His Taiwanese “children”
Since the Nobel Peace Prize has brought him to the attention of the world, Satyarthi has been invited to speak in many countries. Taiwan was the second country in his itinerary, after Nepal: “Because I love Taiwan and its people, visiting Taiwan has been my dream for many years.”
Child labor has been virtually eliminated in Taiwan, but every year more than 100 young Taiwanese volunteers travel to India to work with Satyarthi’s team, providing care and education for rescued children. Satyarthi is impressed by these volunteers’ passion and empathy, and has long cherished a desire to visit their country.
One of the main concerns for the Taiwanese volunteers after arriving in India is their proficiency (or lack of it) in the local language. But Satyarthi encourages them with the advice that “language is not the only channel for communication. Having a heart willing to listen to others is more important.” As long as people open their hearts, they can communicate. And sometimes body language is more effective than words.
In Satyarthi’s eyes, there’s no difference between a nine-year-old Indian child and a 20-year-old Taiwanese. As long as they maintain a pure heart and an open mind, they are all his children.
During this trip to Taiwan, Satyarthi visited the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and the charity organization Wake, both of which have a long history of cooperation with BBA. And wherever he travelled, he was embraced by enthusiastic young Taiwanese like a rock star.
Satyarthi and his wife opened their arms to give young people big hugs whenever they met—just as had happened several years ago when the Taiwanese volunteers arrived in India, the couple openly offered their warmth in welcome.
In his speech, Satyarthi mentioned the dramatic development in Taiwan’s economy over the past few decades, but also noted that Taiwan had been able to maintain a critical balance between economics, and humanity and family values. Economic growth doesn’t necessarily imply the deprivation of childhood. “Every year, Taiwan has more than 10,000 volunteers serving overseas, which shows the empathy of this land and its people.” Satyarthi recognized the passion and sparkle in the eyes of those Taiwanese volunteers. “With young people of this stature, Taiwan’s future is definitely full of hope.”
Refusing childhood dreams
Since winning the Nobel Peace Prize, because Satyarthi regularly has many media interviews to deal with, he no longer always has the time he would like to be with his children (not his own, but the children he has rescued—and the volunteers who have assisted).
He says with humor that after winning the prize, his wife has taken to reminding him of the need to maintain a peaceful relationship; so no quarrels. Satyarthi also has to watch his words “as anything I say is likely to become a news headline or find a place in someone’s book.”
With a Nobel Prize, he is feeling the weight of greater responsibility on his shoulders—but he is also aware of a greater capability to recruit people to join in the task of rescuing children. After all, the battle is not over.
“As I speak, there are still 5.5 million children without freedom, and 85 million child slaves, child prostitutes, and child soldiers living in harsh conditions. And 150 million children are unable to complete a basic primary school education. “These children don’t cry, don’t laugh, don’t know how to communicate; few of them survive to 16 years of age.”
To eradicate child labor completely, Satyarthi is planning to lobby the governments of major countries (including the US and the UK) to set up a global parliamentary forum, integrating the powers and resources of a range of nations to together eliminate child labor forever.
“This goal cannot be achieved by a single person, organization or even country. But if all nations can work hand in hand, in my lifetime we will have the privilege to witness the relegation of child labor to history,” says Satyarthi. If the leaders of every country in the world could come to India to work as volunteers, even war could become history.
The aura and glory of the Nobel Peace Prize have made Satyarthi a highly respected figure admired by people worldwide. But it has in fact made him even more humble. On this journey, he repeats time and again: “This prize does not belong to me. It belongs to everyone who has participated in this battle, who has helped our children, and who wants to make the world a better place.”