City meat outlets butcher childhood, mince dreams

Bhopal: At an age when they would be happier flashing a willow with flourish or doing a swift tackle before shooting a football to the goalpost, these children in the age-group of 9-12 are actually wielding the butcher's knife and chopping meat in dark, dingy alleys of Old City.
Upon entering the historical Aishbagh gate, you find meat shops in a row.Tender hands slicing meat into 'keema' with a butcher knife can be spotted amid hanging loafs. Arif, 13, who works at a meat shop in Bagh Farhat Afza, Aishbagh, shared his heart-wrenching story of being a child labourer, but these shops are in the blind spot of teams checking child labour. "I started sitting in my uncle's meat shop when I was just 10 years old. I learned chopping meat there for about 8-9 months and then it became my routine."
With tears rolling down his cheeks, he recounted, "My father went to jail when I was a child. We were six brothers but the elder ones left my mother, one younger brother and me to our fate. There was nothing to survive on, so I chose the job. I used to get Rs150 per day after toiling 12 hours."
When TOI asked Farhan, 12, who became a master in making 'keema' of buffalo meat in past three months, why he chose this profession, he said, "Aur kya karte? I was 8 years old when my father took me to his meat shop in Islampura where I was given the task of hanging goat meat and putting cut mark on them. I became used to being surrounded by meat loaf since then. Now, I chop 20-40 kg of buffalo and other kinds of meat daily to make 'keema', for which I earn Rs 150 per day." He added, "Once I was almost fired by my boss when I placed my chopping knife in the wrong place."
According to EKA, an organisation working to end child labour involved in meat trade, none of the children have been to school but they did dream of becoming cops, cricketers, pilots, etc.
"There are some 25 kids who are being counselled. The job is basically community-based but it is is child labour," said Seema Kurup, managing trustee of EKA.
"Safe City Initiative" has been conceived by UNICEF in partnership with the government of MP and civil society partners namely Aarambh, Muskan and EKA for developing safe spaces for children. It is being piloted in Bhopal and Mumbai.
Saraswati who is counsellor, told TOI, "These children are mostly given task of chopping different kinds of meat into 'keema', which involves much more effort than cutting into just pieces. The children I am counselling have become or were so aggressive, that as soon as they enter our office, they become destructive and sometimes, it becomes difficult to control them. They always want to be considered as adults. Moreover, their anger takes them on the wrong path that leads to crimes."
After regular counselling, few children chose to quit their job.
When contacted, assistant labour commissioner, B P Singh said, "These cases have not come to my notice, since I am here only for past two years. As per orders of government, working in meat shops is highly detrimental for children and this will be taken up seriously."