Saad Syed
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The understanding of different cultures is crucial. In some parts of the world, children are forced to fight for survival. Child soldiers the age of 11-13 are running around with AK-47's fighting for freedom, trying to escape a local druglord/warlord's reign of terror (or supporting it), and risking everything for their families. In some parts of the world, you don't have the luxury of living until your 70's, 80's, 90's, etc. You'd be lucky if you hit 45.
My father tells me stories of how when East Pakistan fell and the Bengali revolution happened. There were multiple genocides going on both sides. My grandfather had to stay as he was an officer, but he shipped his family (literally over night) back to West Pakistan. They were homeless... literally lived in a shack. My father, the third son out of a lineup of five, had to start working at the age of about 12. He was in a new land where people didn't want him - essentially an immigrant - and had to put together money with the two older brothers to support a family. They were 3 sisters and 5 brothers with 1 mother... and no idea if their father was still alive... in a third world country during one of the bloodiest revolutions of the century.
Anyway, not to get off-topic ... my aunts all married young. Very young. Everyone did. You didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, so you lived in the today. People in the west a lot of times have no idea or understanding of what the lifestyle is like at other parts of the world. Granted the scenario I talked about was during an era of war, and the girl in the article isn't going through any of that. All I'm saying is that it's unfair to paint with a broad brush if you don't know everyone's situation.
Moreover, a note about child labor - as Tony mentioned - (a lot of it happens in India/Pakistan... those children might work in Pakistan/India/etc. under managers that are Indian/Pakistani... however, the companies they work for and the warehouses they work in are American, British, French. Some food for thought.
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