THE campaigns coordinator for Anti-Slavery International peered out at George Square through a blur of diagonal rain. ''At least we've got a typical Glasgow day,'' he observed cheerfully.
Out in the square, 10 children who have grown up working in the sweltering heat of Indian factories or Zambian markets remained undaunted as they shouted out support for the global march against child labour.
They had all learned a few words of English for this, one of many pitstops en route to an International Labour Conference in Geneva where laws against bonded child labour will be discussed.
They were joined by children from a Sunday school in Blawarthill who had been painting footprints on banners to be presented to Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Rev Ian Mcinnes said the Glasgow youngsters were moved when they discovered how little other children were paid to make the kind of trainers their parents paid a fortune for.
Shaukat Ali, a 12-year-old from Delhi, blazed with an energy out of all proportion to his height as he led the cries of children from Nepal, India, Indonesia and Zambia. ''Go, go, global march!'' they shouted. ''Stop, stop child labour! Child labour down, down!''
Alfred Phiri, 15, from Zambia, tried to explain what it meant to start work at the age of eight to help support a struggling family.
''It was very hard for me because I was too young and everything was heavy,'' he said.
He had never left his home until he joined the Global March. Now he has travelled through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tansania, Kenya, London and Glasgow.
He and others like him are representing 250 million children worldwide who work in appalling conditions, often approaching slavery.
Supporting the Glasgow stop of the march were the GMB and TGWU unions.
Mr Robert Parker of the GMB said the event aimed to highlight ''the plight of children sold into slavery to make massive profits for multinational companies. What we are saying is 'enough is enough'.''
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