Faces of Freedom

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The "Faces of Freedom" photo exhibition is a collection of photographs captured by photo-journalist, filmmaker and human rights educator U. Roberto (Robin) Romano, during his travels to India, Nepal and Pakistan. Romano explores the exploitation of child labor in the production of handmade rugs in coordination with multiple international organizations, such as the World Bank, UNICEF, International Labour Organization and others to reduce the number of child laborers in that industry. The exhibit has been shown in many United States cities since its first exhibit in 2009. Faces of Freedom has been included in CNN Freedom Projects of modern slavery.

Contents

Child labor

To combat exploitation of child labor, The World Bank with UNICEF, International Labour Organization (ILO) and Understanding Children's Work Initiative to bring awareness of the scope of the problem. The World Bank estimates that there are 218 million children who are victim to unfair child labor practices. The children's ages range from five to seventeen years of age. The handmade rug industry is one of industries involved in exploitation of child labor. The World Bank works with country-based and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in an effort to "combat child labor." [1]

The United Nations and the International Labour Organization consider child labor exploitative, [2] [3] with the UN stipulating, in article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that:

...States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. Although globally there is an estimated 250 million children working. [3]

According to the census in 1990 nearly 18% of all the children in America are working in different organizations. The Supreme Court banned child labor in 1916 but the law became visible in 1941. The labor department is also not paying attention to the child labor in USA therefore children are still employed in the organizations. The age of the children who are employed is between 15 years to 17 years. They are nearly 3.7 million children who work in different factories. There is an interesting fact that more than 600 children died in work related accidents. [4]

Exhibit

U. Roberto Romano, a photographer, filmmaker and humans right activist, traveled to India, Nepal and Pakistan to record the plight of child laborers in the handmade rug industry. He also gathered photographs and stories of children who have been rescued by the GoodWeave organization, previously known as Rugmark. [5] [6]

The Faces of Freedom exhibit is a collection of photos by U. Roberto Romano that provides insight into the lives, poor living conditions and faces of child rug-weavers of South Asia. Messages of hope are portrayed in the photographs and stories of children that were assisted by the GoodWeave program to attain school education. A selection of handmade rugs made without child labor is also exhibited. [1] [7]

After initial showings in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C., the collection has been exhibited in major cities across the United States since 2009. [1] [8] [9]

News media

In late 2010, the Faces of Freedom exhibit was featured the ABC television network show Good Morning America. On April 18, 2011, Faces of Freedom was covered in CNN Freedom Project's of modern slavery. The piece appears on CNN website Archived 2016-06-08 at the Wayback Machine with a slideshow of images of GoodWeave's Faces of Freedom photo exhibition.

U. Roberto (Robin) Romano is an investigative filmmaker, where he has been director, director of photography, still photographer and/or producer in the following efforts: [7]

The Harvest

The Harvest (documentary) is a feature documentary on the life of migrant children and their families in America. It revisits Edward R. Murrow’s Harvest of Shame, filmed 40 years ago, and reveals that little has changed over the past 4 decades in the lives of migrant farm workers in America. The Harvest, however, is told from a child’s perspective as we meet 4 of the more than 400,000 children between the ages of 5 and 16 who labor in fields and factories to feed us, lacking the protections offered by the Fair Labor Standards Act that all other American children enjoy. [10] In 2009, Eva Longoria signed on as an Executive Producer of the project. [11] The Harvest premiered at the IDFA festival in Amsterdam in November 2010 [12] and will premier in the US in early 2011.[ needs update ]

Dark Side of Chocolate

A feature documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate explores West African children in cocoa production. The 2010 documentary The Dark Side of Chocolate alleged that Nestlé purchased cocoa beans from Ivory Coast plantations that use child slave labor. The children are usually 12 to 15 years old, and some are trafficked from nearby countries. [13] In September 2001, Bradley Alford, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol (commonly called the Cocoa Protocol), an international agreement aimed at ending child labor in the production of cocoa. [14] A 2009 joint police operation conducted by Interpol and Ivorian law enforcement officers resulted in the rescue of 54 children and the arrest of eight people involved in the illegal recruitment of children. [15]

