African Immigrants in Italy

By Adrienne DiTommaso | February 7, 2010

On January 7th, years of tension and resentment between southern Italians and African immigrants boiled over into what Reuters calls, “The worst racial violence in Italy since WWII”. The popular world image of Italy, that of la dolce vita, had been shattered when locals of the Calabrian city of Rosarno purportedly attacked a group of African immigrants, who responded with violent riots that injured 71. Over 1,000 African immigrants were subsequently evacuated from the town, apparently to prevent further violence. Though the exposure of the xenophobia in Rosarno is disheartening at best, it is unfortunately symptomatic of larger tensions between African immigrants, who flock to Italy looking for work, and Italians, who are uneasy about the affect of such a large influx of immigrants on their culture.

According to the International Organization for Migration, foreign workers account for 9% of Italy’s GDP. Predominantly emigrating from African and East European nations in search of stable income to support loved ones back home, these migrant workers perform menial tasks such as fruit picking, waiting tables, and factory work. With wages averaging around $30US a day, accommodations are substandard, ranging from tent villages to converted factories, and sanitation is poor. Complicating the situation is the involvement of the Mafia through a chain gang-like system called caporolato. “It’s a military system,” says author and Mafia informant Roberto Saviano, “The farm and factory owners employ the Mafia caporali to bring the workers. The immigrants wait on the roads, the caporali pick them up and take them to the work. If they complain, they get killed,”. Despite the threats from the Mafia and disgruntled locals, the Italian government has adopted a hands-off approach. “It’s obvious they have let the Mafia freely do with the immigrants as they wish,” Saviano says. It seems that it will require more than riots to get the government involved, especially when that government is made up of politicians such as Minister of Reform and Northern League founder Umberto Bossi, who is on record as referring to African migrants as “bingo-bongos”.

Thus, Italy finds itself in an uncomfortable state of ambivalence, a predicament which countries such as Spain are also facing. Without these dependable sources of cheap labor, says IOM spokesman Flavio Di Giacomo, “the Italian economic system would collapse,”. But the constant influx of African immigrants introduces a diversity that is unwelcome and chafing to the homogeneity of Italian culture. Though many Italians loathe the presence of the African immigrants and are not afraid to express this sentiment, these same Italians do not want to live without the services these immigrants provide. And from the immigrants’ side, though they cannot live without the jobs, the humiliation and discrimination is intolerable. “They are not like Italian workers, who will just leave if they don’t like it…these jobs are the best situation they can have,” says Saviano.

So what, if any, are possible solutions? Firstly, the Italian government must recognize the African immigrants as more than an economically necessary evil; the human rights of these people should become a number one priority. Furthermore, hegemonic and xenophobic policies and perceptions should be addressed from all angles and at all levels, in state and local governments, in schools, and in the media. More thorough attempts at integrating immigrants are essential for successful assimilation. Finally, dialogue between international entities facing this issue of explosive immigration should become a foreign policy priority. Possible solutions and strategies to use in dealing with this complex issue can no doubt be worked through discussion and diplomacy.

“Italy Race Riots Target African Immigrants”, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Italy-race-riots-target-African-immigrants–/articleshow/5434641.cms

“In Italy, Racial Tensions Explode into Violence”, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1953064,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1953064,00.html

“African Immigrants in Italy: A Shadow of Ethnic Cleansing?”, http://en.afrik.com/article16764.html

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1953064,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1953064,00.html

Other sources:

1. Caffentzis, George. Internationalizing the Struggle for Immigrant Rights: The Case of African Immigrants in Italy. Accessible at http://www.isanet.org

2. “Italy Repatriates African Immigrants”, http://www.euronews.net/2009/05/10/italy-repatriates-african-immigrants/

3. “Italy’s ‘Little Senegal’”, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3622953.stm

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To Burqa Or Not To Burqa

By Kyle Fontaine |

On Tuesday, January 26th, a French Parliamentarian panel reported that Muslim women should not be allowed to wear Burqas in public [1]. This has been a contentious issue in France since 2004, when France outlawed the full body coverings in public schools. The possible new law is currently under intense debate in Parliament.

