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 ​ =Child Slavery = =__History __// Cote d'Ivoire: //= France made first contact with Cote d'Ivoire around 1637 where they landed in what is now modern day Ghana. Only a few missionaries ventured to Cote d'Ivoire as it was particularly hard to get to, and the French were afraid of the natives. Cote d'Ivoire officially became a French colony in 1893. Captain Binger, who was one of the first people to land in what is modern day Ghana, was named the first Governer. From 1904 to 1958 Cote d'Ivoire was part of the Federation of French West Africa, which pretty much meant that everyone who lived in Cote d'Ivoire was property of France but they had no rights or citizenship that the people of France got. Independence came when Félix Houphouët-Boigny formed the country's first agricultural trade union and eventually the French abolished forced labour. Other countries in Africa broke away from the Europeans, but Cote d'Ivoire worked with them and today they are the leading producer of cocoa beans. However, there is a tremendous problem in Cote d'Ivoire with child slavery in the cocoa business. Many people are needed there to harvest as Cote d'Ivoire is the top producer of cocoa in the world. Cote d'Ivoire is, and always has been, reliant on exports, as that is where the majority of their money comes from. In the year of 1880, cocoa beans first appeared on plantations, leaving many farmers dependent on this export for their living. Although, at times, this may seem as though it is a great profitability plan, there are many economic and natural issues that cause the prices of cocoa beans to severely drop. Because of this decline in price, farmers recieve less profit which leads to the cutting of wages, and ultimately to a dramatic increase in child slavery. A majority of the enslaved children come from West Africa, and mostly Mali. Because of the high level of poverty there, families need their children to work and contribute the money for the survival of the family. Often, families in poverty force their children to work on plantations for revenue, but little do they know, these poor children are being mistreated and sold in the slave trade business. = //Mali: //= In 1892, Mali fell under French colonial rule. In 1893 the French made a civilian the governor of what they called French Sudan. French Sudan became part of the Federation of French West Africa and the civilians worked in the French colonies in West Africa. On April 4th, 1959, French Sudan came together with Senegal to create the Mali Federation and eventually became independent within the French community in June 1960. Senegal seceded in August and they collapsed. Sudan withdrew from the French community in August and named themselves the Republic of Mali. Although many come from other diverse parts of Africa, most of these trafficked children come from Mali, as they are considered one of the poorest countries in the world. Having so few opportunities, many lead a life of desperation and are forced to work under these conditions for the survival of their families. Countries such as Mali are where traffickers hunt for desperate children in need of profitable work to benefit their loved ones. Unfortunately these children are ill-informed of the conditions and hardships plantation work entails. =__Political ​Impact __= =//Cote d'Ivoire: //= =//Mali: //= Child slavery in Mali has mostly produced negative effects leaving very few positive political outcomes from trafficking children in this country. The Ivory Coast uses the vast amount of children inhabiting Mali for the harvest of their cocoa beans. The country of Mali is known world-wide as one of the poorest countries and, as said before about the Ivory Coast, is now looked down upon for the exploitation of these children. In a sense, it has helped them politically due to the rest of the world helping support this cause and organizing ways to create healthier lifestyles for these children and their families. Worldwide, people have realized how severe this issue is and are now taking steps in the right direction so this problem can be solved. Foundations have been formed such as, Save The Children, to help poverty stricken families and kids stay out of slavery and to receive an education giving them real opportunities to make something of their life rather than get tricked into slavery. These foundations also provide them with sanitary food, security and much needed help with growing medical issues throughout the country. =__Economic Impact __= =//Cote d'Ivoire: //= = = Child slavery has helped the Ivory Coast's economy immensely. Because farmers have children doing the majority of the work on the plantations at an extremely cheap rate, their profit is much increased while more work is being produced. It is hard to judge, however, due to the drastic rise or drop of prices in cocoa. Often times farmers will expect a great deal of profit, but the price of cocoa suddenly drops causing the plantation to lose a tremendous amount of money. Natural issues also come into affect with the growth of the cocoa, ultimately affecting how their economy will be at that given time. For instance, if the soil is dry and poor for growing or the wrong bug gets in the cocoa beans and ruins them, the economy of the Ivory Coast takes a huge plummet. From the year of 2000 to 2003, the Ivory Coast was affected heavily in negativity because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and severe civil war. =//Mali: //= Mali has been dealing with a deteriorating economy for a very long time and child slavery only makes it worse. Because72% of people in Mali earn less than one dollar a day, families are desperately in need of an income. They believe by sending and selling their children to go work on plantations, they are bettering their own lives by thinking a sort of revenue is to come about from this work. But little do they know, their loved ones are simply being sold and forced to work under devastating conditions with only enough money for a small amount of food. These families have then put themselves in an even bigger problem because they now have one less person in the family who could have had the opportunity in making a real profit somewhere else. On the other hand, many children are stolen and kidnapped and parents have nothing to do with them being enslaved. Many slave traders will promise children things like a bicycle and $150 a year to get them to work for them but when they arrive, they realize quickly they are not going to be getting what their 'boss' promised them. Child slavery is not only affective on a personal level, but also in the sense of sending children away that are vital to the future of Mali. If the children are not getting some sort of proper education and are given the chance to grow up and live a life of freedom, there will be no one fit for future leaders and Mali will continue in the slump that they are, and have been in. =__Social Impact __= =//Cote d'Ivoire:// = Socially, child slavery has a positive effect on the Ivory Coast. Families there are not so much suffering from the loss of a child, but are benefiting and profiting off of these lost children. The innocent children that are being stolen from all over Africa are helping the plantation owners of the Ivory Coast so they can provide for their family, as well as feed the mouths of their children. Surely, many families not involved in the cocoa industry are suffering, as slave traders surely steal children from inside and around Ivory Coast. The children from more well off locations in Africa are not as willing, desperate, and hopeful for a better life as those in the poorest of countries in West Africa. this is why slave traders prefer children from poverty strickn areas. Also, if slave traders kidnap children of the Ivory Coast, it would make it exceptionally easier for the parents of the children to locate them. If parents were to locate their children, it could cause many issues within their plantation business and if the parents of these children went far enough, the plantation may have to shut down.
 * Child slavery in the cocoa business has helped the Ivory Coast politically, mostly because they have become one of the leading producers of cocoa in the world, helping them instill their name in this market of business. Because of this, their economy has much improved and many countries have relied on them [[image:http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dwS7qfzBHmQ/SaFOAV2bC-I/AAAAAAAAE58/PvZnkvTuM2w/s320/poverty-crying%2520child.jpg align="left"]]for cocoa exports. However, child slavery also hurt the Ivory Coast politically because when it was released that they were using children as slaves to harvest the cocoa, an outrageous amount of pressure was put on them from all countries and suddenly they were looked down upon because of their actions. Many countries realized how awful the child slavery had gotten and banded together to make fundraising and missionary groups against child slavery, including some chocolate manufacturing companies which even stopped buying their cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast in protest. Some companies that produced chocolate considered 'slave-free' include Ben & Jerry's, Clif Bar, Sunspire, Theo Chocolate, and Rapunzel. From a business and political standpoint, trafficking children for slavery has ultimately given the Ivory Coast an extremely bad reputation and has created unwanted controversy between countries. **

=//Mali: //= It is estimated that there are at least 15,000 children from Mali working on cocoa plantations in the neighboring Ivory Coast. Some are under 11 years old. The Save the Children Fund has set up an organization to help these children in hopes that one day they will safely return home where they belong. Child slavery socially effects the people of Mali in an immense way, especially emotionally. Families all throughout Mali and western Africa have had their children stolen from them and sold into slavery. More often than not, they never see their children again. This is especially hard to deal with as they people of Mali are saddled with unbelieveable hardships. Families that have had their children sold into slavery also lose a pair of working hands that could be earning the family money and contributing to the cost of food and items needed for their survival and well-being. Although it is not easy to think about, child slavery can affect families in a good way as well; because a family that has experienced the effects of child slavery has one less child, they also have one less mouth to feed. They now have more money to pay for their remaining family members and everyday expenses. But think about it, what amount of money //wouldn't// one give to have their child back with their family, where they belong?

=__<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;">The Future of Child Slavery: __= To end the issue of child slavery in Mali and the Ivory Coast, the people are going to need a power much higher than themselves to solve this problem as it is much to large and out of control for just two countries to handle. Alone, these countries do not have enough money and are not willing enough to make a change.

What Mali and the Ivory Coast require for positive change is foreign aid and donations. The world needs to come together and donate money to Mali to assist them in getting a leg up to try and fill the hole they dug themselves into economically. Alone, Mali will not be able to gather enough money to even make a dent in the issue of child slavery, let alone stop it. Money is essential so there is no need for families to send their children off to work. Also, foreign aid should be brought into the Ivory Coast to better enforce the law and put plantation owners that are illegally using children as slaves where they belong, in prison. The United States and other countries should temporarily make it illegal to buy cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast. Although this idea would certainly hurt the cocoa production world-wide as the Ivory Coast is the leading producer of cocoa, it would give their economy a slap in the face and perhaps they would learn a lesson. If representatives from each continent were to go to Ivory Coast and ensure that there is no child slavery by shutting down those who partake in it, this issue would certainly be moving in the right direction. The Ivory Coast should put out word that they are offering jobs on cocoa plantations for pay. The people of Africa are so desperate for money, as long as they are getting some kind of payment, whether it be $2 a week or $20 a week, they will accept the any job willingly. Also, there should be some sort of requirement that laborers are of age, are fed a proper amount of food, and have adequate shelter. This plan will cause the Ivory Coast to loose a small amount of money but in the long run, jobs will be done more efficiently as the people will be in the proper shape to do them, and will be more willing which in turn will earn them a greater profit as more work will be completed. Also, the pressure from other regions of the world will lessen considering child slavery will be eliminated and all of the world's chocolate producer will return to purchasing cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast. The plantation owners of the Ivory Coast could consider revolutionalizing the way they collect beans by incorporating machinery rather than relying solely on human power. This would benefit them as it would rapidly increase the speed at which the beans are harvested, and it would also be significantly more efficient. Additionally, they would no longer have to pay wages, food, and housing costs for the employees. There is a slight downfall to this plan though. Machines are costly, as is the fuel required to power them and the cost of parts if they were to break. Although, if they were to invest in machinery, the money put into them would surely be returned as machines are much stronger, faster, and efficient than human hands. The increase in cocoa harvesting in turn means the increase in the amount of cocoa exports and profit.
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 * . The World Factbook. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ml.html.Africa: Mali
 * "BBC News | AFRICA | Mali's children in chocolate slavery." //BBC NEWS | News Front Page//. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1272522.stm.
 * Chanthavong, Samlanchith. "Samlanchith Chanthavong." //Chocolate and Slavery: Child Labor in Cote d'Ivoire//. TED Case Studies, June 2003. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <http://www1.american.edu/ted/chocolate-slave.htm>.
 * "Mali's children in chocolate slavery." //BBC News//. 21 Apr. 2001. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1272522.stm.
 * "NationMaster - Malian Economy statistics." //NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons//. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. http://www.nationmaster.com/country/ml-mali/eco-economy.