Scarier Than Ghosts And Goblins

Child Labor, Slavery, and Halloween
(part of the Lost Childhood series)

(Ghana and Ivory Coasts supply 75% of worlds' chocolate)

As the holiday season approaches many of us will begin to be tempted by seemingly endless displays of candies and chocolates at our local grocery store. The somewhat cleverly designed and well placed displays make it hard to ignore the massive amounts of cocoa that is available from October on through February. One holiday after the other brings candies and chocolates of different shapes and colors. But most of them have one thing in common (if they aren't "fair trade"). The use of child labor and/or slavery somewhere along the supply line.

As more information has come out about the use of both trafficked slaves and children on cocoa plantations in Ghana and the Ivory Coast the chocolate industry has deflected much of it's critics. Many of the largest chocolate companies in the world have denied access to humanitarian groups and reporters trying to gain access to the cacao farms in these countries. When reports do come out from these farms the news is almost always about vast human rights abuses being committed behind the veil that the corporations have erected.

In some of the worst cases the very governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast have harassed and expelled journalists for reporting on the chocolate industry within their borders. Some have even claimed that at least one journalist has been killed for his reporting on the industry. All of this in the name of keeping that dark chocolate powder flowing into the hands of companies like Mars, Hersey's, and Nestle.

While some children in West Africa do seek out employment on these farms on their own due to the plague of poverty across West African countries, many more are sold into the trade. This practice often peaks during times of political unrest and in areas where militias rule through fear. Yet it is also plentiful even in areas where Western tourism and companies are found. It is especially profitable for the traffickers where Western companies build up plantations just beyond the peering eyes of the outside world.

In Ghana and the Ivory Coast children as young as 7 have been documented operating dangerous (potentially fatally so) equipment and doing jobs even grown men would find difficult. The average age in these two countries for children to be in the "work force" is 12-16 years of age. However, most will have started working much younger. And for those who injure themselves along the way, these sorts of dangerous jobs may become their only source of work through adulthood.

“Some of the bags were taller than me. It took two people to put the bag on my head. And when you didn’t hurry, you were beaten.”

~ Aly Diabate, former cocoa slave.

The work day for these children begins as soon as the sun begins to rise. They take to the cacao trees with heavy and dangerous machetes. Forced to climb the trees without any of the proper supports or tools to do the job they use their knives to cut down the cacao bean. Children who are not sent up the trees are forced to gather the beans and fill huge sacks with the harvest. These children are then expected to either drag the heavy loads back to the production facilities or have them placed upon their backs or heads and walk the sacks back. There is no sense of mercy in the fields as the children are beaten and yelled at for even the most minor of infractions. Anyone who dares slow down the production process is subjected to savage abuses that almost perfectly mirror the American South and the cotton plantations.

Once the dangers of harvesting the cacao beans is over the children are exposed to even more dangers. Their health is put at risk as they are exposed to chemicals, some of which are banned in the United States, used both on the harvested cacao and the trees themselves. Hulls of the beans are harvested and sold for several uses across the world (mulch being one), so the chemical soaked hulls must be handled by the children as well. During all of this these children are exposed to these chemicals on their bodies, in their lungs, and on the clothing they must wear day in and day out.

The health of these children is not a priority of companies that employ these tactics on their plantations across Western Africa. While Hersey's claims to be fighting the use of slave labor and child abuse the truth still stacks up against the chocolate giant. Over the past several years reports (and court cases) have been stacking up across the table from Hersey's corporate office. Accusations of supporting the beatings of children, encouraging of trafficking, and covering up of deaths of farm workers have all come down the line. And yet the chocolate giant has been incapable of proving any of it's accusers wrong.

Nestle, yet another giant, has done no better when fighting against the peering eyes of outsiders. Slavery, child labor, and the employment of traffickers has left a blight upon the image of a company that hides behind logos designed to appeal to children. When accused, much like Hersey's, Nestle has turned to the governments of the countries it operates in as though to hint at their complicity in the crimes. And it is this common deflection tactic that brings us to another portion of the story...

