In a country where a third of the population lives below the poverty line, child labor may be prohibited, but it remains essential for many families to survive… and finance their education. Excerpt from “Sur la ligne” in Peru, a magazine to be seen on July 6, 2023.
The third issue of “Sur la ligne” magazine begins in Lima, a modern megalopolis of more than 10 million inhabitants, the capital of a country under tension. Since the dismissal of Pedro Castillo, the first Peruvian president from a modest family, clashes have left nearly 70 dead in six months. To understand the underlying reasons for popular anger, all you have to do is climb to the heights of the city, where a “wall of shame” alone symbolizes the inequalities that fracture Peruvian society. Like an interior border, it stands between the wealthy neighborhoods, their villas with swimming pools, and the sheet metal shantytowns. Two worlds separated by 500 meters as the crow flies.
One of Lima’s poorest neighborhoods is called Pamplona Alta: here, there are no paved roads, no running water, no sewage or garbage collection. Three quarters of its inhabitants (they are 400,000, more than in Nantes or Montpellier) live in the informal sector. In the suburb of the capital where the Casas live, it is the recycling of waste from the public dump that allows them to survive. Like a third of the Peruvian population, the family lives below the poverty line.
Three to four hours a day on the garbage dump
To painfully reach 250 euros in monthly income, the grandmother needs the work of her grandchildren, she explains in this extract. If she agreed to testify, it is because Djamel Mazi and his team are not “not Peruvian journalists”, otherwise she could “to have troubles”. Peru forbids it, but whether in these “garbage suburbs” or elsewhere in Lima, child labor remains a necessity for many families – and a reality for one in four minors.
Chantal, 4 years old, José, 7 years old, and Willy, 9 years old, therefore spend three to four hours every day in the garbage, sorting copper and iron waste. Olivia, the grandmother, takes care of the large pieces and entrusts them with collecting the smaller ones. According to her, they would have the technique not to cut their hands. Little Chantal admits finding this job “A little” painful, but “They must learn to earn their daily bread”, justifies Olivia.
The money that the children generate (about fifty euros per month) is immediately reinvested in their school fees, because primary school is compulsory in Peru. Willy is proud to show the journalists his brand new uniform, which cost 45 euros… and which he paid for with his work.
Excerpt from “Peru: the wall of infamy”, a report by Djamel Mazi, Christophe Kenck, Yvan Martinet, Yann Moine, Olivier Gardette, Marion Gualandi broadcast in the magazine “Sur la ligne”, Thursday July 6 at 11:15 p.m. on France 2.
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