Fields of Peril

Fields in Peril is a 99-page report by Human Rights Watch about child labor in the United States, the least protected are children who work in agriculture. Labor laws for the agriculture industry, such as minimum age, length of a work day and management of hazardous conditions, are more lenient than those for any other industry. [16] [17]

Children in the Fields

Children in the Fields in an educational documentary produced in 2008 by the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs about migrant children working in fields in the United States. Through children, their parents and experts the short documentary explores some of the reasons for child labor exploitation in U.S. agriculture and ways to combat the problem. It was filmed in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Texas. [18]

Stolen Childhoods

A feature documentary on global child labor exploitation affecting nearly 250 million children. The film, narrated by actress Meryl Streep, covers factors affecting the children: working conditions, slavery, and bonded labor. Children's stories from eight countries, including the United States, tell of children exposed to pesticides, chained to their work areas, and even kidnapped and forced into slavery or prostitution. In addition to providing background for why this occurs and implications to the global community, it also offers hope through stories of children's lives have been saved and what actions can be taken to combat child labor. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate</span> Food produced from cacao seeds

Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civilization, and later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa bean</span> Fatty seed of Theobroma cacao which is the basis of chocolate

The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, also called cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cocoa beans native to the Mexican pre Colombian territory were extended to Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest and are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour</span> Exploitation of children through work

Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide, although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of work undertaken by Amish children, as well as by Indigenous children in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child slavery</span>

Child slavery is the slavery of children. The enslavement of children can be traced back through history. Even after the abolition of slavery, children continue to be enslaved and trafficked in modern times, which is a particular problem in developing countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harkin–Engel Protocol</span> 2001 international cocoa labour agreement

The Harkin–Engel Protocol, sometimes referred to as the Cocoa Protocol, is an international agreement aimed at ending the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the production of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate. The protocol was negotiated by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and U.S. Representative Eliot Engel in response to a documentary and multiple articles in 2000 and 2001 reporting widespread child slavery and child trafficking in the production of cocoa. The protocol was signed in September 2001. Joint Statements in 2001, 2005 and 2008 and a Joint Declaration in 2010 extended the commitment to address the problem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in cocoa production</span> Controversial use of children in the production of cacao beans

Child labour is a recurring issue in cocoa production. Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, together produce nearly 60% of the world's cocoa each year. During the 2018/19 cocoa-growing season, research commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in these two countries and found that 1.48 million children are engaged in hazardous work on cocoa farms including working with sharp tools and agricultural chemicals and carrying heavy loads. That number of children is significant, representing 43 percent of all children living in agricultural households in cocoa growing areas. During the same period cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana increased 62 percent while the prevalence of child labour in cocoa production among all agricultural households increased 14 percentage points. Attention on this subject has focused on West Africa, which collectively supplies 69% of the world's cocoa, and Côte d'Ivoire, supplying 35%, in particular. The 2016 Global Estimates of Child Labour indicate that one-fifth of all African children are involved in child labour. Nine percent of African children are in hazardous work. It is estimated that more than 1.8 million children in West Africa are involved in growing cocoa. A 2013–14 survey commissioned by the Department of Labor and conducted by Tulane University found that an estimated 1.4 million children aged 5 years old to 11 years old worked in agriculture in cocoa-growing areas, while approximately 800,000 of them were engaged in hazardous work, including working with sharp tools and agricultural chemicals and carrying heavy loads. According to the NORC study, methodological differences between the 2018/9 survey and earlier ones, together with errors in the administration of the 2013/4 survey have made it challenging to document changes in the number of children engaged in child labour over the past five years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoodWeave International</span> Indian non-profit organization

