关注象牙海岸可可童工

Ivory Coast Fights Child Labor¹ on Cocoa Plantations² 关注象牙海岸可可童工

ABIDJAN—

Seventy percent of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, most of it from Ivory Coast.  Child labor on cocoa plantations has been well documented and persists despite a 15-year-old agreement between the government and the world’s top chocolate sellers to stop it. 

Cocoa plantations surround the small village of Bonikro, in southern Ivory Coast, and keeping children off those fields is the goal of an awareness³ campaign.

A speaker asks the crowd if their children should go with them in the field. 

"No, because we use machete," replies a man. "Children can injure themselves; we should avoid it."

The event was organized by the International Cocoa Initiative that has been building schools and raising awareness about child labor in Ivory Coast since 2007.

ICI West Africa representative Euphrasie Aka says, "There are many drivers of child labor: lack of information, lack of awareness regarding dangerous work, poverty and a lack of infrastructure⁴ in rural areas.”

The ICI is financed by some of the world’s top chocolate companies, including Nestle, which is facing a U.S. class-action suit for allegedly not disclosing on labels its suppliers might rely on child labor.

Ivory Coast cocoa production was slowed for a decade by conflict, which diverted attention from ending child labor.  Getting rid of child labor, however, can be profitable for farmers.  It is one of the conditions to having their cocoa certified⁵ fair trade and sold at a higher price.

At the entrance to the Coopadef cooperative in the town of Gagnoa, a mural sets the tone.  A red cross is painted over the picture of a child holding a machete in a cocoa field. "Children under 15 years old should be in school.  No to child labor," reads the text.

The Coopadef cooperative has been certified by Fairtrade International for five years.  

Its president, Christophe Koffi Kouakou, says the producers have built brick houses for themselves, roofs, and small solar energy panels, thanks to the premiums⁶ they receive.”

The cooperative keeps an eye out for child workers.

Cooperative worker Hervé Bolou visits members to check that no children are doing dangerous work.

Bolou says at first, people would tell us, "But when we were children, we worked in the fields."  He says he replies, "We all did it, but you saw how it limited us, some got illnesses, some did not have time to study."   He says now people understand.

Child Trafficking

It is not just local children, however.  Sometimes, children are trafficked from neighboring countries.  In June, INTERPOL rescued 48 children from Ivory Coast cocoa plantations.

The operation was backed by the Ivory Coast first lady's office, which has been coordinating⁷ the effort against child labor and child trafficking.  It has launched poverty-reduction initiatives to reduce the use of child labor, such as providing microcredits for women to diversify⁸ their incomes between cocoa harvests.

Yet, an estimated 1.1 million children worked on cocoa plantations during the 2013-2014 harvest season.  The government says it aims to reduce that number by 70 percent in the next four years.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

6 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

8 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。