BOLIVIA: Amazon Nuts at Exploitative Prices

Teenia Harmon
10-9-09
3:15
Bolivia is the largest exporter of Brazil nuts that grow best in the jungle climate of the country. To be able to export such large quantities of Brazil nuts, they exploit their workers. This applies not only to adults who work in the fields but also many children. According to one report of the 17,000 that work in the exportation of Brazil nuts, 3,050 were children and 3,400 were adolescents. The workers are paid 11 to 17 dollars a day for 12 to 14 hours of work, often times gathering becomes a family affair that requires whole families to work longer than the legal eight hour day. Not only are they forced to do long hard work, but they also have to endanger themselves in ways that other jobs do not require. Whole families make a long trek through the dangerous jungle carrying heavy loads that could prevent them from protecting themselves. Even if they could there is a constant threat of disease and have to use age old techniques in harvesting using a machete, and carrying around a box for the gathered crop. Despite all these dangers they face every day, they have no accident insurance in case something bad was to happen, or social security to save for their future. If the child workers are lucky they work five days a week from two to seven in the morning, and then they go to school at eight, where they often fall asleep.
This is the second article I have done on harsh labor being a family affair. Last week’s was about brick making in Pakistan. In some ways this one seems worse because the families are dealing with a much harsher natural work environment. I cannot imagine letting my child use a machete for work, or carrying a massive box through the jungle where any number of terrible things could happen, from slipping into a river to coming across a dangerous animal. But at the same time, this one might be better, only because the article says that some of the laboring children do get to attend school. It also mentioned that they usually fell asleep in class, but there is a chance of them getting to learn something and hopefully improve their lives. But the main thing is that child labor in any way shape or form is wrong, especially intense manual labor.