Even more striking for me was connecting with Germans of Turkish ancestry, which began some 30 years ago. I met them in Berlin and across Germany during my lecture tours. Everywhere I gathered the same impression: a fully occupied auditorium, dozens of volunteers, and open, eager faces all expressing the same message: I want to be part of this society, and I want to learn! These gatherings also meant starting the day with a hearty breakfast and ending it with an opulent meal.

I dare say that no other migrant group has such a successful story of education and integration as the supporters and friends of Fethullah Gülen. Within three generations, many have reached—and often even surpassed—the educational level of German society.

I am myself a descendent of migrants who, for religious reasons, had to leave their homeland. I therefore know what is going on in the hearts of those who cannot see their parents and relatives in Turkey. For them, Fethullah Gülen was a source of strength and hope, much like John Paul II was for Poland during times of turmoil and trouble. Here again faith played an important role!

We know from many sources that Fethullah Gülen had a gift for inspiring many people. They listened to him, they followed him and spread his sermons. Thanks to the ongoing technological revolution, he was able to reach millions around the world. I witnessed his impact firsthand as I met people who responded to his call for education—across Asia, America, Africa, and throughout Europe.

The memory of Fethullah Gülen will endure, the schools of the Hizmet movement will stand as lasting evidence of a faith capable of moving mountains. Farewell, Fethullah Gülen!

Annemarie Schimmel was born in Erfurt, Germany, in 1922. She grew up in a home full of talk about mysticism and philosophy. She was one of the young Germans of the 19th and 20th centuries who fell asleep with the Stories of 1001 Nights. Her father, a postal worker, was deeply interested in mysticism. During the Nazi era, the young Annemarie discovered her passion for the Arabic language and Arab culture. Once a week, she received private lessons in Arabic and Islamic Studies by Hans Ellenberg, whom she called Efendi. Already, at the age of 19, she had completed her doctorate on the subject, “The Position of the Caliph and the Qadis in Late Medieval Egypt.” She published more than 120 books and studied and translated, among other things, Arabic and Persian poets such as Mawlana Rumi, Ibn Ataullah, Hallaj, Yunus Emre, and Muhammad Iqbal, who wrote about mysticism and the love of God. As an Islamic scholar, she is still highly esteemed in the East and the West. Here is just one example:

Love

In passion deep my heart fell –
Just look, what love has made of me!
I gave my head to strife and pain –
Just look, what love has made of me!
I silently weep to myself,
While love stains me in blood,
Can’t be sober, can’t be confused –
Just look, what love has made of me!
Yunus Emre

The languages she knew included Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Turkmen, French, Pashto, Hindi, Kurdish, Swedish, and also Arabic, which she was able to speak in more than 10 dialects. Besides her talent for learning languages, she was also a gifted speaker and gave lectures in Turkish, Persian, and Arabic that sometimes lasted hours.

She had a special passion for ornamentation, calligraphy, and architecture. Almost all of her published books are illustrated and many a chapter is introduced with calligraphic verses from the Qur’an. One of her books is titled, In the name of Allah the All-Merciful.

Annemarie Schimmel has received many awards and honors: honorary doctorates from the universities of Konya, Islamabad, and Sind; the Hilal-i Imtiyaz Medal (the highest award in Pakistan); the Gold Medal of the city of Istanbul; the Arts and Science Medal of the Republic of Turkey; the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade; and the Federal Cross of Merit. Thanks to her strong commitment for a better understanding between nations, her advice was taken seriously all over the world. Since her death, she has not been forgotten; in the Pakistani metropolis of Lahore, for instance, a main road was named after her – the Hiyaban-i Annemarie Schimmel Road. In Iran, she is much appreciated and often quoted. In Turkey, she became immortal as the unforgettable Cemile.

The bridge builder

“Nowadays broader circles of our society realize that a certain understanding of other cultures is needed to avoid the dangerous generalizations the media are replete with. It is a must to learn about the history of the ‘other.’ In my opinion, it is very important that we also address the intellectual history of Islam, recognize its outstanding cultural achievements, and strive to find common ground, even if it is sometimes difficult.”

