trade – Citizen Reporter

The Opium War Syndrome Continues

Writer and historian Amitav Ghosh writes about the Opium Wars of the later part of the 1800’s, a time where not unlike today, the western world had wracked up a great trade deficit with China. And also just like today, the dominant discourse that was proselytized like the answer to all ills, was what they called free trade. The benefactors of this trade were some of the largest corporations of that era, the British East India Company and names like that. They all claimed that free trade was their goal and insisted that empires in the east adopt this practice for the good of the world. But with this good came a long list of problems, as western traders pushed Opium on Chinese traders, and eventually triggered the Opium Wars.

Opium War Museum In the US education system, both primary and higher education, the Opium Wars are hardly mentioned. Children are taught that it was a British problem, a disagreement with the Chinese, and has nothing to do with the United States or these modern times we live in. But in fact, the opposite is true. The US played a major role, with relatives of presidents Thomas Jefferson, Calvin Coolidge, and even the Delano (Roosevelt) family being major investors in the Opium trade. And once we again we find ourselves in an era where nations claim free trade will solve the problems of the world, while at the same time pushing, secretly or overtly, monopolies and other “unfree” business tactics.

As people around the United States and throughout the western world occupy and retake public spaces and confront centers of business and trade, I wonder if they know how far back the practices they are raging against go. The lives we know, for well over a century have been built on top of deep traditions connected to corruption and greed at the expense of massive groups of people. How do you halt or change a system so deeply ingrained in how things function? I think its a good time to revisit the Opium Wars, especially for those of us who don’t know the lessons that were never learned.

Yesterday’s Butchers Today

Part of coming to Portugal and visiting my grandparents means taking them to a supermarket. With my help they can pick up all the supplies they need to last them a month or more, that way they don’t have to ask help from friends or neighbors.

Living in a tiny town in what I like to call the middle of nowhere, we tend to go to the nearby bigger town to frequent their supermarkets. In the last decade the amount of supermarkets has mushroomed from 1 to as many as 4 or 5.

As I push the cart down the aisles, and my grandparents struggle to take a good look at the type of meats behind the meat counter, I take a few minutes to watch the people behind the counter.

Sharpening his blade, I watch a gentleman who must be in his late 60’s, joking with one of the other employees behind the meat counter. His white coat full of blood stains, I noticed the ease and skill with which he does his work. It became clear that this man had been a butcher for most of his adult life. Yet the supermarket has only been there for 6 or 7 years, so where was he a butcher before?

My mind continued to wander, 7 years ago… hell.. 14 years ago.. he was probably a butcher in a local butcher shop, now long since closed down. As I glanced at the back of the store, I watched the fish lady tending to customers ordering fish. Here again was someone who knew her job well, and before the days of the supermarket, had surely done her job in a local fish market, many of which have been scaled down or simply closed.

Both the fish lady and the meat man seemed to be doing ok on the job, here at the big supermarket. I could speculate that their wage is probably pretty small and the amount of rules and regulations they’re subject to, would have to be greater. But the question that kept coming back to be is this: Are they better off? Are we better off as a community and a society, with this brave new world where our local shops and specialties are replaced. From the wages to the working conditions to the human connection of feeling like your job is valued and valuing your work, is this new way sustainable?

As we collected our things and made our way out of the shop, I took one more look at the butcher. He was explaining to a younger kid how to properly chop some kind of meat. I wondered about what his job used to be like… the changes he’s seen.. the life he leads.

Textiles and the Future

Over the weekend, while Max and Stacy were over for soup and podcasting, I popped in Shafiur’s documentary about the garment workers of Bangladesh. Probably should have said this earlier but it is a very good film, with excellent information and images mixed with testimony that are VERY telling about what is happening with the textile manufacturing industry there, and tying it back to the very clothes we are purchasing in shops around the world.

At one point in the film, they mention their fears of the big changes that will come once Europe elimates tarrif’s on Chinese textiles. They didn’t say exactly when this would happen, but Max mentioned that the authority of the European Union on trade has long been going back and forth on actually doing this. Which means it may not be soon… but it could very well be.

In all the images of the textile workers, you get the very clear feeling that their quality of life is not what it should be… it is below what any reasonable person could call humane living conditions. Yet they work for brands, as much of the world has come to know, that charge big money for their prestigious label.

So what if we add another complication to the equation. A country of a few billion people who can do everything for even cheaper, outbid, underprice, and out produce Bangladesh. What will happen to people already walking the tightrope of poverty and death? People who have scraped out a living, even in conditions that make it seem unlikely to be able to do so?

I’m yet to do more extensive research into this topic.. but Im curious to learn about the proposed rules.. or lack of rules.. that the free trade proponents want to adopt. Instead of running around shopping for new clothes for cheap prices, the European public should already be asking their retailer — who made this? Where is it from? And how are workers treated? But after learning these answers, they must take the next step.. and NOT buy those items until basic demands are met for a living wage and human rights for workers, regardless of where they are, are respected.