It's very sad that Lang Long had to go through all the brutal hardship, and it is overwhelmingly tragic for him and his sisters to be in such a horrible misfortune. I came to the U.S. around the age of ten and worked as a night-shift cleaner for parking lots, cleaning up people's feces and urine on the floor of a business complex, getting hit by maggot filled trash bags when trying to pack them into dumpsters, grocery store / restaurant cashier and sweeper, and suffered from depression after parents got divorced, and later in life was devastated after my father committed suicide, in several occasions planned out in detail my own suicide but was too scared to go through with it, but whenever I read articles like these I feel that what I went through was nothing.<p>Although I'm buried in debt now, I'm glad I had the opportunity to go through university and study the sciences which guided me in taking the proper direction in life - the U.S. is definitely one of those few places in the world where opportunities are far more accessible.<p>My initial reaction to these types of articles is filled with empathy and sorrow and hope that people like Lang Long will have better future, but to be honest and be for real, in certain aspects, and in current era, we depend (in many cases we're not even aware of it) on the labors of people around the world in unfortunate circumstances so that we can benefit from them - the ugly side of this is... that the world is... an unforgiving place - there's gotta be someone out there doing the dirty work for someone else, I'd imagine that even the sea-slave traffickers themselves are trying to survive no different than Lang Long is, albeit in this particular case, they're brutal and inhumane.<p>I hope for a day when all slaves are treated humanely or slavery completely abolished, and for the day humanoid machines or drones will take the place of humans (in more efficient way) in back-breaking work so that criminals like the traffickers will have less incentives to kidnap and put vulnerable people into inhumane slavery.
I know the media likes to paint a bleak picture of the world cause that is what drives clicks to their sites and keeps their ad businesses rolling, but ...<p>Doesn't it feel like the world has constantly been in this constant state of extreme suffering and extreme joy both co-existing in the modern era of humanity?<p>For all the talk of progress a country may paint, they are either engaging in oppressive tactics locally or abroad.<p>This seems to apply to a vast majority of countries throughout the world.<p>I don't like to blame an ideology for humanities woes, because it is just that: an ideology.<p>It does however seem that this unfettered capitalism has churned a greed so strong that those in power will do anything to keep their money-machines rolling.<p>Eg.<p>- Oil spills that indefinitely damage ocean-life for decades,centuries ...<p>- Women and Child-trafficking to keep the prostitution industry going<p>- Drug-smuggling, human-smuggling and all other types of smuggling to keep those industries going<p>It almost feels like it never got worse, it just got more exposure and that its always been there, in the dark corners where we are scared to look, because we'd much rather shelter our lives with a quasi-happiness that ignores such an extreme-suffering of our fellow man/woman/child.<p>I blame us all, starting with myself.
The story, and other stories linked in some of the comments, concern terrible things that happen to people in poor countries involved in producing things for rich countries.<p>If those stories have not sufficiently depressed you, take a look at what happens to much of our stuff when we are done with it, and much of it ends up back in poor countries for salvage.<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-happens-to-electronic-waste" rel="nofollow">http://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-happ...</a><p><a href="http://news.discovery.com/tech/indias-poor-risk-slow-death-recycling-e-waste.htm" rel="nofollow">http://news.discovery.com/tech/indias-poor-risk-slow-death-r...</a>
Thailand is a huge culprit here and they get away with it because they managed to sandwich themselves as valuable allies to the west.<p>I do wonder if there is any sort of image parsing and other analysis we can do on the oceans to spot these slave vessels.
A lot of this is similar to the fishing industry in US, long exhausting shifts, dangerous slippery conditions, and cramped noisy sleeping quarters. The issue with minor cuts leading to infection is also persistent; "gurry" (misc fish parts) and salt water get under your gloves. There're even "mother ships," though they're referred to as tenders.<p>Of course this is all voluntary, and the pay is <i>much</i> better. There're also environmental regulations, prohibiting unsustainable fishing practices.
Each time I read a sad story like that in the comfort of my flat, I wonder: what can I do to help them? Then, I can't think of anything, and my mind tries to forget this cruelty being inflicted to others, and I move on with my life...
"Bar codes on pet food in some European countries enable far-flung consumers to track Thai-exported seafood to its onshore processing facilities, where it was canned or otherwise packaged."<p>I'd be one of those far-flung consumers if I was given the choice? I will read tuna cans more carefully.
It's sad how little attention contemporary slavery gets versus historical examples of slavery. It would be great if Hollywood made a movie about this (or slavery in the middle east committed by Western allies).
<p><pre><code> > "Mars moved to solution A"
> "Nestle says they are doing all they can (mentions nothing)".
</code></pre>
why people still consume nestle? is it because their (free to collect) water is cheaper?