Our long-time much-beloved crazy-beard manservant has bought a helper from his village up in Azad Kashmir, planning to help him find work in the city and to work in the house until them. On seeing the helper there was general consternation as he seemed to be about 12 years old and our family had come to understand the problems with child labour – and especially domestic labour – some decades ago. Various members of the family had delivered lectures to friends and others who employed child maids – all too common in Pakistan, as they are paid less, can be treated poorly, and passed off as a charitable endeavour (‘she is only here to play and she won’t get enough food to eat in the village’), and one of us has actually worked on children’s rights. So this has created a lot of angst and anxiety, until crazy-beard revealed that the boy was actually 18, has a genetic condition shared by his father, and brought out his birth certificate to prove it. So, a relief, but the fact remains that the boy looks 12 and explaining his actual age to any visitors will be both awkward and appear mendacious. So – to send him back to the burger restaurant in Azad Kashmir where he worked for tips before coming here? Or keep him here where he might find better work?
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