Is Tradition an Excuse to Have Child Slaves?

Every day Haitian children are sent away in hopes of a better life. This has become a Haitian tradition. When Haitians don’t have enough money to support their children they sent them to live with another family or many times complete strangers. These foster parents are supposed to take care of these children as if they were their own. They’re supposed to send them to school, buy them clothe, and guide the to a better future. However, this hardly ever happens. These children are taken in as servants, forced to work without pay, secluded from other children in the household and not often sent to school. Before the earthquake out of Haiti’s eight million people 300,000 children were restaveks. After the earthquake one million Haitians were left homeless so the number of restaveks also raised a lot. The big question with all this is. Is this Haitian tradition or child slavery? If the parents give away the children willingly is it still slavery? Jean-Robert Cadet, a former restavek, now runs an organization against restaveks. Cadet tells us that the only reason why restaveks are still around today is because it is socially accepted as tradition. Cadet says only a small percent of restaveks are treated well and sent to school, this makes Haitian parents prefer sending of their kids and hoping they end up with a good family than watching them die while living with them. So is this so called “ tradition” slavery?

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The N Word: An Acceptable Term of Endearment?

The word nigger comes from the Latin "niger" meaning black. However, during slavery in America it was used by white slaveholders as a term to refer to a group of slaves. Over time, the definition has evolved to "usually offensive; a member of a socially disadvantaged class of persons." Other definitions include "lowlife,"a person of any race or origin regarded as contemptible, inferior, ignorant, etc." Since the definition has such a negative connotation, why would anyone want to be embraced by such language?

Many African Americans argue that the word should not be used at all. Op-ed columnist and motivational speaker Mychal S. Massie writes "people who respect themselves and honestly respect others don't show affection and respect with such loathsome and baneful language." Those who support this view feel as though the term is extremely derogatory, based on its history. In other words, the history marks the vulgarity of the word. The horrific imagery linked to the word makes some cringe at just the sound of it.

Some argue that the word is now used as a term of endearment. They argue that the context in which it is spoken and who is using it can alter the meaning of the word. Also, many argue that if one pronounces the "er" at the end of the word, then it is disrespectful. However, if the "er" is replaced with an "a," the entire meaning of the word changes, and it then becomes a term of endearment. While those who argue this point argue that it is a term of endearment, they also are often those who get offended when anyone outside of the African American race uses the word.

Now I'll ask you to consider this: if it is a term of endearment, why are only certain people allowed to use it? Most terms of endearment are accepted by everyone. What about the word makes it so special that only blacks can use it? Also, how can erasing two letters from the word change the entire meaning (when it essentially is the same word)?

Except for in historical contexts, there is no reason for the use of the word. It is not a term of endearment, and taking away the last two letters does not alter the meaning. If it truly were a term of endearment, then those who use it would have no problem with those outside of their race using it as well. Nigger should not be as accepted in the black community as it is today. The word has an offensive and grotesque historical meaning that it has not yet shed.

Running Away Into Slavery

Two hundred years ago in this country, the only way for slaves to escape was to run away from the men who would seek to exploit them. Today, most of the girls who are enslaved as prostitutes in the United States are not shipped here from overseas by international sex merchants, but are “home-grown runaway kids” according to Nicholas Kristof in a July 14th article of The New York Times. He claims that of the 100-600 thousand children engaged in prostitution in the United States, many are girls in their early teens who are attempting to escape from a particularly stressful or volatile family situation, such as a mother’s boyfriend making unwanted advances. These rebellious girls, often as young as 13, do not trust police and as they aimlessly wander the streets without any direction other than away from home, are approached by the only type of people on the look-out for such a girl, pimps. These pimps buy the girls dinner, give them shelter in the form of a motel room, tell them they love them, often being their first of many unwanted sexual partners. Then they force the girls at the point of a knife or gun to have sex with multiple men a night, for free because the “boyfriend”, as these pimps refer to themselves, collects all the proceeds. Customers are met either on the street or, increasingly, on the internet and are often unaware that it is against the girls’ wills, but then again would a grown man having sex with a 13 year old prostitute care? Probably not, perhaps along with the Federal Government because as Kristof agrees, sex slavery and human trafficking does receive nearly the amount of attention it should compared with other major crimes due to the fact that the victims, prostitutes, don’t make good “poster children” and are even considered criminals in the eyes of the state. This is wrong because of the three involved parties in these transactions, being the broker (pimp), the product (prostitute) and the consumer ("john"), only two should be punished, the first and the last. The person caught in the middle should be rehabilitated and receive benefits for going through such a terrible experience as Sweden has made efforts to do. We should follow Sweden’s model, adopted in 1999 as well as policies that benefit our system specifically such as improving the domestic situations in the homes that lead to these girls running away,  but especially providing resources for runaway girls to turn use instead of pimps.

