Esther Bae
Professor Brown
English 306
29 September 2016
Rhetoric of Protest Object
Let Kids Be Kids: A
Rhetorical Analysis on Child Labor Protest
The idea of letting “kids be kids” cannot be applied
to the world’s entire underage population in the sense that the ongoing realism
of child labor and often times, in forms of malpractice, seizes the opportunity
of children, simply, being able to “be children.” Child labor goes beyond the
non-exploitative scope of extreme poverty in homes where parents are compelled
to inevitably send their kids to work; child labor involves the trafficking of
children, creating a forced-labor situation that is exploitative and physically
and emotionally harmful to the under-aged. In this photograph, victims of child
labor – a practice prevalent in many underprivileged countries – are seen
partaking in a protest in New Delhi, India for the passage of the Child and
Adolescent Labor (Protection and Regulation) Bill (Malhotra).
Figure 1. Child Laborers protesting for
passage of Child and Adolescent Labor Bill. Altaf Qadri; Associated Press, 29
Aug. 2016.
Child laborers across India gathered for the
passage of this bill which contained regulations such as: prohibiting
adolescents (14-18) from working in hazardous conditions, preventing children
under the age of 14 of being employed, and placing stricter enforcement on
employers including penalization for the first offense (The Child Labour
Prohibition and Regulation Amendment Bill). Arms raised, fists clenched, mouths
open, the loud shouts of the young are echoed in the image.
Child
labor – including the trafficking of children – is well alive in underdeveloped
areas across the globe. Because of its wide-spread, accepted practice, child
labor is not considered taboo in the local communities where this phenomenon
takes place. While restrictions seem to somewhat interrupt its expansion, child
labor is still ongoing – especially true in families anxious to make ends meet.
Therefore, the children of the family are often separated from their parents
and siblings, often give up the possibility of an education, and work in
desolate conditions with meager pay, hungry for the idea of reuniting with
their family once again.
The
photographer, Altaf Qadri, is an award-winning photojournalist and promoter of
educating the world on current events, specifically with a focus on capturing
stories in underdeveloped and war-torn countries such as Cambodia, Nepal,
Afghanistan, and India (World Press Photo). Qadri, the creator of this object
of protest, aims to gather response from its audience – most likely readers who
keep up with current events, especially that of humanitarian matters, and
advocates of journalism and the mediums in which stories are shared,
particularly of Associated Press (Qadri’s agency). Presumably referring to the
audience as people already knowledgeable on current events, Qadri’s purpose is
to foster and educate on the topic of child labor in an affecting (and
therefore, emotional) sense. The photograph reveals the protesting of a large,
unified mass of children fighting against the misconducts of child labor and
directing change (identities framed by the photograph) largely through Qadri’s
strategic appeals to emotion (pathos) and credibility (ethos). This photograph
is a multifaceted representation of the many dynamics of inequality present in
underprivileged communities; the photo exposes not only angry child laborers,
but the existence of a dominant authority taking advantage of young lives and inherently,
their way of life, politicized (mal)practices, broken families, shattered
dreams, and lost youth.
Pathos, the appeal to emotion and chief
rhetorical strategy used by Qadri, is stained on the faces of the young victims
of human trafficking. Bold, eager, frustrated, and manipulated children with
arms raised up high, small fists clenched, and mouths open in protest, all wear
white hats to symbolize the unification of their identity. Key emotions can be
identified on the faces of these children: indignation, courage, and grief –
altogether, an expression for their desired yet simple pursuit of life, liberty
and happiness. The exasperations of the exploited children can be vicariously
felt by the audience: the viewers empathize with those subjugated under abusive
authority, and particularly of those subjugated young. This photograph reveals
the collective identities of child labor and unification for humanitarian
change: evident are the frustrations of the children protesting for a liberal push
for a stricter regulation of child labor. Instead of logical reasoning to
support the identity in this piece of protest, emotional appeal provides a more
effective and natural means of rhetor-audience interconnection.
