Thomas

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=303

It’s so hard to get our heads around the complexity of these things. Good thing there are a lot of heads here to help us all think things through from different angles.

The US Government had a program for Third World countries in which they didn’t have to pay tariffs to import their goods to the USA, if they agreed to provide their workers with certain pay, hours, and working conditions.  The program lapsed for some reason, and Cambodia was unable to compete with the lower labor costs of its neighbor countries, so the better pay and benefits started to evaporate, or the factories closed.

Before we go too berserk over the (very real) plight of workers in the D.R. losing their jobs, we should remember that every job that moves to China still feeds someone very real on that end too.  Part of the problem is that our empathy for the needy person we’ve met will tend to exceed our empathy for the needy person who’s just a statistic on the other side of the world.

The Florida based company being blasted here actually has a very established charity in the DR where lives are changed on a daily basis.  Orphans are fed, rescued and educated.  Woman are treated for HIV.  Health care is provided at little to no charge.  I know.  I took a personal tour of the facilities last Summer. 

I urge folks making hasty condemnations to seek the facts – all the facts – and investigate a little more thoroughly before making these generalizations and accusataions of explotation. 

There are lots of issues at play here related to immigration policy that have been the underlying root of many of these issues felt by Haitians. 

The MIR was recently awarded at a UN conference for its charitable work.  It bears mentioning in the context of the posts on this blog. 

http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/poverty/2008/5/9/27929/Dominican-Republics-MIR-foundation-receives-international-award

Thank you for bringing these tyoe of conditions to our consiousness as believers.  In Christ,

Sean

(full disclosire – this Florida corporation you mention is a client of mine.  I want to lay that one out there on the table)

But I think your initial response is the best one, Shaun. Having worked at NBC for years, I can say that most media outlets are FAR more concerned about drawing viewers at this point than “enlightening the public about injustice.”

Plus, the news cycle is so fast these days, I seriously doubt any lasting change would be produced. No one has the attention span anymore. And the big companies know it. They can ride out the firestorm of bad publicity, promise a few minor changes—and before they know it, Paris Hilton is the lead again and they can get back to business as usual.

Prayer and person-to-person education seems to be the best answer.

Love your caring heart!

Blessings on you and your family,

holly

Thanks for opening our eyes.  Now that I know, I want to do something.  Even if the only something I can do is to continue my support of Compassion.

I don’t know about the quality or quantity of the publicity for the two films, but The Price of Sugar did get a little bit of coverage:

http://www.thepriceofsugar.com/press.shtml

There’s no sure science involved in getting press pickup. A lot of it has to do with timing, who’s pitching it to the press and how, if there are similar subjects that are currently being covered widely, ownership of the media organizations being pitched, on and on. The ideal is to be able to find an important member of the media who takes an issue to heart, champions it, and produces broad, compelling press coverage of it that will embarrass “the bad guys” and embolden “the good guys” to establish or support policies or programs or ministries to bring about change.

The international poor, the hungry, the enslaved, the war-ravaged, and victims of natural disasters are being highlighted in the media now more than they have ever been. That’s a plus, and a minus; it creates awareness, but it creates compassion fatigue in the public, too. When people read or hear about the same message a lot– “are we gonna talk about poor kids again?” –even if it’s a critical message, most people at some point get tired of it, accustomed to it or overwhelmed by its enormity.

There has to be a way to get the board member of these companies to see the harm they are causing with out publicly embarrassing the companies they are running. 

Negative press can cause at least four different responses.

1)They dig in their heals and do nothing.

2)They kick out Compassion and other ministries that are helping these people while digging in their heal and refusing to change.

3)They pick up and move rest of the operations to China. 

4)They change their attitude and being to treat the workers and their families with the respect they deserve.

It seems that the first three options would probably happen before the fourth option.  I wish that I had the answer that would cause the changes that we all want.  The most effective thing I can think of right now is to get on my knees and ask God for wisdom and justice for the people living in these horrible conditions.

Thomas

It may not seem like much now…but it helped spread the cause about tibet and burma….why not this?