Every time I check the origin label of a tshirt, jeans, or pair of sneakers, and find it's Made in Cambodia, or Vietnam, or Bangladesh, I freak out. I imagine little children with shiny beady eyes stitching up the hand-made work on that blouse. I imagine under-nourished, under-paid, mistreated women who stitch up my jeans or pair of Converse, for less than minimum wage, just to feed their families of shiny beady eyes..
Then I feel infinitely guilty for being part of this humanity. Being part of the colonization.
On a lighter note, I do not feel that when my item is made in China, because I think of it as little oompa-loompa robots doing the work.. I think of it as "internal" rather than external colonization; which somehow makes it better for me.
Am I helping the children or the colonies by buying? Am I going to help them by boycotting? How can I change such a sad sad reality? Is "Fair Trade" a reality or is it just a label we stick on our products to feel less guilty drinking that cup of coffee or wearing that beautiful handmade item?
6 comments:
Well I thought about ranting on and on about how bad chinese communism is but I have a headache so I'll just tell you that you're right about FairTrade, it's not a reality, in fact big multinational corporates benefit from this label more than the workers and it's not really decreasing the gap between the rich and the suffering poor, you can think of it as a charity which benefits a small group of workers but at the same time messing up more and more with the economic system built around some industries...........
مشربش الشاي اشرب أزوزة أنا
On a not so serious note, try to look at it differently. Say, if you read the label "Made in Egypt", which we sometimes see, even if rarely. Won't you feel just a tiny bit proud? Think workers finding jobs, bringing money, supporting families..keda ya3ni. So try to replace the visual of the tiny under-nourished children with 3am Sayed with his huge kersh in a big blue overall or set fat7eya doing the sewing machine. Hope that helps :)
For your information, 3am Sayed's factory has been privatized last year and they cut his salary in half to force him to resign because he has been struggling to raise the minimum wage for workers so he can send his son hozombol and his daughter mes3eda to school instead of getting them jobs to help feed the family. 3am Sayed and Fat7eya are also enslaved by Egyptian Capitalists. It's the same struggle all over the world and a change must happen to save the workers....... /me looks at you from above his glasses lenses and says condescendingly: Have you read 'What is to be done?' by comrade Lenin?
I do not defend Chinese communism (and I don't know enough to attack it either! I am definitely against its repression), but I am just saying it at least guarantees basic dignity. In fact, I am now reviewing my argument: is it better to be colonized (or whatever word you choose to use) by our own kind or by an external entity?
why azooza vs. Chai? is it because it's Chinese?
I love how you revealed 3am Sayed's dark reality.
I have not read it no. I am not sure I would agree with all communism principles. But it is not necessarily the devil.
@Zeww-
I have a confession. I do not feel a sense of patriotism as I "should". I just don't see why being born or being a resident of a certain country should make me belong. Humanity I understand, sharing the same beliefs I understand (religion, political party, etc.), but nationality I don't. This can be discussed later :)
You need to shop more in Prada... That should fix it.
so go high-end instead of buying from mid-tier colonies? it might numb my conscience :D
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