Pop it into your mouth and it melts lusciously….It’s so delightful to the point of being sinful.
Just when I was imagining myself with an oozy Lindt piece in my mouth, that thought popped up out of nowhere.
Ever since I read the piece (of information, I mean, not chocolate) in Fortune, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.
We’ve heard of blood diamonds, but, blood chocolate?
I was first exposed to this term in February. A picture of a forlorn looking child was splashed all over Fortune’s cover for that month. Inside, the photos were worse. If the author’s intention was designed to play on the public’s emotions, he certainly achieved his objective.
Working and living conditions are brutal. Most villages lack electricity, running water, health clinics, or schools. And to make ends meet, underage cocoa workers like Madi and the two boys next to him spend their days wielding machetes, handling pesticides, and carrying heavy loads.
Fortune
Chocolate's Bittersweet Economy
Christian Parenti
To know that people on the other side of the world, toil and labour to the point of slavery, so that the wealthier nations can indulge themselves, is shocking to the very core.
As if to reinforce this image in my mind, a few weeks ago, I happened to watch a documentary on blood diamonds. Now, I don’t really watch TV but it so happened that I was sitting in the hall, in Ze’s house, with the TV on. Everyone was riveted onto the programme. Reading about the sufferings of others is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes, is another thing. The impact is immensely greater when you witness something in its full graphical display. The impact of the programme upon me was so great that I felt disgust to the point of having nothing to do with diamonds. Nay, not even on my wedding ring (Please feel free to shoot me if I eat my words later on).
What is the point of indulging at the expense of others? Does it mean that we, who do not feel the suffering of these people, thousands of miles away, should feign indifference? It doesn’t affect me directly, so I don’t care. Much as we hate to admit it, in all brutal honesty, these are the sentiments of many. Cushioned in comfort, we build a bubble around us that shuts out a lot of things which we could perhaps change, if we really moved ourselves to.
At least, that much is true of me. I hate to burst my bubble, but it was burst, without my doing. Yes, I could have read that article, watched that documentary and forgotten about it. But, how could I?
God does not expect of us what we are unable to give.
I hope that in my own little way, I would be able to help. Even if the impact is seemingly minuscule, a collection of ‘minuscules’ will amount to a fair bit.
2 comments:
how come i don't feel any ectasy when eating Lindt Swiss Thin???? By the way, the photo of the woman with amputated arms look pretty much Photoshopped. Feel free to shoot me for being cynical. ;P
You've evolved, I see from being sarcastic to cynical. The photo is real because it was featured in the documentary too. Many of the people in Sierra Leone had their arms forcefully amputated because they participated in the democratic election. Go Google it.
By the way, the ecstasy is only applicable to Lindt Truffles. The Swiss Thins are nice to munch on as a casual snack.
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