Ghana and Ivory Coast have long been accused of having their governments hands in the process of producing enormous quantities of cacao. Through turning a blind eye to the abuses, lining their pockets with corporate pay offs, and denying access to investigators the two regimes have hid the bulk of the evidence from the consumers. With every accusation levied against Hersey's and the other market leaders the two governments have been found to not only be helping the companies but willingly covering up their bed partners' offenses.

Ending The "Worst Forms Of Child Labor"

With a country where almost half the population is illiterate the government of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) can hardly afford to continue the punishing process in which chocolate is currently produced. The utilization of their most precious resource in production of a commodity they can afford to neglect robs the country of it's actual potential. Companies and governments in the West should be more than able to realize that by supporting this self-destructive habit will only continue to hold back the country itself. It will also continue to rob the world of the valuable contributions these children could have been offering the world community had they not been exploited by Western companies and the local offenders (as well as their own government). 

For this reason it is valuable for us to note that some efforts have been made in fighting the "worse forms of child labor" in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Some companies, including Hersey's, have cooperated with local governments in building schools for children who work on cacao farms. Yet the main draw back of this small gesture is that the children continue to have to work dangerous jobs for much of the year. 

In 2001 many of these same companies also promised the world that they would make their chocolate "child labor free" by 2005. Of course that benchmark came and went without any real condemnation when none of the companies managed to produce even a single line of chocolate without utilizing child labor. These companies did move the date to 2008 and lowered the rate to 50% of their production as being "child labor free". And once again the process of utilizing child labor along with slave labor did not change as the targeted date passed without notice. 

So how can the system be changed when little to nothing is being done to end the use of any form of child labor (and/or slave labor)?

The main way any form of change occurs in the current system of consumerism is for the consumers themselves to start the change they desire. This means that as consumers we must not only avoid buying chocolate that utilizes child labor but also spread awareness of this issue. Through the creation of a vocal minority in the supply chain the consumers can start a revolt of sorts that would ultimately put pressure on the companies themselves. Buy not buying, lobbying the companies themselves, and protesting vocally (screaming) the consumer can demand the change they seek in the process of producing the products we would like to enjoy. 

If no effort is made on the consumer end of the process then no change will ever come. We cannot rely upon governments, companies, and international organizations to create the change we seek. We are the source of change. We are the ones who hold the power in this relationship. All you have to do is stop buying and start fighting. 

These children have been robbed of their voice. You can use yours to return theirs to them. 

These children have been robbed of their freedoms. You can use yours to fight for theirs. 

This holiday season do your part in waging a little war against the use of slavery and child labor. Raise your voice against the oppression and abuse of these innocent children and trafficked souls. Keep your cash and say no to the product their blood, sweat, and tears helped produce. It is the only way to we will ever bring an end to all the "worse forms" of abuse the world has to offer our most precious resource... our children.

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Source Documents
(note: not all sources listed)

Food Empowerment Project
http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-in-the-chocolate-industry/

International Labor Rights Forum
http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign

Confectionery News
http://www.confectionerynews.com/Commodities/Hershey-funded-school-should-curb-child-labor-says-Barry-Callebaut

Growing Up Without A Childhood

Cambodia's Children Live With Exploitation
(Lost Childhood series)

(Some people pay to steal innocence... they call it "tourism")

In a country where the average income in Cambodia is still just around one US dollar the price of innocence can be dictated by the next American or European pervert ready to shell out to rape a child. It is a crime in Cambodia to have sex with children and yet the trafficking of children continues at relatively the same rate as it did a decade ago. This shows that despite government actions (as minimal as they might be) are doing little to deter the sexual predators that flock to Cambodia each year. The countries reputation as a "sex tourism" mainstay has been only growing as the cost of travel becomes cheaper to the affluent Western world. 

"Illegal Sex Trade Valued at $511 Million," Emma Poole - Calgary Herald, 23 August 2001

A steady flow of cash from the pockets of pedophiles (both domestic and foreign) drives the industry in Phnom Penh and the rest of Cambodia. The steady increase in unlawful tourism has only driven the profits of pimps and traffickers up over the last decade. Starting children at younger and younger ages, the pimps advertise their victims as virgins so as to draw in Cambodian men and Western johns. The suppliers of the victims simply have to go out into the country or into one of the many "poorer" neighborhoods of Phnom Penh to purchase young girls. This is made easier since, like so much of Asia, girls are considered less valuable than their brothers. Yet even boys are not spared victimization. In Cambodia everything seems to be up for sale.

