Invisible Chains - Part 1

All that it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing
- Edmund Burke

I popped by the library today because one of my holds was ready for pick up. The entire first season of GLEE. I need to see what the big deal is!!

In the hold section, was another book I had requested. "Invisible Chains"

This was a book that had come up with a book club I'm trying to participate in. (I say trying because I've not successfully attended a meeting yet and this book was from last month, yet my library hold only surfaced today). I'm working on it.



I hope to read & comment here, much as I did with "Half the Sky".

Invisible Chains is a book about Canada's human trafficking issues. In Canada you ask? Um, sadly - yeah. It's kind of huge here. A country that prided itself as being a destination for freed & runaway slaves - a product of the underground railway of long ago, is now once again a destination. This time for traffickers.

My eyes are being opened and my heart saddened as this book describes places I'm familiar with; cities I've called home... Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and numerous smaller cities and towns. The victims are foreign and Canadian citizens. This scares me.

The issue is so much closer to home than I could have ever imagined and until 2005, there was no Criminal Code offense of human trafficking. The book describes Canada's record in dealing with human trafficking as lethargic.

I hope to learn more.

Buzz Word

I have had a few interviews over the last few years. I joked to my husband that I am becoming a professional interviewee and while at times I know I am just a filler candidate (they already have someone else in mind prior to the interview, but must follow due process), I say I never mind the practice. It’s good experience.

One thing I’ve learned from this is that interviewers are looking for certain key words in your answers. Generally educators interviewing educators is going to make for a very lengthy interview – long winded meets long winded – the more concise I can make my point, using these words, the better.

The key words give an indication that I actually know what I’m talking about – or at least have done the right reading etc. These buzz words exists for most every topic and I use them myself to know where people’s interests and knowledge base lie.

I am in the process of needing a new cell phone (or cell phone plan anyway). We’ve been nearly 8 months in our new province and my out of province cell plan is finally expiring (there was no benefit to trying to cancel it). When I’m doing my shopping around, I am interested to know who may carry refurbished phones that do not involve supporting the continued retrieval of conflict minerals (yes, your sweet cell phone contains a triad of minerals that were undoubtedly retrieved through means that would make your heart sink). The key word here is conflict minerals – the 3 T’s – Tin, Tungsten and Tantalum. Did you know Tungsten is responsible for the vibrate feature on your phone??

These 3 minerals alone earn Congolese armed groups an estimated $95 million dollars per year through trade. Gold (for jewelry & other electronic components) adds $44-$88 million trade dollars all going to fuel a war that has killed millions, (estimates are as high as 45,000 people dying each month), seen thousands of women & girls violently raped, and children & grown adults kidnapped and forced to be a part of the armies or become slaves in the mining industry that provides these minerals to the massive companies that make cell phones & other electronic devices.

So, I am realistic and know we are not going to successfully ask everyone to give up their schmancy phones. In this society? Not going to happen. But it would be nice to be able to ask a phone distributor what they offer in terms of conflict free options and not get a blank stare. Most of them have no clue what the buzz word is here.

Sadly, I think change must come from our governments and that may not happen without pressure from the consumer. Environmental lobbyists worked hard to get attention. Now there are policies, bills and grave consequences for businesses that cannot meet environmental standards. New recycling options are becoming available all the time and making green choices is an acceptable (and desirable) practice.

We’ve made our government acknowledge that our planet is not sustainable unless we step up and create balanced limitations – hopefully it is not too little too late. Now, we need to speak up again.

If those who govern us would set up policy that these organizations must follow fair trade standards for all minerals acquired, the fuel for much of the DRC/Congo conflict would be nonexistent. I might pay more for my cell phone, but isn’t that worth it to know it didn’t involve someone else’s forced blood & tears?

A solicitor came by my house a few days ago trying to get me geared about the local politician he was representing. He asked if I had any questions for said candidate. I said, I’d like to know where he stands on social justice, foreign trade policy, fair trade agreements and human trafficking. BLANK STARE.

Next, I wanted to ask about the cell phone the candidate likely carried – however I didn’t, I felt my point was already made.

Kindred Sisters

This post will take a slightly different tone today as my heart is weighing heavy.

A dear friend’s little girl fell through some ice on Monday. CPR was done and after a time her heart started to beat again. She was rushed by air to the hospital where they are continuing to keep her body cool and monitor absolutely everything.

From the moment we got the call, my husband and I have been to the hospital many times and in constant prayer.

Joining us at the hospital were some other friends that we have known for so long and I realized I am part of something very special that I’m not sure if too many people can say they share.

There is a group of us. We grew up at the same camp, at the same youth events and many of us at the same church. There is a culture of community even though I can’t say honestly I have always been close to all of them; my friend whose daughter is tragically ill is likely my closest friend in the bunch. How wonderful to know each other’s children, when we know we played together at the same age as each of our oldests! (We roomed together at camp when we were 8).

