They toil from dawn to dusk, helplessly exposed to heat and dust. Children in Chinese and Indian quarries. The result of their toil can be seen as gravestones in German cemeteries. The Greens are now pushing for stricter laws. Over the past 20 years, the number of gravestones from India and China is said to have increased significantly. According to estimates, 30 to 60 percent of all gravestones imported to Germany come from India. “Bread for the World” even estimates 80 percent. Most of them are said to have been made using child labor. The Hamburg Greens are calling for an end to this. And they are following the example of others. In cemeteries in Saarbrücken, for example, gravestones that were not demonstrably produced without exploitative child labor have been banned since 2010. “We would like to see Hamburg’s cemetery authorities follow Saarbrücken’s example,” says Katharina Fegebank, the Green Party’s expert for international affairs.
With a motion to the city parliament, the Greens want to legislate that cemetery operators may stipulate that only gravestones from fair trade and not from child labor may be used. A round table discussion on the subject is also to be initiated. The stonemasons’ guild has expressed both approval and doubts. “We support all measures that outlaw and prevent child labor. The stonemasons’ guild has already implemented a corresponding voluntary commitment. We buy our raw stones from companies where we can be sure of the working conditions,” said deputy head master Michael Karbenk. He does not believe that around half of all gravestones sold in Germany come from child labor. “We process the natural stones here in Hamburg with trained skilled workers. Finished products from child labor are not offered by the guild companies.”
Film tip: The documentary “Gravestones made by child labor” shows the miserable conditions under which Indian children have to work in the quarry.