Tell someone, anyone, and be part of the solution.

While struggling to break the habit of a chocolate bar a day..(or let’s be honest…more) I became aware of how powerful an addiction to anything can be. Anything that takes away your independent will to make a decision is a form of enslavement.  I was addicted to caffeine and breaking free would require the thing I craved to become a ‘bitter taste’ in my mouth.

In reality, the dark underground that swirls around the underbelly of the cocoa trade in some portions of the west African coast is also slavery…albeit a far more destructive form of human entrapment, the horrible reality of child enslavement.  Of the estimated 300,000 kids working in the cocoa plantations of sub Saharan Africa, approximately 6% of those employed in the Ivory Coast are suspected to be employed through slave labor. The actual numbers range from 12,000 ~ 15,000 kids in the nation of Ivory Coast alone.

According to this compendium of articles, Ivory Coast is the world’s largest exporter of cocoa.  It’s the place where the big players go to get their supplies.  A  2002 report by Oxfam indicates that companies like Argill, Cadbury, Hersheys and Nestle buy their cocoa from commodities exchanges where Ivory Coast cocoa is mixed with other cocoa and sold on the world market.

In a well researched article on CNN Money by Christian Parenti entitled “Chocolate’s Bittersweet Economy” Parenti highlights the enormity of the problem in a country which supplies about 70% of the worlds cocoa.  It is a complex issue which involves the role of government, world markets, big business, extreme poverty and yes…Slavery.

But, it also involves each of us…YOU & I the consumer of these products.  For in the final analysis the market determines the eventual course of most economic entities.  Although slavery is not legal, the practise continues to exist because in simple terms…it can.  Focusing attention and bringing the spotlight to bear exposes the truth in it’s harshest terms. 

A BBC report on Child Slavery points out that the problem is world wide and includes  Asia, the nation of Haiti, Africa, the Middle East and in some parts of South America.  It is not that parents do not love their children; in most cases they are forced to sell their children out of the desperation which comes with abject poverty.

BUT, we err if we sit back and pass judgement and merely look on with consternation.  Because, the system needs an outlet.  Apart from a buyer, the entire house of card collapses.  The price of cocoa on the world commodities market is based largely on the price the western world is willing pay for it’s insatiable desire for the product.  When farmers are not paid a fair wage for their labor and are exploited by middle men, we become a part of the problem.  When we open our eyes and determine to know WHO is behind the product that we are consuming, we enter into line with the solution.

So, every consumer and dollar is a player whether we mentally acquiesce to it or not.  Our delicously sweet chocolate bars may not be that cheap or sweet at all.  In fact, they may be closer to the taste of quinine than any of us ever imagined.  Just a thought…

One of their programs is called Schools For Schools. How can you help?

If you are a student, alumni, parent, friend, local business, or just a good person who is a fan of the program, sign up and read below to find ways to support the school of your choice. The challenge is to raise as much money as you can in one semester in order to provide the quality education and educational resources that the invisible children of Northern Uganda have lacked due to the twenty-year-long war.**

If you are mom or a teacher, or even better, both, get your kids school involved. This could be an amazing journey for all involved. One of the Local High Schools out here joined and they are raising funds for books and supplies for Sacred Heart Secondary School. Totally cool!

Here is a great video explaining the program. If you have any questions CLICK HERE for some FAQ.

I hope to be as successful as these young people. They are a true inspiration.

Your parents decide to take desperate action. They owe money and can’t feed the rest of the family. Older siblings who can find work do, but what to do with you, the young one?

Their desperate act? The act designed to help solve their financial troubles? They “sell” you to a flesh merchant who will keep you locked in a small, dirty room, fed enough to not starve. Your job? To “service” your clients. To sell your young body for the sexual pleasure of the adult men who pay high dollar for young flesh.

Your body suffers injuries from the sexual abuse. You are given drugs to dull the pain and to keep you quiet and compliant. This is the way you live for the next several years. Never having clothes except those that your “owner” puts on you in order to please a client. The only pleasures you have are those that come from the hands of clients – maybe they let you watch a little TV, maybe they give you a special treat. But always, always there is a price, and you pay it on your back.

Eventually, the conditions become too much. Your body, already frail, begins to shut down. Years of abuse and drugs take their toll. Your immune system is nonexistent. You get sick and are no longer able to provide for the clients so you are unceremoniously shoved onto the streets.

There, you have no choice but to continue in the only thing you know – peddling your flesh to feed your starving belly and clothe your naked body.