Nicolas Sarkozy made a strong stand against the Burqas in a speech before Parliament, the first such speech by a French president since the 19th century [2]. The reasons cited by Sarkozy and many others cover social as well as political concerns. The most contentious issue is that of women’s rights: many claim that the headdresses and covering garments supports the inferiority of women. Another common assertion made by other opponents of the Burqa say that it  is a security threat because it hinders facial recognition, making it easier to cover up bombs and other threats [3].

I understand these arguments, but I see a veil of ignorance and racism clouding issues of Muslim integration in France and concerns of security against the spike in fundamentalist terrorism in the past decade. In addressing social concerns, I have to ask, doesn’t telling a woman, especially one who chooses to dress in a Burqa for religious reasons, she can’t wear one infringe upon the rights of women? The French cannot claim that all 1,900 (.038 percent of France’s Muslim population) women who wear Burqas in France are forced to wear them, because it is, according to many translations of the Koran, a proscribed dress code for many Muslims. In fact, one respected translation says, “O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them when they go out or are among men.” [4]. This law would basically undermine the Islamic religion. It’s the same type of law that applies to the Sikh turban or Hasidic Jew’s garb [5]. The security constraint is also cast into doubt because logistically, how is a dress and a hoodie different from a Burqa? Along with that thought, most women who wore Burqas before they became illegal will either wear equally concealing clothes like a hoodie and dress or they will actually become imprisoned in their own homes (if they are being forced by fundamentalist men).

If France does pass this unfair law, it better be prepared to give money to women who regurlarly wear Burqas money for a new wardrobe and lots of sunscreen.

[1] Lauter, Devorah. “In France, Panel Recommends a Burka Ban.” The Los Angeles Times. 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/27/world/la-fg-france-veil27-2010jan27>.

[2] “Sarkozy Speaks Out Against Burka.” BBC NEWS. 22 June 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8112821.stm>.

[3] Lauter

[4] “What the Koran Says.” Telegraph.co.uk. 6 Oct. 2006. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1530720/What-the-Koran-says.html>.

[5] “What’s Hiding Behind France’s Proposed Burqa Ban?” The Christian Science Monitor. 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2010/0127/What-s-hiding-behind-France-s-proposed-burqa-ban>.

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The Unsweet Side of the Sugar Industry

By Adam Weinstein | February 2, 2010

Known by the Spanish names picadores and braceros, or by the name Kongos after an African tribe that was sent to the Caribbean as slaves, Haitian workers are the backbone of the sugar cane industry in the Dominican Republic. Sugar has been the traditional export of the area now known as the Dominican Republic and of the island of Hispaniola in general since the days of slavery. In the 1970’s sugar cane mills accounted for only 1.4% of the industrial complex but controlled 44% of the industrial sector’s capital. Sugarcane fields also use up nearly 40% of farmable land in the Dominican Republic. During the 1980s the Dominican Republic’s economy shifted towards a reliance on mining and tourism, but sugarcane is still the number one agriculture export.

The Dominican Republic has a high unemployment rate. As of 2008,14% of the country was unemployed. But this statistic doesn’t even account for underemployment which means that many Dominicans lack full-time work. However it has never been in the interest of the sugarcane “plantations” to employ native Dominicans if Haitians are available. One reason is simply that the sugarcane fields are in remote parts of the island where there is not a large population and the farmers who do exist there are usually subsistence farmers who are only interested in growing enough to feed their own families. But while that may account for some of the reliance on Haitians, the main reason is that the workers migrate, don’t form labor unions and are cheap. For example the Dominican Republic has a minimum wage of $4.00 per day for farm workers, but the average Haitian sugarcane worker makes $2.21.

Some Dominicans are employed in the sugarcane industry but they tend to have managerial positions in the field and usually make close to the minimum wage. The only real rise in cost for Haitian sugarcane workers is the sum of money to be paid to the government of Haiti. The Dominican Republic remains competitive in the international sugarcane market through keeping its workers rotating and paid a low rage to account for the low productivity in Dominican sugarcane fields. For example the average worker in Jamaica harvests seven tons a day and a Haitian worker in the Dominican Republic harvest a mere one and a half tons a day. But this is due to a lack of tools and technology not the quality of the workers.

