| Living
conditions. Housing for the
young labourers is often primitive. Many stay in farm storehouses,
without glass in the windows or doors to keep out the cold. Some are
housed in school classrooms, crammed into a single, unheated room
with up to 35 others. Dirty drinking water is a serious problem. Uzbek
human rights organisations say many are forced to drink untreated
water from wells. But water brought in for the children is little
better as it is often unpurified and kept in filthy containers contaminated
with mud and worms. Many have no access to bathing facilities for
the length of their stay in the cotton fields. Their staple diet is
macaroni, bread and sweet tea with little meat available. How much
food they get depends on what they earn, usually about 20-25 sums
(2 US cents) per kilogramme gathered. Local headmasters are on hand
to make sure the children pick the required daily amount, which changes
according to the state of the harvest. |
