AMERICA/GUATEMALA - Child workers: the exploitation of children represents a permanent crisis

Guatemala City (Agenzia Fides) - The exploitation of child labor in Guatemala represents a permanent crisis, where the perpetrators of this heinous phenomenon are mostly family members or friends of the family, who force children to beg in the streets. These children wash car windows at traffic lights and dress up as clowns to get some money in return. Every day hundreds of criminal gangs send children to beg. Lately fifty were removed from their families because the parents were the main perpetrators. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are a million working children in Guatemala, more than half of those living in rural areas are exploited in the fields. The girls are the most vulnerable to being subjected to prostitution and forced labor without pay. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 29/09/2014)