Dear Shiv Sir,

After reading the principles of FAIR TRADE the concept of FAIR TRADE is much more clear to me. Now i am very much excited about fair trade. I am known about what is there to be done in fair trade. Its good that i am a part of this class and i will contribute to the society of what i get from this class..
Thank u Sir for making me a part of this class.

Dear Shiv Sir

Fair Trade is one of the most unique courses that I have come across. The concept of Fair Trade to help establish people who can be prospective entrepreneurs and who have a weak financial background is actually very different. The principles that Fair Trade has been following are the principles that are helpful and always beneficial for the society. Apart from this I really like the objective that Fair Trade has created for itself and to become a part of this will be my privilege. Finally I would like to thank U Sir for accepting me as the member of the group.

Thanking You

Greetings to all!

After today’s introductory session on ‘Fair Trade’ I’ve come to the realisation that after decades of capitalistic commerce/ trade where profits were the primary concern/ directive of business, Fair Trade takes into account the human side to build a better working environment.

Fair trade creates opportunities for the economically disadvantaged, promotes transparency and accountability, build long-term relationships based on solidarity, trust and mutual respect and enforce socially acceptable norms for business.

I am looking forward to learn more about ‘Fair Trade’ in the coming months and hope we all can take the positives of the same.


-d

Dear Shiv Sir,


After getting acquainted to Fair Trade, a glimpse of the program has been understood by me. I understood that the program involves practical implication which is directed for the welfare of the society. I am really excited to get indulge in this program as i am sure that it will help me to enhance my knowledge.

GREETINGS TO ALL.................


I was more interested when got to know that the program is directed to the welfare of the people. It is directed towards the upliftment of the problems faced by society. A direction to solve the problems will lead to better living standard and indirectly will lead to development of the nation.
I am very excited to learn more about fair trade and I am very thankful to Shiv Sir who gave me the opportunity to be part of this program.

Good Day,
I am interested in learning about fair trade and its effect that it can have on society, on a country and a nation as a whole. I’ve just seen the Documentary: The Dark Side of Chocolate and the situation to me brought me sadness. The conditions that these young children are put through on a daily basis, the choices that they do not have or are given to make between education or unfair labor, which results in slavery, is sad to me. We take for granted the little things we are given, often spoiled to make a choice between not wanting something or wanting to much of something when others have nothing or cannot make decisions for themselves is still bewildering to me. I sit here in frustration, wanting to make a change, eager to learn more on how?

~Jay

Hello,

I am a student in Professor Combellick's Entrepreneurship, Fair Trade and Social Justice class at Fordham in New York. It is nice to meet you all and I hope I am responding in the right place!

A few points jumped out at my while watching the Films For Action documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate." Many employees and executives of cocoa companies both started out adamantly dismissing the possibility of child labor in the plantations that supply their cacao. For example, early on in the video, Patrick, a VP of European distribution for Barry Callebaut stated that the practice of using child labor/slaves had been abolished since 2008. Later, Ali Lakiss, a CEO of SAF Cacao, echoed that sentiment and added that after many investigations no children had ever been rescued from plantations and there were 0 cases of child slavery reported, to his knowledge.

Later on in the video, we find out that Interpol had very recently rescued 65 children from East African plantations, and arrested 8 traffickers. Ali Lakiss admits he was aware of this recent activity, which runs completely opposite of what he said earlier. He admits there is a problem, but goes on to express how detrimental it would be "to the entire world" if the chocolate industry was forced to change or stop production.

I think one of the reasons child labor persists in cacao plantations is aversion to change. If a company can make millions/billions using their current business model, it is easy to continue business as usual and scary to consider changing. According to the documentary, plantations are paid 1 euro/kilo of cacao bean by the washing/processing plants, and the processing plants are paid 2 euro/kilo of processed cacao by distribution companies. After an end user company, such as Nestle, uses the cacao, they are able to turn that same 1 kilo into 40 chocolate bars. The profit margins for these transactions appear large, and it would not be in Nestle's best profit-interests to alter course.

Another issue is the fiduciary duty that American companies have to their stock holders. An American company is legally bound to maximize shareholder interests and maintain profit motive. The ultimate goal of a corporation is to make as much money as they can, which increase the net worth of a company, which in turn increases stock value and shareholder interest. By this principle, pursuing any course of action that may reduce corporate value /stock value, such as paying more for cacao in the case of the chocolate companies, could be construed as negatively impacting the bottom line. It can actually be argued that stopping child slavery at the plantations is illegal, in terms of fiduciary duty to shareholders! The problem is inherent in the capitalist structure, and more complicated than U.N. mandates could possibly hope to correct.

Hello,

I am also a student in Professor Combellick's Fair Trade: Entrepreneurship class at Fordham University. Nice to meet you all.
I recently watched "The Dark Side of Chocolate" documentary, and here's what I thought:

I was aware of the use of child labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry; however, watching the documentary, “The Dark Side of Chocolate,” has helped me realize how ignorant I was of the reality of the matter. It was depicted in the film that almost all companies in the chocolate industry accept that child labor and trafficking is horrible, but are doing next to nothing to prevent it. While the largest chocolate manufacturers have signed the Harkin- Engel Protocol of 2001, promising to end the use of child labor and child trafficking in the cocoa industry by 2008, journalists have found evidence which indicates that this is not the case.

In fact, child trafficking is still prevalent in Mali. According to Idrissa Kanté, the general secretary of the driver’s union in Sikasso, in 2008 and 2009, he “discovered over 150 children that were being trafficked” to the cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast. During an interview with one of the rescued children, Mariam, when asked how her parents will react when she returns home, she replies by saying that her parents “will be angry” that she didn’t come home with money. It is heartbreaking to learn that poverty has affected these families so much that these families are becoming desensitized to the values of familial love. It is sad to learn that poverty has caused these families to condone child trafficking, and that some are even willing to sell their own children. In addition, it is later mentioned that sometimes the plantation owners come to the village market, to take the children away without letting the parents know. These children have to live with the fear that they can be taken away any day. I was amazed at how immoral people can become when driven by greed and money.

Furthermore, another point that I found tragic is the corruption within the Ivorian government. When the documentary stated that the Ivorian government showed interest upon hearing of the investigation led by the journalists, I had initially thought that maybe the government was going to help the journalists. However, it was shocking how the government tried to hide the occurrence of child trafficking. When the journalist brought up the problem of child labor, the man “officially in charge of the fight against child labor” responds by saying that child labor “is not a problem” since they (the government) “know what’s happening and know how to deal with it.” He continues on to say that there are no work (in the cocoa industry) in July to September, so the children on the buses, coming to the Ivory Coast are simply coming on “vacation.”

It was shocking to hear the Ivorian government official imply that these children, being trafficked, are actually coming to the Ivory Coast for a “vacation.” He also implied that because there exists laws prohibiting child labor and trafficking, there are no more child labor and trafficking. In order to check the validity of the official’s claims, the journalists went to the plantations to investigate. They found several children working and some were even carrying machetes. It is extremely sad that people are aware of the fact that child labor and trafficking is occurring, but are choosing to ignore, or deny the practice of it. It is scary how wicked people can become when driven by money.

After watching the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate" it is hard to choose which parts of the video were the strongest, as most of it was equally disturbing. First of all I was shocked by the the man who they referred to as "The right hand of the Ivory Coast's president" and his apparent denial of child trafficking. Similarily, I was shocked by Ali Lakiss's dismissal of the claims of child slavery/trafficking.

I find it unbelivable that these people, who are clearly aware of the crimes that are happening, are playing dumb. To be able to do these things to children and lie about it straight to someone's face takes a serious lack of character and any type of ethics. I can't believe that these are the people who are in power in these countries. Ali Lakiss is making millions of dollars in profits every year off of child slavery, and no one is stopping him. In fact the people who should be looking into solving the problem are denying that there is a problem in the first place. The Ivorian government man tried to explain away the situation by saying that the kids were not being trafficked but were actually on "Vacation"

Another and totally different thought I had about the documentary was when they were interviewing the kids working on the plantation and the kid they found at the bus stop after being trafficked into the Ivory Coast.

Why did these guys making the documentary not try and help these kids? At the bus stop there was a kid who had just been kidnapped and trafficked across the border all by himself and they left him there? That does not make sense to me. I would like to think that if I ran into several children being held as slaves working on a plantation I would try and get them out of there as quickly as possible. I understand that these men are making a documentary but that dosen't relieve you of your duty as a human being to stop slavery that you are witnessing firsthand and any harm that is being done to children.

Hello everyone! My name is Gabriela, and I am a student in Dr. Combellick's Entrepreneurship and Fair Trade class as well. Here are some of my reactions to the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate":

One of the most riveting parts of the video for me was the interview with the boy who was a victim of child trafficking. For the viewer, there is a sense of helplessness that really hits home because he or she knows that there is nothing that can be done to help this boy who was only trying to help raise his family out of poverty by traveling to the Ivory Coast. The issue becomes very real through this example, as well as through the use of secret cameras that really expose the most shocking footage of the child trafficking industry.

I found these scenes to be a shocking reminder of the miscommunication and lack of cooperation at an international level to combat the issue of child labor. Instead of acknowledging the issue, the international community seems to be shrugging their shoulders at it. This is why the videographers should be commended, because unlike the chocolate makers and authorities who decide to turn their heads the other way and deem the problem as unsolvable, they decided to be proactive and do something to expose it. The telling footage is an indication of the disfunctionality of the legislation currently in place, such as the Harkin-Engle protocol in 2008, and proves that more needs to be done to eliminate the cycle of child labor that is occurring between the Ivory Coast and neighboring countries.

Another scene that I would like to point out is the interview with the SAF-CACAO CEO Ali Lakiss. At first, the head of the company denies that there was any child trafficking going on in the Ivory Coast, and even invites Miki Mistrati to go see for himself that there were no children working in the plantations. When he does visit, however, he and his team find that there are in fact many children working there, most of who are not getting paid anything, and were sold to the plantations for only around 200 euros. Upon showing this footage to the CEO a second time, he does end up admitting that there is a problem, but says that it is being addressed by the authorities. However, in a subsequent interview with the chief public officer who is supposed to be working on combating the problem in the Ivory Coast, it is proven that this is unfortunately not the case.

One of the things that is most shocking to me is the unwillingness on the part of cocoa manufacturers to take responsibility and address the issue in the industry. I think that there are many benefits to chocolatiers to become certified fair trade, because they will be recognized as responsible by the consumer. More importantly, however, if more companies begin to ensure that their plantations are free of child labor, others will follow suit and the issue can ultimately be eliminated. This move by the chocolate manufacturers and distributors, however, cannot be possible without the cooperation of the government with private industry owners. Change can only occur with the acknowledgement that there is a problem, and the initiative to actually do something to fight the child labor trade.

I am a student in Professor Combellick's Fair Trade: Entrepreneurship class at Fordham University. Nice to meet you all.
I watched "The Dark Side of Chocolate" documentary, and here are my thoughts and reactions:

Some parts of this documentary that stood out to me the most was the fact that many European corporate officials claimed to be unaware of the child trafficking going on in the west coast of Africa and seemed to actually be indifferent towards the possibility of this horror being true. While the children in the Ivory coast suffered unfair pay and grudging work hours working to harvest the cocoa, children and adults from the first world enjoyed the fruits of the hard labour performed by these impoverished children. Patrick Hautfenne, corporate official of Swiss Chocolate giant; Barry Callebaut seemed extremely insincere and seemed unaffected when asked if he believed this trafficking was existent. As he ended his conversation expressing that trafficking is a cruelty that must end, he rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders indicating, he had no sympathy for this topic or for the thousands of children suffering from this dilemma.

Another part of this documentary that stood out to me is how we had a chance to witness this trafficking in action via the narrator's hidden camera. The first girl seen in the documentary was fortunate enough to not have been forced or smuggled, however when questioned, this young girl seemed sad not because she was headed into a dangerous situation, but simply because her family would be angry with her if she didn't make money to bring home. This has me realizing that even at such a young age as 12 years old, Children are being lured to horrible jobs, being offered unfair pay and working long hours simply because their families are so desperate for the funds that this work will provide. These manufacturers know well, that these working conditions are inhuman however, the poverty and desperation of these families makes it easy for these chocolate giants to uses them as pawns to pay little for the cocoa however sell this cocoa for a profit.

What also drew a reaction from me is that these families have become so desperate for a means of income that they no longer care about the health and safety of their children, but rather would choose money over the wellbeing of their family. In this case, we are forced to realize that many of these families really have no choice but to end their children off and accept this job to harvest cocoa for a below fair pay. Why is it that this would never be accepted in a first world country, however it is so widely accepted and shrugged about in third world countries. Why is that these chocolate giants see no reason to treat these third world countries with the same respect it would treat a first world country?

The one thing that brought my spirits up about this documentary was the few children that had the fortune to be rescued every once in a while. It shows me that not everyone takes advantage of a third world vulnerability. However, there are thousands of children suffering this fate everyday, sometimes you wonder, where do we start if we want to officially end this trafficking for good? Is it even possible to do so?

After watching this documentary, I realize that I want no part in this. If I had learned of this years ago I would have decided to make fair trade part of my everyday life. I don't think I can ever look at another piece of chocolate the same or with joy and excitement. When I look at a piece of chocolate I will be thinking about the many africa children who have to slave on fields to make this possible for me to eat one stupid, candy bar. Is it worth it? I think not.

Hello,

I am also a student in the Fair Trade and Entrepreneurship class at Fordham. The documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate, really opened my eyes to the ongoing struggle to end child trafficking and slave labor in the chocolate industry. Before viewing the documentary, I had read a few articles about human trafficking, but there is a huge difference between reading speculative articles about slave labor in third world countries and actually seeing a child being tricked into leaving their family to work on a plantation with no hope of a better future.

One of the most powerful scenes for me to watch was the interview with a child trafficker who spoke so casually about the practice of smuggling children across the border to work. First, he stated that one person could not be held completely accountable because different people are involved in taking the children to different places where they are passed on to the next trafficker. He then stated that anybody living on the coast that claims that they are not involved in human trafficking is a liar.

It was extremely hard to listen to him speak so casually about such a terrible action. When I first saw the interview, my gut reaction was that he has to be a sociopath because it would be impossible for any person with a conscience to be involved in any way with human trafficking, let alone the trafficking of children. However, after reflecting on the conversation, I was struck even more by the idea that there are people in the world today who are living in such severe poverty that human trafficking has become a reasonable career path. What is even harder to comprehend is how little the compensation is for such a terrible act. The traffickers living on the Ivory Coast are ruining children's lives to make just enough money to survive in severe poverty. However, the executives of the chocolate companies are making excessive amounts of money at the cost of children’s lives. I researched the CEO of Nestle and found that his yearly compensation is over six million dollars. It is hard to believe that any board of directors could be willing to employ child slaves to keep labor prices low but turn around and pay another employee such an unnecessary amount of money.

I was also struck and infuriated at the interview with Ali Lakiss, the owner and CEO of SAF-CACAO. Ali adamantly confirmed that there were absolutely no children working on plantations in the Ivory Coast. He went on to state that committees had performed investigations, which proved that no children were working on plantations. During the interview, the documentary switched to footage of children working on cocoa plantations carrying machetes.

It is hard to believe that the CEO of one of the world’s largest cocoa distributors has absolutely no idea that human trafficking is such a huge part of the cocoa industry. This being said, I am convinced that he has chosen to turn a blind eye to the practice in order to turn over large profits. The documentary stated that SAF-CACAO brings in one hundred thirty-five million dollars worth of profits every year. It is tremendously disheartening to know that greed and corruption is so rampant in society that people would be willing to put profits and revenues before another human’s life.

I am a student in Professor Combellick's Fair Trade class at Fordham University. I also watched "The Dark Side of Chocolate" documentary and have a few reactions.

"The Dark Side of Chocolate" documentary allowed me to see the child labor problems present in the chocolate industry on the cocoa plantations. I learned that the Ivory Coast is the world’s largest chocolate producer and there is trafficking from Mali into the Ivory Coast. What surprised me is that at the chocolate convention, so many owners and professionals had “no idea” about child trafficking. I viewed their responses as dishonest and covering up their knowledge of the subject.

The documentary portrayed the poverty and poor conditions in the country of Mali. The roads were dirt. The children in the village looked sad. It was heartbreaking to see that many of the traffickers kidnap the children without their parents knowing. Another heartbreaking story was of Mariam Marico, a twelve-year-old that was bribed to go to the Ivory Coast because she would make money. She said her parents would be angry if she did not come home with money. This was a tragic story that truly shows the child’s view of what she is doing. Another child was crying waiting at the border. The emotion depicted in this film was heartbreaking and eye opening.

Another shocking revelation was that a trafficker himself admitted to child trafficking and said people that denied their professions were liars. The traffickers make so much money and many of the children do not get paid for their labor. Many plantation owners deny the child labor when the children are working on the plantation doing heavy work. Children also claim that the owners beat them if they do not work and chase them if they try to run astray.

The most shocking issue is that chocolate manufactures ignore the child labor issues. They should acknowledge and take action, but most deny seeing and commenting on their film, "The Dark Side of Chocolate." The companies claim they “do not have direct control.” It is shocking and disappointing to see such powerful companies stand back and clearly avoid the situation. With the money and power these companies have, it is surprising to see avoidance. This film changed my view of the chocolate industry. It has opened my eyes to all the problems that children face in trafficking. I am confused as to why the companies would avoid this issue when it is so prevalent in the industry. It upsets me to know they put their profits over what is right and just.

Hi,

I'm also a student in Professor Combellick's Fair Trade and Entrepreneurship class at Fordham University. Watching the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate" definitely was an eye opening experience to the corruption and injustice that takes place both in business and the world in general.

The first thing that stuck out to me, which has been mentioned above, was the prices at which farmers were compensated for their beans. The documentary states that farmers are paid 1 euro per kilo of beans, which translates into 40 chocolate bars. Considering that most people pay about that amount per chocolate bar, the retail mark-up is incredibly significant.

The second thing that I found to be particularly disturbing was the fact that the corporate heads of major chocolate companies refused to take responsibility for the exploitation of child labor in the chocolate industry. Only when the interviewers were persistent with their questioning did those in corporate finally admit that there as a problem. Even after this admission, these major chocolate companies tried to rid themselves of any guilt by saying that they were not directly involved with the production of coffee beans.

Looking at the price of buying coffee beans, I find it extremely disappointing that the farmers of these beans have no bargaining power. The chocolate corporations are in a huge position of power. They are put in such a disadvantage with their economic situation that they seem to be forced into a position to take however amount of money they can get. As a result, it would appear that because these farmers aren't adequately paid, the exploitation of child labor becomes more prevalent.

Shifting the focus over to the major corporations that produce the chocolate, I find it upsetting that these companies seem to do nothing to stop the corruption within the chocolate industry. While companies like Nestle, Mars, and others have all signed a protocol to stop the use of child labor in the production of chocolate, their actions have gone no further.

The documentary, "The Dark Side of Chocolate," is a tragic tale of the consequences of production in third world countries. The focus of the documentary was the cocoa trade and the utilization of child labor in the production of chocolate products by all the major chocolate brands. It details corruption and utter dismissal of human rights. Furthermore the documentary spotlights the blatant denial of any labor or child trafficking violations by all of the high ranking officers that work at these corporations.
In the video, Ali Lakiss, the CEO and owner of SAF-Cacao assures no children are used at the plantations on the Ivory Coast. Oddly enough, a visit to the plantations proves otherwise and brief secret recording shows several children working in the fields. Many of the kids were younger than 10 years of age and most had machetes which made it obvious that they were there to work. Mr. Lakiss claims to have grown up in the cocoa business and has dedicated his life to the trade so it is unlikely that he could truly be ignorant to the means of production especially since it has a direct impact on his firm's profit margins.
In the US, the main focus of outsourced labor and manufacturing to third world nations is about the loss of jobs domestically. Sadly however, the true loss falls upon the people in those third world nations who are subjugated to slave labor and corrupt government. The corruption is so obvious in the brief footage collected by the secret reporters along the route to the Ivory Coast. The boarders are guarded, but there are other roads that lead to the Ivory Coast that are left completely unguarded rendering border patrol ineffective. Furthermore, there is evidence that the state actually hires militias to prevent any intervention by the locals along these child trafficking routes.
This video shows the negative impacts of the capitalist system and the desire of firms to maximize profits at any cost. I am not at all surprised by what was shown in the video, but I do believe that the system must be changed and enforced in the first world countries in order to make a difference in third world nations. The exportation of goods with few access points such as oil or precious metals leads to exploitation and limits the expansion of such nations. In order for things to change, there has to be rapid industrialization and urbanization in these third world nations until they are able to become at least somewhat self-sufficient. At this point civil wars will die down and poverty will decrease. However, this cannot occur until the first world nations limit their exorbitant demand for these products at a low price and agree to accept only fair trade certified products.

Hello everyone! I'm Samuel Lee and I too am a student of Kate's Fair Trade course held in Fordham University. I'm very new to the world of Fair Trade and I guess the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate" was a great way to really introduce the problems the world faces with Fair Trade laws and regulations.
The first thing that caught my attention was the Harkin-Engel Protocol. The Protocol was signed in 2001 by major chocolate manufacturing factories and stated that "child labor and the trafficking of children are prohibited in the cocoa industry after 2008." For seven more years after the the major cocoa industries signed the Protocol child labor and child trafficking was legal. I'm a bit confused to why the protocol allowed these companies to allow child labor for seven more years after they signed it in 2001. I understand that these companies need to "adjust" to the new changes, but seven years seem far too long. It upsets me to know that even after these companies decided to "end" child labor and the trafficking of children, they still needed that "last smoke" in order to quit.
What upset me more was who was denying the facts about the trafficking of children the cocoa industry. Ali Lakiss, the owner and CEO of SAF-CACAO, and the Ivorian President's right hand man, who is also in charge of fight against child trafficking, were both denying the reality of child trafficking in the industry to a certain extent. Lakiss assured that there were no children working on the plantations he gathers cocoa from. Proof was later shown to him that his statement was false and there were children working. The Ivorian President's right man hand is well aware of the fact that child trafficking does exist, but he tries to assure the people that he does have it under control. He states the the cocoa plantations only operate after September and end before July and any child found on these buses during those times are in no danger of being trafficking into work. Unfortunately that is not true since children were found working on these plantations all year around. And also does it not concern them that these children were going on these buses during these times by themselves? I mean that itself seems to be a problem.
There were many things that really upset me about the reality of child trafficking for the cocoa industry, realities such as the fact that the government has very little power over or effect on child labor and trafficking. The documentary portrayed how difficult it was to prove certain plantations did have child laborers since they would hide them once the police showed up. But I am happy with the fact that there are people out there who are truly fighting against child labor. The end of the documentary was my favorite part as they put their documentary on the big screen in front of Nestle, on of the major companies accused of child labor.

Hi, my name is Bobby and I am a student in Kate Combellick’s Fair Trade class this semester. The following few paragraphs are my reactions to a few moments in the film that particularly piqued my attention.

The first section of the film that really struck me was the comparison between the first world and third world children at the beginning of the film. The film showed several clips of children enjoying chocolate and chocolate products as treats, which was especially impactful when contrasted against the images of the children in the Ivory Coast working relentless hours to procure the cocoa necessary for the chocolate for the children and adults that readily consume the goods in first world countries. This comparison only grew stronger as the African children’s plight was more clearly depicted.

When I saw the direct comparison between the struggle of the African children in the cocoa trade versus the giddy consumption of the children in some of the sampled footage, I frankly felt a little nauseous about the whole deal. As the plight of the children who were shipped to the Ivory Coast became more and more clear, the image of the children devouring the chocolate just seemed greedier and more base. Unfortunately, I was sampling from a package of chocolate-covered almonds (part of a care package from home) before I started watching the movie, which honestly made me feel much worse. Even though I thought that the treat was healthy, I am still not sure what went into the candy besides the basic ingredients. There was not any sign of a fair trade label, so I very well could have been eating some goods that were sourced from those farms, which in hindsight was not a very positive choice on my part.

Another section of the film that was particularly impactful to me was the process by which the various child workers were kidnapped. Many children were regularly and easily plucked from various villages across rural western Africa from various countries either through kidnapping or some negotiating with the promise that these children will be able to make money for their families in the cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast.

When I saw the sections of the film that directly dealt with the plight of the trafficking involved in the cocoa farming, I was surprised and concerned by how easy the process seemed. Based on the information from the film, children were basically snatched by these traffickers from various farms with little to no effort. Children could have been quickly kidnapped from their village without any warning to their family whatsoever, which was definitely a discomforting thought. There was not any kind of complex plan involved or some kind of intricate maneuver involving a trained team - these children were randomly kidnapped in broad daylight on a regular basis. Honestly, the fact that that could happen so frequently and suddenly absolutely shocked me.

Hi. My name is Katie Mericle and I am a student in Kate Combellick's Fair Trade and Entrepreneurship class.

The Dark Side of Chocolate” really opened my eyes to the problem of child labor and trafficking. It was difficult for me to watch some of the scenes of the children being taken away and forced to work in such conditions. It made me angry that this is happening when I know the companies should be putting an end to it. Forty two percent of the world’s cocoa production is from the Ivory Coast and so many large companies like Nestle and Barry Callebaut get their cocoa from there. It is hard to believe that they claim to have no idea that children are working on the farms.

One part of the video that really impacted me was when they rescued the young girl Miriam from being smuggled to the Ivory Coast. It was so sad that although she was rescued she was still afraid to go home, because she would not have earned any money. It makes you realize the poverty she lives in and the pressure she is under to provide for family, yet she is so young. You could see the sadness and frustration the local man who led the rescue was experiencing after he rescued her. He was so disheartened that this is happening and that so many more children were going to be victims of the trafficking and child labor. Watching this scene made me very sad.

I was frustrated by the ILO’s reaction to Miki’s documentary. To be honest, he didn’t seem very bothered by what he was seeing and he was kind of saying there isn’t much he can do. I understand it hard to eliminate it completely, because it so widespread, but he lacked any passion to make a stop to it.

The most powerful scene in my opinion was when Miki projected his documentary outside the Nestle headquarters in Switzerland. I was happy that Miki was forcing them to acknowledge the problem. People should know that Nestle and other very successful chocolate and food companies know the injustices are happening and doing nothing to stop it. Although they do not own the farms, they have employees checking up on operations, and they must see the children there.

Hello,

I am also a student in Professor Combellick's Fair Trade: Entrepreneurship class at Fordham University in NY. The following paragraphs discuss my reaction to the "The Dark Side of Chocolate" documentary.

One of the most startling moments for me was when they mentioned that, “A child from Burkina Faso can be bought for 230 euros.” At that moment, I was really impacted by the realization that these innocent children were being exchanged for money like slave trade. Additionally, the tone in which the African man from the video casually discussed the exchange of a child being sold for 230 euros with the undercover filmer was rather appalling to witness. To see this encounter in comparison to the cocoa industry workers that were interviewed throughout the documentary and their “naivety” on the situation is even more disturbing because it appears to be an endless cycle of adults turning a blind-eye for money and their own self contentment.

Prior to watching this documentary, I was not aware of what human-trafficking and child labor actually entailed. I did know know that young and naive children were being tricked into a “paying job” which in reality meant kidnapping them, taking them away from their families, selling them, and making them works as slaves.

Another part of the film that impacted me was the Geneva interview, in which the ILO representative said, “It is a feeling of helplessness which overcomes you when you see something like that.” While it is most likely certain that any sensitized human would experience feelings of helplessness after watching the footage of the child labor and trafficking occurring in the Ivory Coast, the ILO representative was really the first to admit it in the video.

For me, his notion made me think about the grand scheme of the cocoa industry scandal. As stated in the beginning of the film, “3 million tons of chocolate are being sold each year” and after watching this documentary, I now know that at the root of that chocolate, a child slave was forced to harvest that cocoa. Child laborers play such a vital role in the chocolate industry that it is actually baffling to me that chocolate companies such as Nestle do not care about the most crucial part of their business. Perhaps if a decrease in chocolate sales were to be attributed to consumer’s distaste towards chocolate companies lack of care and responsibility, then maybe chocolate companies would make an effort to regulate and implement fair trade policies.

Hello Everyone!

My name is Ani Esenyan and I am a student in Professor Combellick's Entrepreneurship and Fair Trade class at Fordham University.

This is the second time I have seen the documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate. I first saw this film for my Development and Globalization class in which we were to respond to the film in terms of how this, and other, commodity affects the economic and social development of the region. Although I primarily noticed the economic impact of this industry from my first viewing, upon watching the film again, I noticed two particular aspects of child labor in the cocoa industry which correlates to the social injustice that perpetuates in the region.

First, I was intrigued by how these children were involved in this labor industry.

It was unsurprising that children were tricked into the industry. The film indicates that children were mislead as to what their future would be like if they left their homes. Additionally, children were blindly taken from villages. What did initially surprise me however, was that parents encouraged their children to work in the fields in hopes of an income. In the scene of Mariam, a little girl who was sent by her parents to work and make money for her family, she stated that her parents would be upset if she returned with nothing. I say that I was initially surprised by this because it shocks me that parents would send their children away and commit them to a laborious and potentially dangerous job. But, when a family is in a desperate economic state, any source of income helps.

Second, I was confused by the reaction of large chocolate corporations and the Ivory Coast government to child labor in the region.

The film indicates that these corporations have no knowledge of where their cocoa comes from, as seen in the chocolate convention scene. How is it possible that these multi-million dollar organizations are either completely ignorant or able to bury the truth? In the scene with the CEO of Saf-Cocoa he also seemed shocked to learn of the use of child labor. At first, he was completely appalled at the accusations but once he was shown the video of proof he began to accept the reality. To me this also seems strange that he was blind to this possibility. The most shocking response however was from the Ivory Coast government officials. One official stated that "child labor is not a problem anymore because they are aware of it and are taking measures to stop it." I still see this as a problem however as it is still continuing.

Hi. My name is Brigid Hilton, and I am a student in Kate Combellick's Entrepreneurship and Fair Trade class at Fordham University.

"The Dark Side of Chocolate" was, if nothing else, an extremely eye opening start to the "evils" our world faces, and why fair trade laws and regulations are important to the quality of life. I think most of humanity has some knowledge that things are not fair and as they should be. We hear of child labor, human trafficking, modern day slavery, but it is the visual evidence of the children being taken from their homes by traffickers and sold for an average of 230 euros in "The Dark Side of Chocolate", that truly hit hard.

A point in the video that stood out to me, was during Miki Mistrati's interview with Ali Lakiss, the CEO and owner of SAF-Cacao. As clips played throughout his interview with footage of young children working on the plantations, it was amazing and fairly disturbing that Lakiss has chosen to turn such a blind eye to the problem that faces the cocoa production along the ivory coast. Lakiss confidently stated, "The Ivory Coast is a country with no child slaves in the plantations" as well as "No children work in the plantations, that has been confirmed." For an individual with extreme power in the cocoa production, it is impossible to believe that he truly is oblivious to the trafficked child laborers in the plantations. It is disturbing that there are very little preventative measures in place to stop traffickers from picking up children in small villages by offering them a job and money in the Ivory Coast, forcing them onto buses and from there onto dirt bikes, driven along a back road that leads to the plantations. It confounds me, as to why the back road is so easily accessible to human traffickers, and other traffickers, I'm sure.

While the major chocolate companies signed the Harkin-Engel Protocal in 2001 (aimed to end worse forms of child labor), "The Dark Side of Chocolate" was released in 2010. An important step of preventing child trafficking in the area, and along the Ivory Coast would be to close the back road, used by traffickers to export children, or set up a crossing station with government officials. This has yet to be put into action.

A second part of the film that nauseated and infuriated me at the same time, was Mistrati's interview with the child trafficker. His description of the process of child trafficking was deplorable, but it was really his demeanor and response to the questions that infuriated me. He laughed and joked at the expense of the children and their pain. The audience can see that the trafficker had no remorse for his actions, and I got the impression that trafficking is simply a part of life in Mali and around the areas. It seemed as though he even took pleasure in it, and that is something I do not think I will ever be able to wrap my head around.

The question is: how do we put a end to child labor and trafficking, first in the chocolate business, and then in general. In America, we have been lucky to have grown up without that ever being a fear. In 3rd world countries where people desperately need money, people are willing to do almost anything and everything to be paid. While the countries themselves need to place more preventative measures, and focus more intently on the problem, Chocolate companies also need to stop turning a blind eye and choosing the path of ignorance, and learn more about the origin of their product, where it is coming from, and more importantly who is working the cocoa plantations and are their human rights being respected.

Do sales need to decrease in order for the chocolate companies like Nestle to finally pay attention to their social responsibility and care? I know that I would not want to be in constant fear of my children's safety for the potential of their being sold to cocoa plantations... and I firmly believe the men and women in charge of the major chocolate companies would not want that as well.

This documentary really did bring me to the revelation as to why Fair Trade is so important in the modern age with so many large corporations focusing on profits rather than social justice and responsibility. Profit is more definitely a very important part of business, without it a business won't survive; however, how good does it really feel to make a large profit off of others sufferings? I don't think it feels that good.

Hello Everyone! I am a student in Kate Combellick's class. I had learned about the what goes on in the chocolate world last year in another class, and am glad that we are discussing it again.

What is most amazing to me about this issue, and from what I saw in this video, is peoples total denial and/or unawareness of child trafficking. The chocolate reps interviewed in Cologne seemed to have no knowledge of child trafficking or even any regard for where the chocolate there are selling is coming from. Ali Lakiss, the CEO of SAF-CACAO, was especially horrendous. I could not believe that he denied the involvement of child trafficking, of all people. Someone in a high position like his, should be responsible for each part of the supply chain.

Something else I found incredibly disturbing was Nestles involvement in this. I think mostly everyone would associate this brand with childhood, family, and all around happy thoughts, when in reality children in Africa are suffering for us to eat something as little as chocolate. I keep asking myself, why isn't this more publicized. Why isn't this on the news? Why are we still eating Nestle? The only other place where I have seen anything about this issue, is on CNNs website. Which everyone should check out if they have not seen already. Here is the link: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.co...e-of-chocolate/.

Probably what I found most valuable about this video was seeing the little girl, Mariam, be interviewed. It is just really unbelievable that this is what children have to go through in some countries. It was nice to see that she was rescued, but at the same time, it doesn't sound like going home is going to be easy for her, either. I wish there was some way to take immediate action on the issue.

I went on to google after watching this documentary, and read that about 284,000 children are working in bad conditions on cacao farms. Its hard to imagine such a huge number of children working for no money, for us to eat and drink chocolate. I also read that a big issue is in the past, and even now, consumers see chocolate as something that is inexpensive. However, if we want to abolish this kind of child slavery, and eat chocolate that has been made ethically, we have to pay a little more for it, like most other things.

Looking forward to discussing this further in class.

Hi! My name is Alex McDonald and I am also a student in Professor Combellick's Fair trade and Entrepreneurship class. This was the first time I had seen "The Dark Side of Chocolate" and it really opened up my eyes on the importance of Fair Trade and the horrible practices that go into making our favorite everyday products.

One scene that really stuck with me was when Miki interviewed the two boys who had escaped a cocoa farm in the Ivory Coast. They told Miki of the struggled they went through and the other children they left behind in order to not have to go back to such an unhappy place.

The fear of recalling all of the hardship they went through while on the farm was so heartbreaking. It did not seem fair that they were tricked into coming to these cocoa farms and then spoke of the beatings and punishments they went through if they were too slow. I also found this part unsettling because only two of the many children at the farm were able to escape and I did not even want to fathom the punishment the others who were not as successful as the other two had to endure.

Another part of the film that I found interesting was when Miki was interviewing one of the traffickers and seeking the information he knew on the Ivory Coast cocoa farms. The one statement that really stuck with me was the fact that everyone on the border has something to do with trafficking between the border.

The fact that it takes multiple people to smuggle one child to the Ivory Coast is so heartbreaking because it just seems horrible that some people have to survive by sending innocent children to such an awful place. It doesn't seem right that most people in a country have to look the other way when they know something is wrong. It also makes me upset that I can not just directly go to these cocoa farms and take all the children out of there. No one deserves to something so low like the conditions that those children work in.

This movie really exhausted a lot of emotions out of me and I look forward to discussing it more in class.

Hi, my name is Cesar and I'm a student in Kate's Fair Trade class. Here are some of my thoughts on the Dark Side of Chocolate documentary:

One thing I found really impactful in the video was when they first interviewed the CEO of SAF Cacao, Ali Lakiss. SAF Cacao is one of the largest cacao exporters in the Ivory Coast and their CEO was claiming that he knew for a fact that there was no child trafficking or child labor in his industry. During the interview you could see how confident he was in his position when he mentioned that there were committees and documents that supported his claims. Later on in the film, however, after Ali Lakiss was confronted with the proof the crew had obtained, he accepted that there was a problem in the cacao plantations with child labor and trafficking. Although hesitant, he completely changed his opinion and revealed that he was aware of these issues.

Another part of the video that was very powerful was when the crew went undercover to the plantations to see if there were children working. What they found was kids as young as ten years old walking around with machetes. Clearly this was in violation of Ivory Coast law, but it seemed so common that it was daunting.

The most disturbing thing about the traditional corporate structure is how central massive profits are for the sustainability of the business. This itself is not bad, since you are supposed to take your stakeholders into consideration when making business decisions, but it seems that it has been corrupted as a way to say the end (profit) justifies the means. Often times this includes exploitation somewhere in the value chain, which is either ignored or hidden. This behavior was exemplified by SAF Cacao CEO Ali Lakiss and it displays the willingness of some business leaders to blatantly lie in order to maintain the most profitable business operations. Frankly, it’s extremely disturbing and it continues to serve as a reminder of how important it is to hold companies, and specifically leaders, responsible in order for the consequences of the law to really bring change.

When I first saw the footage of the children working in the plantations I was shocked. Hearing about the conditions and being aware of trafficking is important, but seeing the reality in action shifts the experience into another level. It becomes real and humanizes the problem to the point where it would be horrendous to ignore. The work of this documentary is important because it highlights these issues and presents them in a way that makes them real. The only thing that is missing, however, is for an action step to be presented in the video. The problem was brought forth, but what can we, the consumer, do in order for this to me remedied?