Free the Slaves Loyola NO Chapter Facebook Presence

The Free the Slaves Chapter at Loyola will have its second meeting on Tuesday September 28 at 12:30 in the Library Living Room.  Check out their new Facebook page and keep up with their events.  We're already planning a benefit concert!

Walmart leads the world in labor exploitation

Walmart is one of the worst exploiters of labor in existence. It goes past the scale of anything witnessed in historical cases of slavery. Walmart has expanded its influence to parts of the developing world where labor is in abundance and squeezes the life out of its workers for maximum profits. Walmart has to face over 5000 lawsuits a year for human rights violations.

WalMart's excessive exploitation of child labor forced even China to take action. China proudly reported that it had broken up a child labor ring in Guangdong province that used over 100 children ages 13 to 15 and paid an average wage of 42 cents an hour with no overtime. The minimum wage in China is 64 cents an hour and the minimum working age is 16.

In addition to overuse of child labor and exploitation of the impoverished, WalMart finds that it's cheaper to wash employees' blood out of manufactured clothing before selling it than to provide
gloves and safe machines to their seamstresses. Muhammad Saidur Rehman, A Wal-Mart factory owner in Bangladesh said "We still suffer from the legacy of the colonial days ... We consider the workers to be our slaves, and this belief is made all the easier by a supply of labor that is endlessly abundant."

Many people have tried to fight Walmart and those who seek fair trade products are now being heard more loudly than in previous years. However, Walmart even thought of that and in 2005, was caught passing off imported sweatshop-produced products as "being made in the USA".

Walmart is a role-model for all people abusing sweatshop and slave labor. It has gained immense wealth and influence at the cost of countless lives. I am waiting for the day when "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" sings its sweet song into Walmart's coffers. Hopefully in the future no corporation will ever be able to out-do Walmart.

Location Doesn't Always Matter

Upon our own soil, in our own country, and in the very close southern state of Florida, where issues like slavery should no longer be thought of, have somehow managed to resurface. A group of workers made up of Latino, Mayan Indian, and Haitian immigrants have been forced into what I consider an industry of modern day slavery. They are known as the Immokalee workers.

The Immokalee workers are farmers who pick the produce, such as tomatoes, that the companies need to run their businesses. Companies such as Walmart, Taco Bell, and Sodexo all buy from these tomato companies. There are times when they are paid forty to fifty cents per 32 pound bucket of tomatoes that they pick for companies in need of produce. These numbers have barely changed over the past 2 1/2 decades. Because of their frustration with the poverty stricken conditons and extremely unfair treatment, they formed a group to protest slave labor and called it The Coalition of Immokalee Workers. In attempt to gain equal treatment in the working industry, where they will be able to have fair wages and good employer-employee relationships, they began to boycott certain companies that they pick tomatoes and other produce for. Their biggest company so far is Taco Bell.

Some may wonder if this is a sufficient way to handle the reoccurring problem of slave labor. Is the boycotting of certain companies a good enough solution to solve the problem that the Immokalee people face in southern Florida? It is more than acceptable. All they want is for companies to say that they won't use slave labor in order to obtain good produce. They no longer want to be threatened or have violence used against them if they don't do the work. These people work outside in the fields for countless hours and the companies they work for only want to pay them measly, unfair wages. These companies don't even follow the laws against not paying workers minimum wage. And it should no longer be allowed. Progress can, will, and has been made to make the conditions better for the Immokalee people.

Not the Children!

