Sweatshop slavery

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What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
(Isaiah 3:15 ESV)

Shan-Tai prayer month 2011, day 17

It is easy to view the Burmese ruling Generals and the Burma Army as the ‘bad guys’ of Burma, the oppressors who are destroying the nation.

But evil is never this clear-cut. Corruption lies in every human heart, so wherever people are vulnerable they will be exploited. This is unfortunately the case for Shan who flee Burma. They have no rights in Thailand, meaning that nobody will care if they are underpaid or worked to exhaustion. Nobody worries about their living conditions, they have no right of access to healthcare.

When they get across the border into Thailand, Shan people are viewed as cheap labour, to be used, exploited, then discarded like trash. If they protest or are weak they are simply handed over to Thai police and deported back to Burma. Sometimes a protest or strike is successful if outside agencies assist and ensure justice occurs in the courts.

But even when workers are given the minimum conditions demanded by the law, it is little better than slavery. Girls as young as 15 sleep under their sewing machine and work 14-hour days for a pittance. Consider this when you next go clothes shopping.

“You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.
(Deuteronomy 24:14-15 ESV)

Pray for

  • Shan workers to receive fair wages for their work.
  • Thai authorities to soften their harsh stance against the Shan people in particular.
  • God to bless the work of those reaching out to Shan workers in Thailand and direct them to the most vulnerable.

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30 Days of Prayer for the Shan
Image of workers from the Nasawat Apparel factory in Mae Sot, who tried to organise a strike after the workforce had not been paid for three months, being taken to Thai immigration holding pens before deportation back to Burma. January 2004: JPHulme