1st Person Child Labor Journal Entry

My name is Victoria, I am eleven years old and I work in a large factory in the city. This morning, I ran to the factory a little before sunrise. I was late, and didn't want to be beaten, so I skipped the little amount of breakfast that my mother had left for me and sprinted to the factory so that I would not be beaten by my boss. I was so scared, but somehow I made it. My tummy was growling, but I had to work 5 more hours before I was allowed to take a thirty minute lunch break. While I was working, Edward, the boy who had the machine next to me, came in late. The boss, in his fury, beat Edward with a whip, and although he got hurt really bad, and was crying, Edward had to work the rest of the day, without a lunch break. This made me glad that I was able to run here on time. Finally, lunch came, and I graciously ate my slice of bread and enjoyed the thirty minutes free of labor. All to soon, we were called back in to finish our shifts. The rest of the day seemed to be uneventful, until Emily, a little six year old girl, was killed! Her machine broke down, and the Boss said that she was small enough to crawl inside and fix it. Everything seemed to be fine, until suddenly, an ear shattering scream filled the air. My heart fell, as I realized what I was watching. Emily's leg got caught in the grinder as she was climbing out, and she bled to death. Despite this tragedy, we were forced to continue out our shifts. At dusk, we were released, and I walked home, crying all the way because of the terrible acts that I had witnessed today. As soon as I arrived home, I went to sleep, for I was exhausted and there was no meal for me to eat, anyways. Tomorrow, I will wake up and go through all of this again.