Slave labor persists in Amazon charcoal works: ICC

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Around 12 percent of Brazil's Amazon charcoal works still uses slave labor despite a major crackdown since 2004, the regional industry watchdog, Citizens' Coal Institute (ICC), said.

Charcoal from the region's works is supplied to local producers of pig iron, a raw material for steelmaking.

Brazil's Carajas region in the Amazon is one of the world's major pig iron exporting centers, with exports of around 6 million tonnes per year. The Carajas region has a total of 1,500 charcoal works, according to the ICC.

"Great progress has been made, with the shutting down of 316 charcoal works that committed infractions," said Claudia Brito, ICC technical director, late on Friday.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN2743662520070827

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So we still trade with several country's that have slavery.

[StifledFits]

1. At this point...

is it suprising?

[Judi Lynn]

2. One slave worker is far, far too many. How can this happen? How can any businessman/woman

allow himself to be so filthy he would STEAL a worker's life from him, and spend the money the slave's labor made for him on himself?

How long is this kind of evil going to last, anyway? Look what it does to these workers' lungs! To think some of them make no money at ALL for this crime against them, their families, and the whole world itself is so sad.

~~~~ click for photo ~~~~
I'd like to know what purpose there is to any of this. How can it happen? Our business oriented Republicans would no doubt tell us it's none of our business, since the owners are entitled to make a profit! Hey, you can't legislate morality, can you? Keep government off the back of business. We all wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Holy Trickle Down Theory. God love the big business guys.

Maybe the poor should simply be kept busy, and out of sight, so as to not embarrass the rest of us. We have our images to consider.