The Sunday, April 14th New York Times' Sunday Review Section includes an article titled "Indentured Servitude in the Persian Gulf." http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/sunday-review/indentured-servitude-in-the-persian-gulf.html?ref=opinion&_r=0. After
reading it and summarizing it, comment on the author's views and state yours in the blog. Be ready to discuss the article and the author's and your views before your classmates for extra credit.
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The term “Slavery” is commonly mistaken with the times of segregation among the African American community. Yet little do we know that there is a broader definition of such and that it continues to happen on a daily basis even in countries like the United States. It is consider extortion to pay someone less than the minimum wage required by law in the country resided. The reason why so many manufactures and powerful businesses have relocated over seas in order to acquired the same or more intense labor with much lower pay. One will assume that for the most part an individual will decline a job that breaks the law by offering less than what is stipulated by the government’s minimum pay. Yet for many immigrants who have no legal status or are simply so poor that their family depends on them for survival tend to be the ones accepting such jobs. Desperate moments call for desperate measures and this is one of them. I personally find pathetic how so many companies in the U.S and regular people have being convicted of such crimes. There has being cases of workers kept hostage and given curfews and parameters by which they must obey in order to keep their jobs. These are vulnerable individuals with low education and no legal status in the country. The threat to be sent back or no pay is the primary sources of threat used. Although situations like these are going on world wide I find it extremely odd that in a country like the U.S where so much development takes place we still face such issues. Am very glad the law applies the maximum sentence for such cases, because powerful companies will try to lobby the case so strong as to push it off the court system. Let’s recall that these individuals are victims of abuse. Most of the times they get hired with a promise of payment rather than a sign contract to ultimately be paid half. Individuals and companies that are found guilty of such should not only be penalized but should loose license to practice whichever the employment was. In order to make an example out of every single case for those out there with the intentions to take advantage of the vulnerability of others.
ReplyDeleteThis is so wrong whats going on in Qatar. If your offered a job and sign a contract you should receive whatever you agreed on. What happened to Theresa and many others in Qatar is a crime in my opinion. Theresa was defiantly treated like a slave because she was fed one meal a day and sometimes nothing at all. They over worked that poor women and when she wanted to leave she could not. If that's not slavery I don't know what is. I'm glad that Qatar is under pressure from the human rights and labor advocates, because this needs to stop. The workers in Qatar are modern day slaves. How can they charge a $1000 recruiting fee to these poor people and they only pay them $275 or less a month. Qatar needs to have a minimum wage laws put into place so that they are not able to get away with this. Hopefully thing will change soon in Qatar because no one should have to be a slave.
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