The Haitian workers are employed in towns called bateyes that are analogous to the company-owned mining towns of 20th century Appalachia except with far more inhumane conditions. Many workers are paid in company vouchers which makes saving any capital impossible. The bateyes also have little infrastructure and don’t provide a humane quality of life. Most bateyes are state-run but some are private. The Dominican Republic and Haiti have made agreements since 1952 to send a specified number of Haitian workers to work the sugarcane fields seasonally, but many come illegally as well. It speaks volumes about the Haitian economy and life in general in Haiti that workers are willing to undergo slave-like conditions in Dominican bateyes in order to make slightly more money. In an article that was published in International Migration Review on the subject, Sherri Grasmuck wrote that it showed that there are “degrees in hell.”

 

Works Cited

Commission, Inter-American. Inter-American Yearbook on Human Rights. Anuario Interamericano de Derechos Humanos 1991. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1995. Print.

 

“Dominican Republic.” The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 27 Nov. 2009.

 

Grasmuck, Sherri. “Migration within the Periphery: Haitian Labor in the Dominican Sugar and Coffee Industries.” International Migration Review 16.2 (1982): 365-77. Print.

 

Santana, Arismendi. “The Role of Haitian Braceros in Dominican Sugar Production.” Latin American Perspectives 3.1 (1976): 120-32. Print.

 

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Economic Hit Men

By Kyle Fontaine |

Economic hit men (EHMs) can be likened to the front lines of a battlefield. When an American corporation wants something from a country such as a resource or rights to a development project, it firsts enlists an economic hit man to try to secure its goal. They have several ways of accomplishing this means. The most common method involves inflating economic projections. An EHM will go into a country and use econometrics to show how investing a certain amount of money in infrastructure and similar projects would exponentially increase the state’s economy. The rate of increase could easily be made to show that it outpaces the debt incurred in order to guarantee a large loan from the IMF/World Bank/USAID. The conditions of the loan/contract would mean that the economic hit man’s home company would get the rights to the project and therefore make windfall profits. Then, the forecasts would turn out to be way too high and the borrowing country would be politically and economically indebted to America and the West. Another method of economic enslavement is to use these economic hit men to threaten leaders with guaranteed poverty versus development and U.S. political support. Of course, this tool was used very slyly, but nonetheless, even the most incorruptible leaders will give in to EHM demands when backed-up by the American government.

One case of successful economic manipulation exists within the scam of SAMA, or the Saudi Arabian Money-laundering Affair. After the oil embargo by OPEC and Saudi Arabia in the 1970’s, America’s mission was to ensure its oil supply, so that an embargo would never again be possible. So immediately after the embargo was lifted, the U.S. sent advisors and consultants into Saudi Arabia. Once there, their job was to show the Royal House of Saud how its country could use its oil wealth to help Saudi Arabia develop. Some high level diplomat or EHM negotiated a deal with the House of Saud that had basically four terms: 1) that Saudi Arabia would sell oil in only the U.S. dollar, thus guaranteeing the strength of the dollar. As long as oil existed as a sought after commodity, the dollar’s value would be tied to it and therefore be strong. 2) The interest on the dollars that the Saudis kept in U.S. banks also had to be used to pay either American or Saudi corporations to help develop Saudi Arabia. The interest on those billions of dollars guaranteed a rich source of income for firms like MAIN, Bechtel, and Halliburton for years to come. 3) American firms would be paid by the Saudis in an initial phase to jump-start the development of Saudi Arabia, bringing power and infrastructure to the entire country. 4) The U.S. would guarantee to support the Royal House of Saud in exchange of the promise to never put an oil embargo on the U.S. again. Whoever negotiated this deal with the House of Saud threatened the legitimacy of the House by the U.S. and promised to help orchestrate a coup if the plan was not agreed to. The U.S. helped convince the Saudis of the benefit of the deal, and they probably saw no other choice. Many EHMs were asked to come in and design thorough plans of what could be built. They wrote reports including garbage services, electricity, foreign labor, malls, schools, police stations, chemical plants, industrial parks, etc… Another huge goal of SAMA was to make industries with complex, technical, high-maintenance machinery. This promised even more profit for years to come because the Saudis would be unable to maintain the machinery MAIN would put in. This basically created a cycle of corporate exploitation and U.S. benefit.

“This empire, unlike any other in the history of the world, has been built primarily through economic manipulation, through cheating, through fraud, through seducing people into our way of life, through the economic hit men.” John Perkins, former EHM would know. The American corporatocracy prevails.