Children like Wilson Peter and Dai Manju have adult responsibility placed upon them at an early age. They are a vital component to the income of their homes. Working in mines and having to give up an education are definitely no way for a child to live. In the case of Wilson Peter of Mererani, Tanzania, he has to work in the Tanzanite mines. He is asked about the dangers of the mine and what he fears. He says, “I could just fall in the mine. You can slip and fall. The mine can collapse on you. While sifting, you swallow the dust. You can get really hurt. “ Dai Manju lived in the Dabie Mountains of China. She had to drop out of school to help around the house and work to bring funds into the household. The initial opportunity to acquire an education was stripped from her. Thus the question is asked, why the children? Many children are made to work because their parents simply are not making enough money to support the family. This opens up the door for the children to be exploited. Why should the children have to suffer? Organizations such as the Good Hope Program of Mererani and Nivasa sponsor children being exploited and enslaved. The Good Hope Program of Mererani takes young men and train them in a trade such as mechanics or farming. Nivasa is an organization in Sri Lanka that provides financial assistance to victims of human trafficking to help them raise and educate their children. If there can be aid given to the families suffering, similar to Nivasa, there would be no need for the children to have to work. Also, the children are being educated, why not the parents? Of course they have to work to live, but what if there were funds allocated to assisting the parents while they go to school and can get better paying jobs in factories or offices? Kids should be able to enjoy their childhood and begin an education. I feel as though the rescue efforts wait for the child to be in trouble to intervene and help. It seems more sensible and effective to address the issue at the stem rather than wait for the children to get involved.

Cellphones: Gateway to Education and Equality

Knowing English is a highly marketable skill in the Indian economy. It is a vital asset for jobs in India's growing service industry, and opens up countless doors in the business world. For this reason, English is a common course in Indian schools, private and public. However, many children in rural India are unable to maintain regular school attendance because they need to work for their families.

An organization, called Mobile and Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging Economies (MILLEE), has developed an effective and efficient solution: cellphone games. Despite how ridiculous this claim seems at first, this idea of "mobile learning" is well thought out and display the kind of entrepreneurial spirit needed to produce the innovations that will help end poverty. MILLEE's programmers have developed a suite of educational games that teach English literacy. The cellphone's portability and convenience allow children to learn at home and in the field. The best thing about MILLEE's approach is that they program the games on a case-by-case basis rather than a country or world wide platform. They use local games from each individual region as the basis of each game so children are familiar with the games and motivated to play them. Over the past five years, MILLEE has been phenomenally successful, and expanded their program from India to include Africa and China.

MILLEE's program has also shown other benefits in ending social inequalities. In the initial study alone, 8 cross-caste friendships were formed among the 18 participants. Caste boundaries are normally inviolable, but this innovative program has begin breaking down the social barriers. With any luck, this will be a continuing trend and not just a freak anomaly.

Love Gone Wrong

In the United States, the average age of a girl entering into the commercial sex industry is thirteen years old. Many come from places of domestic violence, little money, foster care, and broken homes. Deciding they don't want that type of life, they leave home and find themselves being offered “family” in the form of a pimp. Most of these girls don’t even know what a pimp is, but they see the opportunity to obtain love and comfort – something they have been denied in the past – and they jump for it.

This type of false love is known as Stockholm Syndrome. In this situation, the victim is isolated and stripped completely of their independence, leading them to rely solely on their captor. Regressing back to a state of infancy can occur, where the victim latches on to the nearest influential adult for survival. Many prostitutes start out as children, so the attachment they form to their pimps is understandable when the pimps present themselves as the child’s “daddy.” Once formed, these bonds are hard to break.

So what can be done to keep girls from returning to a life of prostitution? Re-thinking the definition of freedom is a good place to start. Many assume that because a person is free physically, they must also be free mentally, but the truth is that these girls fight a daily struggle to stay within the new lives they are creating for themselves. Taking into consideration the trauma of circumstances this severe, it’s hardly fair to label them as weak if they fall back into prostitution. Lack of money, lack of options, and love for their pimps all play a role in this scenario. Instead of giving the cold shoulder to these victims, rehabilitation programs should be set up in order to monitor the progress of creating happy and healthy lives. GEMS is a great example of how this can be achieved. The GEMS staff offers support to victims of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. By using workshops to raise awareness of the issue and providing each girl with tools they need for a better life, GEMS reaches two hundred young women each year. This may only touch the tip of the iceberg, but it is progress. Rehabilitation is crucial if we want to see any type of advancement.

