Martin Espada, “Federico’s Ghost” AT WHAT PRICE? Excerpt from “Federico’s Ghost” from Rebellion is the Circle of a Lover’s Hands by Martín Espada. Copyright © 1990 by Martín Espada. Used by permission of Curbstone Press. Martin Espada, “Federico’s Ghost”

This apple doesn’t have a spot on it … Additional Information Between three million and five million laborers leave their homes every year to find work planting, harvesting, and caring for agricultural crops.  The workers face a variety of occupational hazards, including poor sanitary facilities, strained muscles and bones, and exposure to pesticides. More than eight in ten migrant farm workers speak Spanish as a first language. Many are in the country illegally. As a result, they have little power to protest dangerous working conditions. The website for the National Center for Farmworker Health has a demographic profile of the farm worker population. See www.ncfh.org/?pid=4&page=3

… but the apple picker’s lungs do. About the Photo An X-ray of unhealthy lungs. Additional Information Produce growers are obligated by law to keep farm workers out of the fields for a designated amount of time after pesticides are used.  These rules are not always followed, and exposure to pesticides often results in nausea, vomiting, headaches, muscle weakness, and other symptoms.  The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between 10,000 and 20,000 workers suffer from pesticide-related illness every year.

Additional Information  Pesticides pose the greatest risk to children and infants. Exposure to pesticides in utero and/or at critical stages of development has been shown to lead to brain cancer, autism, and birth defects.  In 2005, in the space of two months, three Florida women who had worked in tomato fields while pregnant gave birth to severely deformed babies. Three years later, a judge ordered a large agriculture firm to pay millions of dollars to cover medical care for one of the children. Pesticides keep your produce looking good at the grocery store. They can also leave farm workers disabled with cancer or brain disease.

This soccer ball may have been hand-stitched … Additional Information  In the 1990s, Pakistan accounted for about three-quarters of the world’s soccer ball production.  Thousands of children between the ages of five and 14 worked in the industry, hand-stitching the balls.  Many of these children worked as bonded laborers for employers who had essentially bought their services from their impoverished families. The website for the International Labor Rights Forum has posted information about child labor in Pakistan. See www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/foulball-campaign/pakistan A campaign launched by the International Labor Organization and other groups resulted in an international agreement to curb the use of child labor in Pakistan. Since the signing of this agreement in 1997, 95% of the soccer balls exported from Pakistan are said to be made without child labor.

… by a child. About the Photo  A child in Sisola, India, hand-stitches soccer balls in 2006. The work paid about seven cents for one ball. Additional Information  In 2006, investigations found child labor violations in a Pakistani factory that supplied soccer balls to Nike. Nike cut its ties with the supplier. The decision sent a clear message about child labor, but had painful economic consequences for an impoverished region in Pakistan. For an article about the incident, see www.csmonitor.com/2006/1222/p01s03-wosc.html  A 2008 report indicated that soccer ball production had shifted to India, where child labor abuses were still common. www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/foulball-campaign/news/11737

We can buy soccer balls, carpets, and shirts cheap. Why We can buy soccer balls, carpets, and shirts cheap. Why? Kids in Pakistan, India, and other countries are forced to work for pennies a day. Additional Information Iqbal Masih, a young Pakistani, went to work making carpets at age four in exchange for a $16 advance paid to his parents by his employer.  At the age of ten, Masih escaped and went on to publicize the plight of child laborers around the world. He was murdered in 1995. Many people suspect the carpet manufacturers were responsible for his death.  For more on Iqbal’s life story, see http://childrensworld.org/globalclassroom/page.html?pid=53

A pair of jeans retails for about $20 to $200 … Additional Information  The denim industry in the United States grosses about $13 billion every year.

… yet costs only $7.50 to make. About the Photo  Two garment workers in a factory in Zhongsha, China, use sanding machines to give jeans a distressed finish. Additional Information  Most blue jean manufacturers produce their jeans overseas because it cuts their costs by half or more.  Labor accounts for about a quarter of the cost of producing a pair of jeans. For more on the cost of producing jeans overseas, see www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/03/how_much_does_a_pair_of_jeans.html

And workers get paid only about $1.67 per pair. Additional Information  Most major blue jean manufacturers have been linked to unfair labor practices by subcontractors in foreign countries.  For more on the labor practices of some major blue jean brands, see www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/jeans.html  A 2007 investigation found that some Gap jeans were made by children in India working in bonded labor conditions. Gap was subcontracting work to companies that did not follow humane labor laws. Gap has since stopped the subcontracting.  The United Nations estimated that, in 2007, 20% of India’s gross national product came from child labor. About 55 million Indian children aged five to 14 were working for extremely low wages and not attending school. And workers get paid only about $1.67 per pair.

