, with the cooperation of the brick kiln owners has established 80 Bridge Course Centers, BCCs in the 80 operational brick kilns. The BCCs are multiple activity centers which function located in the kiln premises with an objective to prepare these children and mainstream them into formal government schools.

Since 2007, a total of 5589 children have been enrolled into these BCCs. 5505 children have been successfully mainstreamed into formal schools. More than 60 percentage mothers from this community have expressed saying they want their children to be in schools. They also have informed that their children used to get involved in work as they had nothing else to do and were idle.

This approach has proved to be successful in the case of migrant children from within the state of West Bengal. In the case of migrant children from other states, enrollment in formal schools has remained a greater challenge due to lack or complete absence of culture appropriate schools in the place of migration.

· Migrant children in the brick kilns are vulnerable and frequent victims to health hazards and experiencing severe malnutrition because they have no access to Basic Health Services in the place of migration.

Brick Kilns in West Bengal are categorized under the unorganized sector. Besides the undersized efforts made by the kiln owners, the children are grossly devoid of any kind of growth, nutrition, health and hygiene support from either government or Non government sources. These children apparently do not appear in any of the government statistics with regards to birth, death and issues like malnutrition status.

The Child Development Project Officer, CDPO of Barasat II block on his visit into the brick kilns was shocked to see the deplorable health status of these migrant children in the brick kilns. As a follow up he has informed Save the Children saying 10 ICDS centers have been allocated to be setup inside the kiln premises for the migrant children, but the actual process of initiation and establishment of the ICDS centers has still not begun.

Save the Children is temporarily running 80 crèches inside the kilns with an objective to provide a safe place and care to the children below 6 years while their parents are working.

· Migrant children in the brick kilns are subjected to neglect, different forms of abuse and exploitation because they do not have access to any reporting mechanism which ensures their protection in the place of migration.

The heterogeneous nature of the family composition that temporarily resides in the brick kilns poses a threat to the safety and protection of children below 18 years. The young and adolescents are exposed to hazardous conditions inside the kiln premises, often remain neglected, abused and exploited by others inside the kilns.

Cases that are reported are dealt with by the owners themselves but many number of cases go unreported. The child victims here have no one to complain to and therefore have accepted even sexual exploitation as a part of the deal to work in the kilns.

What can be done?
I - Link these children to the facilities of SARVA SIKSHA ABHIYAN, SSA.
• Alternative Schools in the place of migration for migrating (never enrolled and drop out) children under the provisions for hard to reach children under the SSA. (Like Alternate Innovative Education Centers, AIE)
• Inter-sate recognition of certificates from these Alternate Education centers so that the migrant children are able to continue schooling both at the place of migration and the back in the native village.
II - Link these children to the facilities within the ICDS
• Establish Anganwadi Centers near the kiln sites so that the below 6 years children including the lactating and pregnant mothers from the kilns have access to these facilities.
III - Link these children and their parents to the protection mechanisms established and operational in the districts under the ambit of the Juvenile Justice Act.
• The Child Protection Committees, CPCs that have been formed by Save the Children in the brick kilns to be strengthened through proactive outreach by the Child Welfare Committee, CWC in the districts to the kilns to educate the families and provide for platform for raising concerns.

Who should initiate and undertake these objectives?

This objective calls for a collective approach and action of the government line departments namely the Primary Education including the Sarva Siksha Abhyan, SSA, Department of Labour including the National Child Labour Project, NCLP, Department of Women and Child Development, Local Panchayat and the civil society organizations including the NGOs.