The London-based ‘Business & Human Rights Resources Centre’ developed a questionnaire which it sent to 28 leading brands asking them about the steps they were taking to protect Syrian refugees from abuse and exploitation in their Turkish supply chain.
Recent news released that some famous brands such as Zara, Mango, and Marks&Spencer employ Syrian children in their supply chains in Turkey. BBC stated last week that it would announce the list of the brands employing Syrian children in Turkey. Hidden camera shootings show the children working on workbenches and ironing boards. The situation led to “astonishment” and outcries in the European media.
Portrayal of “prestigious” brands in public opinion in this manner might create such an anxiety that numerous brands –particularly those, of which names were uncovered- have tried in panic to see whether their names are on the list.
However, yet another question mark raises: is employment of the Syrian children restricted only with those brands in the list?
Considering that approximately 4 millions Syrians are living in Turkey, more than half of whom are below 18, Syrian children are subjected to abuse and exploitation in Turkey as a matter of fact; under heavy, lengthy, precarious and unsafe working conditions in exchange for ill-payments… Not only in garment sector but all kinds of harsh and dangerous works.
NO MORALITY NOWHERE IN THE WORLD
“It is a moral imperative to treat refugees with respect,” Phil Bloomer, the London-based centre’s executive director, said in a statement.
On the other hand, the brands in question, which are known to have abused child labour in Turkey, possess supply chains in Africa and Asia as well, where the rate of child labour has increased to critical points as in Turkey.
Nevertheless, these brands put child labour on the agenda only if a worldwide scandal or a greatly defamatory case is released to the public. For example, more than a thousand workers were killed in Bangladesh in 2013 with the collapse of the Rana Plaza building, a garment factory producing for world-known trademarks. As is widely-known and reflected in the media that the child workers are producing the products of famous brands such as Adidas, Nike in Vietnam…
One may argue that political tensions between the US as well as the EU and Turkey, and exploding bombs across Turkey affect economic relations, thus leading to a decline in some brands’ production level in Turkey, a country that has become one of the top riskiest countries of the globe.
THE SAME MECHANISM RULES THE WORLD
That is true, Turkey has been an unsafe country for a long time. Therefore child labour in Turkey is on the agenda nowadays; however, for the very reason, it tends to fall off the agenda immediately.
Similar news were released while ago in the media that some brands were employing child workers, but it fell into oblivion in a short time. A CEO of one these brands, including H&M, put forth that full control over child labour would be impossible.
This is because the capitalist mode of production will need cheap labour force in all conditions all the time. Since any control mechanism or any revelation of exploitation independent of this rule in question is unrealistic in terms of capitalism, these brands will therefore continue to produce by abusing child labour in the countries out of the frame as a result of the struggle for hegemony among imperialist centres and capitalist circles in the world.
If not Turkey; in Cambodia, Ethiopia or India, or any other poor place in the world…