Works Cited:

Perkins, John. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler, 2004. Print.

Perkins, John. The Secret History of the American Empire. New York: Dutton, 2007. Print.

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The Many Facets of Labor and Resource Exploitation in Africa

By Caitlin Augustin |

For centuries human labor-power has been exploited to further economic gain; garner power, or demonstrate glory. The pyramids, coal mines, child workers, slave trade, and indentured servitude are all examples of labor and exploitation. Labor is also used to exploit resources and opportunities, with dire, irreversible and unintended consequences. This article will focus on labor as the driving force of natural resource exploitation in the African continent.

Natural resources encompass the minerals, materials, soil, flora, and fauna that cover the landscape. In Africa, poor farming techniques, mismanagement, extensive mining and logging have led to severe environmental degradation. In Uganda, deforestation and agriculture have resulted in significant forest loss; unsafe practices such as slash and burn agriculture, and unsustainable exploitation of resources for irrigation and crop growth. This deforestation has caused a huge economic shift, and there is concern that Uganda—currently an exporter of lumber—will son import fuel for wood if country does not implement a forest preservation plan. Similarly the rainforests—cloud forests—of Western Africa have been denuded. Over 90% of West Africa’s rainforests have been lost to deforestation; road construction and slash-and-burn farming have already wiped out roughly 90 percent of the West Africa’s rainforests. In a tragic example of labor exploitation—thousands of forced laborers perished in the Congo in the rush to harvest wild rubber for refinement.
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A second obvious display of resource and labor exploitation is in the mining of alluvial diamonds, ominously called ‘blood diamonds’ or ‘conflict diamonds’ because of their role in funding violence in Africa. The term ‘alluvial’ refers to diamonds that have been removed from the originating rock formation—Kimberlite—by natural erosion and deposited in other locations, such as a riverbed. Alluvial diamond mining is often called artisanal mining. Alluvial diamond mining accounts for nearly 14% of the world diamond cache and typical retrieval methods are incredibly labor intensive. Alluvial diamond mining operations are characterized by low productivity, lack of safety measures and high environmental impact. It is estimated that 1.3 million Africans work in this sector (World Diamond Council.)

Alluvial deposits are typically located in the upper foot of the earth’s crust, and are often deposited by rivers and found in their banks. These diamonds are mined by small-scale, family operations in areas where diamond mining is the only economic opportunity. The majorities of these miners are incredibly poor, and labor to exploit marginal deposits with minimal returns in unfailingly dangerous conditions. Typically mining practice involves digging and sifting through mud, sand and gravel using shovels, sieves, or, in some cases, bare hands. Due to the huge geographic area where diamonds are mined, these artisanal mining techniques result in working outside the legal and regulatory framework with no oversight over dangerous conditions or adequate payment.

As a direct result of the poor safety conditions, lack of mining tools and, minimal regulation there are high incidences of injury, pain, death. Without proper security, there is minimal safety in successfully mining diamonds, as thievery is not uncommon.

International attention has recently been drawn to the use of child labor, the high incidence of prostitution in mining camps, and the associated spread of HIV/AIDS where migrant workers are involved (United State Geological Survey.) The Diamond Development Initiative, founded in 2006 and supported by the Clinton Global Initiative, is dedicated to improving working conditions, fair-pricing, and regulation in alluvial diamonds. These initiatives, among others, will ensure that resources and people are not exploited for military or economic gain.

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American Apparel Layoffs

By Cyndi Poon | January 21, 2010

Despite American Apparel’s solid reputation for fair labor treatment, the Los Angeles based clothing company became the victim of a new Department of Homeland Security immigration reform this past October, forcing the layoff of 1,800 employees, about a quarter of its labor force. This is a company praised for its labor practices, such as paying its workers wages well above the standard in the industry, providing its workers health and life insurance and other benefits. Such a reputable company being targeted raises question on the immigration reform left from the Bush administration and continued by the Obama administration.

Representative Brian P. Bilbray, a Republican from San Diego, say that the firings are fair for employers who have “become addicted to illegal labor.” American Apparel is not a company exploiting cheap labor of illegal immigrants. It is proud of the “Made in America” label on all its products, in contrast many companies addicted to the cheap labor of outsourcing production to sweat shops overseas.

