The quiet cries of a helpless lot

These little boys, nevertheless, manage to hide their woes and smile at you briefly.

But some things in life just cannot be hidden. And that is what their sad eyes reflect – quiet desperation and unspoken anguish of poverty and adversity.

Chador Phuntsho, 12, from Bhaging village in Dremitse, Mongar, is one such unhappy child who works on roads and breaks stones to feed his younger siblings.

“After my mother died the household responsibility fell on me, and since my father lives with his new wife, I am the man of the house,” said Chador Phuntsho. “It will be silly for me to think of going to school. Who will feed us if I don’t work?”

Similarly, Dorji, 11, is another child laborer who has joined his elder brother and traveled all the way to Pemagatshel from Dremitse to do the road maintenance works under private contractors.

Of late, more than 10 children have joined the crew working on the Pemagatshel highway. They live in thin plastic tents, sleep on hard cold ground and eat whatever is being provided to them.
“My hands burn after a day’s work. It is not easy to break stones and work in cold winters, but we are helpless since we need money,” said one of them.

While some of these children have come with their parents, others accompanied their relatives and friends. A few are all alone. And while some came voluntarily, others were forced by their parents to work on roads.

Among them, Ugyen Gayley, 14, is a little luckier since he is a student in Trashigang and works only during winter vacations to earn enough money for his school expenses.

“I will be wasting my vacation if I stay idle at home and will have no money to buy new slippers and books next year,” he said.

He has 10 siblings and his parents are poor farmers in Dremitse. “Therefore, I don’t want to be a burden on my family,” Ugyen Gayley said.

Sonam Wangchuk, 15, is a school dropout who has been breaking stones for the past five years. With the money he earns, he helps bring up his six siblings and takes care of his sick mother in Dremitse.

His father died when he was 10, thereafter, he had to work since he is the eldest son in the family.

“At times, whenever I am frustrated with this hard work, I silently wish I was back in school with other children,” he said.

These minors told BT that they definitely would love to go to school but are burdened with family responsibilities. Their major concern, if they attend school, is who will substitute their role of breadwinners and who will finance their studies.

“I would rather be happy breaking stones than dreaming of the impossible,” said Tobgay, 16. “My hands are meant only for hammers and spades, not for books or pens.”

Most of these children are either illiterate or school dropouts. Apart from working at roadsides, they also work in farms during cultivation seasons. Off-season they travel places breaking stones, away from family and friends.

Asked what they want to be in future, one of them said: “I just want to be alive. Poor people like us cannot dream beyond that. Even toiling here in the cold is a relief compared to starving back home with no money and no enough food.”

They indeed have no dreams and aspirations in their lives. For now they are happy with their lot – wearing old dusty clothes and gaping boots, their faces tanned and torn – silently breaking stones and buildings roads for other people’s cars.