Certain editorial positioning left intact for effect.
By Terry Friel
Stone chips fly as Rina, her face frowning in concentration, expertly crushes a rock to rubble in just a few seconds on the banks of a swift brown river in eastern India. With the skills of a professional, she deftly uses her hands and feet to reposition the pieces, dodging the fast, heavy strokes of her own hammer.
Rina is five. She has already been a professional rock breaker for a year, slaving six days a week in the sapping heat and humidity of West Bengal. "I like it," she whispers shyly, without slowing her hectic pace or looking up, wearing the same grubby and torn brown skirt and lime green top she wears almost every day. "But I would like to be in school." |