Reviewed by Mary E. Miller, mmar235@lni.wa.gov

Co-chair, Young Worker Health and Safety Network, APHA

Carpet Weaver, Nepal, 1993

Before Their Time: The World of Child Labor is David L. Parker’s latest contribution to the body of evidence about the tragedy that is child labor.  His sensitivity to the children he photographs and the conditions they are forced to endure should humble and humiliate us all.  These photographs will hopefully motivate many of us to take action to end this abuse.  The courage of the children is evident in the black and white portraits that depict every type of dehumanizing working condition reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution in the United States and Europe.  These dramatic images reflect our failure to address the economic disparities existing in our global marketplace – the assumptions that adults do not deserve a living wage, and that children without adequate protections can be exploited by their need and the greed of others.  As a physician of occupational medicine, David Parker turns the eye of his camera to this public health disaster of child laborers.  The foreword by Sen. Tom Harkin sets out a challenge for those who see these images: to transform outrage and sadness to hope and activism that will bring an end to such suffering. 

David Parker will present some of his slides at the Young Worker Health and Safety Network meeting on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 12:00 p.m. (Session 119.0).  He will also be at various social events throughout the meeting and the OHS Section’s Exhibit Booth book signing for those who wish to purchase a copy. Stop by the OHS Section Exhibit Booth for more information.