Newspaper Page Text
Boycott Hershey until it stops child
slavery, ministers say
;'.Bz NIA NGINA MEEKS
1. Hershey Foods Inc. has
ibeen anything but sweet
ftoward African children
'slaving in cocoa fields
’overseas, a group of black
ministers in Harrisburg,
Pa., is charging. ,
. About 40 churches led
by the Rev. W. Braxton
Cooley Sr., president of
_the Interdenominational
. Ministers Conference of
Greater Harrisburg, have
targeted Hershey as the
Jdocal face of a nightmare
-that affects children in
«West Africa.
1 The lust for cocoa profits
has driven many African
adults to snatch and
enslave African children to
work in the fields along-
Gide families that scrabble
{to earn less than pennies a
:day to support a global
sweet tooth.
. Though Hershey con
ytends that it is working
-with a host of other corpo
irate and | governmental
hagencies to arrest the prob
‘lem, these clergy don't
bbelieve that the 184-year
cold confectioner is doing
senough.
1 “We're talking about cor
“porate responsibility,” Bren
~da M. Alton, a member of
“the ministers’ group told
‘BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“ “When we bite into that
“chocolate bar, we are bit
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- d';'lmn &Mm are W o employes olibege of Geongla
ing into the flesh of our
children.”
The bulk of the world’s
cocoa beans are produced
by four West African
nations: Nigeria, Cameroon,
Ghana and the Ivory
Coast, with the latter sup
plying some 43 percent of
the market.
Children are tasked with
clearing fields, weeding,
maintaining the trees and
applying pesticides, among
other duties. But the
machetes used for clearing
and the toxins meant to
poison pests both prove
hazardous for youngsters -
many of whom are under
14.
While a great deal of
them work beside their
parents, thousands of
other children, ages 9 to
12, routinely are snatched
from their homes, some
times from neighboring
countries, and forced into
labor, according to a 2002
study issued by the Inter
national Institute of Tropi
cal Agriculture. Media
reports about the cocoa
bred slave trade among
West African children
began surfacing as early as
2001.
Hershey spokesman John
C. Long said chocolate
giants around the globe
began conferring with
labor organizations and
others about how best to
Leading the region. Leading the nation.
AUGUSTA FOCUS
attack the problem in
response to the outcry.
The industry is putting
together a monitoring sys
tem, though it is unclear as
to when pilot programs
will be established. But
there is a commitment to
having all farms monitored
for child labor abuses by
July 2005, said Susan S.
Smith, spokeswoman for
the Washington, D.C.-
based Chocolate Manufac
turers Association and the
National Confectioners
Association.
“Hershey Foods has
played a leadership role in
efforts to ensure that cocoa
is grown responsibly,” said
Long, “since reports of
child labor in the Ivory
Coast first appeared.”
Earl Harris, a pastor at
St. Paul Missionary Baptist
Church in Harrisburg, dis
missed Hershey’s responses
as “inadequate, sluggish
and ineffective.” He serves
as second vice president
for the ministers’ confer
ence. “The slavery still
goes on,” said Harris.
“How could we support an
industry that is so callous
that they use babies to
make a profit?”
Global Exchange, a San
Francisco-based social
watchdog group, argues
that fair trade standards
would alleviate the slavery
issue because poverty -the
root of the situation -
would be lessened.
Offering American sub
sidies, much like what
farmers here and other
places receive, would help
farmers earn better wages
and deter the slave trade,
said spokeswoman Melissa
Schweisguth.
I’s an argument the
ministers are echoing.
They noted their chocolate
boycott on Valentine’s
Day, arguing that sweet
indulgences come at too
high a price, and that oth
ers should follow suit.
The ministers gained
support from the South
ern Christian Leadership
Conference, the National
Baptist Convention, fra
ternities and others.
These ministers are gear
ing for a spring meeting
with members of the
Congressional Black Cau
cus, in hopes of adding
legislative muscle to their
cause.
That's not to ‘say
though that the ministers
represent a united front.
Both local branches of
the NAACP and the
Urban League declined
to be involved. Ditto for
the local African-Ameri
can Chamber of Com
merce.
That’s because some
say this battle is but an
outgrowth of earlier dis-
agreements, such as minor
ity hiring and procurement
at the Harrisburg Interna
tional Airport.
Hershey, as a Fortune
500 company and one of
the largest employers in
the area, could have exer
cised more pressure in
those areas, too, the minis
ters have said.
“This issue did not start
with West Africa,” said
Fredrick A. Clark, an area
consultant who is black
and works with Hershey
Foods. “(The ministers)
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April 15, 2004
have other issues that are
personal and not related to
progressing the issue of all
people of color.”
The ministers dis
agree, saying that they
have focused their
efforts on one point,
bringing light to a
moral outrage.
“The picture being
produced is that the
matter is under con
trol,” Harris said.
“They have chosen to
ignore it.”
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