"There are about 17,000 prostitutes in Phnom Penh, of whom about 30 % are estimated to be under 18 years of age." - Children of Cambodia

According to Children of Cambodia the average price a person pays to have sex with a child in Cambodia is 150 US dollars. This number is of course driven down by the sale of children to local pedophiles and the sale of children to pedophiles from Thailand and other neighboring countries. The main boost to this average comes from tourists arriving in Phnom Penh from the United States and Europe. However with the rise of the Chinese economy the increase in sexual tourism by Chinese pedophiles in Cambodia also increases the number of victims and the price at which they are sold. 

"Every year for the past 5 years (and probably beyond this,) the percentage of reported child trafficking victims has hovered at around 75% of all victims.  Equally as alarming are the rape statistics: roughly 72% of reported rape victims are children." As Reported By MalbaJayne

But despite the rise in sexual tourism the true reason for the ever increasing number of children being sold into sexual exploitation in Cambodia could be found within Cambodia itself.

“70% of all brothel patrons are native to Cambodia.” As Reported By Eleanor Herzog

The continued attitudes and customary beliefs of Cambodian society still make it common for Cambodian men to seek out sexual encounters with rather young girls. As is found in other areas of Asia the local belief that having sex with a virgin can cure ailments and bring fortune to the male is still common in Cambodia. Despite some other people's opinions, this traditional belief in the modern age however is pedophilia. And it may very well be one of the major driving factors in the continued growth of an illegal industry within a remarkably impoverished nation such as Cambodia. 

It is for this reason that despite international efforts to end the sex tourism industry that child prostitution continues to hold its place in Cambodian society. If Cambodia is not willing or remains unable to combat both the criminals who produce the victims and the government officials who support them, the crime will continue almost indefinitely. Traditional beliefs about sexual practices such as pedophilia must be undercut and removed from society at large. And future generations of Cambodians must be given back their childhoods if Cambodia is to ever have hope for its future in the modern world. 

The initial steps as a world community to combat this crime is to first put both political and economic pressure upon Cambodia to pass comprehensive reforms that would hold public officials accountable for their profiting off this industry. The United Nations must be allowed and willing to engage Cambodia aggressively in an effort to reduce and rapidly end child labor and prostitution. Education must be stressed and supported by international efforts, especially by nations who benefit from trade with Cambodia.

Cambodia itself however will ultimately be responsible for creating the positive changes within its government to make any of this possible. The legacy of dictatorship and genocide must be overcome through a constant effort to weed out corruption. But most importantly, Cambodia's government must must be forced toward a realization that without healthy and full-filling childhoods for the children of Cambodia the country itself will never prosper.

Source Documents

(Note: not all listed.)

Asia Times Online

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MF22Ae01.html

No-Trafficking.org 

http://www.no-trafficking.org/content/web/05reading_rooms/Cambodia/cambodia_hr_report_on_trafficking.pdf

ECPAT Cambodia

http://www.ecpatcambodia.org/index.php

HumanTrafficking.org 

http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/cambodia

Other Blogs

http://eleanorherzog.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/breaking-barriers-to-girls%E2%80%99-education-in-the-developing-world/

http://suasdeicambodia.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/child-prostitution-cambodias-dark-epedemic/

Nowhere Left To Hide

Two Hundred Thousand Children At Risk
(Part of the Lost Childhood series)

 

 Within twenty four hours of capturing Goma the Congolese rebels of M23 began their search for anyone loyal to the government. Those who had worked for the city were hunted down and executed in mass. Anyone who had ties to the military were also rounded up and killed. The numbers of how many were killed are still being estimated as the rebels prepare to move onto their next city.

As for the 200,000 estimated children (under the age of 18) within Goma, the roundups are still happening. These children are now at risk of being forced into conscription with the M23 rebels. This would mean that they would be turned into child soldiers and used as slave labor by the rebel army. Their task would be more dangerous than their adult captors. They could be facing task such as placing landmines, running ammunition under fire, and fetching weapons off fallen soldiers. 

