Summer vacation, children in the highlands of Nghe An invite each other to pick lychees for hire
(Baonghean.vn) - For many years now, picking lychees for hire has become a part-time job for children in Muong Noc (Que Phong) during the summer vacation. This job helps them earn a little income to cover expenses for the new school year, but it also has many unpredictable risks.
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| Summer is also the time when lychee gardens in Muong Noc (Que Phong) begin to ripen. According to farmers here, this year the lychee crop is not good. |
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| However, whether the crop is good or bad is not a big problem for the children in Muong Noc. When they are called to pick lychees, they will have money to buy candy and save a little to buy books and clothes for the new school year. Lychee trees that produce ripe fruit are usually high, so these hired lychee pickers have to climb ladders, clinging from branch to branch to pick. Therefore, this job also has many potential risks. |
![Năm nay 10 tuổi, Lang Thanh Ttr]ơngf đã có mùa hái vải thứ 2 của mình. Cậu bé tiết lộ vào mùa vải năm ngoái cậu đã kiếm đủ tiền mua sách vở, quần áo mới cho năm học vừa qua. Cậu còn mua được chiếc xe đạp cho câu em trai vừa học xong lớp 3](https://bna.1cdn.vn/2019/06/09/uploaded-huuvi-2019_06_09-_bna_hai_vai_36726656_962019.jpg) |
| This year, Lang Thanh Truong, 10 years old, is in his second lychee picking season. He revealed that during last year’s lychee season, he earned enough money to buy books and new clothes for the past school year. He even bought a bicycle for his younger brother who had just finished third grade. |
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| Truong's work usually lasts about 2 hours, sometimes he also stops to enjoy the ripe lychees right on the tree. |
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| As for the younger brother Lang Tuong Minh, this lychee season he also helps his older brother. He just stands under the tree, waits there to pick the fruits and put them in a cloth bag. |
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| The litchi picking boys shared that in Muong Noc, there are quite a few boys who work as litchi pickers. Parents often do not support them climbing because of the fear of accidents, but because of the attractive income, they often accept the job with the garden owners. |
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| After picking, the children have to tie the lychees into bunches. Lang Thanh Truong said that they are paid 8,000 VND/kg, which is 1/4 of the local retail price. On average, a child picking lychees for 2-3 hours a day can pick about 10kg of lychees. It is known that this job only lasts for 1-1.5 months during the lychee ripening season. Having witnessed the work of picking lychees for hire by these highland children, it is thought that there should be a strong warning about the use of child labor, especially when working in unsafe conditions. |
-cc586d82982cb9e8e79a6a0e50fb2457.jpg "Hơn 300 cán bộ, đoàn viên tham gia Diễn đàn 'Phòng ngừa, giảm thiểu lao động trẻ em và bảo vệ, nâng cao kỹ năng cho lao động trẻ'")
