Washington: Mexican-American actress Eva Longoria expressed her support Sunday for the end of child labour and denounced the fact that in the US, one of the world’s richest countries, child labourers sometimes go to bed without having eaten.
“It’s not China, it’s not Mexico, it’s the United States,” the actress said.
Longoria presented the trailer of the documentary “The Harvest” about child workers in the US during the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, or NCLR, the largest Hispanic organization in the country.
The actress, who is the documentary’s executive producer, said she was committed to these children, who work harvesting vegetables and other crops 14 hours a day, seven days a week, some of them as young as 10.
In the US, there are some 500,000 children who work in agriculture who are “badly paid” and are shunted into the vicious circle of exclusion, without education and without the basic services that all children should have a right to receive, Longoria said.
“Every time a Latino is recognised for their talent, the image of Latinos changes for the better,” said the actress, best known for her role as Gabrielle Solis in the television series Desperate Housewives.
Longoria also directed the documentary “Latinos Living the American Dream”. (IANS)