GoodWeave International is a network of non-profit organizations dedicated to ending illegal child labour in the rug making industry. Founded in 1994 by children's rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, it provides a certification program that allows companies that pass inspection to attach a logo certifying that their product is made without child labour. It is an example of a product-oriented multistakeholder governance group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talibe</span> West African youth studying the Quran at a daara

A talibé is a boy, usually from Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mali or Mauritania, who studies the Quran at a daara. This education is guided by a teacher known as a marabout. In most cases talibés leave their parents to stay in the daara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Cambodia</span>

Cambodia is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. The traffickers are reportedly organized crime syndicates, parents, relatives, friends, intimate partners, and neighbors. Despite human trafficking being a crime in Cambodia, the country has a significant child sex tourism problem; some children are sold by their parents, while others are lured by what they think are legitimate job offers like waitressing, but then are forced into prostitution. Children are often held captive, beaten, and starved to force them into prostitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food Empowerment Project</span>

Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.) is a volunteer-based non-profit organization focused on veganism and food justice. Its mission statement is "to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one's food choices." The organization was founded in 2006 by Lauren Ornelas, who continues to lead it. Based in San Jose, California, the F.E.P. opened an additional chapter in Seattle, Washington, in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa production in Ivory Coast</span> Côte dIvoire leads the world in production and export of cocoa

Ivory Coast leads the world in production and export of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of chocolate, as of 2012, supplying 38% of cocoa produced in the world. West Africa collectively supplies two thirds of the world's cocoa crop, with Ivory Coast leading production at 1.8 million tonnes as of 2017, and nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo producing additional 1.55 million tonnes. Ivory Coast overtook Ghana as the world's leading producer of cocoa beans in 1978, and today is highly dependent on the crop, which accounts for 40% of national export income. The primary non-African competitor of Ivory Coast is Indonesia, which went from having almost nonexistent domestic cocoa industry in the 1970s to becoming one of the largest producers in the market by the early 2000s. According to the UN FAO, Indonesia overtook Ghana and became the second-largest producer worldwide in 2006. The World Cocoa Foundation provides significantly lower figures for Indonesia, but concurs that it is the largest producer of cocoa beans outside of West Africa. Large chocolate producers such as Cadbury, Hershey's, and Nestle buy Ivorian cocoa futures and options through Euronext whereby world prices are set.

<i>The Harvest</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

The Harvest is a 2010 documentary film about agricultural child labor in America. The film depicts children as young as 12 years of age who work as many as 12 hours a day, six months a year, subject to hazardous conditions: heat exposure, pesticides, and dangerous work. The agriculture industry has been subject to significantly more lenient labor laws than any other occupation in the United States. As a result, lack of consistent schooling significantly limits their opportunities of succeeding in high school or more. The hazardous conditions threaten their health and lives. The purpose of the documentary is to bring awareness of the harsh working conditions which tens of thousands of children face in the fields of the United States each year and to enact the Children's Act for Responsible Employment which will bring parity of labor conditions to field workers that are afforded to minors in other occupations.

The Dark Side of Chocolate is a 2010 documentary film about the exploitation and slavetrading of African children to harvest chocolate still occurring nearly ten years after the cocoa industry pledged to end it.

Transnational efforts to prevent human trafficking are being made to prevent human trafficking in specific countries and around the world.

Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act) is a United States bill that would address the labor conditions of child field workers by imposing the same age, work hour, and pesticide exposure limits as other occupations and increasing the penalties for child labor violations. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard's introduced the Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act, HR 3564) bill in September 2009 and has subsequently reintroduced it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair trade cocoa</span> Cocoa harvested under a certified process

Fair trade cocoa is an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families. Companies that use fair trade certified cocoa to create products can advertise that they are contributing to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in Nigeria</span>

Child labour in Nigeria is the employment of children under the age of 18 in a manner that restricts or prevents them from basic education and development. Child labour is pervasive in every state of the country. In 2006, the number of child workers was estimated at about 15 million. Poverty is a major factor that drives child labour in Nigeria. In poor families, child labour is a major source of income for the family.

