Free the Children - Brossura

Kielburger, Craig; Major, Kevin

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0771045948 ISBN 13: 9780771045943

Casa editrice: McClelland & Stewart, 1999

Riassunto

In a Toronto suburb in April 1995, twelve-year-old Craig Kielburger opened the daily paper as usual and began to search for the comics page. But his morning ritual was interrupted when an article about a boy his own age caught his eye.

It was the story of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani boy who, at the age of four, was sold into slavery by his parents. For the next six years, the article read, Iqbal was shackled to a carpet loom, tying thousands upon thousands of tiny knots, twelve hours a day, six days a week. For this he was paid three cents a day. Amazingly, Iqbal’s will was never broken: he escaped and began efforts to reveal the horror of child labour. But when Iqbal began to gain international attention, and Pakistani carpet manufacturers began to lose orders, he was shot dead.

Craig’s life was changed forever that morning. To find out more about child labour he contacted human-rights organizations around the world, and with a small band of his friends from school he formed his own human-rights organization called Free the Children. In the weeks that followed, Free the Children took off, fuelled entirely by the efforts and enthusiasm of children Craig’s own age.

Soon Craig decided that he had to see first-hand the working conditions of South Asian children. At the time he was not allowed to take the subway alone to downtown Toronto, but he convinced his reluctant parents to let him fly halfway around the world. For seven weeks, in the company of a young Canadian human-rights worker named Alam Rahman, Craig journeyed through the world of slums, sweatshops, and back alleys where so many of the children of South Asia live in servitude, often performing the most menial and dangerous of jobs.

In his travels in Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, Craig witnessed the shocking variety and extent of child labour, and was transformed from a typical, middle-class kid into a revolutionary. In New Delhi and Islamabad he created a sensation – and learned something of the power of the media – when he famously crossed paths with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who was touring Asia with the ‘Team Canada’ trade mission. By the time he returned to Canada, Craig and the young people of Free the Children had gained an international profile.

On his extraordinary journey Craig lost his faith in the ability of adults to uphold the rights of children, but his conviction that children themselves have the power to fight for their rights and those of their peers was stronger than ever.

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Recensione

“This book’s descriptions of the work children actually do – dangerous, back-breaking and degrading – go a long way toward undercutting [our] complacency.”
–Globe and Mail

“A powerful book....The prose is natural, engaging, and very much Kielburger....He’s for real.”
–National Post

“Kielburger puts a human face on the issue of working children, letting the victims of child labour tell their own stories in a powerful and often moving fashion.”
–Halifax Chronicle-Herald

L'autore

Craig Kielburger has received the Roosevelt Freedom Medal (with Free the Children) and the State of the World Forum Award. He has also been appointed Ambassador of the Children’s Embassy in Sarajevo and has been named a Global Leader of Tomorrow at the 1998 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In October 1998 he received the Governor General’s Award for Meritorious Service.

Free the Children is Craig Kielburger’s first book. He lives with his family in Thornhill, Ontario.

Kevin Major is the award-winning author of ten books, including Blood Red Ochre, No Man’s Land, Hold Fast, which Quill & Quire magazine voted number two on its list of the best Canadian children’s books of all time. His books have been translated into several languages and he has been honoured with the Vicky Metcalf Award for a body of work inspirational to youth.

Kevin Major lives with his wife and two sons in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: McClelland & Stewart
• Data di pubblicazione: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0771045948
• ISBN 13: 9780771045943
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 336