During her life as a scholar, Annemarie Schimmel focused intensively on improving understanding between Islam and the West. With her in-depth analysis, she communicated the ideological and artistic content of Islamic culture, and especially its beauty and intellectual wealth – not only to German or European readers, but also to Americans and other cultures. She was always committed to dialogue, and made an effort – through media, literature, and face-to-face meetings – to get Christians interested in Islamic culture and Muslims interested in Christian culture. In the verses of famous Islamic poets and mystics she met the “true” Islam, which is embedded in believers’ hearts and waiting to be discovered.

For her, the first prerequisite for dialogue is knowledge of one’s own culture and the other culture, be a person Christian, Jewish, or Buddhist.

“Without mutual knowledge there is no mutual understanding, without understanding there is no mutual respect and no trust, and without trust, there is no peace, but the risk of a clash.”

Annemarie Schimmel would never have entered a dialogue without knowledge about the culture of her counterpart. In her view, people should keep and practice their religions. They should take it seriously, but at the same time, try to get to know other cultures and values and to accept them. In many conversations and interviews, she regretted that the Christian and the Islamic cultures knew so little about each other, because if they knew, they would surely appreciate each other – which she experienced over and over again during her long stays in Islamic countries. According to her, even brief conversations with taxi drivers can be very valuable in this regard.

She became friends with countless people from other cultures. Her image of Islam was not shaped primarily by her years of occupation with Islamic literature and art, but rather by the encounters with Muslim friends around the world and from all walks of life, who invited and received her lovingly in their houses and made her familiar with their culture.

Ms. Schimmel traveled with her mother from Edirne to Konya and Gaziantep, throughout Anatolia. They met with many people, from all layers of society, every one of whom taught them another personal piece of Turkish culture.

“We have to get to know other cultures better. You never finish with it; there is always something new to learn and to do: reading, giving lectures, and just keeping people informed. Everybody who knows Islam knows that Islam and terrorism have nothing in common,” she said in an interview. She relied on a quote of St. Augustine’s, “Res tantum cognoscitur quantum diligitur” (You only understand what you love), and on an Arabic proverb, which is mentioned in the prose works of Rumi: “Man is the enemy of what he does not know.”

Only a few Christians know that in Islam, Jesus is considered a forerunner to Muhammad and therefore enjoys the highest esteem in the eyes of Muslims, whereas Muhammad has a negative image in the West, peace be upon them both. Ms. Schimmel complained about this. In her book Jesus and Mary in Islamic Mysticism, she noted that Jesus is mentioned in the Qur’an in 15 chapters and a total of 93 verses, and that Mary is the only woman who is mentioned in the Qur’an by name – and thus is of great importance to all Muslim women.

Her greatest concern was a dialogue of equals. In Germany, she regretted and criticized that, for a long time, Catholic bishops had no other dialogue partners than Turkish engineers and distributors. She deemed this fact a main obstacle to understanding. Therefore she encouraged the German government to educate Imams and German-Islamic theologians. Eight years after her death, her wish came true. In April, 2011, the inauguration of the Centre for Islamic Theology at Tübingen took place – a milestone for interfaith dialogue in Germany.

Ms. Schimmel made the Turkish culture known in Germany and the German culture known in Islamic countries. During a five-year stay in Turkey, she wrote innumerable articles under her pseudonym, Cemile Kıratlı, for the magazines Hayat and Istanbul Dergisi. She did not forget her roots, but at the same time tried to absorb other cultures.

Annemarie Schimmel died in Bonn, in 2003, at the age of 81. Before her death, she said she was looking forward to finally seeing the hereafter with her own eyes, rather than only reading about it. Her last wish was that at her funeral, the opening chapter of the Qur’an be recited. Friends have engraved her life motto in both German and Persian on her grave stone: “People sleep, and when they die, they wake up.”

Conclusion

In her pursuit of understanding, Annemarie Schimmel was a role model for all people. It is important for our society to respect her efforts and follow her example. It is important that the Christian and the Islamic cultures get to know each other better in the future, because this is the only way prejudices and misunderstandings can be reduced. Annemarie Schimmel, Herder, Goethe, Klee, Rilke, Rumi, Yunus Emre, and Iqbal have proved the fact that there are no impenetrable barriers between cultures and religions.

