Müslüm KABADAYI
WRITER and RESEARCHER – TÜRKIYE

Labor is highly valuable as it enables humans to contribute to natural life through their mental and physical abilities. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is important that the products incorporated into nature as a result of labor are organized in such a way that they do not harm the course of life and contribute positive values to social relationships from an ergonomic point of view. The labor, energy, time, and space used outside of this framework are the result of the great “order of plunder and destruction” established by the dominant forces that, to date, have exploited natural resources and human labor for the sake of added value. At the top of this “waste” is “child labor.”

Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the socialist block in the early 1990s, some individuals who had been prominent in socialist organizations in the past, rather than evaluating the causes of the disintegration through scientific criticism, devoted themselves to praising the “New World Order” with the aim of disparaging “socialism.” According to this propaganda, in this order, abbreviated as NWO, there would be no contradiction between labor and capital, and exploitation and wars would come to an end. However, during that same period, conflicts in our region were intensifying, and the regime of exploitation and oppression was also causing migration in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In summary, if we look at the situation our planet finds itself in after 35 years, we see that, in a world without the socialist block, regional wars and massacres have intensified; the number of people emigrating from Asia, Africa, and Latin America to European countries, the United States, and Canada has steadily increased and the migration has become a trend. Companies in the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have moved their factories to countries that have become havens for cheap labor. This phenomenon has cleared the way for “child labor” to also be used as a form of widespread exploitation.

During this process, Turkiye experienced the phenomenon of internal and external migration in a complex manner. In the 1990s, internal migration from the eastern and south-eastern provinces, especially under conditions of civil war, accelerated toward the large cities. Since 2013, the imperialist intervention in Syria has caused the fragmentation of the country, leading millions of people to emigrate. This was followed by migrations from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and African countries. On the other hand, academics, doctors, and computer experts who are unable to make a living in their own country continue to emigrate to Western countries. I interviewed 22 people from Turkiye who have done important work in the fields of science, art, literature, education, etc., in European countries, England, Russia, and Australia, and I compiled the interviews into a book titled Farklı Coğrafyalarda Üretenler (Those Who Create in Different Geographies). I think it is important to mention one significant point that caught my attention during these interviews. The vast majority of these people were forced to emigrate to these countries after the fascist military coup of September 12, where they created an atmosphere of solidarity with other forced immigrants from different countries, participated in joint productions, and developed a culture of coexistence. The collaboration of people from different cultures in production and their cultural socialization also created the conditions for “peaceful coexistence.” However, since this situation has not become a national or social system, it has unfortunately moved away from being an alternative due to the hostile policies of recent years.

Let’s now talk about the current situation in Turkiye regarding “child labor”… According to statements made by the relevant ministry, in 2024 the number of child workers did not reach one million, while according to statements made by those working in this field, the number of children working, including migrant children, reached 4 million, especially during the summer season. The majority of these children do not receive an education. Particularly in the case of seasonal work in cotton fields, hazelnut orchards, and tea plantations, the children of families who typically work during the summer do not suffer significant losses in terms of education, however, those who are forced to continue working for economic reasons, when they reach secondary school age, have in recent years begun to attend school one day a week as MESEM students and work four or five days a week.

The capitalist class, which claims that “vocational training is a national issue,” reduced the quality of vocational schools, especially after the 2001 crisis, through the privatization of factories, facilities, and institutions created under the state development model of the early years of the Republic, by transferring them to international holding companies and corporations. The number of students attending this center has steadily declined, and some departments have closed. Now, with the opening of MESEMs within industrial parks, they are further fueling the exploitation of child labor. After 25 years, we have reached a point where artificial intelligence and digitization have become increasingly present in everyday life, while the proletarianization of poor children is also on the rise. In this period in which the “constitutional and legal order” is being violated and social solidarity is disintegrating, problems are multiplying like a snowball, as trade unions, associations, and professional associations that are fighting in an organized manner to prevent and resolve problems have not yet managed to present themselves as a united front on the historical stage.

It is necessary to wage an intense battle on two fronts to prevent “child labor,” keep children from being excluded from their education, and ensure that they can socialize freely and equally. First, organize international “labor solidarity” to break down the mechanisms of war and exploitation that cause “forced migration.” In the second place, it is necessary to ensure that all unions, associations, and other structures in the field of education work together to promote the right to free, science-based education in all regions