Profiling is Unethical and Immoral

Imagine being singled out, humiliated, and classified simply for the way you look. This problem is known as “Racial profiling”, a practice used by many forms of police agencies to supposedly prevent any crime or wrongdoing from occurring. When many think of profiling, they immediately picture a police officer pulling an African American male over to the side of the road. But profiling has become somewhat of an accepted practice and in some instances a technique listed in Airports security handbook. This skepticism or classification of individuals who might be perceived as more of a threat than other stems from the terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001. Some 20 men of Arab descent boarded 2 planes using fake/stolen ID’s and proceeded to hijack the planes and its passenger’s freedom. Little did the passengers now, these two planes (United Flight 175 from Boston and American Airlines Flight 11) would not be making it to their desired destination. Since the horrible attack on the World Trade Center, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent people, Americans have been reluctant to forget what occurred on that day and who was responsible for such a tragedy. However, this attack has led to the belief that all Arab/Muslim/ or “brown” people are out to wage a war of terror against the United States, which is largely inaccurate. These actions were executed by 19 men who belong to an Islamic Extremists group(Al-Qaeda) hell bent on terrorizing the US, what many fail to see are the repercussions that have befallen those innocent travelers who are now subject to public humiliation, de-boarding, and increased vigilance/search. Legislation has been passed in some states such as Arizona, that not only allow but suggest the use of “racial profiling” as a security measure in its airports. But there is light at the end of the tunnel: The End Racial Profiling Act, has been introduced to capitol Hill in 2001, 2004, and 2007. At the hands of former President George Bush, the supposed problem of profiling was glanced at, spoken about briefly and never resolved. But now, President Barack Obama (who supported the Bill while being voted upon in congress) promises that “ending racial profiling is a priority”.

Buy Right

Many powerful boycotting campaigns have successfully impeded the growth of slavery and other forms of exploitation in the 20^th and 21^st centuries.  In the 1980s in South Africa, a powerful, multi-national divestment campaign brought the Apartheid government to its knees.  The Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida successfully used boycotts to insist that Taco Bell (2005), McDonald’s (2007), and Burger King (2008) all pay fair prices for the tomatoes they use in their fast food, which are picked by underpaid, exploited immigrant laborers who were making as little as $10,000 a year, though they were performing full-time labor.  These campaigns produce lasting changes for labor standards and help to end egregious forms of bad governance.  As good citizens, it is crucial that we keep up-to-date on these movements, as our “purchasing power” is indeed a form of power we can use to affect change in the world.

When it comes to modern day slavery, however, boycotting and divestment are not always reliable or appropriate responses to the problem.  Unfortunately, slavery exists in much of the supply chain of many of the most basic products we consume.  Products that may have been produced by slaves can be found in our cell phones, our jewelry, our clothes, our shoes, our charcoal, our rugs, our gravel, our computers… even in our sugary foods.  In 2009, the US Department of Labor produced a list of products made by child and forced labor -- it's enormous and daunting.  It would be nearly impossible to boycott all of the products that we consume that could have been made, at least in part, by slaves.  

But more importantly, typically, we cannot precisely know to what extent slavery is involved in the production of these products.  In the case of cotton, for instance, only a very very small percentage is grown or harvested by slave labor – perhaps as little as one percent.  Another consideration is that companies might be working to monitor the use of slave labor in their production chain, and so a boycott could actually punish companies that are taking steps to avoid slavery.  The chocolate industry, for instance, has worked to create a Cocoa Protocol that would create systems to ensure that the chocolate being brought to the US is slave-free.  A boycott of all cotton or all chocolate products would actually hurt the vast majority of producers – big and small businesses – that don’t use slave labor. 

So what can a conscientious consumer do?  Instead of boycotting when it is impossible to target a particular producer, company, or retailer, what we need to do is to try to buy wisely.  There are many opportunities to buy Fair Trade products, whether we are buying clothes or food or home furnishings, even at our local stores.  You can also shop at sites like Made By Survivors, which not only sell fair trade, non-slave-made products, but they intentionally employ people who have survived modern day slavery in order to support their rehabilitation and provide them with non-exploitative and lucrative work and skills.  There are ever more opportunities to purchase products that are guaranteed to be slave-free.  Recently, news came out that Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame is endorsing a clothing line that uses only fair trade materials, and she actually took a trip to Bangladesh herself to investigate the production line and to learn more about the labor that goes into the clothes she wears and puts her name on.  

Whenever we can, we should all use our purchasing power to help bring slavery to an end.

When Victims Become Traffickers | End Human Trafficking | Change.org

When Victims Become Traffickers | End Human Trafficking | Change.org