Alicia weaves through El Alto's stalled traffic under a blazing sun, hawking colourful woven flowers to grumpy drivers and lovers. With luck, the 12-year-old and her mother will together muster £10 by day's end, all the while keeping watch over her younger brother and sister, ages 8 and 6.
"It is difficult for my mother to sell alone because she has to look after my siblings," said Alicia, who normally goes to school in the afternoon but is using her vacation to help her mother by working the entire day. As her siblings sleep, her mother knits the flowers that Alicia sells.
While most of the world is trying to diminish child labour, Bolivia has become the first nation to legalise it from age 10. Congress approved the legislation early this month, and Vice President Alvaro Garcia signed it into law on Thursday in the absence of President Evo Morales, who was travelling.
The bill's sponsors say lowering the minimum work age from 14 simply acknowledges a reality: many poor families in Bolivia have no other choice than for their kids to work. The bill offers working children safeguards, they say. » | Agencies | Saturday, July 19, 2014
