Post by ifayomi on Jan 19, 2007 11:41:26 GMT -5
Subject: Child Labor in Liberia, Africa -- STOP FIRESTONE'S EXPLOITATION AND
CRUELTY
Have the courage to act instead of react.
May God continue to bless you and your efforts.
Brother Mikal Muhammad
Bridgestone Firestone – Child Labor in Liberia, Africa
TAKE ACTION NOW
Send a letter to Firestone president Dan Adomitis now asking him to end the
exploitatation of Liberia's land, children, and workers
www.democrac yinaction. org/dia/organiza tionsORG/ IPS/campaign. jsp?campaign_ KEY=2821&t=firestone. dwt
Liberia, West Africa, which was founded by freed slaves from America in the
1820s, is suffering from serious poverty and unemployment. This is because a
Liberian Civil War, that ended in 2003, destroyed the infrastructure and
economy. In this country where people do not even have peace, a Japanese
company and its American subsidiary are committing labor abuses including
Liberia, West Africa, which was founded by freed slaves from America in the
1820s, is suffering from serious poverty and unemployment. This is because a
Liberian Civil War, that ended in 2003, destroyed the infrastructure and
economy. In this country where people do not even have peace, a Japanese
company and its American subsidiary are committing labor abuses including
Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC has had a rubber plantation
in Liberia since 1926. Bridgestone Firestone abuses their local workers by
subjecting them to slavery and encourages the adult workers to bring their
children to help them meet their daily quota of rubber production. This
situation is against international laws including ILO Conventions, American
and Liberian labor law. Because of Bridgestone Firestone's clear violation
of the law, a legal complaint was filed in 2005 [
www.stopfire stone.org/ lawsuit.shtml ]against and Bridgestone
Firestone North American Tire, LLC. This lawsuit is currently ongoing.
The workers are assigned a quota which takes 21 hours a day at least to
complete, and if they cannot complete, their wages are halved, and they
cannot earn a livable wage. Therefore, the workers have to make their
families perform hard labor from early morning in order to meet the quota.
The children work 12-14 hours a day and most do not have proper nutrition in
their diets given the low wages.
The company stated that they forbid child labor, but in fact it knowingly
assigned excessive quotas that can only be met by workers bringing their
children to the plantation. Children cannot get a proper education and are
forced to endure heavy physical labor in which they have to carry heavy
buckets full of rubber latex many times a day. Just imagine a 10 year old
child forced to carry 70 pounds of rubber using a stick and 2 pails several
times a day. Because of these harsh conditions the children cannot fully
grow up physically and mentally. They are being used as beasts of burden.
Furthermore, though working in a rubber plantation is not safe, the company
has no means to protect their workers. Rubber latex can cause permanent
damage on contact with the eye. Toxic pesticides are used and workers are
routinely exposed to harsh chemicals.
The company insists that they offer free education and medical care to
workers’ families. However, the schools require some expenses be paid and
both systems heavily restrict the range of children who can get education.
Moreover, the medical system is not adequate because its clinic's open hours
are limited. Furthermore, houses provided for workers are broken-down shacks
built in the 1920s, with no running water and no indoor toilets. This is a
stark contrast from the luxurious houses of many foreign managers, often
white or Asian.
What is worse, the workers cannot get appropriate wages because they are
illiterate and cannot read the pay stub for their wages, which includes
reductions for housing or food deductions. This has evolved into a cycle of
three generations that have grown up on the plantation and continue to be
limited in their access to education or other job opportunities aside from
that of a rubber tapper.
In Liberia, where people suffer from poverty and unemployment, losing a job
means a loss of any way to make money, which easily leads to starvation.
Therefore, the workers cannot freely oppose the company and must keep
continue to work without appealing anything. This system, where generations
of workers are born in the plantation and exploited from their youth, has
continued for 80 years and constitutes modern-day slavery.
International Labor Rights Fund,[ www.laborrig hts.org/ ] Institute
for Policy Studies,[ www.ips- dc.org/ ]
Friends of the Earth,[ www.foe. org/ ]NAACP,[ www.naacp. org/ ]
TransAfrica Forum ,[ www.transafr icaforum. org/ ] and other US based
organizations [ www.stopfire stone.org/ partners. shtml ]demand that
Bridgestone Firestone (1) take responsibility of this situation and follow
the law; (2) improve the assignment of achievable quotas for the average
worker to negate the use of child laborers; (3) increase wages to raise the
standard of living of plantation workers; and (4) supply modern tools to
protect workers on the job from coming into contact with harmful chemicals;
(5) redress all environmental damages as a result of its Liberian
operations; (6) stop releasing chemicals into the environment and stop
exposing workers to any compounds and chemicals that are internationally
recognized as most toxic; (7) fully disclose all key project payments,
contracts, and concession agreements for all Firestone projects in Liberia.
Detailed list of demands.[ www.stopfire stone.org/ demands.shtml ]
READ MORE: The Firestone Rubber Plantation And Liberia: A History Of Broken
Promises, Shell Games, And Hidden Profits by Carl Patrick Burrowes, PhD [
www.stopfire stone.org/ history.shtml ]
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side
of the oppressor." [Bishop Desmond Tutu -- Nobel Prize for Peace 1984]
"If you do not understand White-Supremacy (Racism), what it is, and how it
works,
everything else that you understand, would only confuse you." [Neely
Fuller,1971]
CRUELTY
Have the courage to act instead of react.
