and another child slave labor story

[flowerseverywhere]

and another group of children were freed in India

"Police and child advocates broke padlocks and busted down doors in a surprise raid of a sweatshop in India, only to find a group of children imprisoned who had been forced to make Christmas decorations.The children, as young as 8 years old, were kept in rooms approximately six feet by six feet and had been forced to work up to 19-hour days making the decorations, which advocates believe may have been intended to be sold on the cheap in the United States."


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/newsmakers/enslaved-children-freed-after-being-forced-to-make-christmas-decorations-potentially-headed-for-us-194625049.html;_ylt=A2KJjaldc8FQEnYAC7TQtDMD


I don't know why the developed world is not getting the connection between our cheap goods and bad labor practices. Yet our walmart and other big stores have full parking lots and full shopping carts.

[Mrs-M]

Sickens me! What kind of a world is this anyway, where those responsible for such abuse can sleep at night, and look themselves in the mirror?

[sweetana3]

Every so often the western media picks up a story like this for a slow news day. It is not news in India(nor probably any other third world), not really.

While in India, we watched children as young as 5 pretty much tied to looms making silk rugs. Made us sick but they were actually being shown off as a tourist attraction in 1991 to get us to buy the rugs. The factory owner/salesman said they were best becaue their fingers were smaller? A whole village of families lived in back of the factory and provided the labor. Was it better to live with your family and work as slave labor?

In the intervening years, I have a better feeling about child labor and China, Southeast Asia, and such but still have major reservations about India. Unrelieved poverty and starvation in some rural areas leaves people with little other than hope when they give their kids to corrupt groups who will tell them anything. Girls are still trafficed all over for prostitution and this is no different.

[Mrs-M]

I'm lost for words.

It would have been around the late 80's, early 90's, prior to the birth of our first, that DH and I, were visiting Calgary Alberta, and in our travels we stopped in at a fine Indian-owned area rug/carpet store, just to take a look around. Once inside, stacks upon stacks of handwoven area rugs/carpets awaited us, some as expensive as $20,000- $30,000 each, I remember. Some even higher. They were beautiful, never seen anything like them before in my life, but I never realized they were made by the hands of babies and poor families.

[flowerseverywhere]

well it is all of our faults. We have become used to buying cheap goods, love the black friday sales and love the big box stores. I did not mean anyone in particular, but there are probably very few of us who don't buy cheap mass produced stuff.

As a quilter and sewer I know, even with mass production methods of cutting and sewing there is no way anyone could make a living wage (or even making minimum wage) making our clothes, textiles, toys and decorations. And our prices are after shipping them halfway across the world.

[Rosemary]

Unfortunately, as the cheap mass-produced stuff began entering the market some years ago, the manufacturers got the message that price was the first thing anyone wanted, and so now it is almost impossible to not buy those items.

[pinkytoe]

I keep hearing that there are signs of returning to made in USA for some manufacturers. Perhaps the tides will turn at least for some consumer choice. Although, realistically, those jobs are probably the only means of survival for some families.

[Rosemary]

But those same jobs would mean a lot to families in the U.S., too, who have been struggling since higher-paying manufacturing jobs have vanished. I think most manufacturing jobs paid about twice as much as the average currently available job that doesn't require a college degree.

[JaneV2.0]

Indeed. Wages in this country have been flat for decades; no wonder cheap goods are attractive.

[bae]

As a quilter and sewer I know, even with mass production methods of cutting and sewing there is no way anyone could make a living wage (or even making minimum wage) making our clothes, textiles, toys and decorations. And our prices are after shipping them halfway across the world.

There is simply no way as a blacksmith that I could sell hand-forged utilitarian knives, axes, tools and hardware at even production cost. The only way you could make a living at it would be to target the art metalworking market, or the tool/weapon collector market. Or perhaps sell soul-crushing novelties to tourists at the farmers' market.

[lucas]

very sad and morally repugnant... the buyers in Western chains will of course claim that it's 'nothing to do with them' and that they can't influence or be held responsible for the behavior of businesses in other countries... meanwhile the same corporate leaders and their political allies will not hesitate to dictate social and economic policy in developing countries through the IMF and WTO, not to mention through bilateral 'agreements', so as to make sure they can continue pillaging those same countries and peoples...

[flowerseverywhere]

yesterday I was working at an art show, where multiple artists were selling their pottery, paintings etc. Next door in the rec center was a really big democratic party meeting. When they got out I stood at the side and was loudly encouraging people to "buy american" - it might be their only chance to buy something not made out of the US. Well, there was a mob of people who went into the room and bought presents, cards etc. When I go to the farmers market there are stalls that have signs grown in the US or what state they are from and of course I try to patronize them. So we all need to do what we can even in little ways.

I also started sewing my own clothes again. A little thing, and the fabric probably isn't made here but at least I am trying.