“Then one day – Inshallah, God willing – we will find, as Goethe did, a way that will enrich both sides: the Orient through the encounter with the deep-rooted European culture and us through the knowledge of an infinitely rich past and a versatile oriental culture that comes to light in literature and grammar, in the heights of mysticism, but also in the most beautiful flowers of the arabesques. And then perhaps we may one day say (as Goethe put it once so well): Orient and Occident can no longer be separated.”

A few examples from Schimmel’s works: As Through A Veil : Mystical Poetry in Islam (1982); Mystical Dimensions of Islam (1975); Islam: An Introduction (1992); My Soul Is A Woman: The Feminine in Islam (1997); A Two-Colored Brocade: The Imagery of Persian Poetry (1992); Mohammad Iqbal, Poet and Philosopher (1960); Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (1990); A Dance of Sparks: Imagery of Fire in Ghalib’s Poetry (1983)

“There were no lovers left for me in the world, I used to think,
Then I took leave of my self and saw all were nothing but lovers.”

The above couplet from Niyazi Mýsri describes the state of a “perfect human,” or insan al-kamil in Sufi terminology. Departing from glorifying our own virtues at the expense of fair judgment of others, is an important challenge for anyone who seeks truth in this transient life. For a true believer who has managed to “take leave of” the carnal self, the universe is a palace, all things in existence are servants welcoming him or her in, and every event in the cosmos is an entertainment glorifying its Owner, Who deserves all praise. For those who cannot attain this level, this life is a horrifying tunnel of darkness, and far from being a true lover, every object and person is a potential threat to their security. The recent Gulen conference in Germany in May, the Turkish festival in Turkey in June, and the coming conference in Melbourne this month have made me ponder this couplet once again. An attraction on this scale with such wide-reaching global reach could only be possible for a person if he can represent insan al-kamil, in the true sense, with an all-embracing love for the whole of humanity.

Reflecting this summer’s busy schedule of activities related to the Gulen Movement, this edition of The Fountain features articles by two scholars who study this civil society movement. Kerim Balci of Today’s Zaman shares with us his observations of the conference “Muslims between tradition and modernity-the Gulen Movement as a bridge between cultures,” jointly organized by the University of Potsdam’s Institute of Religion and the Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, Berlin. He mentions the paper of Dr. Bekim Agai of Halle University, Germany, who commented that thanks to the activities of the Gulen Movement, Turkish migrants in Europe are no longer a part of the problems of Europe, but are problem solvers, and not only on issues relating to migrants themselves.

The second article comes from Maimul Ahsan Khan, a professor of law in Bangladesh, who introduces Gulen as a “modern-day Rumi.” For Khan, “Gulen has brought [Rumi’s] glorious tradition [that cut across the lines between nationalistic and sectarian differences] back to the minds of millions of modern and religious Turks.” Professor Khan notes that for Gulen the question is how well Muslims can represent the universal message of Islam to build a global society based on equality, tranquility, and humane treatment for all.

Also in this issue comes a thought-provoking interview with Dr. Lynn Mitchell, a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Houston. Having taught a course titled “The Bible and Modern Science” for many years, Dr. Mitchell offers noteworthy insights into the history of the relationship of science and religion.

There may be some credit to the idea that it is not proper to compare the immigrants in France to those in Germany, due to the historical and cultural differences in their social structures. However, the typical characteristics of ghettos and the similar approaches of the governments to the immigrants imply that such unpleasant events can always take place. First of all, the immigrants who are pushed into ghettos and usually cannot be assimilated are in an isolated position from the main society in terms of language, culture, and education fields. There are clear examples of this in Germany; the large numbers of immigrants living in certain regions bring along serious language and education problems. Many young people start life without a good educational degree, without career opportunities, and after having had negative experiences in school life. Such young people are mostly idle, have achieved nothing close to a satisfactory educational level, and, not caring about human values, they tend to solve their problems through violence as well as being open to manipulation. We face potential danger as long as this situation remains the same. Riots like in Paris might happen in other countries as well. Developing early solutions and maintaining social peace before such unpleasant events happen is in no doubt a better alternative than having to send riot police to the suburbs. Politicians and local administrations should adapt more sensitive approaches to the immigrants, or rather the minorities, who live in the ghettos and similar locations that have such potential.

