Labor Trafficking and Trade
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The Myth of Initial Consent
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Where to Buy Fair Trade Winter Accessories
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Buy Responsibly Campaign Helps You Buy Better
Victory in Landmark Human Trafficking Civil Case
Published November 04, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
What does justice look like for a survivor of human trafficking? Is it seeing her pimp handcuffed and sent to prison? Is it hearing his abuser sentenced to 10, 20, or 30 years? Is it reuniting with friends and family who were lost? All of these things can be justice for human trafficking survivors, but increasingly survivors are seeking another kind of justice -- cash. Specifically, they are suing their traffickers. And at least in once case in California this week, they are winning.
In what may be the first case of its kind in California, and one of the first in the country, a trafficked domestic worker brought suit against her former employer and was awarded $768,000, including $500,000 in punitive damages. The case stated that an Indonesian businessman brought the survivor Suminarti to Los Angeles to work in his home. The family confiscated Suminarti's passport, withheld all her pay, required her to work 16 hours a day with no days off, and refused to let her pray at a mosque or visit the Indonesian consulate. They abused Suminarti verbally and psychological, and told her to lie and say she was a family member if law enforcement ever visited the house. The family was convicted og the crime of human trafficking, but Suminarti wanted the sort of justice that civil suit could bring.
Her victory is indicative of a number of positive developments in the anti-human trafficking field.
Zimbabwe Still Exporting Blood Diamonds
Published November 02, 2009 @ 03:48PM PT
The folks over at the Kimberly Process certification scheme, the main body responsible for certifying diamonds as "conflict-free", have threatened to suspend Zimbabwe's participation in the program for six months. It appears Zimbabwe is still seeing a great deal of human rights abuses, exploitation, and slavery in the diamond industry.
The Kimberley Process (KP) is a coalition of governments, diamond industry representatives, and civil society stakeholders, which was created to stem the flow of conflict diamonds from countries in Africa to global markets. Rough diamonds have been used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments, and the diamond industry has become notorious for exploitation and slavery, especially of children. The trade conflict diamonds has fuelled devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone and resulted in the abuse of thousands of workers and children. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes extensive requirements on participating members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’.
Zimbabwe's eastern diamond fields are the areas currently being questioned by the KP. Human Rights Watch has accused the military of killing a number of diamond diggers in the area and using the gems recovered from the dead diggers to line their own pockets. Zimbabwe is also accused of not having stringent enough regulations in place to prevent abuse in the diamond industry. A KP inspector recently recommended that Zimbabwe be barred from importing or exporting rough diamonds within the Process for at least six months "until such time as a KP team determines that minimum standards have been met." Such a ban would be a huge blow to the diamond industry in that country, but might also allow KP members to put the additional regulations in place to help prevent exploitation in the industry.
It's comforting to know the folks at KP are actively monitoring all of their members, and that they aren't hesitating to call one out for failing to live up to the rigorous standards KP insists on. But it's still important to know where the diamonds you buy have come from and how or if they are certified. You can find a wide selection of Fair Trade diamond and gold jewelry at Brilliant Earth's website.
Photo credit: swamibu
What Hillary Clinton Should Say In Pakistan This Week
Published October 29, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT
Hillary Clinton is on day two of her official three day visit to Pakistan, the first of her career as Secretary of State. I'm pretty sure that while she's there, she'll remember to talk about terrorism and the Taliban. I hope she might even slip in a comment or two about women's rights. But will Clinton mention the rampant debt bondage and slavery that makes modern Pakistan look more like 11th century Europe than a modern nation? And next to terrorism, is that even important?
To borrow some terrorism language, the situation of debt bondage in Pakistan is quickly deteriorating from a Code Orange to a Code This-Whole-Freakin'-Country-Is-Getting-Dragged-Back-Into-the-Dark-Ages. For example, according to TIME Magazine, at least three landlords have held as many as 170 bonded farmworkers at gunpoint on their estates since late September. Most traffickers have tools other than guns to keep workers enslaved, but the fact that these traffickers can hold their victims at gunpoint for months with no government interference speaks to the impotence of the Pakistani government in addressing debt bondage. In Pakistan today, 10% of men own 90% of the land. The vast majority of farmers are somehow indentured, and many of them are caught in false debts and held under the threat of violence -- they are slaves. Debt bondage is not the exception in Pakistan. It would be the rule, if there was any system of enforcement.
