Slavery
Slavery in Africa is not new, there has been slavery in and out of this country for centuries.
People have been sold for labor so intense that anyone with a choice would not do so. These people live and work with no chance of freedom, and if they so chose to try to escape they would be viciously beaten and punished. Much like the coffee farmers in south America slaves age ranges everywhere between small children and the elderly, usually families are auctioned off and children are separated from their parents at a young age. Growing up without any real will to live working for someone much stronger, more powerful, and in most cases highly educated is not the most ideal living situation.
Chocolate is something that most people enjoy however, not man people know the under belly of what really happens to make the chocolate they love so much. I ,for one, know the big corporations that have gone on to monopolize the chocolate industry, if you don't know try thinking of the most recognizable chocolate brands , think hard, got it? the ones you thought of would be the monopolizers. Im sure a lot of you have not stopped to think of how the chocolate is made or even where it comes from. The chocolate you love so much is harvested from slave labor, hard to believe but very true. This is an extremely disgusting and highly disturbing truth of the chocolate industry, many people without a way out get sucked into the slave work and with no other options this is how they live their lives. "The world is full of injustice and Ivory Coast is full of slaves."(timmerman 55) These are people, not property, not objects, there people with lives and families. I applaud the brave men, women and children who endure this kind of life without a choice, who find a way to survive in conditions that most people couldn't adapt. Timmerman devotes substantial effort into the study of these people who are treated horribly, in hope that it'll bring enough light to the overwhelmingly disgusting situation to cause a change.
Im sure that life for the farmer or middle men isn't ideal either, however I believe wholeheartedly that no one receives as bad of treatment as the slaves doing the heavy work. I know that, the things that timmerman describes in his book is not something I could deal with because much like most of the world, or at least the united states, I have been protected and sheltered my entire life. Much like the south Americans these people are put in unfathomable situations where there is no clear cut answer or solution because there are so many people above them who are there to hold them down and keep them in a position to where they can not get up. However unlike the south Americans these people on the ivory cost are in much worse shape, living in worse conditions with absolutely no chance of change. I know that this is a terrible situation for anyone but I also know I don't have the power to change this myself so I prompt more people to read the book, do the studying and help me make a change by helping them. I know that these people matter you should know as well.
Chocolate is something that most people enjoy however, not man people know the under belly of what really happens to make the chocolate they love so much. I ,for one, know the big corporations that have gone on to monopolize the chocolate industry, if you don't know try thinking of the most recognizable chocolate brands , think hard, got it? the ones you thought of would be the monopolizers. Im sure a lot of you have not stopped to think of how the chocolate is made or even where it comes from. The chocolate you love so much is harvested from slave labor, hard to believe but very true. This is an extremely disgusting and highly disturbing truth of the chocolate industry, many people without a way out get sucked into the slave work and with no other options this is how they live their lives. "The world is full of injustice and Ivory Coast is full of slaves."(timmerman 55) These are people, not property, not objects, there people with lives and families. I applaud the brave men, women and children who endure this kind of life without a choice, who find a way to survive in conditions that most people couldn't adapt. Timmerman devotes substantial effort into the study of these people who are treated horribly, in hope that it'll bring enough light to the overwhelmingly disgusting situation to cause a change.
Im sure that life for the farmer or middle men isn't ideal either, however I believe wholeheartedly that no one receives as bad of treatment as the slaves doing the heavy work. I know that, the things that timmerman describes in his book is not something I could deal with because much like most of the world, or at least the united states, I have been protected and sheltered my entire life. Much like the south Americans these people are put in unfathomable situations where there is no clear cut answer or solution because there are so many people above them who are there to hold them down and keep them in a position to where they can not get up. However unlike the south Americans these people on the ivory cost are in much worse shape, living in worse conditions with absolutely no chance of change. I know that this is a terrible situation for anyone but I also know I don't have the power to change this myself so I prompt more people to read the book, do the studying and help me make a change by helping them. I know that these people matter you should know as well.
Liked the feeling it gave me as I read though the story.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to realize that slavery is still going on.
ReplyDelete