Children

As spring peeked its sleep head though the last days of winter, the sun shown on the steps of the Senate Building as a group converged to demand that America fight to end slavery in its fields.

Today Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin from Illinois, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan, Congressman Dennis Kucinich from Ohio, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (RFK Center) Director Monika Kalra Varma, and supporters from various citizen groups and NGO’s converged just outside the Russel Senate building to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’.

The event was opened by Senator Durbin who boldly stated;

“Burger King argues that a penny a pound is too much. I wanna tell Burger King thats a ‘Whopper’!”

While the morning was full of supporters from all sides and all ages, there where some distinctive members missing. Those represenatives from Florida were invited, however their support was not found at todays signing. According to CIW when asked about their support stated that the reach of the agricultural industry in Florida is strong and far, and they have “not shown real or sustainable support”.

Lucas Benitez, farmworker and co-founder of CIW, took the stand today in honor of all of those who fight for freedom and fairness in the feilds, his voice was strong and loud, but most of all he was determined that these crimes would come to end. He told of not only the struggles of the workers, but of the progress and hope they have thanks to their supporters and their courage. Mr. Benitez also spoke of those who stand in the path of freedom; “…Burger King and it’s allies stand in our path and threaten the important progress we have made.”

“Together we are stronger than Burger King and the handful of backward growers and their lobbyists!” -Lucas Benitez

Photo from CIW

What is truly sad is that in a day and age where most in America are more concerned with buy cars, toys, clothes and so many other needless items, men, women and whole families are fighting for freedom. What makes this beyond intolerable and incomprehensible is that freedom and a better wage cost a merer penny a pound. The CIW, the farmworkers of Immokalee and all the slaves with in the midst of the ‘Land of the Free’ are the true Americans fighting for justice, freedom and survival. The next time you buy a burger, a container of tomatoes, a new shirt, remember that in many cases someone literally ’slaved’ for that item in your hand.

Even a child knows right from wrong; Issiah , just 3, was the youngest supporter in the crowed. He boastfully repeated the key points from the speakers, and yes, while he may not have comprehended the matter at hand, when I asked him; “Is not treating the people who work for you a bad idea? “, he quickly answered “Yes!”. Issiah’s mother told me that just this week he told his father, that “fair trade coffee is a good idea because they treat their workers good, but Burger King is bad because they don’t.” Children learn from their parents examples, and we can all teach our children that slavery is a bad idea. It is with steps like these today, and young minds like Issiah’s that will lead us to a slave free America…a slave free world! It’s time we stood for what is right so our children and their children no longer have to suffer and fight for freedom.

Add your name to the National Petition to End Sweatshops and Slavery in America’s Fields!

Please see yesterdays article for more information on CIW and their fight for slave free fields for America’s farm workers.

To hear the todays press conference and petition signing click here or to hear the press conference, click here.

America is many things, as are Americans, and our culture is as diverse as they come and when one thinks of America and our modern culture one of the things that pops into your mind is inevitably fast food. We are all touched by the reach of the fast food industry. While for some of us fast food is a staple of our busy lives, for others it is a rare treat, but, regardless, at some point and time no matter how much we may want to avoid it, we all eat it. When one eats fast food guilt often comes into ones mind, however the guilt that one usually feels is that based more on glutinous pleasure, and not that of one who is contributing to the harm of another persons well being. However it is here at the fast food counter that one unbeknownst is contributing to the enslavement of others.

When one thinks of modern slavery or forced labor, one rarely thinks of America, despite the fact that there are 17,500 persons trafficked into the US each year according to US government figures (, however the true numbers are unknown. These numbers do not reflect the numbers of domestic and international victims, among us in the US.) Nor does the use of tomatoes, which is a staple of most of our diets, more likely than not does not make you think of injustice. Nonetheless both are realities in our ever- expanding ideological world, where democracy is seen as the path to freedom.

In the south Florida county of Collier lies Immokalee, once a bustling pre-civil war farm community of full of slaves and slave owners. However for many modern- day farm workers treatment and conditions in the fields has changed little since the outlawing of slavery in the United States.