What will end this miserable life? What death will greet you? Perhaps an overdose, maybe an illness. Or something more violent?

When times are tough in our country, you get another job, seek public assistance, or any number of other things. In some countries, you sell a child into slavery – sexual slavery.

That’s not the only way that children fall into prostitution. No, sometimes they are kidnapped, sometimes they have run away and are coerced into it – but no matter how they got there, they are there – their bodies being sold for the sexual gratification of paying “customers”. The risks of disease and the ravages of drug addiction are high. There is no retirement plan, there are no health benefits, this is not a “job” – for these kids, this is their life, their only life.

And it’s disgusting.

When I began researching for this piece, I was stunned to discover this was still a problem. In my innocence, I had believed child prostitution to be an “old” problem, I believed it was history. How wrong I was.

There is a dark side to the tourism industry, it’s called sexual tourism – “clients” coming from other countries (about 25% from the US) in order to indulge in their pedophile tendencies and engage in sex with children, some younger than 10.

They go to Latin America, Asia and Africa, frequenting the poorer places, in search of those “professionals” whose services are for sale. These predators claim they shouldn’t be prosecuted because they are using the services of a “professional”, yet these are still children, servicing two, three or more “customers” a night and suffering lasting physical damage because of it.

This is nothing new and it has brought together seemingly opposing factions as Chuck Colson and Gloria Steinem joined forces in 2000 to support legislation against human trafficking. Back to the days of Victorian England, there are reports of child prostitution one of which caused the age of consent to be raised from 13 to 16.

In Asia alone, estimates are that over one million young boys and girls are engaged in prostitution.

Even with the legal loopholes slowly closing, increased arrests and prosecution of the offenders, it is still possible to purchase the “services” of a child. There are those who still do it, there are those who go out into this world seeking sexual gratification from the body of a child. That they are paying for “professional” services does not make it any less sick, it does not make it any less wrong.

Until recently, the US had a difficult time prosecuting these offenders because the law stated they had to travel with the “intent” of molesting children. The Protect Act of 2003 changed that and made the act itself the crime and increasing penalties, making arrest and prosecution easier.

The problem, the travesty exists and persists. The question, however, is this: What can be done to stop it? What can we do to curb the prostitution of young flesh?

There will always and forever be those sick individuals who seek sexual gratification from children. It’s disgusting, and to most people, completely unthinkable. But in order to fight this, we have to accept that there are those who desire it, will travel to obtain it, and will pay for it.

There are organizations out there fighting this practice. They are fighting for stricter laws, heavier penalties, better communication between countries – they are fighting for these children’s very lives.

The first step in making change is awareness. Now that you are aware, the question is, what are you going to do?

Normally, I fill this type of post with links right in the text, clickable as you read. This time, I chose to save them for last. I wanted to offer a resource – an all-in-one spot to obtain information on several groups who are taking action, and how to be a part of the solution.

For information on sexual tourism, child prostitution and the things being done to fight it, let your fingers do the walking. I was honestly disgusted by how prevalent child prostitution really is, and the wealth of information, while helpful, was disturbing. These sites include information on the problem, as well as ways to be part of the solution.

ECPAT International

World Vision

Fact Sheet 2005

US State Dept Info

Kid Shield

The Code at Responsible Travel

Doctors for Life

Unicef

BigFoto

I read this article on Human Rights Watch website today. You can also find another article on the same subject in USA TODAY and BBC NEWS.

Spain: Migrant Children at Risk in Government Facilities: Close Canary Islands Emergency Centers and Provide Adequate Care

(Madrid, July 26, 2007) – Hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children from Africa held in government facilities in the Canary Islands are at risk of violence and ill-treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

In the past year, more than 900 unaccompanied migrant children have arrived in the Canary Islands after dangerous and often traumatic journeys in makeshift boats. In response to this unprecedented number of migrant children arriving on its shores, the Canary Islands regional authorities one year ago opened four emergency centers to house 400-500 migrant children, who are mainly boys from Senegal and Morocco.

The 115-page report, “Unwelcome Responsibilities: Spain’s Failure to Protect the Rights of Unaccompanied Migrant Children in the Canary Islands,” documents how children stay in these centers for indefinite periods, in often overcrowded and poor conditions. The children told Human Rights Watch that they have been subjected to beatings by staff, and left unprotected from violence by their peers. They do not enjoy access to public education, they have limited opportunity for recreation and leisure, and they are unduly restricted in their freedom of movement.

