Child Slavery, The Access to Information, Unrest in Yemen

Blood and Chocolate

Frustration, anger, disgust. These could probably describe what I am feeling right now. But above all, I am sad. It pains me to see how accustomed our society has become to child slavery. Okay, I understand that it happens everywhere around the world, but that certainly does not make it normal. And it does not give us the right to nonchalantly shrug it off. As everyone knows, cocoa is a valuable commodity. It’s what they use to make your chocolate bars, hot chocolate and cocoa butter. Over 67% of Cocoa comes from West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire alone producing 43% of that number (easily making it the top exporter of cocoa IN THE WORLD). Americans alone spend an annual amount of $13 billion on chocolate, making it the world’s largest importer of cocoa.

Now here’s where it gets sad. On one end of the world people are enjoying the sweet taste of chocolate... but on the other children MY AGE are being sold into slavery and denied an education. They are beaten and treated inhumanely, and for what? So that people on the other side can enjoy a cheap bar of chocolate. It has been estimated that over 240,000 children have been sold as slaves in West Africa to work on coffee, cocoa, and cotton plantations. Out of these, 15,000 children are aged between 9-12. Ten years ago major chocolate industries like Cadbury and Nestle promised to end trafficking and child labor in Ivory Coast. That promise however, has obviously been forgotten. Global companies charge high prices for their products but refuse to pay a fair price for Cocoa beans. It is this lack of fair trade that is to blame for the inhumane treatment of these children. They are forced to work long days in inhumane conditions without pay and with little food. Life on the farm is all these kids know. They are too afraid to run away for fear of being recaptured and tortured. They do not know what it is to be free.

Should access to information be restricted?

This is an actual heading from an article found on BBC, “Scientists who created a potentially more deadly bird flu strain have temporarily stopped their research amid fears it could be used by terrorists.” Wow, really? You think so? Thank you, captain obvious! Well, think about it: nuclear warfare would be useless if biological warfare can wipe out an entire population and leave its wealth intact.

Now enter the bright scientists who have created a deadlier strain of the H5N1 virus. This altered; MORE CONTAGIOUS versions could supposedly spark a pandemic deadlier than the Spanish influenza! For those of you who don’t know, the Spanish influenza killed more than 40 million people… in just ONE year. These geniuses wanted to publish their research in a scientific journal (which is essentially the equivalent of publishing a step-by-step instruction manual to creating this virus). Finally, however, The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity or the NSABB stepped in and said that key details should be omitted from publication (nice to see that someone still has common sense). But then again this leads to that million-dollar question: Should all information be accessible to everyone? In this context I personally think that it shouldn’t be. Solely based on what may happen if this were to fall into the wrong hands.

Unrest in Yemen

Before I begin I think it would be easier for me to explain who Ali Abdullah Saleh is. Born 21 March 1942, he was the first (and the longest-serving) president of Yemen, ruling since 1978. After the revolution that overthrew Tunisia’s long-term president, Opposition parties in Yemen started protests and demanded Saleh to end his three-decade-long-rule because of his perceived lack of democratic reform, widespread corruption and the abuse of human rights carried out by him and his colleagues. Facing major uprising, he announced that he would not seek re-election, but would carry out the rest of his term. This sparked outrage and eleven Mps of Saleh’s party resigned in response to the government’s violence against unarmed protestors.

Now however, President Saleh has agreed to step down from power (next month) in exchange for immunity. Apparently a new president will lead the country on February 21.Though the deal was hailed by opposition parties in Yemen, youth protesters and international rights groups called the immunity a violation of international law. Youth protesters continued marching on Saturday, rejecting any immunity for Saleh. Protests took place in 13 provinces across Yemen, according to the Revolution Youth Organizing Committee. Many protestors have vowed to try Saleh for the deaths of well over a hundred unarmed protestors.