According to UNICEF around 600 children are in immediate danger due to having been separated by from their families. "We know from the recent practices of the groups involved in this latest fighting that unaccompanied children in this part of DRC are in immediate and real danger of forcible recruitment into armed groups," reported World Vision. Once again it is important to remember that nobody can say for sure how many children are being forced into the rebel army. Yet reports of forced recruitment are coming in. 

"Children have nowhere to turn, we can't get to them, and we are hearing reports of groups arming people around Goma. Local partners have seen armed people passing guns and ammunition to civilians this morning, including children aged 16-18. A former child soldier we have worked with in the past told us today: 'I have seen some of my friends receiving weapons and going to fight... they are being told to go and fight the rebels and take their guns'." As reported by World Vision.

These children are, just as everyone else in Goma, afraid and lost as confusion sets in and lawlessness take over. Loyalist are just as likely to take advantage of this sense of helplessness as they too force children into makeshift militias in an attempt to fight off the M23 rebels... something the Congolese military refused to do. With this irony the children of Goma are quickly finding themselves with nowhere left to hide.

Organizations like World Vision and UNICEF are urgently petitioning the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take action to stop this criminal activity. Many of the human rights groups working in the area have tried to get permission to enter the conflict areas to rescue innocent civilians caught up in the battle. However it is more than likely that nobody will be able to reach the conflict region until most of the atrocities and crimes have already been committed.

As the M23 rebels prepare to march on their next target, Kinshasa, the citizens of Goma will continue to suffer mass executions, gang rapes of women and children, and the looting of their homes and businesses. One can only hope that the majority of the 200,000 children of Goma will escape with their lives.... and avoid the horrors of becoming a child soldier.

Hide And Go Seek

Rebels Accused of Using Children as Weapons.
(Part of the Lost Childhood series)

(Children of Refugees in the Congo)

As the rebel group M23 marched into Goma, in the eastern part of the Congo, they bore weapons more sophisticated than most Congolese soldiers. Rwanda, and Uganda to an extent, have been funding these barbaric rebels and supplying weaponry such as night vision goggles and 120mm mortars. And for this reason the Democratic Republic of Congo's government has declared the M23 rebels are nothing more than "mercenaries". 

For the children of Goma, a city of nearly 1 million people, the approach of the M23 rebels was a sign of terror. It has been recorded that the rebels have in the past and currently engage in the deployment of child soldiers. These young combatants are often forced into battle against their will. And those who do not fight are often killed by the forces that brought them into the war in the first place. 

So far the United States has imposed sanctions upon the M23 rebels for the use of child soldiers. This measure is odd in the light of Obama's decision to relax sanctions on the government of the Congo itself. Meaning that while the United States is going to be sending goods and providing aid to a government that fled Goma like dogs with their tails between their legs. So it is hard to imagine that any aid provided would somehow not make its way into rebel hands. 

Meanwhile both the United States and the United Kingdom both offer aid to Rwanda and have lucrative trade deals with their ally in the region. It is now questionable whether or not this very aid provided to Rwanda is simply being funneled into M23 rebels' hands. And if the aid is being diverted into a proxy war with the Congolese government then any sanction imposed upon the Congo will further aid the rebels. 

As for the children trapped in the path of the M23 rebels the horrors of war still await. An untold number of children will be forced to flee as the rebels attack their villages. Others could face the terror of being forced to fight for the rebels. But most could simply grow up in refugee camps facing starvation, disease, and the lack of what could be considered a normal childhood. 

All of this could be prevented however. UN peacekeepers could be given a mandate to engage and stop the march of the M23 rebels across the eastern part of the Congo. Currently the UN peacekeepers (MONUSCO) can not and do not fight back against rebel attacks. Instead of defending the international airport in Goma, the UN stood down. Their actions helped the rebels in their war against the Congolese government. 

If the UN does not change its approach to defending even the most basic of human rights we could be watching Rwanda play out its genocide on foreign soil.

Yum, Yum

Preying On The Innocent
(Part of the Lost Childhood series)

 (Sex Slaves in Cambodia, Ages Unknown)

It is the personal opinion of the author of this article that people who trade in or purchase the sexual services of anyone under the age of consent should face the possibility of the death penalty. With that said, please read the rest of this article.