Founded in 1993, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), was established to fight against the abuses occurring in the fields – abuses that range from labor exploitation to actual modern-day slavery. The CIW works to protect those who find themselves in those most extreme conditions; being are forced to work in the fields in against their will, in conditions that don’t diverge that far from those of ‘slave like conditions‘, often appearing no different than their historical slave counterparts. Comprised of more than 4,000 farm labors, mostly Mexican, Guatemalan and Haitian migrant workers, the CIW is ready and poised to fight for the rights of those who fill Immokalee’s orange groves and tomato fields. The CIW received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 2003 in recognition of its work to end modern-day slavery and exploitation of migrant workers in the U.S. agriculture industry. The 2007 Anti-Slavery Award was given to the CIW for their exceptional contribution towards tackling modern-day slavery in the US produce fields.

The CIW’s first big battle against the fast food industry came in 2001 as they took on the fast food chain Taco Bell in a large scale boycott, “Boot the Bell”. The CIW demanded that Taco Bell, whose tomatoes are often supplied by producers in Immokalee, take responsibility for the working conditions and wages of the farm workers that supply the company’s tomatoes. CIW won the battle of the Bell on March 8, 2005, as Yum! Brands, Inc., Taco Bell‘s proprietor, agreed to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes in order to increase workers’ wages. In 2002 CIW then took on the king of fast food, McDonald’s, demanding they too pay a penny more per pound. The CIW’s agreement with both companies stated that they work directly with the CIW to implement an enforceable code of conduct. The code created by McDonald’s was considered inadequate and it was not until April 9, 2007 that an agreement was officially made.

The CIW is once again embattled in another fight, this time with fast food giant Burger King, and other industry leaders, who has thus far failed to use their force to ensure that farm workers receive a faira ware wage and treatment. The Burger King has announced that the company had “extensively considered the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) ‘penny per pound’ request and has declined to accept the proposal.” Instead, Burger King offered to re-train dissatisfied tomato pickers to work in Burger King restaurants.¹ Just a few short months ago, yet another case of workers, held against their will and forced to work in the agricultural industry came to light. This is the seventh such case in little more than a decade.

The CIW has now launched a national petition drive demanding Burger King work with the CIW to ensure their consumers that their supply chain is free from slavery. The petition aims , and to show the level of support of consumers who will not support modern slavery. The campaign will show the high levels of consumers who are “prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so.”

Sadly the plight of the Immokalee workers only echoes that of some 27 million slaves around the globe, as modern slavery reaches a scale almost three times larger than that of the the Atlantic Slave Trade, which saw the transport of some 10 million people out of African in four decades. This year on January 1st marked the 200th anniversary of the US ban against the importation of slaves, and yet we still live with slaves in our midst. The slavery of our past is far from forgotten, yet the slavery of present remains hidden in the shadows. Slavery is far from being history, and its grasp has reached every corner of the globe and America is no exception to this brutal crime against humanity.

1 See: Penny-Per-Pound

Also see: BKC Penny Per Pound

Tonight I had the privilege of attending a special screening of the documentary film Traffic, which is part of the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign. MTV EXIT, which is produced by the 2003 established MTV Europe Foundation, was designed to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking among the MTV demographic. The event was aimed to promote USAID’s (The US Agency for International Development) partnership with the MTV Europe Foundation and MTV Networks, to promote a new multimedia campaign aimed at preventing human trafficking in Asia. The partnership with USAID follows the previous partnership with Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, which launched a similar campaign throughout Europe in 2004.

A PSA/Billboard form the European Campaign 

The EXIT campaign also produced; Parallel Lives, a series of film shorts, and Inhuman Traffic, which both aired in 2005. In 2007 the EXIT campaign produced Sold and Traffic. The campaign is currently working on two collections of film shorts, which are to premiere in the coming months, as well as several PSA’s. The films while focusing on the issue of human trafficking in various regions, have all used the power of pop culture and media to express a message of awareness to many young people who are at risk of falling prey to trafficking. All of the EXIT campaign films and events have are unified with there theme of awareness and dotted by the well known faces of pop and movie stars, which are used to appeal to the MTV generation.

