November 20th is celebrated as the International Day for Children.
This day remembers:
the right of children to be free from exploitation
the right to his or her own opinion
the right to education , health care, and economic opportunity.
However, about 9.7 million children died in 2006 before their fifth birthday, mostly from malaria and pneumonia.
About 42.5 million children do not have access to clean water. More than 300,000 children around the world are forced to fight in wars.
218 milion children between five and 17 are working in poor conditions...
Do you know this little statue?
It is in Postas Street, in front of the Post Office.
Do you know who Iqbal Masih was?
Iqbal Masih was born in Muridke, a small rural village in Pakistan.
His father abandoned the family when Iqbal was a little baby an his mother worked as a housecleaner, but she didn't have enough money to feed all her children.
Iqbal was sold as a child slave and forced to work twelve hours per day in a carpet factory.
When he was 10, he escaped.
He helped over 3,000 Pakistani children to escape and spoke about chlidren labour all around the world.
He was murdered in 1995 in Muridke in the middle of a busy road. Most people think that he was assassinated by members of the "Carpet Mafia" because of his famous fight against the child labour industry.
In 1994, Iqbal was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award.
In 2000, he was awarded The World's Children Prize for the Rights of the Children
Do you know this song? Watch the video.
