Does slavery exist today?
Posted by Mr Sloan on November 19, 2009
This is a question that lots of us in 2JS have been thinking about. It is a hard question to answer.
John and Sam put it very well. This is what they said:
JOHN: Even though the slave trade was abolished in 1865, some people are still forced to work.
SAM: Children are forced to work to make money so that they can buy food and clothes for their families.
Lots of children across the world have to work. They can’t go to school and often do very dangerous jobs. One of the things we can do to stop this is to ask questions about where the things we buy come from. We should expect people to be able to tell us that they were made by people who were paid enough money to live properly. If they can’t tell you, then don’t buy their products.
We made a video to show what we had learned about children who are forced to work. We thought about how we could help to stop this from happening. Why not leave a comment about something you could do to help?
November 19th, 2009 at 6:36 am
It’s 10:30 here, I’ve finished as much report card writing as I’m going to do tonight.
Most of the chocolate we eat is produced by slave labour like the children you showed in your video. My wife doesn’t eat chocolate, and I often eat chocolate that claims to be organic and fair trade. The last bar I had was semi-dark chocolate with hazel nuts and currants. It was delicious – I had trouble not eating the whole thing at one sitting.
Many of the things we take for granted are made by people working in near slave labour conditions. People complain about higher priced merchandise, but that is how we get rid of slavery – by finding products that are fairly traded. Even coffee. I don’t know about where you live, but here in Canada, the Mennonite Central Committee operates a chain of stores called “Ten Thousand Villages” which features fairly traded goods – coffee, chocolate, spices, “stuff” like handbags, emerging world curios. The prices are higher than you might like, but it is in aid of fair trade.
A friend of ours arranges an annual Fair Trade Faire in early December every year where different organizations can bring fairly traded goods and have booths. It is a colourful event, with unusual sounds from strange musical instruments and new smells from spices and foods from other cultures.
You are year two – how would that work out in grades Kindergarten, Grade 1, etc.?
Best wishes
Mr. S.
November 19th, 2009 at 7:24 am
That was a very good clip you made. Well done!
I work in a high school in New Zealand, right down the bottom of the South Island in a small city called Invercargill. I am a librarian, or media centre manager!
One of my favourite things to do is to enjoy coffee with my grown-up kids or my friends. I do try really hard to only buy fair trade coffee, because I know that not all coffee is paid for fairly in the world. It is important to me that I do as much as I can to make the world a fair place.
I hope you all do the same, and make your world a better place, too.
Good luck
Donna Watt
November 19th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Hello 2JS
I am a teacher at a school in Switzerland. You have done a great job with the video and raising the issue of child labour. At our school we are talking about what we can do for the Day for Change 2010 which takes place on 5th February. This year UNICEF are trying to get schools to help improve children’s health and education in Mozambique. Our student council is discussing what we can do here to raise money and raise awareness.
Keep up the good work.
Ms Maggie
November 19th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I think your film is excellent and I hope your assembly went well – you have certainly put a lot of work into it! I really liked the parts in your film where your pictures showed the difference between the life you lead and that of the poorer children. I will be showing your video to my class when we study poverty and child labour later on in the year – well done!!
Miss Ross
November 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
We have been working on an assembly and weve done it.by Haris
November 19th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Wow! When I read your original questions, all my American mind thought about was slavery in America. Thank you for opening my eyes and reminding me that slavery does still exist today, unfortunately. Your investigation and work is so important and I hope your video will be shared around the world. I consider you to be true child advocates and I am hopeful that your hard work helps make life better for children everywhere.
Thank you,
Julie Niles Petersen