Passing through the plantations of Ivory Coast, the commonest sight is an Ivorian child loaded with a machete. The country blessed with almost half of the world’s Cocoa production (43%), also has numerous child labourers that work in abysmal conditions. Human Rights Watch has confirmed that more than 15,000 children work in Cocoa plantations of Cote d’ivoire that get treated virtually as slaves forced to work day and night. Children silently endure beating, psychological abuses and even threat of death. A report by ILO has revealed that more than 90% of Cote d’Ivoire Cocoa plantations use forced labour. The Human Rights Watch has similarly thrown up numerous cases to show how traffickers lure children from their homes with promises of high quality education and life before selling them to slave markets in neighbouring countries.
Ironically, buyers of this blood drenched product are mostly the corporations like Nestlé, Archer Daniels Midland, and Cargill that vouch for human rights. Crushed then in the vicious circle is the childhood of millions of deprived souls.