Chinese Slaves Write to Us

Extracted from solidaridad.net

In Santiago de Compostela, a woman told us that while doing her Christmas shopping, she went past a Chinese Bazaar where she saw a note written in Chinese on a slip of cardboard but, as she couldn’t understanding a word, she gave it no importance. 

After translating it into Spanish, we were impressed by its content, which we want to make publicly known.

Dear friends,

When you are wearing these bags, do you know where they are made? These bags come from a Chinese prison. As prisoners, we have to work 19 hours a day. We have no time to rest, or much to eat, and still less do we have human rights. There is no freedom here, just work to do day and night non-stop.

Samsung Accused of Enslaving Children and Exploiting Workers in China

Source: guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 5 September 2012.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile and smartphone maker, is being accused of exploiting younger workers and using factories in China where some employees were physically and verbally abused, and forced to work more than 100 hours per month of overtime.

China Labor Watch, a New York-based organisation set up by Chinese activist Li Quang in 2000, also alleges that its investigation of six Samsung-owned plants and two of its suppliers showed that safety measures – such as providing protective clothing for workers – were not followed.

Workers were barred from sitting during shifts and some suffered physical and verbal abuse, the organisation alleges in the 122-page report. The organisation said it investigated eight plants in China that produce mobile phones, media players, DVD players, TV components, mobile displays, printers, home appliances and mobile phone casings for Samsung. The plants' staff totals more than 24,000 workers.

Investigators entered the factories undercover, or spoke to workers away from the factories.

Samsung acknowledged to the Associated Press that poor working conditions "may have arisen" due to production demands and that a review would take place immediately.

Retail Fashion Chain Zara Accused of Child Slavery and Exploitation in Brazil

Zara owner is world's third-richest person

Amancio Ortega has been placed third on Bloomberg's latest list of the world's richest people thanks to his fashion company Inditex, and thanks to children and women's exploitation in Brazil, Morocco...


A number of articles in the international media over recent days have reported on an investigation by Brazil’s Ministry of Labour into the Spanish retail fashion chain Zara after a contractor in São Paulo was found to be using employees in sweatshop conditions to make garments for the company. According to The Guardian newspaper in the UK: “The Brazilian government listed 52 charges against Inditex, Zara’s parent company, after it ‘rescued’ 15 workers from a factory sub-contracted by AHA, the company responsible for 90% of Zara’s Brazilian production. Fourteen of the workers were Bolivians and one was from Peru. One was 14.”

Charles Dickens' Walk Against Child Slavery

On the occasion of Charles Dickens’ 200 birth anniversary, many tours have taken place along the streets of London. However, to our knowledge, none of them has had Child Slavery as its main theme. Dickens was not only a writer full of literary invention, but a moralist with a strong social conscience who showed empathy with the poor and criticised an inhumane system.

On this account and because there are 400 million child slaves in the world, Solidarity Youth Path, the youth organisation of Christian Cultural Movement, wishing to denounce this evil and to pay homage to Charles Dickens as a writer who appealed to society to take action for social change, is pleased to invite you to a Dickens’ Walk and Exhibition against Child Slavery along the streets of London.

SEE WALK ITINERARY

This Walk starts at Borough Tube Station on 22nd August at 10:00 –we recommend being there 10 or 15 minutes before. The next stops will be as follows: John Harvard Library (Marshalsea Prison); Saint George Martyr Church; the George Coaching Inn; Borough Market; Clink Prison Museum; Southwark Cathedral; London Bridge; The Monument and Saint Paul’s Cathedral, where the Walk finishes. Afterwards, we are going to have lunch at Postman’s Park. We would be pleased to share the lunchtime with you to be able to talk about this experience and the different activities against child slavery that are being carried out worldwide, and particularly in Spain.