While
pathos is more evident in this protest object than ethos, the subtle but
critical dynamics in the rhetor’s use of ethos such as: the children in the
photograph being child laborers themselves and the photographer’s own
identifying past as a self-exile allows for ethos to be a useful and convincing
strategy for the rhetor. Qadri, the creator of this piece of protest, was in
self-exile (a zealous form of private protest), and at a time in his life, had
been held up in Libya during the Libyan Revolution (World Press Photo). Through
this, raw connections between Qadri (an observer of the protest scene) and the
captured identity in his photograph can be used to our understanding and
acceptance of the rhetor – establishing credibility of the photographer and his
mannerisms in displaying the inequity of child labor. Perhaps, the photograph
is a reflection of his own identity when he, once too, protested against
socio-political injustice – self-exile being the outcome (World Press Photo).
Although, one may not be able to immediately connect this reasoning of Qadri
(past-protester) and the children in his photograph (current-protester), it may
be become evident to curious observers and even more so, to admirers of Qadri’s
artwork. Importantly, ethos is naturally
embedded in the photograph by the children (the entire make-up of the photo)
being child laborers themselves; they individually are identifiers of the
collective identity. Therefore, Qadri’s use of capturing protest firsthand
(both in the sense of being at the original scene and being able to connect
with the child protesters at a personal level), is arguably a legitimate
rhetorical strategy.
Judging
from a historical perspective, the object of protest was successful in its
purpose seeing how the Child and Adolescent Labor (Protection and Regulation)
Bill has been passed and cemented into law in 2016 (Gupta). The consummation
period of this protest rhetoric has been manifested by the desired action (the
resolution being passed from bill to law). Rhetorically speaking, the
photograph was strong in its performance: candid in nature with a focus on the snapshot
of young victims rebelling against child labor and demonstrating for
change.
Generally,
the public empathizes with the youth, especially, the very youth of youth –
those who should be playing soccer in the neighborhood after the end of the school
day rather than exchanging their safety and well-being for meager pay, long hours,
and hazardous conditions. They have grown up into children of labor – not
simply, “children” – period. The image of young protesters, also victims of
human trafficking, pulls at the heartstrings of the concerned public because
there is a distraction to this photograph. The unfortunate parallel between
children and protester (and specifically, children as protesters) is suggestion
to the inappropriateness of child labor: children have grown up into children
of labor and into protesters, before they have had the opportunity to simply grow
up – testimony to the effective use of pathos. Qadri’s framing of the
photograph’s confines including the zoomed-in and clear image of a few children
– particularly, of a little girl proudly protesting in the middle of the square
– provides a statement to his rhetoric. Individually, the young girl is
distinct from the others in the crowd – she has an identity to herself: Name,
girl, daughter, perhaps sister or brother, native of her town, should-be
student instead of laborer; but together, these children progressively protest
in solidarity by sharing a collective identity – witness to Qadri’s
individually effective style of capturing the perfect snapshot of a protest
movement largely through intentional appeal to emotion.
Works Cited
Gupta, Ruchira. A law that allows Child Labor. The Hindu, 10 Aug. 2016, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/ruchira-gupta-child-labour-prohibition-and- regulation-amendment-act-2016-a-law-that-allows-child-labour/article8964940.ece. Accessed 13 Sept. 2016.
Malhotra,
Aditi. Youngsters Protest Child Labor in
New Delhi. Wall Street Journal Blog,
Wall Street Journal, 30 Aug.
2013, http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/08/30/youngsters- protest-child-labor-in-new-delhi/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2016.
---. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill.
HRD/Labour/Health, PRS, http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-child-labour-prohibition-and-regulation- amendment-act-2012-2553/. Accessed 14 Sept.
2016.
World Press Photo. Altaf Qadri. World Press Photo, Associated Press, http://www.worldpressphoto.org/people/altaf-qadri. Accessed 28 Sept.
2016.
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