Before Their Time: The World of Child Labor

In January, the New York Times reported labor abuses in Chinese factories.  "’I work on the plastic molding machine from 6 in the morning to 6 at
night,’ said Xu Wenquan, a tiny, baby-faced 16-year-old whose hands
were covered with blisters."

At the end of last year, a Gap scandal revealed child-labor abuses in India.

Around the world, an estimated 350 million children continue to sacrifice their childhood, their health, and their education working in exploitative and unsafe conditions.

While we may read the headlines and stay abreast of the current conditions across the globe, the distance, perhaps, makes it all too easy to dismiss the harsh realities our children endure. 

Leave it to a physician/photographer to bring it home. 

Taking it upon himself to expose one of the world’s greatest injustices, David Parker has traveled the world, with camera in hand, photographing children laboring in Bolivian tin mines, Indian sweatshops, Nepal brick factories, Mexican garbage dumps, and the list goes on.

With his new book, Before Their Time: The World of Child Labor — a collection of these photos — due out this month, Parker will be exhibiting his photos at the Nina Bliese Gallery from March 31st through May 2nd. Join him for the opening reception (and book signing) on April 10th, from 5-8 p.m.