Sweatshops and Human Trafficking

This morning I came across proof of what I have feared all along: the connection between Human Trafficking and sweatshops. Last year I became more aware about the awful truths regarding Human Trafficking. Since my venture into digging deeper into the subject of sweatshops,etc. I got this nagging feeling that there was a link. This morning I found one as I was researching Kohl's on Responsible Shopper.
A few years ago a sweatshop in Daewoosa, a company in American Samoa, was found guilty of many horrific offenses including: women held as indentured servants, human trafficking, sexual harassment (factory bosses watched the women shower and dress), brutality (they show a picture of a pile of clothes that had to be trashed because they were stained with workers' blood), failure to pay wages, and the list goes on. It sickens me to tell you this sweatshop supplied clothing for J.C. Penny, Kohl's, Target, Walmart, Sears, and more. Vietnamese workers were 'recruited' by a Korean owned company to work in Somoa, an American territory, so the clothes could be labeled "Made in the USA." You can read more details and see some very sad pictures at these sites from CorpWatch and the National Labor Commission.
Unfortunately I have to believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have a feeling there are many connections between some of the corrupt owners of these sweatshops and human trafficking.
As I learn more, I will keep posting. In the mean time, here are some facts regarding Human Trafficking and forced labor:
"According to the United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, an estimated 20 million people were held in bonded slavery as of 1999.
• In 2004 there are more slaves than were seized from Africa during four centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trade. (Kevin Bales, Disposable People)
• In 1850 a slave in the Southern United States cost the equivalent of $40,000 today. According to Free the Slaves, a slave today costs an average of $90.
• Approximately two-thirds of today’s slaves are in South Asia. Human Rights Watch estimates that in India alone there are as many as 15 million children in bonded slavery."- International Justice Mission Fact Sheet

If you would like more information regarding Human Trafficking, please check out International Justice Mission's website. IJM has a very educational site and outlines direct ways you can help their cause. If you want to financially support any agency to help stop these tragic crimes, I recommend IJM. Also, Gary Haugen has written a book, "Just Courage" filled with stories about IJM workers going in and rescuing victims of human trafficking, forced labor, and child prostitution. For such a heavy subject, it is really an encouraging and enlightening book (and 33% of the proceeds go to IJM).

Next week there are a couple exciting events (Monday and Thursday evenings) regarding Human Trafficking awareness in Chicago, if you are interested in attending with me, send me an e-mail. For those of you not from the area, don't worry I will post a full report!