Rampant child labour in Sivakasi is not a new thing, nor are the frequent accidents in the fireworks factories crowding the parched Virudhunagar district. But a heart-rending 25-minute film, Tragedy buried in Happiness by a Korean broadcaster, Teagu Broadcasting Corporation, on the exploitation of children of Keezhapatti village and the gruesome accidents that left teenagers, Chithra and Karuppusamy, deformed for life, has brought back into focus the administrative apathy to Sivakasi's children.

Keezhapatti village near Sivakasi hides a dark secret. Four years ago, Chithra was involved in an accident while working in a fireworks factory. Cowering behind a bath sheet, Chithra tries to hide from Hyuk Soo Seo's camera. Naturally, she does not want the world to see her scarred face and the deformed mass of flesh that constitutes the top portion of her body. But the camera catches her expressive eyes.

Doomed to live within the four walls of her home, Chithra has not received much compensation, either from the company where she worked or from the district administration. Her mother, Sunderambal is apprehensive about even discussing the issue. She does not want to mention the name of the company. All that she laments about now is that it would have cost just Rs 2 lakh for a plastic surgery, and a new life for her child.

When asked what's her ambition is in life, Chithra says, "I want to work again and pay back all the debts taken for my treatment," she mutters from behind the sheet she clutches tightly to her face.

... contd.