Child Labor In Africa - Photo Edited By Myself

According to the German newspaper “Süddeutsche” some testing was made that proves that about 76,2% of all nougat-products contain mould spores.
Another cocoa- and thus child-labor-based product, chocolate-bunnies, is said to – at least in many cases – contain cancer-causing oils.

Even though the aid-organization “Christian Initiative Romero” actually is named after a Roman-Catholic bishop, due to having their base in Münster (Germany) where most citizens are protestants they have many protestant and orthodox workers, too.
Anyway the Christian-German radio station “Domradio” says that with Easter approaching and everyone buying egg-, lamb- or bunny-themed sweeties – especially chocolate – they actually had an interview with them about the topic of chocolate-bunnies. According to Christian Initiative Romero />>In the west of Africa – including least developed countries like Mauritania, Cameroon, Togo, Senegal, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and many more very poor countries – more than 2 million children are forced to work on cocoa-plantations just so chocolate can be produced.
>In some least developed and developing countries an average peasant on an average day earns no more than 50 – 80 ct.
>On cocoa-plantations pesticides are used that pollute resources of water, harm human beings living in this area and of course nature, too.

>Knowing very well what I’m into the subject of child-labor my boyfriend Jörn gave me a prospect as present that belongs to the “US Department of Labor” and for the most part is about goods produced by child-laborers. He even asked experts to hear whether or not the information given here was still current.
Anyway the prospect says that by smoking you actually support child-labor as Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, Lebanon, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia – many of which are “least developed countries” make use of child-laborers in their production of tobacco. This may be useful information if you live in one of the countries where they exchange gifts of Twelfth Day, if one of your relatives or acquaintances is a smoker and if you don’t have any idea yet what to offer him or her.
In many parts of Germany and I guess in many parts of the entire Christian world it is common for shops to sell and for people to buy and eat typical Christmas food like “German lebkuchen” or marzipan-potatoes until Twelfth Day. What according to my experience with friends and relatives several people seem to be unaware of is that “German lebkuchen” contains cocoa which is a product known for child-laborers being involved in its production. Marzipan-potatoes are another very similar case as judging by what I heard only many people seem to be unaware of the fact that some enterprises producing marzipan also use cocoa as an ingredient as well as palm oil. The first being known for child-laborers often being involved in its production and the second being known for peasants causing deforestation of the rainforest – often chasing away natives in the process – to be able to grow even more palm-oil-producing palm-plantations.
>Just like in previous years the German and protestant organization “Brot für die Welt” criticizes that each year Germans waste 100 millions of dollars on firework while at the same time complaining that they allegedly neither have the money to buy the more sustainable organic food-products nor the income to give at least some small financial support to the development aid. “Brot für die Welt” says that besides by buying firework we may support child-labor as not only Chinese firework-producing factories are using child-laborers, but some sorts of firework also require material that is won by mining – perhaps even by mining in countries where miners still depend on child-laborers.
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Re-upload: On the website “http://www.swisscontact.ch/english/pages/PR/PR.php?navanchor=2110003” you get informed about different projects to help the developing world and you’ll even be given the chance of getting involved.
A lot of families over there are so poor that they have to send their children to work instead of sending them to school, which would be to expensive anyway. If you want to learn about two organizations that help them, then you should visit the following websites: “http://www.help-alliance.com/en/about-us/” and “http://www.staesa.org/countries_eng.html”. There you’ll even be given the chance of getting involved.

On November 2nd there was an informative road show held by the German humanitarian aid-organization “Plan” in Reutlingen close to the “Marienkirche”. Workers informed people passing by about child labor. Now most people associate child labor with cocoa- or coffee-plantations, the production of clothes and toys in Bangladesh and India or even with child-soldiers. Thus even those who are strictly against supporting child-labor in any way consider it to be okay and fashionable to wear golden jewellery. After all it’s not like any children were forced to help making this pretty bracelet or that beautiful necklace, right? Wrong! In countries all over the world children as young as four or five years are used as workers in gold-mines due to their small stature. Especially in least developed countries, developing countries and – like Egypt – countries with an unstable political situation – people force underage people into their gold mines. Due to the high amount of gold found there in combination with the fact that so many citizens are so poor they have to send their own sons and daughters to work these are – among others – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, India, Senegal, Egypt, Sudan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, South-Africa and Ghana.
However even in some least developed countries like Uganda or Madagascar where there are only a few gold mines due to not enough gold found in these countries, people send their own children to work in what limited number of gold-mines is left to send their children to. After all most citizens are extremely poor there and hardly have any choice, but to send their sons and daughters to whatever work they can find.

On Saturday, September 12th I went to the Flößerwasen in Horb, because that day they had a fair trade-brunch there which was accompanied by a report about fair trade held by a member of “Kampagne Fairtrade Town” – whose name I don’t know how to write. This lady later would also give us the chance of winning fair trade products donated by the fair trade shop “Weltladen” by just buying the right lot. I didn’t want to buy a lot though as I’m aware of how small the chances of each individual to win in a game like this are.
Now back to the informative part! She said that even enterprises promising that no child-labor or destruction of nature happened during the making of this product can’t guarantee 100% that what they promise us is true. Every once in a while they may send somebody to inspect these let’s say cocoa plantations, but nobody really knows what is going on there once the inspection is over. For all we know the people who regularly supervise these plantations could have simply told child-laborers to stay away from the plantations for the durance of the inspection and then told them to come back afterwards. Without the enterprise knowing about that, the peasant who sells them their…soy could have some secret fields on a cleared piece of rainforest area along with his poster fields in an area where there never was anything like a rainforest.
Thus she suggests we customers should do as follows
a) Certain products are known to involve animal-cruelty, destruction of nature or violation of human rights. The production of cocoa, coffee and hazelnut-products p.ex is often associated with child labor. Growing of soy often is associated with deforestation. Last but not least the production of pork and beef often is associated with animal-cruelty and with deforestation to have more space to grow food for these animals. We could at least try to avoid them.
b) We should inform ourselves where child-labor and deforestation are the most common and where they are little to impossible. In most parts of the EU and in the USA laws are so strict it’s almost impossible to use child-laborers within the borders of these countries, while some more strict laws ensure that nature be protected and not unnecessarily harmed.
c) You should buy whatever you can from the region where you live. For example people who live in or near an urban area should have no trouble buying eggs and milk from a peasant they know, whose treatment of his animals they know as well and who willingly tells them what products he feeds to his chickens and /or cows. Also due to modern technology many fruits can be grown in any place really. Thus perhaps even exotic fruits and vegetables perhaps are grown in your region, too.
However I see this clue rather sceptical. Most of these countries where child-labor or deforestation are the norm do what they do out of poverty after all. They just don’t see any other option. By not supporting them, i.e. by boycotting them we’ll perhaps only make it worse.