Slavery has existed for as long as there has been civilization. Many nations and empires were built by the bloody sweat of slaves. Few human practices have provoked such deep and widespread outrage as the practice of one human being enslaving another.
And because at school we are taught about slavery in History lessons we often carry on with the belief that slavery is in the past. The sad truth is that currently there are about 30 million slaves around the world (a bit more than the population of Texas) working for the whim of a few developed nations and the establishment of their wrong idea of well-being.
Reports from the Environmental Justice Foundation state that Uzbekistan, which is the second biggest cotton exporter in the world (after the US) employs child labor. About 1,4 million children as young as 12 work long days in the field, miles from their homes. According to The Guardian:
There have also been reports of physical and sexual abuse. Only once the harvest is finished are they allowed home. Eyewitness accounts report that pregnant women have also been working. Around 40% of all cotton from Uzbekistan is made into clothes and products in Bangladesh, and a large percentage of the cheap cotton products in the UK comes via Bangladesh.
Every day tens of thousands of American women buy makeup. Every day tens of thousands of Indian children mine mica, which is the little sparklies in the makeup.
While I admit it is unrealistic to try to stop slavery in Asia or Africa, what we can do to help is to rethink our needs and define our wants; we can change our own lifestyles in order to decrease the demand of products that we can live without.
Take the Slavery Footprint survey. Based on where you live, what you own, what you wear, what and how much you eat you will be presented with the number of slaves around the world that work to get you these. It is a wakeup call even for those of us who try to reduce and live a sustainable life.
Yes, this is my result - there are 22 slaves working for me. 22! One less than what everybody else has but still - a shockingly great number. Despite my efforts to live a simple life, to have as little as possible to do with mainstream makeup/food/clothes... I even don't use a shampoo but wash my hair with baking soda!
Now imagine a house with 22 slaves working for just one person. It is obvious that conscious green living takes much more consideration than we can even imagine.
I want to set my slaves free! How about you?
Wow..what a fantastic and interesting post Sonya!! Crazy to think about it in these terms...it's true that in school we are taught how slavery is a thing of the past, but sadly that is not at all true.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the information and resources.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting. It's amazing how easy it is to forget about things like this when you live in a developed country. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteWow! Very interesting...I'm going to take the survey now...
ReplyDeleteEtsy: www.homespunhandmaiden.etsy.com
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Thanks Sonya for sharing that information.
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad to think that making money is more important then the life of those workers.
Hopefully with more blog posts like yours the story of their lives is shared, and their is a chance that people will make the right choices, giving them a chance at a better life.
Valerie
Everyday Inspired
I took the survey and I was so sad to think I have 35 slaves working for me.
ReplyDeleteI think my results are a bit off though, because most of our clothing and toys are hand-me-downs, handmade, repurposed or obtained from garage sales.
Even the majority of my jewelry is inherited or made by me.
So I am not sure if the number is quite right, but still, what a great reminder that everything we use can be traced to another human being, not just a machine.
Sonja, you are right, the app cannot be 100% accurate but serves as a great attention attractor even for us - the people who actually care!
ReplyDeleteMy mother tells me that my great grandmother never once bought anything from a store--that every single thing she used, she either grew on her farm or bartered from a neighbor. Can you imagine? Even her farm equipment was made locally. She never had to worry about anything like this issue. And now, 75 years later, she would be in shock at everything we've forgotten how to do for ourselves. That we rely on stores that rely on cheap third world labor. It's really sad.
ReplyDeleteMy mother tells me that my great grandmother never once bought anything from a store--that every single thing she used, she either grew on her farm or bartered from a neighbor. Can you imagine? Even her farm equipment was made locally. She never had to worry about anything like this issue. And now, 75 years later, she would be in shock at everything we've forgotten how to do for ourselves. That we rely on stores that rely on cheap third world labor. It's really sad.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! And really important information.
ReplyDeleteThese facts blow me away. We just don't have a clue. But then we get one, like this, just a glimpse. I got one last fall when i read Ashley Judd's column in Huff Post, about conflict minerals from the Congo, the stuff they need to make our laptops and cell phones. It's here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashley-judd/post_1312_b_786835.html
Thank you for this exposure, Sonya.
Thank you, Ruth, for sharing this eye-opener of an essay. It is very strong and to the point. I am glad that I am nowhere near to the saturation of stuff Ashley Judd is talking about and yet not far enough.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an important post Sonya!
ReplyDeleteIt's a real wake-up call. We take for granted all of the things we have at our fingertips. We definitely need to be more conscious and change as much as we can.
Thanks so much!
It's frightening to be face to face with one's wasteful ways...
ReplyDeleteShocking and illuminating, Sonya.
Regardless of my rather simple way of life, I'm aware that my electronics are all coming from somewhere in Asia, and what that implies... =(
Yikes! So disturbing to think that slavery isn't gone from our world yet. *shiver* It's good to be aware of it, though, so that you can be more conscious of what you're using and where it comes from.
ReplyDelete