Germans, for instance, should first of all give up trying to blame the problems on ethnic and religious reasons and form the main frame of a fresh vision of living together. Actually the German constitution does have the relevant essentials for such an approach. However, in spite of the first article of the German Constitution “The dignity of man is inviolable,” Germans in administrative positions often fail to fulfill this principle. Anybody who observes German society in this respect can witness how the dignity of the immigrants is violated, how they are looked down upon, and psychologically isolated at schools, factories, and other workplaces. Beyond violating the individuals’ dignity, insulting words or behavior sometimes even amounts to insulting an entire nation. What is more, unfortunately sometimes even some statesmen present such behavior prompted by the media.

As a matter of fact, the ghettos and similar locations in Germany were not consciously formed by the minorities. The immigrants who came to the country as workers about forty years ago started living around their workplaces in the beginning. Therefore, the number of foreigners at the schools in these neighborhoods started to increase more and more. So the formation of the ghettos started with the dwellings centered around workplaces and then it affected the educational institutions. On the other hand, the fact that in most German cities landlords refused to let out their apartments to immigrants had and still has a role in the formation of the ghettos.

Despite this fact, a minister in one of the parties in Germany made an interesting comment, particularly for the Turks, saying “Turks consider themselves to be superior to Germans, so they prefer to live in ghettos instead of integrating into German society.” On hearing such opinions, one cannot help but remember the old Nazi view of the Jews.

One of the reasons for such attitudes is that some politicians try to gain credit by adopting such policies in order to attract nationalist votes. Surely, these policies do not benefit society and history proves that those who trigger social chaos become the first ones to pay the price. When the hostile and provocative manners of politicians cause unrest, it is the media that should assume the responsibility for maintaining the peace.

Unfortunately, let alone playing a positive role, a significant part of the German media just fans the flames. Almost everyday they exaggerate marginal events and German society is misinformed about Muslims. The result is a biased society that is afraid of all Muslims. Thus, the media is in fact preparing grounds for similar social troubles that happened in France; for ignorance and fanaticism trigger the same kind of reaction on the opposite side.

Even after the provocative events of publishing a caricature that insults the Messenger of God and thereby all the Muslims in the world, most Muslims protested the event within a democratic framework. In spite of this, some European media organs used the freedom of press as an excuse to violate the sacred values of Muslims and they also tried to reflect all Muslims as pro-violence by showing some street demonstrations and violent events, as if millions of Muslims had approved of using violence. The fact that European Muslims protested the provocation within their democratic rights has been overlooked and unfortunately Islamophobia still continues to grow.

The following is a concrete example of the insistent negative attitude of the German media against Muslims. At a news program on the ZDF Channel, the reporter asks questions about the events in the Paris suburbs to Daniel Cohn-Bendikt, the French senator of the Greens in the European Parliament. The program was an evident proof of the terrible need for a radical change in the German mentality about Islam and Muslims. Two points were emphasized by the reporter: the role of religion and the young people’s refusal to integrate! The senator just laughed and his answer revealed how superficial the reporter’s comments were: “the events in the suburbs are in no way related to religion. Some of the people who have been left to their own fate and discriminated against for decades might have turned to religion, but the rebellion doesn’t have a religious motive. Look at the education given in the ghettos. Lots of young people want to benefit from education opportunities, they want to be integrated. But they see how they are discriminated when you look at the terrible condition of their schools.”

The integration policies in Germany, Britain, Holland, and France have all failed. But why? Because the cultural identity of people has been ignored; policies that require them to abandon their religious and national identities and become assimilated into the culture of the country in which they live are being imposed. Today, European countries need to both revise their integration policies to date as well as developing a new “vision of living together” that is beyond integration. The events in Holland at the end of 2004 and the events in Paris in 2005, along with the latest one, the impertinent caricature, give food for thought to state authorities and should allow them to draw important conclusions. The initial precautions to be taken can be to seek ways to enhance educational opportunities in the suburbs and urge the media to give up horror scenarios, rather preparing sensible and informative news to contribute to peace in society.

On the other hand, integration-oriented problems in Europe are generally more common with Muslim immigrants. It is known that in some countries the integration policies towards Christian immigrants have succeeded. The Spanish and Italians in France and the Poles in Germany can be given as examples. The same integration policies didn’t work for Muslims in countries like France, Germany, and Holland. For this reason, terms like “integration” do not make much sense for Muslim immigrants now. After a few decades of integration policies, most Muslims still don’t know with what they are to integrate. No one denies that they should abide by German laws, conform to the social rules, and learn the German language. When the German minister, Prof. Maria Bohmer, said that the immigrants should speak German, learn about German history, recognize the social values, and abide by the legal system of the country this was, of course, approved by all sides.

At this point, both sides need to present a positive approach to reach a healthy solution. On the one hand we have many Muslims who are maintaining their identity and who are citizens that are respected by their German friends. On the other hand, some extremists in the German community just adhere to their bias against foreigners, no matter how they behave. Nevertheless, one shouldn’t jump to conclusions and make an overgeneralization about all Germans.

Sooner or later, good efforts will be shown the respect they deserve. When both sides come together with honesty and good intentions at dialogue activities, we witness that the new “vision of living together” is not a dream, but a reality that is at hand. One should keep in mind that feelings of love, kindness, and the relevant positive responses are inherent in human nature. All of us have the conscience mechanisms to appreciate these feelings. What falls to us is to turn the inherent feelings in human nature in the positive direction, which is already in compliance with what the religions teach.

Global traffickers in humans bring people from underdeveloped or developing countries, enticing them with the promise of work or a better life, to developed countries, where there is an immense demand for labor. These people are forced to work painstakingly long shifts at unskilled and demeaning jobs; for example, men are forced to do dangerous tasks that require physical strength, often working without any safety precautions. Minors are forced to work in less labor-intensive jobs, but again for extremely long hours without any proper training. Women are forced to work in socially degrading and debasing jobs, which in some areas are no different from slavery, and the worst, they are used in prostitution.

Nowadays there is a global sector abusing minors and women for these vicious purposes. On the other hand, the acquisition of the global dimensions of TH can be seen to be an outcome of poverty and the misery that results from the poor socio-economical situation of third world countries. Most international trafficking in humans is from poor countries to developed countries. It has also been witnessed that this problem is aggravated by the peculiar traits of prosperous societies.

What is Trafficking in Humans?

In most countries where TH is committed, there are no conceptual or legal precautions taken to protect against such abuses. Within the classical conception, TH is usually defined as the abuse of people in actual physical slavery. Yet today, since the problem has become so widespread as to be global, and as TH is committed for the sake of contemptible purposes, this narrow-scoped definition is no longer sufficient. Thus, the United Nations felt the need to define TH in a broader context.(1)

The ultimate goal of TH is to force people to work in oppressive and exploitative situations in a way that will benefit the organized human traffickers. These conditions include the coercion of men to work in the most menial and labor-intensive jobs, women and girls to partake in debasing activities, servanthood, counterfeit marriages and adoptions, even prostitution, with secret contracts that are in no way legal, forcing them to work under harsh conditions.(2)

The Factors that Nourish TH

For the most part, human traffickers utilize new technological tools of transportation, communication, and media to accomplish their goals. The Internet is a commonly used tool. Some matchmaking companies in developed countries work outside of legal boundaries. Not only do they put ads in the national newspapers, they also put the c.v. and photographs of women and girls who are willing to marry rich men onto the Internet.(3)

This evil marketing approach illegally prospers under the guise of matchmaking and is generally ignored by the countries from where it originates. This, in part, stems from the mutual benefit of the involved parties (for example, bribing officials while transporting people across borders.)(4)

TH is also related to what is called “pleasure tourism.” Third world countries that depend heavily on tourism revenue tend to neglect the conditions that contribute to such problems. For example, Kenya has overlooked TH in order to support tourism. In order to please the increasing number of tourists, women are even brought from neighboring countries, like Uganda.(5)

Undoubtedly, the International Development Banks as well as multinational financial institutions are also responsible for TH by supporting the countries involved and ignoring the socio-ethic consequences. Among developed countries, according to Focus, the Germany is the country most involved in tourism for base purposes. Between 200,000 and 400,000 Germans travel to Far Eastern countries, mostly Thailand and the Philippines, for this purpose each year. In Thailand, among the 1.5 million women employed in such demeaning jobs as prostitution, 800,000 of them are minors. In the Philippines, the minors involved number between 30 and 60,000. In such countries, diseases like AIDS are widespread. For instance 80% of women working in such forms of employment in Thailand are infected with HIV. According to data from the World Health Organization, there will be over 40 million AIDS patients in a couple of years.(6) Lately, there have been reports that after the Tsunami in the Far East, TH has increased in the victimized regions where children now have even less protection.

The multinational organized crime groups who commit TH usually employ two methods. One is to bring women and minors who are already in an abusive situation to developed countries. The other is to promise good wages, work conditions, and prospects to desperately poor people and then to force them to undertake unthinkable actions. For example, as the demand in the evil practice of TH for prostitution increasingly turns to younger and younger girls, due to concerns about AIDS, the second form of TH is frequently committed. As a result, there is an increasing demand for foreign women and girls in developed societies, where marriage has become something to be put off, or perhaps altogether avoided.(7) According to UN data, one million minors are traded in the global TH market.(8)

Although TH is one of the most heinous crimes and something that requires serious punishment, the victims of TH face many discouraging impediments if they try to seek their rights. Most of the time, suspects manage to get away with a very light punishment, if any, as the victims cannot prove their case. Thus, although the judicial system protects women in theory, in practice TH is easier to commit than most people think and remains unpunished. It would be useful to give the example of a trial that lasted eleven months here. At the end of the trial, which was brought to court by Thai women who were promised work in pubs as waitresses in Germany, the criminals were found guilty of “encouraging prostitution” rather than TH; the former carries a much lighter punishment. In the hearings, the women said that they were forced to marry German nationals in Denmark so that they could enter Germany legally and attain a work permit. But later, they were forced to engage in prostitution “to pay for the expenses.”(9) The abuse of women sometimes can be hidden behind a legal disguise. For example, in Berlin a female computer programmer had been laid off from work, and was on unemployment benefit. When a brothel owner saw her c.v. on a database of job seekers and offered her a position, she refused on moral grounds. The government then threatened to cut her unemployment benefits, as she had refused a job. Surprisingly, brothels were legalized two years ago in Germany, and now are considered to be just “another workplace.”(10)

Final Remarks

The people who are forced to work underground or in demeaning jobs know neither the language nor the laws of the country to which they have been brought with fake documents. As the dependents or guardians of these people are paid in advance, it is even more difficult for these people to return to their families as long as their financial dependence continues. On the other hand, if they notify the authorities, they will face deportation and be arrested, as they are not legally residing in that country.

TH can be said to be modern slavery from the perspective of the methods used, the purposes it serves, and the exertion of physical and psychological oppression on the victims. Hence, it is necessary to protect people who are victims of TH wherever they live through the law, and to severely punish the human traffickers. 

References

1. The declaration of UN-General Secretary about “Trafficking in Women and Girls,” number A/50/369. date:08/24/1995.
2. The decision of UN-General Committee, number: 49/166, date:12/23/1994.
3. Bundesministerium fur Familie, Senioren, Frauen, und Jugend (BMFJ) (Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women, and Youth). Materialen zur Frauenpolitik (Materials of Women Politics). Nr.63. Bonn 1997. p.20.
4. Marjan, Wiyers and Lin Lap, Chew; Trafficking in Women; Forced Labor and Slavery-Like Practices in Marriage, Domestic Labor and Prostitution, Utrecht. 1996, p45.
5. BMFJ, same issue.
6. Focus, Nr. 2; 1995. pp 111-114.
7. Licia, Brussa. Survey of Prostitution, Migration and Traffic in Women: History and Current Situation; EU, EG/Prost (91) 2; p.42.
8. Der Spiegel. Nr. 35, 1996, p.31.
9. Elvira, Niesner et al. A woman’s Dignity is Inviolable: A Trial on Trafficking in Women, Forschungsprojekt im Auftrag des BMFJ (Research Project on behalf of BMFJ); Frankfurter Institut fur Frauendforschung (Frankfurt Institute for Women Research). Frankfurt; 1991.
10. The world at a glance…The Week, volume 5, issue 196, February 25, 2005. 