In Cambodia children as young as 6 years old can be readily purchased by the hour by sexual deviants from the moment they step off the plane. If the pedophile knows where to look, has done his/her research online, they can often spot the signs of a pimp. These peddlers of innocents lost will openly start up the conversation if the sex tourist gives any sign that they are interested. Boys, girls... nothing is sacred in this perverted industry. No age is off limits. If the child can walk, there is a pervert ready to take advantage of Cambodia's most neglected commodity. 

The organization "Save the Children" estimates that as many as 50 to 100 thousand children and young women are subject to sexual slavery within Cambodia. This number is most likely far lower than the actual number of sexual slaves within the country. Mainly due to the growing sex tourism industry within Southeast Asia. A region where sexual predators can spend half the money as they would back home on prostitutes half the age. 

The growing crime has become the subject of intense international scrutiny. However with many outside governments unwilling to part with the notion of "national sovereignty" when dealing with blatant human rights violations... the trade continues to grow disproportionately to the rest of the economy. Instead of imposing the same sanctions we would apply for genocide upon a country the rest of the world has decided to look the other way when dealing with human trafficking and child prostitution. 

"The Svay Pak brothel area outside Phnom Penh, where children are exploited in the sex trade, continues to operate despite numerous attempts by police to close it down." United States State Department Human Trafficking Report 2012.

When sexual slavery within Cambodia becomes less profitable for the Cambodian pimps the children are often sent across borders into Vietnam, Thailand, and even over waters to Malaysia. The exploitation of Cambodian children has become such a problem that tourist visiting Cambodia for nonsexual reasons can easily spot government sponsored posters, commercials, and billboards warning about the very issue. Yet the actual prosecution of pedophiles traveling to Cambodia for sex is rare. 

In the sparse cases of criminal prosecution of "johns" the Cambodian government has shown that it has the ability to be tough on sexual predators. Yet in other cases, such as Dr. James D'Agostino, it also appears that prosecutors in Cambodia are able to achieve convictions without much evidence only so that the government can save face with the outside world. The actual ability of the government in Phnom Penh to achieve consistency in attacking this criminal enterprise is often seen as weak if not impossible to gauge. 

 "Within the country, Cambodian and ethnic Vietnamese women and girls are trafficked from rural areas to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Poipet, Koh Kong, and Sihanoukville for commercial sexual exploitation. The sale of virgin girls continues to be a serious problem in Cambodia." United States State Department Human Trafficking Report 2012.

Poverty continues to be the driving factor in human trafficking throughout Southeast Asia. Being one of the poorest countries, only ahead of Laos, in the region has left Cambodians exceptionally vulnerable to this crime. Parents in Cambodia often are known to sell their children to traffickers under the promise of a better life by the predators. Other children are often put out to the streets to beg where they are lured or kidnapped and put into the sex trade.

A more disgusting part of the sex trade in Cambodia is fueled by the Khmer belief that having sex with a virgin will somehow endow the man with virility and other desirable masculine traits. This superstition continues to drive a disturbing number of Cambodian men to the sex trade. There they can readily find girls from the age 6 and up. And for most of these homegrown pedophiles the "virgin" is often a young girl who has been sold time and time again.

(Victim of Cambodia's "Sex Tourism" Industry)

No child should ever have to live this way. No human being should ever be bought or sold. This is not a simple matter of human rights. This is the fight to end the trade that spawned our understanding of the most fundamental of all human rights... Freedom. 

All people, of all ages, has the right from their first breath to a life free of fear. We are born into this life with the desire for it. We are born with the passion to preserve it. We are born to need it. Freedom is not a right we can deny to one and grant to another. As long as even one of us is left in slavery, none of us are truly free. 

In this spirit the world should offer Cambodia clear cut ways to end this crime against humanity.

First Cambodia needs to investigate and prosecute government officials complicit in human trafficking. It is painfully obvious when one looks at the "red light" districts of Southeast Asia that police are more than willing to look the other way. For this reason it should be standard practice of all state and federal authorities that any officer, politician, or judge willing to look the other way should face harsher sentences than even the "johns" themselves. We are not talking about just prostitutes and johns anyway. We are talking about modern day slavery. 