This group of ladies is quite scattered now. We are in multiple provinces, many cities across those provinces, down into the USA and even as far as Barbados. Occasionally we all show back at the church we are connected to in Wpg and we marvel at each other’s kids, we hug and we catch up – often from where we left off the last time. Some of us have been in each other’s life 25 -30 years! You don’t just come by connections like that every day.

Even with the distance, there are many phone calls, emails, letters in the mail etc. I have kept cards of encouragement over the years from these ladies and in turn I have tried to bless them when I am able.

When a need arises (such as one of our own is facing now), I know this group is full of hearts that are breaking as mine is – they are rejoicing when there is news that is good and praying oh so hard! To have familiar faces in a hospital room; faces that have been familiar for such a long time, I hope is reassuring.

We cannot take the pain from our friend, we cannot take the fear, we cannot assure the unknown that we just do not know, but we can be there.

There are a few of us from that original group who live close. We have been able to help in the small ways, the practical ways. And we will continue to help – we just don’t know how long this journey will be or the extent of what it will entail.

This has made me think about this special group we are a part of. It is family really. We’ve had our differences over the years and our moments of hurt and celebration with each other and now with each other’s families. I am feeling so blessed to know each of these ladies and to know the love & support is there even from so far away.

Those of us who are close will do what we are able to do here, but knowing our sisters are praying and keeping our friend and her family tight in their hearts is such a comfort.

Be Kind

These 2 little words constitute so many foundational principles. I recall when our oldest was tiny; it was these words along with Be Careful that would be a precursor to nearly every outing.

I took this same boy (now so much bigger) to check out a new school recently. The administration looked at the eager faces of prospective students and said "We only have 1 rule in this school, it’s “Be Kind”". We heard this repeated a few times throughout the evening – to the point it got a little old and I realized essentially what they were saying was all the other rules still apply, we’ll just boil it down to how breaking any of those is somehow not being kind – therefore, don’t do it.

Having 3 small children, I try to interpret what an adult is saying to my child by way of considering what my child actually hears. At one point in the evening a staff person did not like my son and his friend play kicking at each other (as boys do – it was nothing extreme in any way). She said “Boys, don’t do that, one of you might get hurt, then it would no longer be kind. Our only rule here is to be kind – you can do anything else you want here as long as you are kind”.

My son of course heard “You can do anything you want as long as you are kind” So! He thought this was the school for him. He told me, he can run in the halls, he can be loud; he can do ANYTHING he wants because that is what he heard. I could totally envision him arguing that with teachers and any other staff who chose to challenge him. In the end, I don’t think this school is such a great fit.

We are all taught at an early age to “Be Kind”. It’s one of those golden preschool rules that should not lose its emphasis as we get older, yet somehow it does.

Easter is a significant season for those of many faiths. We believe that Christ showed the ultimate kindness (that word doesn’t do it justice nearly at all) through the crucifixion and resurrection.

I don’t know the history of the bunny or where it comes into play (I’m not going to research it here if that’s okay – too much of a digression, but if you know, leave a comment with a summary for me). Chocolate also is connected (again, I don’t know the significance, unless it is just a marketing thing in that chocolate works for any & every occasion).

So Easter is like playing a bit of duck, duck, goose – except lets call it Kind, Kind, UnKind.
Death & resurrection of Jesus – Ultimate Kind
Easter bunny & chocolate treats – Kind
Easter dresses, hats, flowers, traditional celebrations etc – Oh, most definitely kind!
Making those cute little chocolate bunnies & eggs – UNKIND

I’m sorry; there is nothing cute, cuddly, kind, fluffy, beautiful, kind, yummy, pleasant or kind about child labor. But that’s how we get our chocolate.

So, do we work to reflect kindness by our actions or our words? What if (like U-pick strawberry farms), we could go right to the source. Would you still buy that chocolate if you knew it came at a very high, very harmful cost to a child somewhere across the world? If your eyes saw and your ears heard, would that 1 pound bunny in your child’s eager hand Easter morning still hold the same appeal? Is it worth the money you paid for it?

Still don’t believe me? Google “chocolate child labor” and see what comes up.

This BBC article summarizes it well. The video version if you have a few minutes; part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.

I will admit. I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks back and I purchased a small chocolate bunny & a few chocolate eggs for each of my kids. I really wish I hadn’t. I wish I had taken a few of my previous posts to heart and done my research first. I knew a bit, of course, but like I said in a post long ago, it’s like my fingers were still in my ears and I was humming a little bit too loud to really pay attention.

This is a complicated topic and one that will require lots of thought – and research. Fair trade IS increasing in accessibility, but there’s still a long way to go. We, the consumers, have the chance to really show kindness by letting the mass producers know we don’t like this. Supporting the fair trade businesses will show with our actions that we have a social responsibility to be kind. Even when we may never see who we are being kind to.