The World Cocoa Foundation is a non-profit membership organization with more than 90 member companies striving to make the cocoa supply chain more sustainable. WCF and its members are criticized for doing too little to end child labor, deforestation and extreme poverty, with their efforts dismissed as “greenwashing” and “a remarkable failure”. WCF's membership includes chocolate manufacturers such as Mondelez International, Nestlé, The Hershey Company and Mars, Inc. cocoa producers and suppliers such as Barry Callebaut, Ofi and Cargill, shipping companies and ports and retailers such as Starbucks.

U. Roberto Romano (1956-2013), also known as Robin Romano, was an American documentary filmmaker, producer, photojournalist and human rights activist. He is known for directing Stolen Childhoods (2005), The Dark Side of Chocolate (2010) and The Harvest/La Cosecha (2010) and for campaigning against exploitative labor practices. In addition to filmmaking, Romano's photography documented child and migrant labor worldwide. The Romano archives are housed at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut.

Ivory Coast is a sub-Saharan nation in West Africa. It is a representative presidential democracy where rights are protected in the constitution, international law, and common law. As a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, it is a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and a signatory to major international human-rights agreements. In 2011, the Second Ivorian Civil War saw increases in violence and human-rights abuses. Although progress has been made towards reconciliation, the trial of former first lady Simone Gbagbo suggests that the root causes have not been addressed; no one has been convicted of crimes against humanity. According to a 2018 Human Rights Watch report, "Ongoing indiscipline by members of the security services and violent army mutinies demonstrated the precariousness of the country’s newfound stability."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Faces of Freedom - Visions of Hope for Child Laborers". Topics, Children and Youth. The World Bank. 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2011-05-27.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Worst Forms of Child Labor Recommendation, 1999". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  3. 1 2 "Convention on the Rights of the Child". United Nations. Archived from the original on 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  4. ↑ "Child Labor in USA". What is USA News. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
  5. ↑ "Rugmark". Media Voices for Children. March 3, 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  6. ↑ "Faces of Freedom". Media Voices for Children. 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  7. 1 2 "Photographic Documentaries, U. Roberto (Robin) Romano". Center of Excellence for Health Professions Development. South Texas College. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  8. ↑ Kate Weber, UNICEF (2011). "Faces of Freedom photo exhibit". Field Notes. United States Fund for UNICEF. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  9. ↑ "Past Events". Faces of Freedom. GoodWeave. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  10. ↑ "The Harvest/La Cosecha, The Story of the Children Who Feed America". Shine Global. 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  11. ↑ Tanklefsky, D (Mar 13, 2009). "Eva Longoria Parker to Executive Produce Child Farm Worker Documentary". Bay Media, LLC. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  12. ↑ "The Harvest". IDFA 2010. IDFA. Archived from the original on 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  13. ↑ Romano, U. Roberto & Mistrati, Miki (Directors) (16 March 2010). The Dark Side of Chocolate (Television Production). Denmark: Bastard Films. Retrieved 28 Apr 2011.
  14. ↑ "Protocol for the growing and processing of cocoa beans and their derivative products in a manner that complies with ILO Convention 182 concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor" (PDF). International Cocoa Initiative. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  15. ↑ "Scores of children rescued from organized slave labour in INTERPOL-led operation conducted by Côte d'Ivoire police". INTERPOL. 3 Aug 2009. Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 28 Apr 2011.
  16. ↑ "Fields of Peril". Publications. Human Rights Watch. 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  17. ↑ Romano, U. R. (2010). "Fingers to the Bone: Child Farmworkers in the US, May 3, 2010". Multimedia. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  18. ↑ "Children in the Fields". media voices for children. 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  19. ↑ Chris Mara (May 3, 2005). "Stolen Childhoods". Full Synopsis. Stolen Childhoods. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
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