May God continue to bless you and your efforts.
Brother Mikal Muhammad
Bridgestone Firestone – Child Labor in Liberia, Africa
TAKE ACTION NOW
Send a letter to Firestone president Dan Adomitis now asking him to end the
exploitatation of Liberia's land, children, and workers
www.democrac yinaction. org/dia/organiza tionsORG/ IPS/campaign. jsp?campaign_ KEY=2821&t=firestone. dwt
Liberia, West Africa, which was founded by freed slaves from America in the
1820s, is suffering from serious poverty and unemployment. This is because a
Liberian Civil War, that ended in 2003, destroyed the infrastructure and
economy. In this country where people do not even have peace, a Japanese
company and its American subsidiary are committing labor abuses including
Liberia, West Africa, which was founded by freed slaves from America in the
1820s, is suffering from serious poverty and unemployment. This is because a
Liberian Civil War, that ended in 2003, destroyed the infrastructure and
economy. In this country where people do not even have peace, a Japanese
company and its American subsidiary are committing labor abuses including
Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC has had a rubber plantation
in Liberia since 1926. Bridgestone Firestone abuses their local workers by
subjecting them to slavery and encourages the adult workers to bring their
children to help them meet their daily quota of rubber production. This
situation is against international laws including ILO Conventions, American
and Liberian labor law. Because of Bridgestone Firestone's clear violation
of the law, a legal complaint was filed in 2005 [
www.stopfire stone.org/ lawsuit.shtml ]against and Bridgestone
Firestone North American Tire, LLC. This lawsuit is currently ongoing.
The workers are assigned a quota which takes 21 hours a day at least to
complete, and if they cannot complete, their wages are halved, and they
cannot earn a livable wage. Therefore, the workers have to make their
families perform hard labor from early morning in order to meet the quota.
The children work 12-14 hours a day and most do not have proper nutrition in
their diets given the low wages.
The company stated that they forbid child labor, but in fact it knowingly
assigned excessive quotas that can only be met by workers bringing their
children to the plantation. Children cannot get a proper education and are
forced to endure heavy physical labor in which they have to carry heavy
buckets full of rubber latex many times a day. Just imagine a 10 year old
child forced to carry 70 pounds of rubber using a stick and 2 pails several
times a day. Because of these harsh conditions the children cannot fully
grow up physically and mentally. They are being used as beasts of burden.
Furthermore, though working in a rubber plantation is not safe, the company
has no means to protect their workers. Rubber latex can cause permanent
damage on contact with the eye. Toxic pesticides are used and workers are
routinely exposed to harsh chemicals.
The company insists that they offer free education and medical care to
workers’ families. However, the schools require some expenses be paid and
both systems heavily restrict the range of children who can get education.
Moreover, the medical system is not adequate because its clinic's open hours
are limited. Furthermore, houses provided for workers are broken-down shacks
built in the 1920s, with no running water and no indoor toilets. This is a
stark contrast from the luxurious houses of many foreign managers, often
white or Asian.
What is worse, the workers cannot get appropriate wages because they are
illiterate and cannot read the pay stub for their wages, which includes
reductions for housing or food deductions. This has evolved into a cycle of
three generations that have grown up on the plantation and continue to be
limited in their access to education or other job opportunities aside from
that of a rubber tapper.
In Liberia, where people suffer from poverty and unemployment, losing a job
means a loss of any way to make money, which easily leads to starvation.
Therefore, the workers cannot freely oppose the company and must keep
continue to work without appealing anything. This system, where generations
of workers are born in the plantation and exploited from their youth, has
continued for 80 years and constitutes modern-day slavery.
International Labor Rights Fund,[ www.laborrig hts.org/ ] Institute
for Policy Studies,[ www.ips- dc.org/ ]
Friends of the Earth,[ www.foe. org/ ]NAACP,[ www.naacp. org/ ]
TransAfrica Forum ,[ www.transafr icaforum. org/ ] and other US based
organizations [ www.stopfire stone.org/ partners. shtml ]demand that
Bridgestone Firestone (1) take responsibility of this situation and follow
the law; (2) improve the assignment of achievable quotas for the average
worker to negate the use of child laborers; (3) increase wages to raise the
standard of living of plantation workers; and (4) supply modern tools to
protect workers on the job from coming into contact with harmful chemicals;
(5) redress all environmental damages as a result of its Liberian
operations; (6) stop releasing chemicals into the environment and stop
exposing workers to any compounds and chemicals that are internationally
recognized as most toxic; (7) fully disclose all key project payments,
contracts, and concession agreements for all Firestone projects in Liberia.
Detailed list of demands.[ www.stopfire stone.org/ demands.shtml ]
READ MORE: The Firestone Rubber Plantation And Liberia: A History Of Broken
Promises, Shell Games, And Hidden Profits by Carl Patrick Burrowes, PhD [
www.stopfire stone.org/ history.shtml ]
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side
of the oppressor." [Bishop Desmond Tutu -- Nobel Prize for Peace 1984]
"If you do not understand White-Supremacy (Racism), what it is, and how it
works,
everything else that you understand, would only confuse you." [Neely
Fuller,1971]