The U.S. government hasn't addressed this issue with Pakistan, in part because the Taliban, Al Queda, and all the other violent and extremist goings-on look like a much bigger and more important issue than some farmers not getting their due. Well I've got news for Secretary Clinton and all the foreign policy wons who think they can ignore slavery -- ending slavery in Pakistan will go a long way towards reducing terrorism and creating a peaceful, stable Pakistan.
Here's how it works:
Publix Secretly Films Labor Protesters to Avoid Paying Farmworkers
Published October 26, 2009 @ 04:54PM PT
Over 100 farmworkers, many of whom pick tomatoes for a living, protested outside a Publix grocery store this weekend to demand an end to exploitative labor practices and a fair price for tomatoes. This protest was on the heels of several others, which a Publix associate had been secretly filming and lying about. Produce and espionage -- now there's two things you rarely hear about together.
Publix has refused to enter into an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to ensure that the some of the price increase of tomatoes makes it to the workers in the fields. So CIW and their supporters began to protest. And how did Publix respond? Like any Southern grocery chain would -- they send a spy. Thomas McGuigan, who works for Publix, began showing up at a number of the protests to film them. He told the protesters that he was an independent filmmaker and "old hippie" interested in protest culture. He followed them to several protests, lying to them about the nature and purpose of the filming. But as it turns out, he had agreed to turn all his footage over to Publix.
WTF, Publix? Did you really send a spy to infiltrate a group of peaceful protesters with a video camera to avoid agreeing not to exploit farmworkers? What are you now, the Bush administration? Reports from the protesters indicate that McGuigan was spending a disconcerting amount of time filming children at the protest. If Publix wants this footage to see how CIW and their allies are plotting to achieve justice for farmworkers, why are they focusing on the kids? Maybe Publix thinks they are the secret masterminds. Or maybe McGuigan's not the best filmmaker.
Michael Hoffman, Executive Director of the Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University in Massachusetts, has stated that Publix's filming was done under false pretenses and was unethical. He recommends they destroy the tape immediately. I second that motion. People have a right to protest you, Publix, especially when you refuse to take important steps towards protecting the people who produce the food you sell from exploitation. So buck up, work with CIW, and leave the espionage to the professionals. They are much, much better at it.
Photo credit: hyku
Taken in the Night: Martin's True Story of Slavery
Published October 21, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
This story is originally from Reuters. While Uganda has become the most famous backdrop for stories of children trafficked to become child soldiers, it is not the only country where they are currently being exploited. Child soldiers have been used in conflicts all over Asia and Africa, including being used by the Taliban as suicide bombers. But Martin's story represents the experience of many child soldiers in Uganda.
I was 10 years old when the Lord's Resistance Army came to my door in the middle of the night. They ordered me to leave my home and come with them. In my district, we had heard about the atrocities they were committing, and so we were all terrified. The men looted my house, taking chickens, goats, and clothes. Then they took me. My cousins and I, along with other boys, were tied together by our hands. For one whole day we walked like that, trying to dodge the Ugandan army. We walked for a week, until we arrive in southern Sudan to begin our training.
During the day we were taught how to march and how to handle a gun. The mane in charge told us we needed to be ready for battle because President Yoweri Museveni had ordered the Karamoja to ome and raid all the cattle in the countryside and abuse and kill our families. We were told to overthrow the government, which would make Joseph Kony president and life better for us. The commanders told us that overthrowing the government was our main goal, a goal we should be willing to die for. The older boys were the security for the training camp -- forced to kill children if they tried to escape. They did it with a wooden club, and all the children were forced to watch as the offending child was beaten to death. It was meant to be a warning to us all. You would be beaten if you broke even the simplest rules, like not eating pork or shea nut butter. But you would be killed to trying to escape.
I saw my first battle at age 12. I was petrified and freezing, since we were attacking at dawn. Yet, somehow, I survived. For years I kept hopeful that someday I would be able to return home and go back to school. Maybe one day I would be chosen to be part of an operation in Uganda, and from there I could escape home. But that never happened. Instead, we moved from south Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The commanders claimed the war would be over by 2006, and we could all return home. When it didn't I decided with three others to escape. We managed to sneak away, walking three days until we reached a place near Aba in Congo. There, we found the Congolese army, surrendered ourselves, and explained our situation. News of my escape was broadcast over the radio, and my little brother came to meet me. We were overjoyed to see each other again.
Martin is now free and hopes to go back to school to continue his education.
