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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.
Not everyone in the United States is as inattentive to the situation in Burma as our local big-box sporting goods store. More than three dozen members of Congress--including Virginia Sen. George Allen--have co-sponsored the Burma Freedom Act, which would ban Burmese imports in this country.
And activists from San Francisco to Minneapolis to Charlottesville have pressured individual companies and universities to stop doing business with the Burmese military regime.
In October, the University of Virginia sold off 50,000 shares of stock in Unocal after students called attention to the company's partnership with the Burmese junta in a natural-gas pipeline project in eastern Burma that was linked to numerous human-rights violations--including the imposition of forced labor on hundreds of villagers.
But if people in other parts of the country--and even a senator and college students in our own state--have decided Burma is worth their attention, what about residents of Fredericksburg? Now that our town is slated to be home to a national slavery museum, don't we have a unique moral obligation to take a stand against slavery in its modern forms? And if stores in a Silver Cos. development are selling goods that support slavery, shouldn't we be especially outraged?
The Silver Cos. isn't paying me to
be a PR consultant for them, so I've no intention of commenting on what the firm should do. But here are a few things local residents might do--not just to help Burmese win their freedom, but to help inoculate ourselves against the charge that we're a bunch of crass hypocrites willing to profit from slavery:
First, heed the request of the democracy movement inside Burma and don't buy any item--at Central Park or elsewhere--that has the "Made in Myanmar" tag on it. If you spot a Burma/Myanmar import in a store, voice your displeasure with a store manager and, if you're really fired up, send a letter to the store's company headquarters.
Second, contact U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Davis and U.S. Sen. John Warner and ask them to co-sponsor the Burmese Freedom Act (Senate bill S926 and House bill HR 2211). Passage of this legislation would represent a significant tightening of the noose around the Burmese junta, and is supported by Burma's democracy movement. If you want to bone up on Burma before contacting congressional offices, visit the Free Burma Coalition Web site (www.free burmacoalition.org).
Third, consider extending your
vigilance in the future to be on the lookout not only for goods that are made with or in some way support slave labor, but also goods made in sweatshops. Groups such as the National Labor Committee, Global Exchange, and UNITE, among others, are terrific sources of information on labor abuses and are eager to help local communities organize campaigns.
For now, focusing on Burmese imports is a good way for Fredericksburg to begin formulating community standards regarding labor rights.
So, with this in mind, watch for those tags that say "Made in Myanmar" when you're out shopping this holiday season. And give a little thought to the sort of values that should be espoused in a town with a slavery museum.
RICK MERCIER is a copy editor and columnist for The Free Lance-Star.