“These children should be protected by the Spanish authorities, not left to suffer beatings and abuse,” said Simone Troller, Europe children’s rights researcher for Human Rights Watch. “The Canary Islands government should close these centers and arrange better care for the children.”

The Canary Islands regional authorities and the Spanish government to date have no solution for children who remain in these centers. The transfer of 500 children to better care on the Spanish mainland, under an agreement negotiated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, had only limited impact in easing the pressure on the Canary Islands child protection services. Furthermore, the implementation of the agreement was discriminatory against Moroccan children, who were not chosen for transfers.

Regardless of whether these children have the right to remain in the country, while they are on Spanish territory they are entitled to the full provisions spelled out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Spain ratified in 1990. The government must identify a durable solution as soon as possible after their arrival, and children must be enabled to apply for asylum. The government may proceed with family reunification only after a careful assessment of whether such a decision is in the child’s best interest and without risk to his or her well-being. If the return of a child is not possible on either legal or factual grounds, the Spanish government must provide these children with real opportunities for local integration and with a secure legal status.

“I am not happy here; if I could I would leave this center. We don’t receive any good food,” said a 17-year-old Senegalese boy at La Esperanza emergency center in Tenerife. “When we tell them that we are hungry they tell us that we were starving in Senegal and should be happy to be given food at all.”

Children told Human Rights Watch about numerous instances of ill-treatment and lack of protection from violence. Another 17-year-old boy at La Esperanza told us that “one boy got into trouble with [a staff member]. That day the [staff member] took him to the shower and beat him up. There was blood in the boy’s mouth and his clothes were full of blood – his shirt could not be used anymore.” A 13-year-old boy at Arinaga emergency center said that “the [staff members] consciously look away when [other children] are beating up another child.”

Human Rights Watch called upon the Canary Islands government and the Spanish government to immediately devise and implement a plan to close emergency centers and transfer children to alternative care arrangements, either in the Canary Islands or mainland Spain. These arrangements must be conducive to the children’s well-being and development, and the fulfillment of their rights under national and international law must be guaranteed.

The authorities need to investigate reports of abuses and ill-treatment of children and hold all perpetrators fully accountable. They also must provide children with full information on their rights in a language they understand, with particular emphasis on their rights to documentation, legal residence, work permits, education and health.

“Unaccompanied migrant children continue to arrive on the shores of the Canary Islands,” said Troller. “Spanish authorities should immediately implement a lasting solution that fully respects the rights of these children.”

The map below was taken from the BBC’s website that illustrates the routes that are taken.

I am going to do more research and see if I can contact Ms. Troller from Human Rights Watch, and see what we can do from here. I have no idea how long that will take. But I will do my best.

Craig Kielburger,

Founder of Free The Children, an organization to stop child slavery.

Taken From BBC NEWS April 2, 2007

Traveling deep into the plantations of the Ivory Coast – the West African nation that produces half the world’s cocoa – children carrying machetes are a common sight.
They are being kept out of school and many have untreated wounds on their legs, where they have cut themselves when working in the cocoa plantations.
“I used to go to school,” said Marc Yao Kwame, who works with his brother Fabrice on a remote farm. “But my father has no-one to work on the farm, so he took me out of school.
“My mother’s a long way from here. I haven’t seen her for 10 years – since I was two years old.”
All this should have stopped by now.
In 2001, under pressure from the US Congress, the chocolate manufacturers promised to start eradicating forced child labour. They failed to meet an initial deadline of 2005, were given until 2008, and now patience is running out.
Sanctions threat
Next year, Congress is expected to draft legislation against the global chocolate industry, unless serious inroads are finally made against children being forced to work on cocoa farms.
“The deadline came and went and we were very unhappy,” says Democrat Congressman Eliot Engel, who initiated the original agreement known as the Cocoa Protocol.
“They now need to live up to that agreement. If they don’t, personally I would be for implementing some sanctions, because I think six years is enough.”
“They know they can no longer do business the way they did business before,” warns Donald Payne, the new Democrat chair of the Africa sub-committee. “We’re going to work all we can to get the industry to stop these abuses.”

