Buy Responsibly

Do you know how your sweater was produced?Ling's Story

Source: © IOM 2008 - MMU0008

Ling was born in China. When she was 19 years old, she was persuaded to go to Europe with the promise of a job and a better life - both for her, and for her family who stayed behind.

She was given a job as a textile worker in a factory. The salary promised was 800 per month which was much more than she could ever hope to earn in Hanuin. She works 16 hours a day, and is not allowed to leave the factory except to return to the small apartment she shares with six other factory employees. She does not receive the salary that she was promised, and is rarely paid anything at all.

You may have purchased a sweater made by Ling.

Have you ever wondered how your fish is caught?Kofi's Story

Source: © IOM 2003 - MGH0008The identity of Kofi and the other trafficked children in the picture have been withheld in order to protect the children and they privacy.

Kofi, in the middle, is 12 years old. He wakes up at dawn every day of the week, and works until dusk catching fish on the Volta Lake in Ghana. He lives and works under the supervision of a man who is not a relative or a family friend.

Two years ago, the man introduced himself to Kofi's parents, and said that he had a good job for Kofi. He offered the family some money if they would let him go.

But the job is not good for Kofi. He was taken far from home, to a town called Adakope, where he was forced to work at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He is not paid, and is frequently required to untangle the fishing nets that become caught on the bottom of the lake. It is a job that has cost several other boys their lives.

Kofi and more than ten thousand other children between the ages of three and 17 are forced to work in communities like Adakope, Jaklai and others along the Volta Lake. Fishing in the Lake Volta region contributes about 90% of the total inland fishery (NAFAG, 2004-2005) and generates foreign earnings with the exportation of more than 12% of the total national fish catch to the European Union, Canada, Togo, Mali, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, USA, Singapore and Hong Kong (FAO, 2004).

You can't tell the difference between a fish caught by professional fisherman, and a fish caught by Kofi, and Kofi may have caught the fish you will eat tonight.

Did you enjoy your salad?Maria's Story

Source: © IOM 2007 - MCO0866

Maria is 27 years old and is from Perm, Russia. In 2005, she saw an advertisement in a local newspaper. A recruitment agency was looking for waitresses to work in restaurants in Spain. The salary offered was 1,200 per month. Maria called the recruitment agency to apply. The agency was quick to hire her, and booked her a plane ticket to Madrid. She was told she would need to pay back the money for the ticket once she started working.

When she arrived in Spain, Maria was picked up by a person from the recruitment agency who took her passport and forced her to work on a farm picking tomatoes and lettuce for a salary of 100 a month. She would like to leave but cannot escape. The farm is surrounded by barbed wire, and is guarded by security personnel.

Maria may have picked the tomatoes in the salad you're having for lunch.

Did you get a good deal on your house?

In the Americas, a large number of migrants work for housing and construction companies. Compared to their local counterparts, migrant workers are generally willing to accept lower wages while working longer hours. This enables construction companies to sell and rent flats and family homes at competitive prices.

In some parts of Europe and the Middle East too, trafficked labour from Eastern Europe, South Asia as well as South East Asia, in particular, is being used to build the homes, offices, sports and entertainment arenas that have been behind much of the construction boom of recent years.

You may be getting a deal on your house, but who is really paying for it?