Mothers selling children into slavery

amother

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 4:13 am

I just read online about mothers in poor countries selling their kids into slavery. It hurts me so much to hear about this it causes me to fall in into depression just to know that things like this happen in this world. How could a mom sell their child into slavery?

FranticFrummie

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 4:22 am

You can start by not buying sparkly makeup, unless the company can prove to you that the mica was not mined in countries that use child labor. India and China are the biggest offenders, but there are others.

Just because something says "cruelty free", doesn't mean that it was free of cruelty to children.

When mica is mined and processed it passes through many hands during the stages of going from the ground to the makeup companies, so often the makeup companies are not even capable of tracing their sources accurately. The only way to know for sure, is to be "on the ground", and to pay top dollar for your supplies.

When in doubt, buy matte colors, and leave the sparkles out.

If you want to make even more of a difference, reach out to your favorite makeup brand, and tell them that you are an independent reporter (which you are, basically). Ask to see the paper trail behind their mica purchases.

An ethical company will be thrilled to comply, especially if you make a YouTube video about the process, the communication with the company, and your conclusions.

#Boostthesignal

FranticFrummie

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 4:25 am

Oh, and to answer your question: The children are usually happy to have a job, because they feel like they are contributing, and they can't stand to see their parents and siblings starve.

Usually it's the oldest girl who goes out, because there is a new baby sister, and her natural instinct is to provide for it. This is how girls get trapped into zex trafficking.

It's not just something that happens in Dubai or Thailand, either. Ukrainian girls get sent to Israel thinking that they are getting valid work permits to do domestic work, and end up working as pr*stitutes for the Russian mafia.

DrMom

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 5:01 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Because sometimes the choice is between slavery and starvation.

amother

Hotpink

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 7:36 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

No doubt my mother could have done it!!!

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 8:02 am

There is so much suffering and cruelty in the world. Especially it is sad when it is involves kids and babies. There are tragedies in my life not only on the other side of the world. The only thing that saves me from falling apart is my emuna in hashem. of course if I can do something about it I will try to do it (as much as required and allowed of me to do by Halacha).

southernbubby

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 9:04 am

It is already predicted that the outcome of the pandemic will be child slavery and child forced marriage. Apparently in many places, birth control options are either limited, non-existent, or not acceptable to the culture. That's why I agree with Bill Gates who's idea is to use vaccines to lower the infant and child death rates so that women will have small families that have a chance of a decent life. I am not sure how he intends to provide birth control to women who can't provide for their children. Of course, it's hard to change the culture of repeated childbirth, losing children and/or selling them but trying to control both infection and procreation appears to be the best alternative unless the rich people on earth intend to feed them.

behappy2

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 9:31 am

There are many activists working to make a difference in various countries. I tell my kids often how lucky we are and how we are one of the richest ppl in the world. Often we live in our little bubble and hearing these things can make us feel grateful for wht we have.

southernbubby

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 10:02 am

My parents didn't have much money but the Jewish community was generous in terms of JCC and shul membership, summer camp, USY, BBG, Hebrew school, Jewish vocational service, etc. One day, the rabbi of our Conservative synagogue heard about a Jewish family of abandoned orphans and he found a home for each child.
It's hard to imagine how a family would be forced to sell a child when you grow up in a community that doesn't accept leaving any child out.

number

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 10:28 am

southernbubby wrote:

I think he's planning on forced sterilization once they have 2 kids. Like in all the dystopian novels.
Probably sterilization by vaccine. He'll figure it out.

Learning

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 10:52 am

number wrote:

I think he's planning on forced sterilization once they have 2 kids. Like in all the dystopian novels.
Probably sterilization by vaccine. He'll figure it out.

The world is doomed if you do and doomed if you don’t. Mashiach needs to come NOW. And I’m not Chabad:) Sad

southernbubby

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 11:10 am

number wrote:

I think he's planning on forced sterilization once they have 2 kids. Like in all the dystopian novels.
Probably sterilization by vaccine. He'll figure it out.

I have not seen proof of that anywhere except in what anti-vaxers post. So far, there is no vaccine that is guaranteed to prevent pregnancy although I can imagine that there would be an interest in such an approach because many people don't want more (or any) children.
I don't think that the idea is to force sterilization but I don't think that he is at all opposed to encouraging it and I do agree that he believes that it leads to a better life for women and children.
Every life is valuable but I wonder how many rabbonim today would tell women to have children in order to sell them. If the children were truly in danger of starving would we encourage unlimited procreation?

southernbubby

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 11:20 am

On the Gates foundation website it emphasizes that they are offering contraception without coercion. Many women don't even know what is available and don't have access to it and possibly will die if they keep having babies. Look at the website and see what he is trying to accomplish. We take it for granted that everyone has a choice about having a baby.

keym

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 11:33 am

The problem is that we are talking about a culture so far removed from ours, with a value system that we can't relate to at all and we judge the mothers.
A world where a girl born is in best case scenario a burden to tolerate and put up with.
I read an article once about a woman who had a daughter and three sons and then her husband died. Her brothers scrambled to marry her to some cousin so she and her kids could survive. Then she had twin daughters with her new husband. Her husband told her that either she give the older daughter (from the first husband) away to work or he will kill the twin daughters annul the marriage and send this woman and her four children to the streets.
She was 25- with six children, the oldest daughter was 10. Couldn't read or write.
So she gave her daughter. She thought her daughter was going to be sold as a maid in the "big city". In reality her daughter was trafficked to a brothel in India.

So do we blame the mother? Or the culture?

keym

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 11:54 am

sequoia wrote:

Where was this? What country?

Nepal or thereabouts. I don't remember. I read it 5/6 years ago. It stuck in my head. The hopelessness and helplessness of a mother who had no options. She was 25, with 6 kids from 2 different husbands in a male-centric world. Couldn't read or write. Choose sacrificing one child or sacrifice herself and all the children.
And she thought she was doing decent by her daughter- a maid in a big city.
Heartbreaking.
But I can't judge.

number

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 5:15 pm

southernbubby wrote:

Yeah I didn’t mean he’s coercing them. I was just relating his work back to the dystopian novels I used to binge on.

But whatever he comes up with I can see governments making mandatory