D.I.S.A. CAMPAIGN
ECUADOR
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Ada Medina
Allyn Caravaglia
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Durlabh Singh
Evelyn Cortez-Davis
Gene Keller
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Justifications for child labor
By Gene Keller © - USA

Am I a bad man
simply because I'm fat?

I took this boy from the streets,
a piece of trash.

In the Parable of the Talents,
Jesus asks this boy
to invest his gifts:

his hands are
miniature precision instruments.

I taught him survival skills;
you want to fill his head
with numbers and letters.

His head is filled
with his own dreams -

a roaring crowd
as he spins and kicks
a goal with the side
of his educated foot -

and his belly is full,
but if he suffers,
well, the Buddha tells us
that is how to learn compassion.

Aren't we all equal here in Equador
and God the equalizer?

The boy wants black beans;
I want schnapps.

Our forefathers had slaves;
this is capitalism.
This boy is my bottomline.