Shortage of funds means only six schools have ope

The Ivory Coast Government holds up the village of Petit Yammousoukro as a model project being run under the Cocoa Protocol to take children off the cocoa farms. The village square is arid dirt, and at one end is a school building that is meant to be the chocolate industry’s showpiece in keeping its promise.
The school is a mud hut, with a straw roof and a gap in the wall for a window. When we visited, there were about 50 children inside, their ages ranging from early teens down to three or four. All had been farming cocoa. Many bore the scars of machete injury. All reacted with horror at the prospect of going back.

Appalling conditions
But the hut was built by the villagers themselves. The wooden desks and a blackboard were paid for by the American Government’s international development agency (USAID).
“We opened this in January,” said Georges Atta K Bredou, the village official in charge of the pilot project.
“This January?” I asked.
“Yes. We started building in November last year.”
That is a full five years after the Cocoa Protocol was signed – yet it has been known for years that children in their thousands are put to work in appalling conditions on the cocoa farms.

We don’t have anything to make this project work Thomas Lasme, Oume Prefectur

Mr Bredou explained that 40 schools had been earmarked for the Oume Prefecture, which included the village. But only six mud hut schools like the one we were in had actually been built. And when we went to the regional office, we found out why.
“We haven’t seen any of the money,” said Thomas Lasme, the Oume general secretary who is overseeing the pilot projects.
“We need everything: money, training, vehicles to take the children from the plantations, places for the children to stay. We don’t have anything to make this project work.”

Long term project
Neither the British nor American chocolate manufacturers knew details about the model project in Petit Yammousoukro.
“Oume was one of the districts we worked in,” said Alison Ward of the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Association in London.
“What we need to do is work with the governments in West Africa, work with experts to really make a difference on the ground. That’s what we’re determined to do and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“This is a long term project,” explained Susan Smith of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association in the United States. “I think I’ve learned that they’re moving forward on pilots.”
Having already broken their agreement for 2005, Congressman Eliot Engel is closely watching the manufacturers’ progress.
“No-one’s going to get a second chance to fool me,” he said, adding that if the industry missed the 2008 deadline, he would sit down with colleagues and would begin to implement legislation.

“The bottom line is to stop child slavery,” he said.

Humphrey Hawksley’s report – Bitter Sweet – can be seen on Our World on News 24, on April 7th and 8th at 2215 BST

I am learning something new everyday here on Mothers Fighting For Others. This subject is something we need to educate ourselves on. These children are suffering so we can have our chocolate. Education is power, and we need to become more aware. I will do more research on this subject.

Peace my Friends,

Two million boys and girls are enslaved in the child sex industry—raped for pay, sold into prostitution, trafficked across borders, and bought as sexual souvenirs by tourists. The average age of these children is 13, however, there have been reports of children as young as 5 months.

Cheryl Perera started the youth run organization OneChild after she learned of the horrors that children are suffering around the world. When she heard about young children in Thailand forced to dance on stage for customers and service more than 26 of them a night, she knew she had to do something. OneChild is dedicated to ending the global sex trade in children and Cheryl Perera is an advocate for the world’s most exploited children.

At the age of 17, Cheryl travelled to Sri Lanka to investigate the issue of child exploitation. She met with child laborers, soldiers, and prostitutes. To get an insider’s look into the child sex trade, she worked with the National Child Protection Authority and posed as a 15 year-old child prostitute in a successful undercover STING operation.

Here are a few ways to get involved in the fight to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

1. Do your research! Check out www.one-child.ca for the facts and stats. The website also provides you with a list of other resources ie. books, documentaries, websites, organizations to check out.
2. Gather your dream team and form a OneChild One Voice Chapter. See www.one-child.ca for a how-to guide to starting a chapter.
3. Hold a fundraiser to help support our Build-a–Rehab Centre project
4. Organize a letter-writing campaign to key players in the global Travel and Tourism Industry ie. airlines, travel agencies and make them aware that you are appalled by the exploitation of children in the sex trade, and are calling upon them to take action. **See www.one-child.ca for a list of actions that the industry can take to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Also, here is a chance to help Cheryl raise more money and awareness. Go to www.brickaward.com and vote for Cheryl. She has been honored by Do Something, Inc. as one of the top 12 young leaders in North America. With your vote OneChild could win $15,000 which would be used to help build a new rehabilitation center for sexually exploited girls in the Philippines. The rehabilitation center will provide shelter, meals, therapy, and education.

Voting for Cheryl could mean a huge benefit for many children now in slavery, abusive situations and in need of help and rescue. Voting ends on April 9th . Watch the CW Network on April 12 at 9 pm to see more of Cheryl and other young people’s amazing work.