International companies around the world have used most of the child labor for years. For example, one famous worldwide shoe company in the United States employs five thousand people in the United States and employs ninety five thousand people in Far Eastern Asian countries. Therefore, most of the production by this company has been made in the factories in Far East Asia. The company, however, has been using children as work power, while paying them only $1.5 per month. Just this example shows how difficult the working children’s situation is in the world, and makes people shudder. Although the situation is very serious, there have not been important efforts to protect children from working in unsuitable places. While we see children labor in developed countries, the situation is even worse in developing countries.

THESE CHILDREN BELONG TO US

Children have been being worked at places that need less technology. In industries, many heavy jobs require cheap labor; therefore, children are the best workers for this kind of jobs. There are many reasons why even small aged group children have been pushed to work at unsuitable workplaces. Over population, poverty, migration from rural to urban areas, the education level of the parents, etc. are the main causes for working children. Especially in developing countries, when families migrate to cities, most of the time they live at a ghetto without a healthy environment and well-paying job. Therefore, every member of the family is a potential worker to bring food and money to the home. Many times, children are the most suitable workers for this kind of situation because parents do not have qualified work eligibility; therefore, it is hard for these parents to earn good money. Some cultural misconceptions also put children in work places. For example, in some cultures some families think their children should he taught to get ready for future life. This thinking sometimes force children to work at small ages to see how difficult life is. While child labor is a part of the daily life in third world countries, the problem has not been solved in developed countries either. Because children are considered the free work power, they are the only source of money for poor families. Even today, child labor problems are still a big problem in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and some other countries. The income anomalies, poverty, high unemployment rate, low school finishing rate, etc. are the main reasons why child labor has been used in Turkey, a developing country with high young population rate.

WORKING CHILDREN; PROBLEMATIC CHILDREN

If children at early ages are allowed to work at dangerous places, without good meals, with unsafe health environments, poor education, and neglect, we have to accept that these children will bring big problems to our society. Yet these children have the rights to receive a good education, security, a secure place to work, and the ability to join social activities. They need to be provided with all of their needs. When children stay away from their family’s control, and especially children who work on the street, will automatically be put in some risk from the streets and be vulnerable to exploitation. Any kind of drug uses, sexual abuses, and harassment are the main risks that children may come across in a short time on the streets.

CHILD LABOR AND CHILDREN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD

Though the exact number of children workers in the world is not known, according to the United Nation International Children Fund’s estimation (UNICEF), the number of working children are more than two hundred million. According to International Labor Organization’s report, more than eighteen percent of the 14-18 age group of children are working in developing countries (Latin America, Asia, and Africa). In other words, children laborer is eight percent of the world’s potential 2.4 billions work power.

Today, not only most of the children’s future are in danger, but also their health and life are under threat around the world. It is possible to see working children continuous in history because the labor is cheap, and they are unable to protect their rights; especially industrial capitalists, factories, mining companies exploited children a lot. At that time, a generation was forced to pay the bill of Western Industrialization. Days and Nights from children to elderly people, everybody has worked. The first studies for children’s legal rights and protection started around the 1880s. The first applications to protect children and give them security by government began in 1802 in England. With this law, children were forbidden to work between 9.00 p.a. and 6.00 a.m. during nights. For the first time in 1890, the working children rights were discussed internationally at Berlin Conference in Germany. Children from both sex groups were prohibited to work unless they turned a specific age and finished their primary school education. The first international documents on children rights was signed with the Zurich Children Right Announcement in 1923. In addition, the United Nation Children Rights report was accepted in 1959.