As for the pimps, Cambodia should create a registry with every arrest in which the slave driver is recorded. It is my own opinion that there is theoretically no sentence to harsh for these wretched souls. But in reality Cambodia should strengthen the sentences already in place while confiscating the property and money which the slave holder has made from this trade. The property should be sold and the money should be given those now responsible for the safety of the exploited children. 

As for the "johns"... again, it is my personal view that death is as befitting a punishment as any for these individuals. In reality Cambodia should use the most extreme punishment their penal system has to offer. The sentence should be as long as they government is willing to make it. And the johns from other countries should be sent to their country of origin only if the crime is punished harsher than it would be within Cambodia. 

We can not afford to take baby steps in our fight to end human trafficking. We spent far to long arguing the last time we fought slavery. It is time now to end this form of it. It is time that we show those who would exploit our next generation that we as a world community stand united in our desire to rid ourselves of slavery in all forms. Especially when it devastates our children... our hope... our innocents.

Stop Selling Our Hope

The Prostitution Of Our Next Generation
(Part of the Lost Childhood series)

(Every Year That Number Keeps Going Up)

On September 22nd, 1862 a great man stood before American and gave a proclamation that would set forth the framework to make certain that slavery would forever be abolished on American soil. It was with this speech that President Abraham Lincoln declared all slaves held captive on American soil free. Today slavery has spread to every state in the Union. Women, boys, and girls still to this day work in bondage to cruel slave owners who profit from the exploitation of these indentured souls.

The cause or reason for the enslavement of these victims varies with every given case of it. However the main purpose of many slaves taken from the American population or those brought into the United States is to service the sex trade. Women and children alike are abused sexually and physically to keep them in this trade. And for the most unfortunate of them, when they outlive their use they can face death at the hands of their captors.

In San Diego the number of human trafficking cases reported to the authorities has nearly tripled since 2011. Over the past two years in San Diego the number of human trafficking victims has risen to 1,277 individuals. That translates to around 638 victims each year... a number that is rising at alarming rates with every passing year. And it isn't just San Diego or the West Coast that is seeing this dramatic increase in human trafficking cases. These numbers can be seen rising sharply across the United States.

What is even more shocking is that in spite of the average 50,000 plus victims brought into the country to serve as slaves a surprising 72% of the victims in San Diego were American citizens.

When it comes to human trafficking involving child prostitution statistics show that the average entry of girls into the sex trade in America is only 12 years old. In Los Angeles these young girls are more often these days coming out of the foster care system (statistics show that as many as 70%). Others often suffer sexual or physical abuse at home and turn to pimps and human traffickers to escape... a mistake that ends in their enslavement.

So why is it that Americans are so unaware of this horrific violation of these victims' basic human rights?

Child sex trafficking is rarely discussed on major media outlets due to its taboos. Yet as more and more of our nation's future is sold off to pedophiles this illegal trade grows. The sex trafficking of children is now estimated to be the third largest and most organized criminal enterprise in the United States (and around the world). The people responsible for the growth of this industry have found that the sale of children is easy and without much risk.

In almost every state the risk of the sex trade nearly always falls on the victim. When a prostitute over the age of consent is caught she is rightfully prosecuted for the crime of prostitution. However when a child is caught, after being turned out by their pimp, the same system prosecutes the child. Instead of going after the pimp the system targets the victim... who has no ability to agree to sex in the first place.

If more of society would accept that the child is the victim and deserves our protection rather than our wrath as a society we might actually be able to stop this crime. As a society we must demand that the child be spared the punishment of a court sentencing and offered a safe haven. And as a culture we must address the reasons why these innocent children were turned out to the streets in the first place.

It is no secret that in America today that sex is a major part of the pop culture. But to blame that is an easy way out. The real threat to these children is how their predators view them in the first place.

"Throwaway Children"

This is how human traffickers view their victims. This is how these predators view their targets. And more indicatively, this is how American society views the victims of this disgusting crime.

We must demand that the systems we already have in place, such as foster care, be better managed and scrutinized. We must demand that our courts alter the way they view children arrested on the charge of prostitution. We need to also demand that our courts raise heavier sentences on those who prey upon our youth (in New Jersey a man got only 10 years for this crime on November 14th) and use them as slaves in this degrading trade. But most of all, we need to stop looking at these children in much the same way as the predators who target them in the first place.