The Story of Ali:
The streets are roaring with the sounds of Peugeots and Paykans, and the air attacks his face like a blazing fire. With each breath, Ali fills his little lungs with the thick grey smoke that hovers over the city. There is no option to escape the heat- especially when the items he's holding in his hands have yet to be sold.
Amidst the noisy traffic, Ali hears the sound of police sirens, and he anxiously looks in all directions. The officer exits his vehicle and briskly approaches him. Ali's eyes begin to well up with tears and a look of fright forms on his face. The officer hastily confiscates the items out of Ali's hands, and briefly scolds him before returning to his car.
Ali stands there in disbelief and within a second, slumps to the ground, letting his fragile body hit the scalding hot pavement. He buries his face into his lap, and begins to cry loudly. The manifestation of Ali's turmoil is within the painful tears he sheds; the same tears he struggles to hide with his tiny five year old hands.
Concerned drivers slow down to see what's wrong. Taking notice to them, Ali whimpers, "The police officer took all my things, and now my dad is going to beat me for not finishing my job." The sounds of his sobs are so piercing that his words are almost incoherent. With a pithy look of sympathy, the cars one-by-one drive away, leaving Ali alone on one of the busiest and most dangerous streets in Tehran.
Many people's hearts would be left broken at the sight of a little boy standing alone and helpless with torn clothes and filthy skin. Yet, as he stands there in his current state, cars speed by, oblivious to his existence.
The Reality of the Situation:
There are countless amounts of children just like Ali who struggle to live every day. They work over eight hours a day in the scorching heat, praying to sell off their items in exchange for enough money to afford a decent meal for their family.
Even though the police officer confiscated his possessions and temporarily put a stop to inhumane work conditions, nothing was done to help or protect Ali. He was still stuck on the street corner, and he still had to go home that day and face possible beatings from his father. There is also a very high chance that he returned the next day with a new bag filled with goodies to sell.
Despite Iran's labour laws that do not allow children to work under the age of 15, there are thousands of under-aged children working poorly conditioned jobs every year. The problem with Iran, as with most developing countries is that the legal age limit is not properly enforced.
Even though we're not strangers to the child labour crisis haunting developing countries, many of us are not aware why such problems exist. The lack of knowledge surrounding this issue doesn't stem from ignorance, but from the lack of resources and information available to the general public.