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE SITUATION

ILO, the main international children organization, was working to prevent child labor with classic methods. That is, the main methods used by them were prohibiting children under a specific age and punished companies that allowed children to work. This classic method started to change in the 1990s. Under the United Nations umbrella role, ILO and some other children organizations began to develop new strategies and projects to protect children. For example, Germany founded the IPEC project. However, there are still some obstacles that need to be solved. Children from developing countries have been used as a study case, which brought some doubts about the success of the project.

Child labor is cheap, yet this is a disadvantage for developed countries. Some developed countries argue that it is not fair to compete with developing countries because they allow working children as cheap work forces while developed countries can not. Therefore, the G-7 (the most developed seven countries in the world), and 24 countries have taken some actions at the ILO and OECD level in order to stop this acting unjustly competition. Here is a typical example from Germany: Germany has been importing carpets and rugs from India for years. German people started protesting these products from India because children produced these carpets and rugs. Finally, India agreed that they would send an official certificate to Germany showing that the products were not made by children.

Some experts think that labor by children is not productive. According to Jean Maurie Derrien, an expert at ILO, children work power is a vicious circle and does not make nations rich, but only causes poverty. The reason is because if children work, the level of education, qualified work power or profession, and the rate of earning will get lower. The lack of healthy food, poor housing and lack of immunization from diseases brings low working capabilities and, thus, poverty. All of these unsuitable working conditions have many impacts on children for the rest of their lives. In order to solve these problems, ILO started a program called IPEC in developing countries, such as Turkey, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, etc. which includes serial conferences, seminars, and other activities. The program is still continuing, therefore, the results are yet to come.

Individualism is a philosophy which, like Nietzsche’s nihilism and Kroptkin’s anarchism, encourages people to turn away from religious values. It rejects divine authority altogether and any kind of religion-based command. It regards human beings as creators and human intelligence as the only guide in life.

A study, done in the United States and Germany between 1984 and 1986, produced remarkable findings about the social and economic characteristics of people living alone in these countries:

The numbers of such people have increased from 6.9 million to 20.6 m. in the United States and from 4 m. to 8.8 m. in Germany. Similar increases can also be observed in the other European countries.

Other research studies named SOP (Sozio Economisches Panel) and SIPP (Survey of Income and Program Participation) give the general reasons for this increase as follows:

a- Life conditions have become easier due to economic and technological development

b- Women have moved into different occupations and stations in life

c- New methods of contraception

d- Changes in social norms and values, in particular a decline in family life

e- Desire to live free of responsibilities

According to the SOP survey rest homes in Germany were overfilled after the Second World War with war widows and a generation of people made hopeless and desperate by the unfavourable psychological effects of the war. Marriage rates fell over the same period. The same research states that the young unemployed in many European countries account for an average fifty percent of the number of those who have chosen solitude.

The individual, who has lost all attachment to the society in which he or she lives, and has no feeling of responsibility to that society, abandons all links with its cultural values and symbols and its norms of behaviour: the individual becomes alienated and, probably, anti-social.

Sociologists suggest that this trend is eroding societies. If the bases on which social orientation is built have been weakened, if, in other words, there is no longer any trust among the members of a society, then that society will begin to disintegrate. Durkheim calls this collapse ‘anomie’. Suicides, homicides and general disorder are inevitable since so many individuals do not have a sufficient reason to respect life, not even their own.

This kind of survival or persistence in a life of which the individual can no longer make much sense turns around mere calculation of advantages, difficulties and, if any, of pleasures. The isolated individual is, because of isolation, over-attached to personal advantages, too alone to deal effectively with the difficulties that inevitably arise, and too self-oriented in the pleasures available to him or her. Life is thus reduced to a mere shadow of what, deep down, the individual knows it ought to be, and the envy. loneliness and selfishness which the individual feels makes the situation ever more painful and hopeless.

Lack of religious education and a near absence of devotional and contemplative habits are the background condition which urge people into a form of self-limitation and self-imprisonment. Their moral imagination atrophies so that they do not know of, or if they know, they do not much care about, the suffering and hardships that others endure. It is all too obvious that modern Western individualism has brought unhappiness, depression and disorder into many human lives and societies. Nor can the deterioration be reversed until people return in sufficient numbers and with sufficient sincerity and wisdom to the true faith.