This rock could be worth a small fortune … Additional Information  In 2007, Americans spent about $39 billion on diamonds.  About half the world’s diamonds come from Africa.

… and it could have cost this boy his hands. About the Photo This 17-year-old Sierra Leonean’s hands were cut off by rebels who attacked his village in 1998. Sierra Leone was in midst of a decade-long civil war, which in large part was a war to control the country’s diamond mines. Additional Information  Since the year 2000, the United Nations has officially recognized that some of the world’s diamond supply is controlled by rebel groups engaged in violent struggles against African governments.  Many of these diamonds were mined using forced labor, and profits from their sale were used to fund military action.  The U.N. report can be found at www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html  Sierra Leone and Angola were two of the worst offenders. Rebel groups used brutal tactics—including the amputation of limbs—to terrorize children into fighting for them.

Americans pay more than $30 billion for diamonds every year. Some of the diamonds come from war-torn regions in Africa, where soldiers drive workers like slaves and use the profits to fund bloody wars. These gems are often called Blood Diamonds. Additional Information  In 2003, a system known as the Kimberley Process was set up under the guidance of the United Nations. Under the system, countries must certify that diamonds were mined under acceptable conditions in order to sell them on the world market.  The Kimberley Process has done a lot to curb the trade of blood diamonds—also called conflict diamonds. But illicit trade still exists, especially from the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe.

When you go shopping, is someone else paying the price? EXPLOITATION When you go shopping, is someone else paying the price? 14

What does it mean to be invisible? put your voice on record RAWWRITE What does it mean to be invisible?

What does it mean to be invisible? Think of something you use every day. Do you know who made it? • soccer balls • sneakers • cell phones • What does it mean to be exploited? • streetcleaners • gardeners • housekeepers • Why do people get exploited? Think of examples. • apples • jeans • jewelry • Do you ever feel invisible? • migrant workers • child laborers • slaves • Who really sees you? • radios • telephones • TVs • Think of something you use every day. Do you know who made it? • soccer balls • sneakers • cell phones • What does it mean to be exploited? • streetcleaners • gardeners • housekeepers • Why do people get exploited? Think of examples. • apples • jeans • jewelry • Do you ever feel invisible? • migrant workers • child laborers • slaves • Who really sees you? • radios • telephones • TVs • Think of something you use every day. Do you know who made it? • soccer balls • sneakers • cell phones • What does it mean to be exploited? • streetcleaners • gardeners • housekeepers • Why do people get exploited? Think of examples. • apples • jeans • jewelry • Do you ever feel invisible? • migrant workers • child laborers • slaves • Who really sees you? • radios • telephones • TVs • Think of something you use every day. Do you know who made it? • soccer balls • sneakers • cell phones • What does it mean to be exploited? • streetcleaners • gardeners • housekeepers • Why do people get exploited? Think of examples. • apples • jeans • jewelry • Do you ever feel invisible? • migrant workers • child laborers • slaves • put your voice on record RAWWRITE What does it mean to be invisible? Photo Credits Images © 2010: ShutterStock, Inc./Alex Staroseltsev: 2; Getty Images/Garry Hunter: 3; iStockphoto/Larysa Dodz: 5; Getty Images/Manpreet Romana: 6; ShutterStock, Inc./crystalfoto: 8; Panos Pictures/Justin Jin: 9; ShutterStock, Inc./roadk: 11; UNICEF/NYHQ1998-0566/Giacomo Pirozzi: 12. Raw Write Prompts (as seen in the background of this slide) Think of something you use every day. Do you know who made it? • soccer balls • sneakers • cell phones • What does it mean to be exploited? • streetcleaners • gardeners • housekeepers • Why do people get exploited? Think of examples. • apples • jeans • jewelry • Do you ever feel invisible? • migrant workers • child laborers • slaves • Who really sees you? • radios • telephones • TVs