Photo credit: babasteve
South Korea's Disposable People
Published October 20, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
Abolitionist Kevin Bales was the first to coin the term "disposable people" as a reference to modern-day slavery. It's remained a popular term because it has both great descriptive power and great accuracy. Victims of human trafficking are treated temporary, replaceable items -- not individual human beings. Amnesty International has recently shined a light on one group of people who are particularly treated as such -- migrant laborers in South Korea.
South Korea was actually one of the first Asian countries to grant equal rights to migrant workers, including the same status as Korean workers. In 2004, they passed legislation guaranteeing equal labor rights, pay, and benefits for all migrant workers. However, five years later, many migrant workers continue to face the hardships and abuse they experienced before legal reform. Workers often work with heavy machinery and dangerous chemicals without sufficient training or protective equipment, putting them at greater risk of accidents and fatalities. They receive less pay than South Korean workers in the same jobs. Female migrant workers face sexual harassment, rape, and trafficking into prostitution. Many workers have had wages withheld without cause and been cheated out of wages.
South Korea is an example of the importance of implementation of law. On the books, migrant workers have great legal protections and full rights. However, in reality, no mechanism for implementing the law exists. Workplaces are not monitored for safety violations, the claims of unfair dismissals and wage theft are not addressed. Unfortunately, this sort of situation is not unique to South Korea. Since the U.S. began issuing it's annual Trafficking in Persons report and rating countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking, more countries have passed better anti-trafficking legislation. Strong laws are important, but ultimately meaningless if the country lacks any mechanism to enforce that law. Too often, strong anti-trafficking laws have failed to make a difference in the lives of at-risk and trafficked people because of a lack of enforcement. We should learn from South Korea's example that the "how" of law is often just as imporant as the "what."
Until a better enforcement mechanism is in place, Amnesty International is asking South Korea to do the following:
- to ensure that employers respect, protect and promote the rights of migrant workers through rigorous labour inspections so that the workplace is safe, training is provided and migrant workers are paid fairly and on time;
- to protect and promote the rights of all female migrant workers and stamp out sexual harassment and sexual exploitation;
- to allow irregular migrant workers to remain in South Korea while accessing justice and seeking compensation for abuses by employees; and
- to ensure that during immigration raids, immigration authorities adhere to South Korean law requiring them to identify themselves, present a warrant, caution and inform migrant workers of their rights, and provide those under their custody prompt medical treatment when needed or requested.
Photo credit: 2017
The Slave-Made Prius and the Future of Green, Fair Labor
Published October 15, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
This post is part of Blog Action Day, which is uniting over 8300 blogs in 147 countries to talk about how climate change affects all our lives.
The creation of "green collar" jobs and "greenification" of production is a scorching hot topic these days, especially as climate change rises to the top of the international agenda. Reducing the environmental impact of production needs to happen in the U.S., China, and everywhere in between. But can we make production greener while protecting the rights of those humans who are doing the producing?
Conrad MacKerron, the Director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program at the As You Sow Foundation based in San Francisco, CA, asked that question when a recent report from the National Labor Committee alleged abusive working conditions in Japanese factories assembling the Prius. According to the report, a full third of assembly line workers are very low-wage temporary employees and the supply chain that leads to the Prius is riddled with sweatshop abuse and human trafficking. The report also found that two years ago, Toyota, GM and Ford were all linked to human trafficking in making the pig iron for the steel that ends up in their vehicles. Even that staple of the the new, more conscious consumer -- the Toyota Prius -- may have been tainted by slavery.
To me, slave labor being used to make Priuses -- arguably one of the most visible symbols of consumers working to reduce climate change -- is the ultimate sad irony. That purchasers of the Prius who are making a conscious effort to be greener could be inadvertently supporting slavery is ironic and sad. And that a car which aims to protect the environment could ultimately harm the people who build it is also terrible. But it's an important moment for us to remember that just because a product is "greener", doesn't mean the company making it always puts the employees' rights first. "Green" and "fair" should never be strange bedfellows, but too often they are.
We cannot choose between green supply chains and fair supply chains, nor should we have to. We shouldn't have to live in a world where what we buy destroys the environment or the lives of the people who make it. But to continue to build a progressive vision of the future, we don't just need better environmental and better labor practices around the world, we need an overhaul of the system. We need to change the bottom line and change corporate incentives, so that the many companies who now to rely on fossil fuel and slave labor to create the cheapest possible product have a different aim. But perhaps most importantly, we need the green labor movement and the fair labor movement to focus more energy on working together, and confirm that they need each other to be part of a bigger, better picture: a fairer, greener world.
Photo credit: greenforall.org
