Thursday, June 13, 2002


i just hate to make it seem like this is the no fun site, but with stories this heart-rending, you can't help but pay attention. . .

i know, i know: i swore i'd never mention this again. but today the bbc goes to interview the child slaves on an african cocoa plantation. it's a sad story. but in all honesty, the chocolate manufacturers at least are working to end the practice. not as quickly as we would like, certainly, but they are no longer ignoring the situation.

at the same time, i personally find the bbc somewhat naive. this horrible practice couldn't continue without the tacit consent of corrupt officials in both mali and the ivory coast. i mean, who pays off the low-level border guards and agricultural inspectors to keep them from noticing the huge numbers of foreign children crossing the borders and working in the fields? and who do these guards have to kick back to in return?

these officials can't just shovel all the blame elsewhere, although they certainly try. also, the united nations could certainly do more than issue reports. the cause of this situation isn't the chocolate companies per se. . .it's the incredible poverty in mali, where parents with too many children and not enough income feel as if they have no choice but to sell their children. however, this doesn't mean the chocolate companies have no responsibility, either. still, no one can deny that large-scale government reforms and regional anti-poverty programs will be necessary to truly eliminate this problem.

it will surely require a co-ordinated effort among government, industry, and a social awareness campaign to create a culture of children's rights. this won't happen overnight. considering the dire economic situation in this region, perhaps we have to -- reluctantly -- accept some forms of teenage labor. but there should be regulations, inspections, and stiff fines for enforcement.

the children should be no younger than 13; they not be enslaved but be paid a set wage and given guaranteed housing conditions and medical care; they should be in school for at least a few hours a day. this is where the united nations could play a useful role, in helping draft these regulations, inspect the cocoa plantations, and levy the fines to ensure enforcement.

readers, tell me what you think -- please use the link below to go the forum and post a topic on this subject under coffee.

posted by fortune | 7:18 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments