Date published: 12/1/2001

BURMA IS about as far away from the big-box stores of Central Park as you can get on this planet, but the Silver Cos.' involvement with the planned slavery museum requires us
to turn our gaze to that distant land.

Let me explain how I reached this seemingly bizarre conclusion.

A few weeks ago, I went to the Sports Authority store in Central Park to look for some warm clothing, and I found several fleece jackets that said "Made in Myanmar" on their collar tags.

This set off alarm bells in my head because Myanmar is what the ruthless generals who rule Burma call their country, and these same thugs, besides confusing everyone by giving their nation two names, also enslave people.

Countless numbers of people, according to the U.S. State Department, the International Labor Organization, and just about any credible human- or labor-rights group you can think of.

Last year, the ILO condemned the Burmese military's "widespread and
systematic" use of forced labor as "a modern form slavery," and called on governments, labor unions, and employers to take steps to ensure they were not helping to sustain the Burmese junta's practice of enslaving its citizens.

To be sure, human bondage in present-day Burma is not equivalent--either qualitatively or quantitatively--to what African-Americans in this country endured for almost 250 years. Still,
by selling apparel with the "Made
in Myanmar" tag, retailers such as Sports Authority are helping to perpetuate slavery as it exists in Burma today. And that ought to stir up our righteous indignation.

There are a couple
of ways that Burmese imports enrich Burma's slavemasters and contribute to their ability to continue enslaving people, according to the Free Burma Coalition.

First, Burma's military dictatorship charges a 5 percent tax on all exports from Burma, and much
of that revenue goes straight to the military. Second, the junta retains partial ownership of most factories in Burma, with profits going largely to the military.

Moreover, the coalition says, Burmese imports never even would have made it to places like Central Park had it not been for roads and other infrastructure back in Burma that were built with slave labor.

Date published: 12/1/2001