Tom Ehr, Executive Director of the MTV Europe Foundation and Simon Goff Director of MTV Exit-Asia where both on hand to answer questions from the audience. My question seemed to make Mr. Ehr squirm in a way that would have been completely comical had it not been for the obvious disdain at the question. Nonetheless he took the time to address my question;

“How does MTV grapple with running a series of anti-trafficking events like this, in the face of producing shows that glorify the use of the word ‘pimp’ and the ‘pimp lifestyle’?”

In response Mr. Ehr stated that they had tried to be a bit of a ‘Trojan horse’, but the issues of free speech seemed to win out in the MTV board room, however also stated,

“We feel as long as we keep hammering away at this then we can make a difference!”

In other remarks on the question Mr. Ehr made the following statement which I would like to leave you with as a thinking point; “We are doing our best in a company aimed at youth culture…sadly we have all see where youth entertainment has gone.” With that I ask you this one question? I agree a hundred percent that there has been a demise in the quality of youth programing. Therefore should the glorification of ‘pimp’n’ be one of the social responsible acts of MTV and similar companies?

Officials from the United Nations, the European Union and other institutions, as well as several ministers and other leaders have urged that women should be given a bigger voice in helping the world overcome conflicts and poverty. The call came at a conference in Brussels last week. The conference, which included some 50 international delegates, was set to promote issues of women’s empowerment and leadership.

“We must rise to the challenge and push for change, for if we don’t who will?” said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU External Relations Commissioner in regards to the role of women (USA TODAY/AP).

The meeting raised concern over the lack of countries to implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1325, which was the first legal document established by the UN Security Council that required respect for women’s rights during times of conflict, and that they be included in peace negotiations and in post conflict reconstruction

Some things the Resolution calls for:

• Prosecuting people for crimes against women (often such crimes are committed with impunity);
• Extra protection of girls and women in war zones as they are more often deliberately victimized;
• Appointing more women for peacekeeping operations; and
• Involving more women in negotiations, peace talks and post-war reconstruction planning.

The resolution is historic as it is the first to specifically address the disproportionate and unique impact that war has on women. The resolution which was unanimously adopted on October 31, 2000, and in November that year the European Parliament resolution on participation of women in peaceful conflict passed.

The conference brought to light the issue of undocumented and stateless children, which is a major hindrance for ones access to healthcare and education, as well as other key services, thus limiting ones potential to achieve and lead. “…whoever does not exist legally, cannot be a key actor. The same way that 70% of the poor are women and a large number of these children are women, girls, and we have to address this”, said Ana Palacio, Vice President of the World Bank.

The lack of participation of women in conflict is undeniable, and many proponents of increased inclusion for women have agreed that they are vitally needed. We all look at the world with a different perspective, and as they say two heads are better than one.  Thus the need for equal participation of men and women in conflict resolution and poverty reduction is needed if we are to ever see sustainable and positive long term change. As Virgina Woolf said, “War is not women’s history.”, then let us work to set peace as our history.

Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day, a day that was established to commemorate the struggle women and girls across the globe have endured in order to obtain their ‘full’ human rights. Sadly while I sit here and enjoy my ‘full’ rights, millions of women and young girls worldwide are still being denied. Millions of women and girls every day are faced with Gender Inequality and face specific issues such as; Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision, Child Marriage, Child Trafficking, and other gender based human rights abuses. While many women and girls still struggle, others have set forth to be industry and world leaders, and it is these female leaders that will pave the way forward for the those who still struggle to achieve their ‘full’ rights.

This month the United Nations will bring women from around the globe to New York to attend the UN Commission on the status of Women. The celebration will also mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) is using the month of March to bring highlight the leadership role women play in guaranteeing human rights.

Rights for women and girls have come a long way, but let us not forget to protect those who’s rights are being violated. The role of women and girls in all aspects of society is vital to a sustainable and peaceful global community. Celebrate women and girls, empower them and they will lead us towards a better tomorrow!

Children are our most valuable natural resource, yet we do not prize them and treasure them as we should, but treat them as disposable items. Children across the globe daily are abuse physically, mentally, and sexually; forced to work in harsh and unbearable conditions; faced to bare witness to violence and war; suffer from preventable diseases; go without education; live in hunger.  And while we may treasure and value those within our sight, we must not fail those in which we cannot see, as all children are resources to be treasured.

Children are our future and should be seen as valuable investments, invest in them wisely, invest in them well and we will see a brighter future!

Authorities in the Republic of Congo have lifted a temporary ban imposed four months ago following the arrest on 25 October 2007 in neighboring Chad of members of a French NGO who were charged with abducting 103 children.

Nutrition experts say governments are not investing enough to prevent and treat malnutrition in women and children in poor countries. “The amount donors have given to combating malnutrition is lamentable,” Saul Morris, one of the authors of a series of reports on child survival published recently by The Lancet medical journal.

In Egypt a drive to boost girls’ education, the drive is sponsored by the government and the UN. The goal is to build over 1,000 “girl-friendly” schools in seven provinces, as there due to the low attendence of girls. Many girls do not attend school due to the proximity of schools, poverty, child labor, gender inequality, and early marriage.

In Sudan around 650,000 or half of all children in Darfur do not receive an education, despite efforts by various organizations to provide schooling in camps and towns across the western Sudanese region, according to Save the Children.

In Chad many young people desperately seeking sex education. Some of the young people who seek help at the Youth Information and Orientation Centre for Reproductive Health (CIOJ) in N’Djamena, capital of Chad, do not understand how they became pregnant or contracted a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Workers at the center blame the high levels of ignorance on the failure of parents to talk to their children about sex.

Burundi’s teachers are calling for more HIV/AIDS education in schools, to ensure that older primary school pupils and secondary school students, many of whom are sexually active, are properly equipped with the facts about the pandemic. Ernest Mberamiheto, deputy minister in charge of primary and secondary education, said government studies in 2004 revealed that 23 percent of school children had had sexual intercourse by the age of 14.

In the Niger Delta there is no lack of youth ready to join militias. And while many young boys want out of the fight disarment will still leave wages twice or three times less, leaving many feeling that the life of a militant is the only hope for economic stability.

Israel sentences man for “honor” killing of sister, the court handed down a 16-year prison sentence Tuesday against a man accused of participating in the killing of his sister, after women in the family stepped forward to testify against the suspect. The sister was the eighth female family member to be killed in recent years, but this was the first conviction in any of the cases. She was 18 at the time, and was the eighth female member of the Abu Ghanem clan to have been killed in seven years

Meningitis is spreading across the region with the death toll reaching 422 since the beginning of 2008 yet, contrary to several recent reports, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said the figures are lower than previous years and that West Africa is well-prepared to contain the disease. Low cost meningitis vaccine developed, which has proven to be highly effective in trials in West Africa, and will be introduced in 2009.

South African schools are the most dangerous in the world, and if the issue is not addressed it will stunt children’s education and jeopardize the future development of the country, according to the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR). However experts warn that safety is part of a more complex problem.

It was a year ago today that I wrote my first blog post, and what a year it has been! My time with the FPA has been both one of incite and growth, for me personally and for the Children’s blog itself. In the short year that we have been live we have had considerable and regular grown in our readership.  This growth is in a large part due to you the readers, you who have been duteous in your readership and have gone on to share the site with your friends and families.

The success of this site is mainly in thanks to you, the readers, for without you there was no reason to continue, and it is you who keep me going day after day. Therefore it is to you, the wonderful reader that I owe the success of this year to, as without your readership and support I would not be sitting here one year later.

Thank you for your support and readership, and I look forward to continuing to write as long as you continue to read it.

Echoes of Rwanda filled our minds as Kenya became engulfed in the flames of ethnic violence following the December 27, 2007 presidential election in which President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner. Supporters of Kibaki’s opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, were inflamed by allegations of electoral manipulation, which was widely confirmed by international election observers. The post-election violence, soon turned into what some are now calling genocide and tensions have taken much of the spotlight off Sudan who still lingers in the grey shadows. Some claim the violence is not ethnically inspired, but economically fulled. Regardless ethnic tensions are not unknown in Kenya and have been used as fodder in many cases since independence in 1963, especially in regards to land ownership, and with this displacement is neither a new fate for many Kenyans.

