|PIC1|Fiona Allan, a BMS worker in Bangladesh, explains why the choice, in that country, whether to support child labour is a complex one.

I consider myself to be an ethical consumer. When we lived in the UK, I campaigned on issues of fair trade, trade justice and workers' rights.

I bought local, organic and Fairtrade products whenever possible and boycotted companies for a variety of unethical practices.

These principles are so Deep-rooted that I could not leave them “at home” and, as far as possible, I have continued to purchase local and fair trade products here in Bangladesh.

However, I have a confession to make.

I use child labour.

I buy products which have been made by children, I pay children to carry my bags at the railway station, I give to child beggars and I buy items from children working on the streets or in shops.

Moreover, I have made a conscious decision to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I abhor child labour.

Sending children to work robs them of their childhood and their future.

I believe in a Bible that implores us to seek justice and to work towards establishing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven (for example see Prov 31: 8-9, Is 1: 17, Mal 3:5, Matt 5: 6).

For my part, I will continue to campaign against child labour and exploitation until it disappears.

But while I live here, I will also continue to support those children who work.

Why? Because I see that as just too.

It is hard for those of us born in the UK after 1948 to understand what it is like to live in a country that has no safety net.

For all its perceived faults, we have a system that looks after the poor, elderly and disabled; where education is both free and compulsory; and where healthcare is free at the point of delivery.

Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, has no social security system and this reality is played out wherever you look. Children work or beg because there is no other option open to them.

If child labour was banned tomorrow, these children would not suddenly start going to school and playing in the fields.

Instead, they and their families would starve.

There is nothing to fall back on and nowhere else to go.

This is why I choose to use child labour and I will continue to do so until there is a viable alternative for them.

Yet, at the same time, I will continue to support those working and campaigning towards that alternative future.

This article will no doubt prompt some interesting responses, both from those of you who agree and those who disagree with me.

In fact, I hope that it does because as Christians we need to start having better conversations about this and other ethical issues facing the world today.

Although we long for easy or simplistic solutions, I believe that it is our duty as Christians to see this complex world as it really is. We should be prepared to ask difficult questions and to live out our faith in light of the answers we find. As it says in Hosea 12: 6 “So now, come back to your God! Act on the principles of love and justice, and always live in confident dependence on your God.”

Photos and a blog about child labour can be found at http://my.opera.com/fionaandles

Re-printed in Christian Today with the kind permission of BMS World Mission www.bmsworldmission.org