An ongoing federal investigation found irregularities in the documents of the employees at American Apparel. Having learned its lesson on the abuse and trauma deportation and workplace raids caused on immigrants’ families and communities, the DHS has begun going through the audits of employment records instead. There is a continuing audits of its other stores, as the DHS has not let go of its teeth on the company yet. The fine American Apparel faces is up to $800 per undocumented employee.

In response, the creator of the company’s controversial ads and CEO, Dov Charney, has turned out a “Legalize LA” line of T-shirts to promote immigration reform.

Many of those laid off have worked at the company for years, and have lost a living wage and health and life insurance. The Obama administration has not provided welfare for those laid off, despite the highest level of unemployment in Los Angeles since the Depression.

Sources:

Hing, Bill O. “DHS Forces the Lay Off of 1800 American Apparel Workers.” ImmigrationProf Blog. 03 Oct 2009. Typepad, Web. 1 Dec 2009. <http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2009/10/dhs-forces-the-lay-off-of-1800-american-apparel-workers.html>

Rosario, Mariela. “American Apparel Forced to Lay Off 1,800 Immigrant Workers .” Latina. 02 Oct 2009. Latina.com, Web. 1 Dec 2009. <http://www.latina.com/fashion/news/american-apparel-forced-lay-1800-immigrant-workers>

Johnson, Benjamin. “Crackdown on American Apparel Workers Another Wasted Effort.” American Apparel. 06 Oct 2009. alternet.org, Web. 1 Dec 2009. <http://americanapparel.net/presscenter/articles/20091006alternet.html>

 

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Chocolate and Child Slave Labor in West Africa

By Adrienne DiTommaso |

For many people, the thought of a decadent square of rich, smooth chocolate is enough to elicit a drooling response akin to that of Pavlov’s dog. But chocolate has a deceptive darker side that would make even the most passionate chocoholic abstain: an unknown amount of the cocoa that makes up the average chocolate bar is produced using child slave labor. While many people associate chocolate with happiness, pleasure, and indulgence, few associate one of the world’s favorite treats with the injustices of the forced, exploitative laboring of child slaves.

Journalistic and anthropological muckraking has ensured no shortage of horror stories about the life of a child slave on a cocoa farm. Kidnapping, coercion, and promise of a wage to contribute to the child’s family income provides cocoa farmers with cheap, obedient labor in the form of children ranging from 11 to 14 years of age. Children are forced to work 12 hour days in miserable weather and are not properly fed and hydrated. The work itself is backbreaking and children often lug sacks of cacao beans as big as they are. Escape is nearly impossible due to the isolated location of the farms and the fear of physical retribution if caught.

As has been well documented by various researchers, NGOs, and non-profits, child slave labor is not unique to any one region of the globe or any one industry. As the world’s biggest producer of cocoa (the Cote d’Ivoire exports 43% alone), the West African cocoa industry boasts some of the most egregious examples of exploitative child labor. These abuses are able to occur based primarily on the prevalence of poverty among citizens of the region and the general economic dependence on exports. Historically, only European colonizers and settlers of West African states grew cocoa on their large plantations, but a rise in market price for cocoa and corresponding government incentives persuaded African farmers to boost crop production. Though there is some diversity among exported items, West African countries such as Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire have made the cacao industry a large part of their national economy. Unfortunately for farmers, cocoa happens to be one of the least stable commodities in terms of market price, and consequently, farmers are highly susceptible to price variance. Additionally, farmers face environmental troubles such as droughts and unpredictable (often low) plant yield. These three factors combine to create a high degree of instability and often necessitate cost cutting measures be taken. Traditionally, one of the easiest ways to cut cost, and therefore maximize profit, is to adjust worker’s pay to labor ratio so that farmers pay workers less for the same amount of work. Many cocoa farms in West Africa have gone to an extreme in adjusting this ratio by drastically reducing or eliminating the pay of workers. Coupled with the abusive and exploitative conditions, work on these farms effectively becomes slavery.

 

Fortunately, this issue has been well documented and is a priority for NGOs, manufacturers, and both international and domestic governments. Chocolate lovers concerned with the ethics and politics involved in the production and trade of cocoa don’t lack for responsible chocolate choices: simply look for chocolate and cocoa products with a “Fair Trade” label or research responsible companies before buying a product containing cocoa (see 2 for listing of brands using Fair Trade cocoa). The benefits of purchasing fair trade cocoa include ensuring that child (or otherwise) slave labor was not used in production; that sellers received a fair price per pound of cocoa (around $.80 for conventional cocoa and $.89 for organic); and that other ethical practices were used. In the position of consumer, we hold the unique power to instigate change by voting with our forks and wallets. Purchasing only fair trade cocoa products sends important political and social messages that communicate that the average consumer will not tolerate morally bankrupt production practices such as the utilization of child slave labor. Marketing and branding mogul John Gerzema gets at the heart of the matter when he says, “we [consumers] can move from mindless consumption to mindful consumption. . . by restricting their demand, consumers can actually align their values with their spending and drive capitalism and spending to not just be about more, but about better,”(Gerzema, 1).

Sources:

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_gerzema_the_post_crisis_consumer.html (1);

http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html (2);

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/facts.html;

http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=182; http://www.organicconsumers.org/fair_trade/slavechocolate060414.cfm; http://www1.american.edu/ted/chocolate-slave.htm; http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/addressing-child-labor/; http://www.cocoainitiative.org/resources.html

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UM Students Join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in their Fight for Fair Food

By Liz Alarcón |

In this era of mass consumerism and market-dictated politics and policies, it seems that ethical business practices become a low priority to some. Although exuberantly successful multi-million dollar corporations earn enviable profits, sadly, in many cases this is at the expense of the lowest ranked individuals in the labor chain. The ever important “bottom-line” too often leads to the exploitation of struggling blue collar workers. An industry in which this notoriously happens is Agriculture. Migrant farm workers all across the country have been exploited, mistreated, and disrespected in fields from California to Florida alike. Luckily, the Coalition of Immokalee workers has innovatively been fighting for their justice.

          The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a community-based organization of mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. A small group began organizing in 1993, and with hard work and dedication they were able to execute three community-wide work stoppages with intense public pressure - including an unprecedented month-long hunger strike by six members in 1998 and a 230-mile march from Ft. Myers to Orlando in 2000. All of these efforts ended over 20 years of declining wages in the tomato industry. By 1998 they fought for industry-wide raises of 13-25% and an unexpected political importance, but wages remained below poverty level and modern-day slavery was still a serious issue in Florida’s fields.

            The continued concern inspired the CIW to embark on a new challenge; the Fair Food Campaign. Their focus was a Boycott on Taco Bell. The CIW demanded higher wages and better conditions for workers straight from the source, the big companies like Taco Bell who bought produce from exploitative farms. In March 2005, Taco Bell agreed to meet all of their demands to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers in its supply chain which included a $0.01 increase in wages for each bucket of tomatoes picked by every Immokalee farmer.

            Now, the new mission of the CIW is to demand the same standards from the biggest supermarket in Florida; Publix. With over 400 stores in Florida alone, Publix represents a huge target for the Coalition. The goal of the Publix protests is to forge a more humane agricultural industry by creating real market consequences for those growers who would continue to abuse their workers. The ultimate goal is for those companies who practice higher labor standards such as Compass Group or Whole Foods to adopt humane practices. Currently, Publix purchases tomatoes from growers tainted by last year’s brutal slavery prosecution, as they confirmed again recently to the press. 

            Many University of Miami students have decided to take matters into their own hands. Inspired through Professor Weisskoff’s INS 521 class entitled “Labor and Exploitation”, students from the class decided on making part of their final project a protest in our local Publix. To honor the event of the CIW, students from the class decided to plan a protest to demand better treatment of Florida farm workers at the Publix Supermarket.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Web. 30 Nov. 2009. <http://www.ciw-online.org/>.

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South Asia Creates Awareness of Child Labor Exploitation

By Jessica Johnson |

Twenty years ago, the United Nations adopted a treaty guaranteeing Children’s Rights. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Ann Veneman said the Convention of the Rights of the Child “has transformed the way children are viewed and treated throughout the world” (1).

But apparently not the entire world. Two countries have not ratified it: the United States and Somalia. The Clinton administration in the 1990s never submitted the convention to the Senate for ratification because “a number of groups” claimed it infringed on the rights of the parents (1).

Even countries who have signed the convention do not always implement the necessary measures, like in South Asia. In Nepal, child exploitation is a particular concern in the transportation sector. It is very common in Nepal to see 12 year old children working in trucks, buses, and jeeps loading and unloading goods, collecting fares, and giving traffic signals (2).

But many non-governmental groups are attempting to raise awareness about the problem. The Child Protection Sector of Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN) is a non-government organization in Nepal that was founded in 1987 to fight for the rights of the child against child labor exploitation. The group has advertised shocking figures, like the 2,193 child transportation workers in the capital of Kathmandu alone. Of these, 28.6 percent are under the age of 14, and 30.9 percent are between 15 and 16. Some of these children below 12 years old work more than 8 hours a day without sufficient pay (2).

Madhav Pradhan, coordinator of CWIN, told Xinhua News on 19 November that “these children, while at work, are not only deprived of education and other basic needs, such as health care and quality food, but are also exposed to highly hazardous situations.”

Indeed, according to a UN study, an estimated 1 billion children globally lack access to good health care, adequate nutrition, education, clean water, sanitation facilities or adequate shelter (1).

Nepal’s much larger neighbor, India, is also taking action. The Government of Delhi, in a campaign against child exploitation, has teamed up with Citizen Dentsu, an advertising company that specializes in social communication. The team has developed a multimedia social welfare campaign to create awareness about child labor and exploitation. (3).

Dentsu India chairman Sandeep Goyal told Indian Television that the media campaign, called ‘Time for Change,’ is “targeted at employers and the public at large” in order to spark “mass empathy, inspiring citizens to become a change agent to curb child exploitation” (3).

1. Geo J. Foster Company. “UN Says More Children in School and Fewer Dying.” 23 November, 2009.

2. Situala, Binju. “Nepal’s Working Children Face Perilous Labor.” Xinhua News Agency. 21 November, 2009.

3. Indian Television. “Delhi Government Taps Citizen Dentsu for Anti-Child Labor Project.” 23 November, 2009.

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Greg Mortenson: One Man’s Mission

By Anna Garcia Gomozova | November 19, 2009

Education is one of many things children in regions of military conflicts are lacking. Fortunately, there are people whose tenacity and passion correct this mistake. One of them is Greg Mortenson, a writer and humanitarian, who devoted his life to build schools for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan and help them receive education they so much desire and truly deserve.

It is very interesting how Mortenson came to be the person he is now. In 1993 Mortenson’s sister Christa died and he decided to honor her memory by climbing the second highest mountain in the world and the most difficult to climb – Pakistan’s K2. After 78 days, worn out and exhausted, Mortenson stayed in the village of Korphe, where locals helped him recover. He visited local schools and saw children writing in dirt. This impacted Mortenson so much that he promised the people he will come back and build them a school (Beeler).

With no money or experience fundraising and building schools, Mortenson found the way to make education a reality for children in the region. As of 2009, he established 131 schools in rural areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, providing education to over 58, 000 children, including 44, 000 girls (Greg Mortenson’s website). Mortenson is co-founder of a non-profit organization Central Asia Institute and founder of Pennies for Peace. He is also the co-author of “Thee Cups of Tea: One’s Man’s Mission to Promote Peace. One School at a Time,” where he describes how one person can make a difference.

In spite of all difficulties Mortenson had to encounter, he is still building schools for children. He lives part of each year in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the rest of the year in the U.S. giving fundraising speeches. In March 2009 he was awarded Pakistani’s highest civil award – “Star of Pakistan” – for promoting education and literacy in the rural areas of the region for fifteen years. In 2009 he was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mortenson is one of the few foreigners who have gained the trust of Islamic leaders and U.S. military commanders. His knowledge and research is used in the U.S. strategy of building relationships as part of overall strategic plan for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Beeler, Diane. “Three Cups of Tea’s Greg Mortenson: An Unlikely Hero, A Builder of Schools.” It Dawned on Me. 24 Apr., 2009. 1 Nov., 2009

< http://itdawnedonme.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/three-cups-of-teas-greg-mortenson-an-unlikely-hero-a-builder-of-schools/>.

“About Greg Mortenson.” Greg Mortenson’s website. 30 Oct. 2009

<http://www.gregmortenson.com/biography/>.



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