[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.92]After 50 years of economic isolation, [00:04.60]observers fear that Myanmar children might be forced to work [00:10.20]before they can complete schooling in a booming economy. [00:15.12]The Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, [00:20.28]has one of the worst records for child labor of any country. [00:26.04]Many children work every day to earn money for their families. [00:32.28]Tun Min is 16 years old. [00:36.56]He uses his boat to deliver fish to a market near Yangon. [00:42.76]He earns about $8 a day. [00:46.16]He hopes his life will one day be better. [00:50.04]"My wish is to become a trader in the fish market. [00:53.40]I need some money to become a fish trader. [00:55.61]Then, I can earn more money." [00:57.40]Tun Min left school when he was 12 [01:00.60]because his mother was sick and his family needed money. [01:05.00]Experts say about twenty percent of children in Myanmar [01:10.32]between the ages of 10 and 17 [01:13.80]work instead of going to school. [01:17.64]They work in factories, tourism and many other businesses. [01:23.24]They work in cities and in rural areas. [01:29.04]Foreign investors are helping Myanmar's economic growth. [01:34.28]And with a growing economy [01:36.36]there is an increase in the need for workers. [01:40.15]Some rights activists say they are worried [01:44.16]that children will be forced to work to help keep the economy strong. [01:51.04]May Win Myint works for the National League for Democracy, [01:55.92]the country's leading political party. [01:59.52]"If we cannot solve this problem, [02:03.14]there will not be any development in our country [02:05.48]because the children will be the people serving the country in the future. [02:09.32]They need to be educated to do that." [02:12.04]Children younger than age 13 are not permitted [02:16.04]to work in shops or factories in Myanmar. [02:20.00]If they do work, they may only do so for up to four hours a day. [02:25.88]But experts say businesses do not obey the law, [02:30.44]and the government does not punish them for ignoring it. [02:34.80]Human rights groups and child protection activists [02:39.60]want the country to put in place stronger laws [02:43.48]and work harder to keep children in school. [02:48.28]Michael Slingsby works for the UN Development Program. [02:53.88]"I think it should be a priority area, [02:57.60]but needs to be combined with positive policies. [03:01.96]If you try to ban child labor, [03:05.36]there's a danger that you drive it underground [03:08.68]and people (will) still continue to work very young, [03:11.93]but do it in a less open way." [03:15.32]At the San Pya fish market in Yangon, [03:18.96]Reuters news agency observed girls and boys as young as nine [03:24.08]cleaning fish and loading trucks [03:26.77]during the 12-hour long overnight shifts recently. [03:32.32]Hla Myint has a 15-year-old son working at the market. [03:37.32]He said, "I don't want my son to do this kind of hard labor." [03:43.60]From the bamboo hut close to the river that he called home, [03:47.92]he added, "Whatever they say they would do, [03:51.52]or give us, it will never reach here." [03:55.88]I'm Mario Ritter. [03:57.44]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM