TO,

       Honourable Sir
                                 With due respect, I submit few lines for your kind consideration. I have
                       come to know through reliable sources and press media that you are devoted
                       service for the well being of human right .
                                 I have poor family my childern are going to school and collage.
                                 Incidentally I may submit that I have a large poor family.
                        Therefore there is no financial support for me. Please financial help me, I will
                         not only be a great relief to a poor family but will also be a great act of charity
                         on your honour part. Iam waiting your favouable reply.
                                 
                                I reqest you pleas help me for purpose of this letter and mot disappoint me.

                                                  With best regards.
                                                  contact me.
                                                  Yours faithfully,
                                                  Mrs Farzana yasmin .
                                                  C/O Khursheed Alam .
                                                  E-158/A Satelite Town,
                                                  Rawalpindi (Pakistan)
                                                  HarrisAlam 333@hotmail.com.

I have just resonantly but my voice out there.
Please visit: http://www.myspace.com/humantraffickingstops

As their wrong doings of racism and pre and post 911 intolerance of immigrants is exposed, north americans cannot bear exposure to truth and use see through wall devices to target and harass immigrants in north america, using see through wall devices from neighborhood and through passing cars to see through walls of immigrants homes and drive and bang car doors loudly at appropriate times, wastefully and arrogantly around for every living movement of the immigrants inside their homes, including females and males, including in bathroom and toilet. However, they attempt to judge immigrants through see through wall technological devices in the name of post 911, and use it to harass immigrants living their daily lives. Using these devices, living, breathing, eating, sleeping, toilet, household chores, sexual activities, masturbation and body movements of female and male immigrants is prohibited in the name of keeping a strict watch on the movements of immigrants post 911, that is illegal harassment and racism, the exposure of truths that the wrongdoers cannot bear. For every body movement of immigrants inside their owned or rented homes or apartments, neighborhood nonsense and harassment prevails violating immigrants privacy and human rights; whereas the their bony assed lickers, are given these illegal equipments through connivance of cops and their police state who cannot bear immigrants but only want
the money, brains of immigrants and other countries. The whites are the biggest criminals and terrorists themselves twisting the word of God to portray nonwhites in bad light and themselves in good light. The whole of North America is in heavy debt; however, their media fools them and the world, and they go as merceneries to other countries through their
evil colonial tactics of wars, business, and infiltration, to screw the world of its resources, to invite immigrants and then to screw them of their money and happiness through racial profiling, and their culture teaches them to screw other cultures, look down on other cultures, and to teach other cultures that all cultures are of downtroddens and only
North American culture is the right culture! Wow! Nothing more could be farther than truth.
This reflects the outright blasphemy and racial obnoxiousness of the North American culture itself! That is the downsliding quality inside of north america, not much of which is portrayed to the outside world through corporate controlled duping mainstream media.

Volunteers are welcome to circulate these informations to those whom it might be helpful, to be aware of these ugly factors prevailing within north america. It seems the north american forgotten many of their teachings, e.g., 'Thou shalt have no other Gods but one', 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you', etc.



http://www.hightechharassment.com/

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.law-enf...ndon-ontario/topics

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.law-enf...16#99f227b5944081c7

http://cryptome.org/tempest-scotus.htm

http://www.uhuh.com/reports/headsup/fron232.htm#Copy

http://www.rmc.ca/academic/gradrech/millimeter-e.pdf

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/07_01.pdf

http://www.nlectc.org/techbeat/summer2000/LookWallsSum2000.pdf

http://www.akelainc.com/pdf_files/SPIE0405.pdf

http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews...oll=hc_tab01_layout

http://www.blackcommentator.com/70/70_cover_white_terror.html

http://school.familyeducation.com/african-...y/racism/47434.html
 
http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/99204

http://www.discovervancouver.com/forum/ind...819&TOPIC_ID=211819

http://politics.propeller.com/story/2006/1...media-ignores-story

http://www.democracynow.org/2005/6/13/fbi_...remacists_are_major

http://tabacco.blog-city.com/western_media...ts_ignored_alja.htm

http://whitewatch.wordpress.com/category/terrorism/

http://www.quicktopic.com/28/H/EQVaqt4ucctT

http://www.nowpublic.com/adl_org_white_sup...ist_david_lane_dies

http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.p...=template&story=184

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/taskforce-form...udents/54292-2.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews...USN0564256720071205

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0938888020071110

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews...USN0542758420071205

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Canada

http://www.canadaimmigrants.com/forum.asp

http://www.justlanded.com/english/canada/t...n_rights_violations

http://www.discovervancouver.com/forum/top...D=51628&whichpage=2

http://www.justicia4migrantworkers.org/saw_new.htm

http://www.debwewin.ca/racism.htm

http://www.linkoflinks.0catch.com/linkoflinks.html

http://www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc/faqs/r...?section=11&click=6

http://members.fortunecity.com/brutalitycanada/

http://www.21stcenturycowards.blogspot.com

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-69-96-479/lif...ty/africville/clip3

http://www.nlhra.org/Online%20Publications/twwa/twwarins.htm

http://cryptome.org/tempest-scotus.htm

http://www.uhuh.com/reports/headsup/fron232.htm#Copy

http://www.rmc.ca/academic/gradrech/millimeter-e.pdf

http://novanewsnet.ukings.ca/nova_news_3588_13109.html

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/07_01.pdf

http://www.nlectc.org/techbeat/summer2000/LookWallsSum2000.pdf

http://forum1.aimoo.com/Hourglass2_Outpost...TIONS-1-997025.html

http://www.akelainc.com/pdf_files/SPIE0405.pdf

http://www.geocities.com/albanystudent/contribution6.html

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/11067/

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005...avesdropping_t.html

http://sistersincrime.toronto.on.ca/homesurveillanceequipment.php

http://www.danielnpaul.com/Col/1996/Racism...acksAndMi'kmaq.html

http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?main=multimedia&MMID=68

http://www.povnet.org/node/1778

http://www.cbc.ca/maritimemagazine/archive...lleReparations.html

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/pdf/dominion-issue40.pdf

http://www.yourluckytoday.blogspot.com

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dgarneau/indian.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6174/resource.html

http://www.miningwatch.ca/

http://www.turtleisland.org/news/cerd.pdf

http://www.ndir.com/SI/education/debt.shtml

http://www.socialjustice.org/pdfs/economicapartheid.pdf

http://www.canadian-health-network.ca/s … mp;lang=En

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/archives.html

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive...r2005/11/c9164.html

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...rd_070110/20070115/

http://groups.google.com/group/can.atlanti...ad/875b342a4966de27

http://groups.google.com/group/can.atlantic.general/topics

hello

i am in primary school and the grade 6's are looking at the toppic and have formed a partition nearly the whole school has sighned wich is 750 people plus the taeachers and i think it is crule because how would u like it if u were hit because u werent working hard enough or if u were just a kid and u were taken away from your families and had to work in a chocolate factory and getting wipped with bike chaines

HOW TO MAKE EASY MONEY FAST AND LEGALLY!!!!!!!!
This seems to really have potential. This is the way the original post appeared when I first found it. Read it all then decide for yourself. It works for me! I found this on a bulletin board and decided to try it. A little while back, I was browsing through newsgroups, just like you are now, and came across an article similar to this that said you could make thousands of dollars within weeks with only an initial investment of $6.00! So I thought, “Yeah right, this must be a scam”, but like most of us, I was curious, so I kept reading. Even though the investment was a measly $6, I had three questions that needed to be answered before I could get involved in this sort of thing. IS THIS REALLY LEGAL? I called a lawyer first. The lawyer was a little skeptical that I would actually make any CASH but he said it WAS LEGAL if I wanted to try it. I told him it sounded a lot like a chain letter but the details of the system (SEE BELOW) actually made it a legitimate legal business. 2. IS OK WITH THE POST OFFICE OR IS IT MAIL FRAUD? I called them: 1-800-725-2161 and they confirmed THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LEGAL! (See 18, h sections1302 NS 1341 of Postal Lottery Laws). This clarifies the program of collecting names and addresses for a mailing list. 3. IS IT RIGHT? Well, everyone who sends me a buck has a good chance of getting A LOT of CASH … a much better chance than buying a lottery ticket!!! 4. WHAT IS THE BUSINESS? You are in the business of collecting mailing lists and recruiting new list developers. These questions answered, I decided to proceed. The instructions said that you have to send $1.00 to each of the 6 names and address stated in the article. You then place your own name and address in the bottom of the list at #6, and post the article in at least 300 newsgroups. (There are thousands) No catch, that was it. So, I invested the measly $6.00. Well GUESS WHAT!! Within 7 days, I started getting money in the mail! I was shocked! I figured it would end soon, but the money just kept coming in. In my first week, I made about $25.00. By the end of the second week I had made a total of over $1,000! In the third week I had over $10,000.00 and it’s still growing. This is now my fourth week and I have made a total of just over $42,000.00 and it’s still coming in rapidly. It’s certainly worth $6.00, and 6 stamps, I have spent more than that on the lottery!! Let me tell you how this works and most importantly, why it works. Also, make sure you print a copy of this article NOW, so you can get the information off of it as you need it. I seems likely to me that if you follow the directions exactly, that you will start making more money than you thought possible by doing something so easy! Suggestion: Read this entire message carefully! (print it out or download it.) Follow the simple directions and watch the money come in! It’s easy. It’s legal. And, your investment is only $6.00 (Plus postage) IMPORTANT: This is not a rip-off; it is not indecent; it is not illegal; and it is virtually no risk – it really works!!!! If all of the following instructions are adhered to, you will receive extraordinary dividends. PLEASE NOTE: Please follow these directions EXACTLY, and $50,000 or more can be yours in 20 to 60 days. This program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity of the participants. Please continue its success by carefully adhering to the instructions. You will now become part of the Mail Order business. In this business your product is not solid and tangible, it’s a service. You are in the business of developing Mailing Lists. Many large corporations are happy to pay big bucks for quality lists. However, the money made from the mailing lists is secondary to the income which is made from people like you and me asking to be included in that list. Here are the 4 easy steps to success: STEP 1: Get 6 separate pieces of paper and write the following on each piece of paper “PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR MAILING LIST include your mailing address, the date and your signature.” Now get 6 US $1.00 bills and place ONE inside EACH of the 6 pieces of paper so the bill will not be seen through the envelope (to prevent thievery). Next, place one paper in each of the 6 envelopes and seal them. You should now have 6 sealed envelopes, each with a piece of paper stating the above phrase, your name and address, and a $1.00 bill. What you are doing is creating a service. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LEGAL! You are requesting a legitimate service and you are paying for it! Like most of us I was a little skeptical and a little worried about the legal aspects of it all. So I checked it out with the U.S. Post Office (1-800-725-2161) and they confirmed that it is indeed legal! Mail the 6 envelopes to the following addresses:
1.)K.Scarrella 15608 Emerald dr N. unit 1 Hugo, MN 55038, USA
2.)CRISTIAN MURO
1200 brookside dr,
san pablo,CA 94806,USA
3.) T. Dunn
722 Hopital Rd.
Dawson Springs, Ky 42408,USA
4). K. Carpenter
P.O. Box 5174
Rantoul Illinois 61866-5174
5) D. Stephens
P.O. Box 512
Staunton, MI 24321
6.) J. Zuk
13709 Flank March Ln
Spotsylvania, VA 22553STEP 2: Now take the #1 name off the list that you see above, move the other names up (6 becomes 5, 5 becomes 4, etc…) and add YOUR Name as number 6 on the list.
STEP 3: Change anything you need to, but try to keep this article as close to original as possible. Now, post your amended article to at least 300 newsgroups. (I think there are close to 32,000 groups) All you need is 300, but remember, the more you post, the more money you make! This is perfectly legal! If you have any doubts, refer to Title 18 Sec. 1302 & 1341 of the Postal lottery laws. PLEASE REMEMBER that this program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity of the participants and by their carefully adhering to the directions. Look at it this way. If you are of integrity, the program will continue and the money that so many others have received will come your way.
NOTE: You want to retain every name and address sent to you, either on a computer or hard copy and keep the notes people send you. This VERIFIES that you are truly providing a service. (Also, it might be a good idea to wrap the $1 bill in dark paper to reduce the risk of mail theft.) So, as each post is downloaded and the directions carefully followed, six members will be reimbursed for their participation as a List Developer with one dollar each. Your name will move up the list geometrically so that when your name reaches the #1 position you will be receiving thousands of dollars in CASH!!! What an opportunity for only $6.00 ($1.00 for each of the first si

Representative Schiff,

It has recently come to my attention that much of the chocolate sold in the U.S. is tainted by the horrific issue of slavery.

Next Sunday (3/25/07) is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of trans-Atlantic slavery and yet slavery is a bigger issue today than it was then. Around 15 million people were enslaved in the 400 years that humans were trafficked from Africa to the US and other places. Today, as I write this, some 27 million people live as slaves, throughout the world, with at least 50,000 of that 27 million living here in the U.S. Some are sex slaves, some are labor slaves, some are children who were bought to be sacrificed.

But many were bought to be put to work in the cocoa fields of West Africa and elsewhere. It is estimated that 12,000 children currently serve as slaves in the cocoa farms of Cote D'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast), a west-African country that is one of the leading producers of chocolate.

I don't know about you, but I am outraged by this and I demand more from the businesses of our great country. There must be a way for Americans to be ensured that the chocolate they buy is traffik-free. Please join with Senator Harkin and others in an effort to put an end to this gross injustice!

Thank you for your time,

Rev. Jay Matthew Barnes

This is terrible! I never knew that that this was going on! We have to stop it! I thought slavery was gone and done with, guess I was wrong. We should make shirts. "Stop chocolate slavery!"

MAKE MONEY FAST, EASY, and LEGAL!
www.freewebs.com/princesschristi
A little while back, I was browsing through newsgroups,
just like you are now, and came across an article similar
to this that said you could make thousands of dollars
within weeks with only an initial investment of$6.00! So
I thought," Yeah, right, this must be a scam", but like
most of us, I was curious, so I kept reading. Anyway, it
said that you send $1.00 to each of the 6 names and
address stated in the article. You then place your own
name and address in the bottom of the list at #6, and
post the article in at least 200 newsgroups. (There are
thousands) No catch, that was it. So after thinking it
over, and talking to a few people first, I thought about
trying it. I figured what have I got to lose except 6
stamps and $6.00, right? Like most of us I was a little
skeptical and a little worried about the legal aspects of
it all. So I checked it out with the U.S. Post Office
(1-800-725-2161) and they confirmed that it is indeed
legal! Then I invested the measly $6.00. Well GUESS WHAT!!...
Within 7 days, I started getting money in the mail! I
was shocked! I figured it would end soon, but the money
just kept coming in. In my first week, I made about $25.00.
By the end of the second week I had made a total of over
$1,000.00! In the third week I had over $10,000.00 and
it's still growing. This is now my fourth week and I
have made a total of just over $42,000.00 and it's still
coming in rapidly. It's certainly worth $6.00, and 6
stamps, I have spent more than that on the lottery!! Let
me tell you how this works and most importantly, why it
works.... also, make sure you print a copy of this article
NOW, so you can get the information off of it as you need
it.
STEP 1
Get 6 separate pieces of paper and write the following on
each piece of paper "PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR MAILING LIST"
along your name and address Now get 6 US $1.00 bills and
place ONE inside EACH of the 6 pieces of paper so the
bill will not be seen through the envelope to prevent
thievery. Next, place one paper in each of the 6 envelopes
and seal them. You should now have 6 sealed envelopes,
each with a piece of paper stating the above phrase, your
name and address, and a $1.00 bill. What you are doing is
creating a service by this. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LEGAL! This
program remains successful because of the honesty and
integrity of the participants. Please continue its success
by carefully adhering to the instructions. You will now
become part of the Mail Order business. Your product is
simply a service of helping develop mail lists. Mail the
6 envelopes to the following addresses:

#1]
juan romero
7405 glen falls
houston tx 77049

#2]
pete Alvarado
7410 glen falls
houston tx 77049

#3]
markabee fields
1580 belleville rd
orangeburg sc 29115
#4]
audrey baker
29609 baker lane
murrieta ca 92563
#5]
christina walker
po box 1685
leland nc 28451


#6]
Bill Melanson
P.O. BOX 6805,STATION "A"
SAINT JOHN N.B E2L 4S2
CANADA


STEP 2
Now take the #1 name and address off the list that
you see above, move the other names up (6 becomes
5, 5 becomes 4, etc...) and add YOUR Name and
address as number 6 on the list.

STEP 3
Change anything you need to, but try to keep this
article as close to original as possible. Now, post
your amended article to at least 200 newsgroups.
(I think there are close to 24,000 groups) All you
need is 200, but remember, the more you post, the
more money you make!

---DIRECTIONS--HOW TO POST TO NEWSGROUPS------------

Step 1
You do not need to re-type this entire letter to
do your own posting. Simply put your cursor at the
beginning of this letter and drag your cursor to
the bottom of this document, and select 'copy' from
the edit menu. This will copy the entire letter into
the computers memory.

Step 2
Open a blank 'notepad' file and place your cursor at
the top of the blank page. From the 'edit' menu
select 'paste'. This will paste a copy of the letter
into notepad so that you can add your name to the
list.

Step 3
Save your new notepad file as a .txt file. If you
want to do your postings in different sittings,
you'll always have this file to go back to.

Step 4
Use Netscape or Internet explorer and try
searching for various newsgroups (on-line forums,
message boards, chat sites, discussions.)

Step 5
Visit these message boards and post this
article as a new message by highlighting the text
of this letter and selecting paste from the edit
menu. Fill in the Subject, this will be the header
that everyone sees as they scroll through the list
of postings in a particular group, click the post
message button. You're done with your first one!
Congratulations...THAT'S IT! All you have to do is
jump to different newsgroups and post away, after
you get the hang of it, it will take about 30
seconds for each newsgroup! **REMEMBER, THE MORE
NEWSGROUPS YOU POST IN, THE MORE MONEY YOU WILL
MAKE!! BUT YOU HAVE TO POST A MINIMUM OF 200**
That's it! You will begin receiving money from
around the world within days! You may eventually
want to rent a P.O. Box due to the large amount
of mail you will receive. If you wish to stay
anonymous, you can invent a name to use, as long
as the postman will deliver it. **JUST MAKE SURE ALL
THE ADDRESSES ARE CORRECT.**

----NOW THE WHY PART-------
Out of 200 postings, say I receive only 5 replies
(a very low example). So then I made $5.00 with
my name and address at #6 on the letter. Now, each
of the 5 persons who just sent me $1.00 make the
MINIMUM 200 postings, each with my name and address
at #5 and only 5 persons respond to each of the
original 5, that is another $25.00 for me, now those
25 each make 200 MINIMUM posts with my name and
address at #4 and only 5 replies each, I will bring
in an additional $125.00! Now, those 125 persons
turn around and post the MINIMUM 200 with my name
and address at #3 and only receive 5 replies each,
I will make an additional $626.00! OK, now here is
the fun part, each of those 625 persons post a
MINIMUM 200 letters with my name and address at #2
and they each only receive 5 replies, that just made
me $3,125.00!!! Those 3,125 persons will all deliver
this message to 200 newsgroups with my name and
address at #1 and if still 5 persons per 200
newsgroups react I will receive $15,625,00! With an
original investment of only $6.00! AMAZING! When
your name is no longer on the list, you just
take the latest posting in the newsgroups, and send
out another $6.00 to names on the list, putting your
name at number 6 again. And start posting again. The
thing to remember is, do you realize that thousands
of people all over the world are joining the
internet and reading these articles everyday, JUST
LIKE YOU are now!! So can you afford $6.00 and see
if it really works?? I think so... People have said,
"what if the plan is played out and no one sends you
the money? So what! What are the chances of that
happening when there are tons of new honest users
and new honest people who are joining the internet
and newsgroups everyday and are willing to give it a
try? Estimates are at 20,000 to 50,000 new users,
every day, with thousands of those joining the
actual internet. Remember, play FAIRLY and HONESTLY
and this will work.
ALSO REMEMBER: SEND YOUR $1 OUT TO EVERYONE ON THE
LIST, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT FROM YOUR COUNTRY.
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
GOOD LUCK!!
Go to google.com and search for MAKE MONEY FAST AND EASY$$ and
you will find alot of message boards!
MAKE MONEY FAST AND EASY$$

Sent to M&M Mars:

I will refrain from buying or eating your products until such are certified Fair Trade and therefore free of the taint of slavery. One of my ancestors served in the Union Army, risking his life to end slavery in this country (11th Mich. Vol. Infantry); a small way that I can say thank you to him for doing his duty for Union and freedom is to avoid products that support that evil institution in other countries.

Sincerely,
Don Belding

Nestle's does "make the very best" -- i.e., Nestle's Crunch, my favorite...
which I will no longer buy. My work partner explained the issue of "slave free" in relation to the chocolate industry last week, starting me on a Google search that took my breath away. I'm angry.

What era do we live in, and what kind of ignorance was my own, failing to see the cost of my buying old-time, well-priced products I've purchased forever, trustingly.

I see the alternatives offered by fair trade companies, mainly organics. Now I've tasted Newman's Own, and hey, it's pretty darn good.

Get it together and do something about this. People love the chocolate we've grown up with, but not enough to tolerate the idea of human suffering to put it in our mouths.

Sincerely,

Jeanine Brown

TO HERSHEY”S - February 14, 2006

I write to tell you how disappointed I am that this year the Hershey's kisses I have always bought as Valentine's Day fillers for cups and other gifts are a sudden No-No for me.

My work partner told me about "slave-free" chocolate and explained the issue of slave and child labor in the chocolate/cocoa industry. I felt like I was living in a different era, shocked and rather repulsed.

On-line I find that Newman's Own and other organic chocolate producers offer an alternative, shunning practices the major companies tolerate among their bean growers.

I'm out of Hersher's cocoa powder and looked at a container of it in the store yesterday. I've loved that deep brown container since childhood. Now, however, I'm going to have to learn to transfer that feeling to something else. And I will, believe me. I'm mad about this, as much as disappointed.

Do something, for heaven's sake. Stop turning a blind eye to horrible goings on, the antithesis of everything our values in this country stand for.

Hoping next Valentine's Day brings news of a different kind.

Sincerely,

Jeanine Brown

Edited by author 08-30-2005 01:53 PM
Here is my message to my Representative, Randy "Duke" Cunningham and my Senators, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein:

In 2001, the House of Representatives passed a bill proposing a federal system to certify -- and label -- qualified chocolate products as "slave free," much in the way that tuna produced under certain federal guidelines can earn "dolphin safe" labeling. As abusive child labor and slavery taint the majority of chocolate products (including those produced by M&M/Mars, Nestle, and Hershey's), these products would not qualify for this label.

Before the bill reached the Senate, the chocolate industry agreed to the Harkin-Engel Protocol. In this agreement, the chocolate industry promised to eliminate slavery in chocolate production by July 1, 2005, at which point it would qualify for the "slave free" label.

In the four years since the Protocol was signed, it seems that little actual progress was made, all that folderol about foundations and "pilot studies" notwithstanding. Subsequent statements by the chocolate industry give me little reason to believe that it is serious about cleaning up its act.

As the chocolate industry has failed, Congress must step in to allow Americans to enjoy the luxury of chocolate without worrying about whether child slaves were involved in its production. Congress should reintroduce the bill proposing the "slave free" label. Already, Transfair USA (http://www.transfairusa.org/) has created a certification process. Federal law is needed to expand this certification process to cover all chocolate products.

Thank you for your time,
Kristin Branson

Here is my response to the letter from the World Cocoa Foundation:

Dear President Guyton,

Thank you for the quick response. I am happy to hear that the WCF projects are continuing, and look forward to reading about progress made when the webpage is updated.

I still have a number of questions, however. My understanding is that the WCF was created by the chocolate industry as its response to the child labor practices in West Africa. In addition, the WCF is the research arm of the industry, as it was formerly the American Cocoa Research Institute. In a response letter from Hershey, the WCF was described as coordinating development programs on behalf of the chocolate industry. Is this correct?

While I understand that there is no quick fix to the abusive child labor problem, I do feel that, in the five years the chocolate industry has been aware of the problem, there has not been enough progress.

Your efforts have focused on improving efficiency and sustainability of cocoa growing, which I am assuming is related to the WCF's purpose when it was known as the ACRI. Certainly, this is important work. Your added efforts to educate farmers on safety and provide education opportunities to children in rural areas are encouraging, and I look forward to reading about your progress in these areas.

However, your organization has ignored what I believe is the main cause of the problem. The chocolate industry does not pay a stable or sufficient price for cocoa. The price of cocoa is set unfairly low by the industry your organization represents. As I stated in my previous email, the cocoa price is set so low that cocoa farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children work the fields instead of going to school, or if they resort to slavery or abusive child labor.

By ignoring the chocolate industry's guilt, the WCF is complicit in causing the hardships West African children and farmers endure. I urge the WCF to set its focus on what the industry can do to fix the problem, instead of placing the blame on cocoa farmers alone. While I am not an expert on this subject, I have read many articles on the problem. I am convinced that the most effective solution is that adopted by fair trade organizations:

Fair Trade helps family farmers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By learning how to market their own harvests, Fair Trade farmers are able to bootstrap their own businesses and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to higher family living standards, thriving communities and more sustainable farming practices. Fair Trade empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.

-- http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/overview.php

I wager the reason the WCF has not suggested fair trade-like solutions is that this is not in the chocolate industry's financial interest. While I commend the WCF and chocolate industry's efforts to develop sustainable and efficient cocoa growing practices, I feel you must take responsibility for and address your part in the problem.

Again, thank you for your quick response, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Sincerely,
Kristin Branson

Here is the response from the World Cocoa Foundation:

Hi Kristin.

Thanks for your message. I am traveling now, so will have to send a brief message. You are exactly right that the program section of the website is out of date. We are working on that, and will hopefully we will have much more information posted in the next two-three weeks. These programs, particularly the farmer field schools are showing very promising results. We are seeing 30-50 increase in incomes of farmers who have graduated from the field schools, as a result of improved agronomic practices and marketing enhancements. Some 10,000 farmers have participated to date.

As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I share your concerns and passion for people who live in difficult situations in the developing world. These conditions are complex, and there is no quick fix. But through improved opportunities for farmers, working with host-governments, NGOs, the chocolate industry and other interested parties, things can improve. We also hope for peace and stability in a region that has seen its share of conflict in recent years.

About WCF: we are a non-profit foundation, supported by the chocolate industry. We do not set prices and are not involved with marketing chocolate product. WCF works to build partnerships with other organizations who also support economic, environmental and social improvements in the cocoa sector.

I hope you will keep in contact in the coming months as we continue to move forward.

Kind regards.

Bill Guyton

Here is my response to Hershey's form letter:

To Chairman Lenny and Hershey's Management Team,

This response letter is entirely unacceptable. Not only were none of the issues I raised in my letter addressed, but the form response letter I was sent must not have been read or updated in months. You stated, in your letter sent on August 19, 2005:

"the industry has made great progress on this challenging task and expects to meet the July 1, 2005 deadline."

As it is over a month after the deadline, I already know that you entirely failed to meet this deadline. In fact, I state my disappointment and anger about this issue in the second sentence of my email. I include my original email below, and hope that you will take the time to read it. In this email, I describe how the certification system of the Harkin-Engel protocol is an insufficient solution to the problem.

In addition, I object to your downplaying of the abusive child labor problem in West Africa. You cite the IITA survey as your evidence. Here is an excerpt from he ILO document "Hazardous Child Labour in Agriculture: Cocoa" from March, 2004, which cites only the IITA survey:

284,000 children used machetes to clear fields;
153,000 children applied pesticides without protective equipment;
Other children picked cocoa pods and sliced them open to remove the cocoa beans;
64% of children on cocoa farms were under the age of 14 and 40% of child labourers in cocoa farming were girls.

Many child labourers came from impoverished countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Togo. Parents often sold their children in the belief they would find work and send earnings home. However, once removed from their families, the boys were forced to work in slave-like conditions. In the Ivory Coast alone, nearly 12,000 of child labourers had no relatives in the area, suggesting they were trafficked as slaves.

Children often worked for more than 12 hours per day, beginning at 06:00 and were beaten regularly. Child labourers were less likely than other children to attend school: in the Ivory Coast, for example, one-third of school-aged children living in cocoa-producing households had never attended school and only 34% of children working on cocoa farms attended school, compared with 64% of those not working on cocoa farms.

[This document was downloaded from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standard...s/fs_cocoa_0304.pdf]

The efforts described on the World Cocoa Foundation website (which is also out of date) are also insufficient. By emphasizing public education on labor standards, you are placing the blame on farmers instead of admitting your own guilt in keeping prices low. These programs essentially serve to preserve the environment for your self-interest, or are charity efforts of limited reach and without guaranteed results.

Finally, I re-emphasize that you must take responsibility for your part in the abusive child labor problem. Your company and the chocolate industry have set the cocoa price so that farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children work the fields instead of going to school, or resort to slavery. In this way, you are personally responsible for the hardships these children and farmers endure. You are stealing the futures of children in poor countries to slightly increase your profit margin.

To make progress, you must address the root of the abusive child labor problem: the low, unstable cocoa price. I am convinced that the most effective solution is that adopted by fair trade organizations:

Fair Trade helps family farmers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By learning how to market their own harvests, Fair Trade farmers are able to bootstrap their own businesses and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to higher family living standards, thriving communities and more sustainable farming practices. Fair Trade empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.

-- http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/overview.php

Only by buying fair trade chocolate and adopting fair trade policies will you win back outraged consumers like me.

Here is the response letter I received from Hershey's:

Thank you for sharing your concerns about cocoa farming practices in West Africa. The Hershey Company is committed to responsible cocoa growing and is playing an active leadership role in driving meaningful change for the millions of families that depend upon this important export crop.

As you are probably aware, West Africa is the world's leading source of cocoa, producing 70 percent of the world's supply. This cocoa is grown on over 1.5 million small family farms, many located in remote areas.

Establishing a clear picture of working practices on such a large number of farms is extremely difficult. Hershey and other industry members funded a landmark independent survey conducted in 2002 by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in cooperation with the International Labor Organization of the United Nations (ILO). The survey found that the vast majority of farmers in the region grow cocoa responsibly. No instances of slavery or forced labor were found on the more than 4,500 farms surveyed. The survey did identify several areas where change is needed, including improving access to education and safety issues involving machete use and pesticide application.

Hershey and its industry partners have moved beyond the survey to address issues affecting farm families. We, along with other industry members, are party to the "Protocol" agreement developed in partnership with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY). Along with a number of other steps, the Protocol calls for the development of standards of certification to ensure that cocoa is grown responsibly. With support from the ILO, the industry has made great progress on this challenging task and expects to meet the July 1, 2005 deadline.

Equally important, Hershey actively supports programs that are making a meaningful, sustainable difference in the lives of cocoa farming families. These programs help increase incomes, promote responsible labor practices and provide vocational education and community-building opportunities. The World Cocoa Foundation coordinates these efforts on behalf of our industry, and I encourage you to visit {http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org} for more information.






This is a long-term effort, and Hershey remains committed to improving the lives of the millions of people who depend on cocoa growing for a living and to assuring consumers that the cocoa they enjoy has been grown responsibly.

Once again, thank you for sharing your concerns.


Best regards,
The Hershey Company
Consumer Relations

To President Guyton and the World Cocoa Foundation,

I was greatly dismayed to learn about the child labor abuse and slavery tainting most chocolate products. I was further dismayed and angered by the chocolate industry's failure to eliminate the slavery as it pledged to do in the Harkin-Engel Protocol. Subsequent statements by your representatives give me little reason to believe that your company is serious about cleaning up its act.

While many parts of your website relate the WCF's awareness of the poverty and child labor issues afflicting cocoa farmers in West Africa, I feel that your policies do not sufficiently address these problems. In my opinion, installing monitoring procedures and telling farmers the international labor standards will not fix the problem. It is necessary that the chocolate industry pay a fair price for its cocoa. Cocoa farmers should be able to feed their families and send their children to school. They should be able to develop their towns and help their counties move from third-world to first-world. The chocolate industry only get away with paying these low prices because farmers in countries like Côte d'Ivoire have no bargaining power. The chocolate industry is exploiting the fact that West Africa is extremely poor and farmers have no choice but to take what you offer them.

The WCF has set the cocoa price so that cocoa farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children (and in some cases kidnapped child-slaves!), work the fields instead of going to school. In this way, you are personally responsible for the hardships these children and farmers endure. You are stealing the futures of children in poor countries to slightly increase your profit margin.

In addition, I cannot buy the argument that there is nothing more the WCF can do to help the problem. The premium price paid for fair trade cocoa is less than 10% higher than the world market price. In addition, only a tiny fraction of cocoa grown on fair trade certified co-ops is purchased at the fair trade price.

I commend the efforts you describe in the "WCF Progams" section of your webpage, and would appreciate more information on them. It is concerning, however, that this part of the website is severely out of date. I hope you have not discontinued work on these projects!

Given the current situation, I will not be able to buy products sold by any companies using slave-tainted chocolate. I will also spread the word to my friends, family, and the online community about the child labor abuse sponsored by WCF members. Perhaps if you do not care about your moral responsibility to fix this problem, you will care about the profits you will lose from those of us who cannot "stomach" abusive child labor and slavery in our chocolate.

Sincerely,
Kristin Branson

To President Bragg and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association,

I was greatly dismayed to learn about the child labor abuse and slavery tainting most chocolate products. I was further dismayed and angered by the chocolate industry's failure to eliminate the slavery as it pledged to do in the Harkin-Engel Protocol. It is also frustrating that your webpage still does not mention that you did not meet the July 1, 2005 protocol deadline, but instead still assures us that the protocol deadline will be met.

While many parts of your website relate the CMA's awareness of the poverty and child labor issues afflicting cocoa farmers in West Africa, I feel that your policies do not sufficiently address these problems. In my opinion, installing monitoring procedures and telling farmers the international labor standards will not fix the problem. It is necessary that the chocolate industry pay a fair price for its cocoa. Cocoa farmers should be able to feed their families and send their children to school. They should be able to develop their towns and help their counties move from third-world to first-world. The chocolate industry only get away with paying these low prices because farmers in countries like Côte d'Ivoire have no bargaining power. The chocolate industry is exploiting the fact that West Africa is extremely poor and farmers have no choice but to take what you offer them.

The CMA has set the cocoa price so that cocoa farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children (and in some cases kidnapped child-slaves!), work the fields instead of going to school. In this way, you are personally responsible for the hardships these children and farmers endure. You are stealing the futures of children in poor countries to slightly increase your profit margin.

In addition, I cannot buy the argument that there is nothing more the CMA can do to help the problem. The premium price paid for fair trade cocoa is less than 10% higher than the world market price. In addition, only a tiny fraction of cocoa grown on fair trade certified co-ops is purchased at the fair trade price.

I commend the efforts you describe at

http://responsiblecocoa.org/helping

and would appreciate more information on them. However, given the current situation, I will not be able to buy products sold by any companies using slave-tainted chocolate. I will also spread the word to my friends, family, and the online community about the child labor abuse sponsored by CMA members. Perhaps if you do not care about your moral responsibility to fix this problem, you will care about the profits you will lose from those of us who cannot "stomach" abusive child labor and slavery in our chocolate.

Sincerely,
Kristin Branson

To President Michaels and the M&M/Mars Management Team,

I was greatly dismayed to learn about the child labor abuse and slavery tainting your chocolate products. I was further dismayed and angered by the chocolate industry's failure to eliminate the slavery as it pledged to do in the Harkin-Engel Protocol. While your webpage:

http://www.mars.com/Policies/Mars_Policy_o...e_Cocoa_Farming.asp

relates M&M/Mars's awareness of and commitment to the child labor problem, I do not think your current policies go far enough. In my opinion, the problem is not just a lack of monitoring procedures, nor just a lack of understanding by farmers of international labor standards. In addition, I do not think it is "reasonable and acceptable for children to work safely with their parents on small, family-run farms." Certainly, it is reasonable for them to help out part-time to learn the trade, but most children of cocoa farmers are not able to attend school.

The problem is that the current price M&M/Mars pays for cocoa is unfairly low. Cocoa farmers should be able to feed their families and send their children to school. They should be able to develop their towns and help their counties move from third-world to first-world. M&M/Mars and other chocolate companies only get away with paying these low prices because farmers in countries like Côte d'Ivoire have no bargaining power. The chocolate industry is exploiting the fact that West Africa is extremely poor and farmers have no choice but to take what you offer them.

Your company and the chocolate industry have set the cocoa price so that cocoa farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children (and in some cases kidnapped child-slaves!), work the fields instead of going to school. In this way, you, the directors of M&M/Mars, are personally responsible for the hardships these children and farmers endure. You are stealing the futures of children in poor countries to slightly increase your profit margin.

In addition, I cannot buy the argument that there is nothing more M&M/Mars can do to help the problem. The premium price paid for fair trade cocoa is less than 10% higher than the world market price. In addition, only a tiny fraction of cocoa grown on fair trade certified co-ops is purchased at the fair trade price.

If M&M/Mars would make some effort to support fair trade chocolate, I would gladly buy your product. Of the major chocolate companies I have researched, M&M/Mars is the only one to discuss the child labor problem on their website. In addition, I commend your work with Winrock International, the Sustainable Tree Crops Program, and the other independent efforts you have made, and would appreciate more information on them.

However, given the current situation, I will not be able to purchase any M&M/Mars products, and will also spread the word to my friends, family, and the online community about the child labor abuse sponsored by M&M/Mars. Perhaps if you do not care about your moral responsibility as a huge, global corporation, you will care about the profits you will lose from those of us who cannot "stomach" child labor and slavery in our chocolate.

Sincerely,
Kristin Branson

To Chairman Lenny and Hershey's Management Team,

I was greatly dismayed to learn about the child labor abuse and slavery tainting your chocolate products. I was further dismayed and angered by the chocolate industry's failure to eliminate the slavery as it pledged to do in the Harkin-Engel Protocol. Subsequent statements by your representatives give me little reason to believe that your company is serious about cleaning up its act.

In my opinion, the problem is not just a lack of monitoring procedures, which you have failed to set up. The problem is that the current price your company pays for cocoa is unfairly low. Cocoa farmers should be able to feed their families and send their children to school. They should be able to develop their towns and help their counties move from third-world to first-world. Hershey's and other chocolate companies only get away with paying these low prices because farmers in countries like Côte d'Ivoire have no bargaining power. The chocolate industry is exploiting the fact that West Africa is extremely poor and farmers have no choice but to take what you offer them.

Your company and the chocolate industry have set the cocoa price so that cocoa farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children (and in some cases kidnapped child-slaves!), work the fields instead of going to school. In this way, you, the directors of Hershey's, are personally responsible for the hardships these children and farmers endure. You are stealing the futures of children in poor countries to slightly increase your profit margin.

In addition, I cannot buy the argument that there is nothing Hershey's can do to help the problem. The premium price paid for fair trade cocoa is less than 10% higher than the world market price. In addition, only a tiny fraction of cocoa grown on fair trade certified co-ops is purchased at the fair trade price.

If Hershey's would make some effort to support fair trade chocolate, I would gladly buy your product. I believe that Hershey's is most qualified to take the lead on this issue because of your unique history of social responsibility and generosity. However, given the current situation, I will not be able to purchase any Hershey's products, and will also spread the word to my friends, family, and the online community about the child labor abuse sponsored by Hershey's. Perhaps if you do not care about your moral responsibility as a huge, global corporation, you will care about the profits you will lose from those of us who cannot "stomach" child labor and slavery in our chocolate.

Sincerely,
Kristin Branson

Edited by author 08-18-2005 03:10 PM
To the Nestlé Management,

I was greatly dismayed to learn about the abusive child labor and slavery tainting your chocolate products. I was further dismayed and angered by the chocolate industry's failure to eliminate the slavery as it pledged to do in the Harkin-Engel Protocol. Subsequent statements by your representatives give me little reason to believe that your company is serious about cleaning up its act.

In my opinion, the problem is not even just a lack of monitoring procedures, which you have failed to set up. The problem is that the current price your company pays for cocoa is unfairly low. Cocoa farmers should be able to feed their families and send their children to school. They should be able to develop their towns and help their countries move from third-world to first-world. Nestlé and other chocolate companies only get away with paying these low prices because farmers in countries like Côte d'Ivoire have no bargaining power. The chocolate industry is exploiting the fact that West Africa is extremely poor and farmers have no choice but to take what you offer them. It is not, as you state on your website, that "free trade is fair."

Your company and the chocolate industry have set the cocoa price so that cocoa farmers in West Africa can scrape by only if they make their children (and in some cases kidnapped child-slaves!) work the fields instead of going to school. In this way, you, the directors of Nestlé, are personally responsible for the hardships these children and farmers endure. You are stealing the futures of children in poor countries to slightly increase your profit margin.

In addition, I cannot buy the argument that there is nothing Nestlé can do to help the problem. The premium price paid for fair trade cocoa is currently less than 10% higher than the world market price. In addition, only a tiny fraction of cocoa grown on fair trade certified co-ops is purchased at the fair trade price, so Nestlé could easily buy some fair trade cocoa.

If Nestlé would make some effort to support fair trade chocolate, I would gladly buy Nestlé products. However, given the current situation, I will not be able to purchase your chocolates, and will also spread the word to my friends, family, and the online community about the child labor abuse sponsored by Nestlé. Perhaps if you do not care about your moral responsibility as a huge, global corporation, you will care about the profits you will lose from those of us who cannot "stomach" child labor and slavery in our chocolate.

Sincerely,
Kristin Branson