June 12 marks the World Day Against Child Labor, sponsored by the UN's International Labor Organization to bring attention to the plight of working children around the world. Child labor remains commonplace in the Middle East and Central and South Asia, where many kids work as miners, street vendors, or farm laborers.
Children At Work In Mines And Fields
![Nurbek, 11, is one of dozens of children working in the Sulukta coal mine in southern Kyrgyzstan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1be23962-3c34-4de2-968a-7effbce3c970_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
1
Nurbek, 11, is one of dozens of children working in the Sulukta coal mine in southern Kyrgyzstan.
![Children at the Sulukta coal mine in southern Kyrgyzstan](https://gdb.rferl.org/98711749-12be-4d84-9d9b-606f72be18d3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
2
Children at the Sulukta coal mine in southern Kyrgyzstan
![Even the youngest members of the Khan family work at a brick kiln in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province to pay off their father's debts.](https://gdb.rferl.org/20b80492-24f0-4e22-9d7d-304aadf88b7d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
Even the youngest members of the Khan family work at a brick kiln in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province to pay off their father's debts.
![Hamida Khan, who is 8 years old, is one of the children working as a bonded laborer at the brick kiln in Nangarhar.](https://gdb.rferl.org/041ff9a4-e52c-4b3f-9a18-ad2d3990b3d4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
4
Hamida Khan, who is 8 years old, is one of the children working as a bonded laborer at the brick kiln in Nangarhar.
![Street vendors in Basra, southern Iraq](https://gdb.rferl.org/571333d0-6144-4ded-ba30-f14946880876_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
5
Street vendors in Basra, southern Iraq
![A young street vendor talks to a potential customer in Basra.](https://gdb.rferl.org/affe8c14-97a3-40a5-b6a2-e2ab32cf1f6f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
6
A young street vendor talks to a potential customer in Basra.
![A Kyrgyz child takes a break from making clay bricks to sell.](https://gdb.rferl.org/949bd6db-545b-4e5d-8d2b-fa549d7463de_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
7
A Kyrgyz child takes a break from making clay bricks to sell.
![Kyrgyz children prepare the mud used to make clay bricks.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2d1ad69e-c934-4c42-8c11-e515f2b7959a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
8
Kyrgyz children prepare the mud used to make clay bricks.
![A child picks cotton in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan. Children in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are frequently sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c9956c26-2e0c-49a4-ac96-e440cf163030_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
9
A child picks cotton in Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan. Children in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are frequently sent to the fields to pick cotton by hand.
![Children carry cotton in Osh.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6059a00c-fe0b-44d4-8f71-90cb820bfa3f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
10
Children carry cotton in Osh.
![A girl carries a sack of cotton in Uzbekistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bca3726b-5f0d-45d5-9129-993b62b611af_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
11
A girl carries a sack of cotton in Uzbekistan.
![Children work on a farm truck in Turkmenistan's Lebap region.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ffe3c9ff-538f-4469-8b83-abb6c4610c4b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
12
Children work on a farm truck in Turkmenistan's Lebap region.
![Young street vendors in Turkmenistan](https://gdb.rferl.org/958b748f-4e09-4772-b995-163e59a7fdac_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
13
Young street vendors in Turkmenistan
![Hauling goods in Turkmenistan](https://gdb.rferl.org/0eb81e47-7364-4a88-a1b0-2f13e6e11916_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
14
Hauling goods in Turkmenistan
![An adolescent girl sells sweets in the Iraqi city of Kut.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b4d55863-655c-4f7f-8c18-b9eae090bb93_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
15
An adolescent girl sells sweets in the Iraqi city of Kut.
![Children carry heavy loads in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan.](https://gdb.rferl.org/be726ed3-363c-44e3-8de7-1a1992d27c43_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
16
Children carry heavy loads in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan.
![Zakir, 10, pauses while cutting fish at the harbor in Karachi, Pakistan. He earns 200 Pakistani rupees ($2.20) a day for his work.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b3f96991-c746-440c-a7ad-3eeeff4202f8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
18
Zakir, 10, pauses while cutting fish at the harbor in Karachi, Pakistan. He earns 200 Pakistani rupees ($2.20) a day for his work.