24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Luke 6
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. James 5
First read;
The insanity of Neo-liberalism: When the poor in Bangladesh die like rats in European and American sweat shops: Europe's Moral Quandary: The High Human Price of Cheap T-Shirts
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-insanity-of-neo-liberalism-when.htmlIgnoring Worker Injustice Won't Make It Go Away
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2013/april/ignoring-worker-injustice-wont-make-it-go-away.html
My seamstress died last week. She was crushed when an eight-story
building fell on her. It's tragic. I'm outraged.
Somehow, the clothes on my back—the clothes I bought and will
buy—are intertwined in what could be Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster to
date, killing more than 300 (the AP now reports
the death toll could soar to as many as 1,400). In fact, when the garment
factory she worked in collapsed, she may have been making a blouse for me or my
daughter. I don't know her name, and I didn't hire her directly, but that
doesn't make her any less human. And it doesn't make me any less involved in
this web of supply and demand. They were making clothing for companies that you
and I know—companies where I have bought clothing for myself and for my
children.
Without placing undue blame on the consumerism of Americans and
the rest of the Global North, and without making this all about us, we still
need to stop and consider how most of us have supported an industry that lets
people work in these dangerous conditions. Ultimately, our spending reveals we
tend to care more about the price of our clothing than the conditions under
which they are made.
Even after the tragedy, the news that such a factory would be
making our clothes didn't come as a complete surprise. We knew it
already. Most of us have heard of sweatshops, where labor laws are violated,
wages are unfair, or conditions are hazardous. For decades, clothing manufacturers
that supply the U.S.
fashion industry have been accused of relying on unethical working conditions
for the cheap products we buy. We feel aghast when we hear such reports… at
least initially. We might even share a news article with friends. And then, with
our most powerful voice—our wallets—the majority of us simply pretend as if we
had never heard the news.
What keeps us from caring enough to ask how our clothing is made?
In part, it's too far away. I will never meet my seamstress. When we try on a
pair of jeans folded on a shelf at the mall, we can't see the woman who
stitched the zipper. The "Made in Vietnam" tag doesn't tell us
whether our clothing came from a machine or from a living, breathing person
with a family at home. Because we can't see the workers, it becomes easier for
us not to feel guilty for the criteria we use as we buy.
Shopping to find a good deal or a cheap price isn't inherently
evil, and it can be a positive thing. The "wife of noble character"
described in Proverbs 31 was thrifty. "She sees that her trading is
profitable" (Prov. 31:8). Saving money can mean a better life for our
families and more funds left for us to generously give to others. But if we
could meet the person who made the pair of jeans we try on in the dressing
room, we would likely reevaluate our decision to consider price alone.
Pope Francis Condemns 'Slave Labor' In Bangladesh: 'Goes Against God'
Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned as "slave labour" the work conditions of victims of a factory collapse in Bangladesh in which more than 400 people have been found dead, Vatican radio reported.
"A headline that really struck me on the day of the tragedy in Bangladesh was 'Living on 38 euros a month'. That is what the people who died were being paid. This is called slave labour," the pope was quoted as saying at a private mass.
"Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us -- the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity. How many brothers and sisters find themselves in this situation!" he said.
"Not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit. That goes against God!" he was quoted as saying.
"There are many people who want to work but cannot. When a society is organised in a way that not everyone is given the chance to work, that society is not just," he said.