The past three months have left us with mounting fears and little hope for the future of Kenya. Stories of children caught in the cross fire, youths violently patrolling the streets flood the news and our minds. Women and children have been the hardest hit by the clashes, which have left mounting instances of rape and have also hindered aid efforts. The conflict has left some 301,000 plus IDP’s (one third of which are under 5), half of which are children, many of who have left their homes in search of their ‘ancestral’ homes, while others have also fled to bordering Uganda.

Many Kenyan children who have been caught up in the violence live in utter poverty, with their futures looking bleak even before the eruption of violence. One such breeding ground for the violence, due to fears and hate of corruption, lies right out side the capital city of Nirobi, in the slums of Kibera. The worlds largest slum with over one million people, the children of Kibera and their families have no running or clean water; the same streets where children play overflow with human waste, breading disease to those who have no access to healthcare. These same streets have now grown even more desperate as access to food and healthcare is even farther out of reach, as they have been the hardest hit by the violence. It is the many children like the children of the Kibera Slums who find themselves more and more drawn to violence as a means of hope for a better future. Sadly violence only breeds more violence and discontent, leaving those in poverty and social turmoil to fall farther and farther away from hope and continue to linger in the shadows of a failing state.

As January wound down some began to see a small glimmer of light as mediation talks began, due in large thanks to the help of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. As violence spread in the Rift Valley and Nairobi, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, most saw little signs of an end to the crisis, causing concerns that the end to the violence was no where in sight to only grow.

On February 28th the National Accord and Reconciliation Act was signed by both Kibaki and Odinga, establishes the office of prime minister, and creates a coalition government. This new power-sharing deal, only serves to overhaul the way the country is governed. The terms of the agreement, which the AP outlines, establishes Odinga, as Kenya’s new prime minister. Some praise the deal and says a power-sharing agreement “held the only key to a peaceful and agreeable settlement of the post-election impasse” (The Standard). Others claim that the deal only signifies Kenya pulling “back from the brink” (Economist). While former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who mediated the agreement, do deserve much credit in brokering the deal, it unfortunately leave many worried as it “remains to be seen how the sharing of power will work in practice.” How long will the deal last is also a question of great concern, as many wonder if new presidential elections will soon be sought.

What fate awaits the children of Kenya? The sad reality of Kenya is that regardless of peace today or tomorrow, the scars of violence never disappear, and will now forever mare the lives of all of Kenya’s children. One can only hope that the wounds heal of a nation heal enough to leave only a faded scar that all can learn from, one which serves as a reminder for what must never occur again.

Please see my esteemed colleague Dan Graeber’s post’s Kenya descends and Kenya witnessing “genocide on a grand scale” for more incite.

Who would have thought that making people happy would lower the crime rate? Well the major of Brazil’s once sixth deadliest town, thought that happiness had to be the key to safe living, and wouldn’t you know it he was right!

Some 100 miles northeast of Brasília, the capital of Brazil, lies Vila Boa, and it is here that major de Brito set forth to change his city for good. Implementing a drainage system to prevent flooding, creating roads, schools, a community center, soccer field, along with social services and employment training has given the once deadly town a face lift both inside and out. The town once boasted the rating of 6th deadliest town in Brazil is now ranked at 298th on the countries Violence Map.

“For the first time in Brazilian history, we have had three years in which the measures of fatal violence have fallen. There is light at the end of the tunnel.” says Julio Jacobo Waiselfisz, author of the Violence Map, in regards to Vila Boa and other towns who have taken similar measures as de Brito’s(CSMonitor)

Imagine how the world would look if we only showed all our global citizens, especially children, that they have value and gave people something to treasure and have respect in. Hum invest in people and you will see the return, is this really something new? I guess we can all take a page out de Brito’s book…community investment is the way forward, now why didn’t I think of that!

Happy children do commit less crimes and fall victim to predators, happy families are less likely to fall prey to to exploitation; but regardless it is sustainable development that is the true key to a life with less crime and happiness.  Without visions of a sustainable future children will continue to be victimized, and fall prey to the social pitfalls  left by inadequate governments, social systems and global communities.