The Dawn

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!Look to this Day!For it is Life, the very Life of Life.In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence.The Bliss of Growth,The Glory of Action,The Splendor of Beauty;For Yesterday is but a Dream,And To-morrow is only a Vision;But To-day well lived makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.Look well therefore to this Day!Such is the Salutation of the Dawn
---- Kalidasa---

COCOA WARS

--The bitter taste of my favorite chocolate---

 The thought of Chocolate always evoked pleasant feelings of a steaming mug of hot cocoa or my favorite recipe for chocolate cake.I never dreamt that chocolate could be linked to human bondage, child slavery, civil wars and unspeakable suffering.

 Chocolate along with the tea and coffee is one of the most popular “Fair trade” certified products. Ironically the abundance of cocoa and consumerist demands has played a major role in destabilizing Ivory Coast in West-Africa. The popular “Cocoa belt” supplies the world’s largest cocoa with Ivory coast claiming a major share of the world’s trade in Cocoa.

However, Ivory Coast is the most destabilized in terms of human rights violations.This is a classic example of the nefarious links between natural resource, exploitation and corruption. The way that timber, blood diamonds and Oil have played with the lives of the people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Niger Delta, cocoa has managed to do the same in Ivory Coast

 The Cocoa trade in Ivory Coast is divided into the rebel controlled North which produces around 10% of the world’s Cocoa and the Government controlled south with produces 90% of the world’s Cocoa.Cocoa trade have contributed to funding armed conflict.Both rebels and the government utilize profits from the sale of cocoa to directly fund their internal conflict, with the government siphoning millions directly into the war effort. Journalists trying to expose the embezzlement have been murdered or have disappeared mysteriously.

 Today, more than 90% of Ivorian cocoa is exported to Europe and North America. The European Union itself  accounts 60% of exports. In fact the five largest importers of Ivorian cocoa are Netherlands, United States, France, Estonia and Belgium.This commodity with a broad international public appeal is harming the  fragile Africa once again.Few African economies have actually benefited from their natural resources. Many countries are still struggling to recover from the millions of deaths and displacement caused by, wars that have been fuelled from these commodities. 

So the next time you happen to savour the flavour of cocoa melting in your mouth just spare a moment to figure out whether  it is human enough to enjoy something which has been cultivated in the bloody soil of Ivory Coast. Are you naive enough to knowingly contribute to profits derived from the cocoa grown from exploitative child labour and the revenue that is used to fund wars that kills and maims innocents.

The international greed for Cocoa will lead to conflagrations of seismic dimensions that will have wider ramifications across the globe. We have a moral obligation to stop conflict in Africa.A lot lies in the hands of the chocolate industry; it has a responsibility to make sure that the products it sells are conflict free. Companies which buy Ivorian cocoa can play a positive role by demanding improvements in the way cocoa revenues are managed, by refusing to be involved with corrupt acts and by encouraging transparency and responsibility.

In our own little domain we can ensure that we do not buy something flavored with the misery of others. Let us make sure that any cocoa or chocolate we purchase is certified fair trade and conflict free. Let us sanitize the chocolate companies,call the company of whatever product we intend to purchase and ask “Where do you get your cocoa? Did you know about the link between slavery and chocolate?” Let us voice our concerns to any company we may have questions about.Let us encourage our governments to allow companies to purchase chocolate which is not supporting arms supplies or political conflicts.

 Chocolate is everyone’s indulgence and a sweet part of life. Let us not reconcile the sweet taste of chocolate with armed conflict.Let us spread awareness about the dark side of this popular treat which many of were not aware of. I am sure many of us are also not aware of the fact that there even exists a small nation called Ivory Coast.Let us spread the light. Please pass on this torch of reason to everyone.