{"id":4768,"date":"2025-04-30T08:23:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T08:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/?p=4768"},"modified":"2025-07-29T16:40:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T16:40:51","slug":"child-labour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/stories\/child-labour\/","title":{"rendered":"Worldless children"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Worldless children\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
by Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
Part of Building bricks, killed by bricks<\/b> <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Bricks and Burning Childhoods<\/a><\/h3>

Pakistan, 2025<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Bhaktapur, Nepal - 2018<\/a><\/h3>

Sweat and Dust<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Bhaktapur, Nepal - 2018<\/a><\/h3>

Life in the furnace<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Afghanistan, Mazar-i Sharif - 2016<\/a><\/h3>

Brick by brick<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Varanasi - India - 2017<\/a><\/h3>

The dark side of India<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Katmandu, Nepal - 2009<\/a><\/h3>

Worldless children<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It may seem like a neologism but it is not. As a matter of fact, all over the world children have always been the most docile, blackmailed and cheapest available work force to unscrupulous employers. According to data provided by international organizations, currently there are 150 million children in the world who do jobs that endanger their mental and physical health, and who are condemned to a life without any leisure or education. Among the children most at-risk, are the ones labouring in the furnaces. In many countries, bricks are still handmade. In Asia, Latin America and Africa, children dig clay for bricks using shovels, picks and awls. After mixing clay and water to get the proper consistency, children shape bricks by using small wooden moulds. Once the bricks are dry, they are first transported to the ovens to be cooked, and then, when ready, they are loaded onto trucks for shipment to construction companies. Each brick weighs up to 2kg, and a child carries on his head or shoulders up to 1.000-2.000 bricks per day, working 12 hours every day. The daily pay varies depending on the number of bricks handled and can be as low as 10 USD for a thousand bricks. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.6 million Nepalese children (40% of the entire population) between 5 and 14 years old are employed, thereof approximately 25.000 work in bricks kilns. There are more than 1.000 kilns in Nepal, thereof 750 in the Kathmandu Valley only. It has been calculated that these furnaces release, every year, about 83.000 tons of dioxin. \u201cWorldless children<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0<\/em>is a photo-reportage by\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/strong>, funded by the\u00a0Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a>(text by\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/b>).<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At 7 a.m. Yadhuy, 4 years old, has already started preparing some bricks in the moulds.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At 6:30 am, Ramesh, 5 years old, and his brother Prakash, 6 years old, are working to contribute to their family income.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Drying of the bricks near the furnace. Nepal\u2019s bricks factories are located in rural and isolated areas. From the outside, these factories look like huge refugee camps, with small, temporary huts (called Jhyaulis) made of bricks covered with sheets of metal.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Transportation of bricks about to be cooked in the furnaces.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Prakash, 5 years old, is making bricks using the appropriate moulds.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Krishna, 2 years and 6 months, daughter of furnace workers, lives in a house built close to the furnaces.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. It\u2019s dawn and Sarita, 6 years old, tries to warm her hands.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Sarita 17 years old, is about to carry 24 bricks on her back. Each brick weighs 2 kg.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Nepali girl nearby a bricks factory.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Mukti Ram, 7 years old, covered with mud on his face, takes a moment of rest inside his home.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Kanan, 12 years old, gets a receipt for transporting bricks from the furnace to the truck. On average, each worker performs at least 150 transportation trips on a daily basis, earning as little as 10 USD.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Being a job that does not require special skills, the poorest of the poor come to work in bricks factories, these people come from remote and disadvantaged areas of their country, and in most cases are not able to read or write.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Transportation of metal plates to build huts nearby the furnaces.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Karna, 15 yers old, while carrying bricks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A young worker is carrying bricks on his head, creating dusts that cause respiratory system diseases.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Each brick weighs up to 2 kg. The daily pay varies depending on the number of bricks handled and can be as low as 10 USD for every thousand bricks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At the edge of the city of Kathmandu, sweaty and barefoot workers carry bricks to the kilns for cooking.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Karna, 15 years old, carrying bricks. Many furnace workers are immigrants coming from India.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Mother and daughter having a small rest at their home.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A moment at play nearby the furnaces in Kathmandu Valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Getting ready for transporting the bricks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Kamal, 12 years old, from India, while she transports brick. She\u2019s been wearing the same clothes for about three months.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Young child at work. Working 12 hours a day, a child may carry up to 1.000-2.000 bricks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Children have to endure grueling shifts with paltry wages. Furthermore, the work is characterized by a debt bondage system that can bind some of them to factories for months and even years.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Bricks production in Nepal is booming, with more than a thousand kilns active across the country. About 25 thousand minors work there and half of them are under the age of 14.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A substantial number of children forced into labor works in bricks kilns spread across the country. The Government of Nepal has identified over 91.000 children working in the worst types of child labor, thereof more than 25.000 bonded child laborers are working in brick kilns and construction sites.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Child labor represents one of the most dramatic problems in Nepal. About 25 thousand minors work in the kilns and half of them are under the age of 14.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Lunch time for Chitraksh a bricks carrier who\u2019s 14 years old.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Workers during a break.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Moment of refreshment thanks to an ice cream peddler.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A young worker prepares to carry bricks, wrapping his head with a cloth.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Young workers getting ready to carry bricks on their heads and bring them to the lorries for shipment.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Young worker carrying bricks to distribution trucks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Phase of loading the bricks onto the trucks delivering them to the local construction companies.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. In 2018, more than 1.000 bricks kilns were registered in Kathmandu Valley, with an increase of 258 kilns over the past decade (Institute for Research on Working Children, 2010).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Transport of materials for the furnace.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Bricks workers are among the most exploited and marginalized workers in Nepal. A workforce of nearly 200.000 people including an estimate of 25.000 children. These vulnerable people are debt-bound and subject to stressful working conditions.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Mother and daughter having a break, inside their home.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. There are more than 200.000 kilns workers in Nepal and 13% of them are children.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Mukti Ram, 16 years old, a young worker.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At 4:30 am in the morning, Dhanyata, 16 years old , is preparing bricks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Transportation of bricks to the furnaces in Kathmandu.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kathmandu
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Punya, 14 years old, at dawn, rests and protects herself from the cold.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Related news<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>

Bhaktapur: A Human Story by Nicola Bozzo<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

Shots from the Festival of Ethical Photography: 15 years of iconic images<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

Exhibition Catalog \u201cBuilding bricks killed by bricks\u201d by Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

Exhibition by Luca Catalano Gonzaga, at the Brickworks Museum Lage (Germany).<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Worldless children by Luca Catalano Gonzaga Part of Building bricks, killed by bricks Bricks and Burning Childhoods Pakistan, 2025 Bhaktapur, Nepal – 2018 Sweat and Dust Bhaktapur, Nepal – 2018 Life in the furnace Afghanistan, Mazar-i Sharif – 2016 Brick by brick Varanasi – India – 2017 The dark side of India Katmandu, Nepal – 2009 Worldless children Bricks and Burning Childhoods Pakistan, 2025 Bhaktapur, Nepal – 2018 Sweat and Dust Bhaktapur, Nepal – 2018 Life in the furnace Afghanistan, Mazar-i Sharif – 2016 Brick by brick Varanasi – India – 2017 The dark side of India Katmandu, Nepal – 2009 Worldless children It may seem like a neologism but it is not. As a matter of fact, all over the world children have always been the most docile, blackmailed and cheapest available work force to unscrupulous employers. According to data provided by international organizations, currently there are 150 million children in the world who do jobs that endanger their mental and physical health, and who are condemned to a life without any leisure or education. Among the children most at-risk, are the ones labouring in the furnaces. In many countries, bricks are still handmade. In Asia, Latin America and Africa, children dig clay for bricks using shovels, picks and awls. After mixing clay and water to get the proper consistency, children shape bricks by using small wooden moulds. Once the bricks are dry, they are first transported to the ovens to be cooked, and then, when ready, they are loaded onto trucks for shipment to construction companies. Each brick weighs up to 2kg, and a child carries on his head or shoulders up to 1.000-2.000 bricks per day, working 12 hours every day. The daily pay varies depending on the number of bricks handled and can be as low as 10 USD for a thousand bricks. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 2.6 million Nepalese children (40% of the entire population) between 5 and 14 years old are employed, thereof approximately 25.000 work in bricks kilns. There are more than 1.000 kilns in Nepal, thereof 750 in the Kathmandu Valley only. It has been calculated that these furnaces release, every year, about 83.000 tons of dioxin. \u201cWorldless children\u201d\u00a0is a photo-reportage by\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga, funded by the\u00a0Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation.\u00a0(text by\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga). Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At 7 a.m. Yadhuy, 4 years old, has already started preparing some bricks in the moulds. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At 6:30 am, Ramesh, 5 years old, and his brother Prakash, 6 years old, are working to contribute to their family income. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Drying of the bricks near the furnace. Nepal\u2019s bricks factories are located in rural and isolated areas. From the outside, these factories look like huge refugee camps, with small, temporary huts (called Jhyaulis) made of bricks covered with sheets of metal. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Transportation of bricks about to be cooked in the furnaces. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Prakash, 5 years old, is making bricks using the appropriate moulds. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Krishna, 2 years and 6 months, daughter of furnace workers, lives in a house built close to the furnaces. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. It\u2019s dawn and Sarita, 6 years old, tries to warm her hands. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Sarita 17 years old, is about to carry 24 bricks on her back. Each brick weighs 2 kg. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Nepali girl nearby a bricks factory. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Mukti Ram, 7 years old, covered with mud on his face, takes a moment of rest inside his home. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Kanan, 12 years old, gets a receipt for transporting bricks from the furnace to the truck. On average, each worker performs at least 150 transportation trips on a daily basis, earning as little as 10 USD. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Being a job that does not require special skills, the poorest of the poor come to work in bricks factories, these people come from remote and disadvantaged areas of their country, and in most cases are not able to read or write. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Transportation of metal plates to build huts nearby the furnaces. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Karna, 15 yers old, while carrying bricks. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A young worker is carrying bricks on his head, creating dusts that cause respiratory system diseases. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Each brick weighs up to 2 kg. The daily pay varies depending on the number of bricks handled and can be as low as 10 USD for every thousand bricks. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. At the edge of the city of Kathmandu, sweaty and barefoot workers carry bricks to the kilns for cooking. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Karna, 15 years old, carrying bricks. Many furnace workers are immigrants coming from India. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Mother and daughter having a small rest at their home. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A moment at play nearby the furnaces in Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Getting ready for transporting the bricks. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Kamal, 12 years old, from India, while she transports brick. She\u2019s been wearing the same clothes for about three months. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Young child at work. Working 12 hours a day, a child may carry up to 1.000-2.000 bricks. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Children have to endure grueling shifts with paltry wages. Furthermore, the work is characterized by a debt bondage system that can bind some of them to factories for months and even years. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. Bricks production in Nepal is booming, with more than a thousand kilns active across the country. About 25 thousand minors work there and half of them are under the age of 14. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2008. A substantial number of children forced into labor works in bricks kilns spread across the country. The Government of Nepal has identified over 91.000 children working in the worst types of child labor, thereof more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4768"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8913,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4768\/revisions\/8913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}