I know the cotton harvest is finished, but I have two links I’d like to share in brief. My apologies to any that read my personal blog and have seen this post already!
If you’re an American, there probably isn’t too much some connection between your clothing and Uzbekistan’s cotton fields, unless you have a fondness for British brandname clothing. [Update: As Simon Astrovsky mentions in the comments, there's just as good a chance of Americans wearing Uzbek cotton in at least some of their clothing] I have two lovely posts to share with you, and I hope you’ll read them both. The first is an exciting in-depth story about the cotton industry in Uzbekistan told by an under-cover BBC journalist who traveled on a Visa under false pretenses. BBC Newsnight – Where’s the cotton from? The second is even better. It’s a post from yesterday [November 27th], explaining in exacting detail the cotton specifics in Uzbekistan from a former picker. And, well, every former Peace Corps Uzbekistan Volunteer knows that everything he’s talking about is absolutely true. It was a big deal for Volunteers to get invited out into the fields with the students. And the students, as you’ll see in the story, relish the adventure and independence. It’s like some free, national summer camp, where a lot of students aren’t picking cotton at all, but buying it off villagers. Anyway, that blog post is here at Central Asian Borders. Makes you think, doesn’t it? I wish I could show two such various and important sides to every story.
This post was written by...
Michael Hancock-Parmer – author of 153 posts on Registan.net.
Michael earned an MA in Central Eurasian Studies in 2011 and remains a student at Indiana University pursuing a dual PhD in Russian History and Central Eurasian Studies. He served 6 months in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan in 2005. After the events in Andijan and the subsequent closure of the program, he served 2 years in southern Kazakhstan, returning to the Midwest in 2007. His general area of interest is on post-Timur Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, centered on the Syr Darya river valley.
{ 16 comments }
Hi. I’m the reporter who did the BBC report. I just wanted to say to those of you who are American that there is a good chance you’re wearing Uzbek cotton too. The BBC report highlighted the British retailers because the story was made for British viewers. But people everywhere, and retailers all over the world are using Uzbek cotton. The cotton ends up in your clothes via textile producing nations like Bangladesh and China which export to the US.
I found the post by the former student very interesting too. I think his point about parents ending up paying for the cotton after all is said and done is an important one. Basically, for urbanites, the cotton industry in Uzbekistan ends up being a tax on already poor families. His post doesn’t really address the plight of the thousands of rural children who’s schools are closed and who are forced to meet strict quotas, however.
Simon,
Thanks for the comment! I really enjoyed your reporting immensely, some of the best work I’ve seen on the region. I thought you did admirably under those conditions, and I speak as one that’s been pulled aside by Uzbek police on conditions less strenuous then being caught filming.
I imagine that you’re right about some cotton from Uzbekistan making it into American clothing, especially those manufacturers that are American owned but based overseas. The reason I wrote that, “If you’re American, you might not be connected,” is that Americans have a strong, traditional view of themselves as huge cotton producers and exporters, so it’s odd to think that our own companies would need to buy cotton from the other side of the world. But, it’s a globalizing world, and nothing is as cheap as child labor! I believe that, as you said, there’s very little chance to find transparency in our clothing manufacturers without making phone calls and bringing a video camera along.
Thanks for the work! I assure you that the readers of this site appreciated it, and we’re always watching for news about Central Asia.
My wife is from Bukhara region and was forced to pick cotton for 6 years – and almost died from it once. After I showed her your undercover report she’s been showing that video to all her Uzbek friends and family here in the US. I thought it was interesting that a couple of her (politically well-connected) friends from Tashkent were absolutely astonished that this kind of thing goes on.
Thanks all. I really appreciate the feedback. You might be interested to know that the film was on Sweden’s STV last week where we exposed retail giant H&M and Krenholm as using Uzbek cotton. Krenholm in Estonia is owned by the Swedish textile conglomerate Boras Wafveri and committed to stop using cotton from Uzbekistan when one of its major clients, Finland’s Marimekko, threatened to cancel orders. Monsoon, a British designer label has said ‘no’ to Uzbek cotton too. If more companies join the chorus maybe Uzbekistan’s policy makers will finally realize that flat denials like this one aren’t going to be good enough if they want to keep making money in the cotton industry:
“The mounting media campaign against Uzbekistan, which claims ‘the alleged use of forced child labor in cotton fields’, is totally wrong,” (Uzbek embassy in Riga. Source: Interfax, Nov. 29).
There is interest in my report from broadcasters in at least four other countries which I can’t name at the moment. But the story is spreading and retailers will hopefully be finding it increasingly difficult to play dumb and to justify their traditional business models which don’t take into account the source of their raw materials.
I have firends who can corroborate this story first hand… and as a former teacher in Uzbekistan, have heard many versions of this story from students. Does anyone know if there any just and trustworthy clothing manufactures out there? My aunt can only knit so many sweaters and socks.
That’s great news about H&M and Krenholm’s commitment to stop using Uzbek cotton. Hopefully this will be a trend that will catch on. When the Uzbek government takes the time to release an official complaint about your news report then you know you’ve hit the target square.
You know there’s a small chance that your news report (as well as previous reports from ICG and EJF) could have more of an effect than any official government sanctions or protests ever have. Let’s hope that more companies follow Krenholm’s lead.
Simon’s piece is excellent. But I don’t understand why Michael thinks there are two sides to this story. What are they? Child labour, environmental abuse, corruption and political repression are a) good or b) bad? You just have one really well researched piece by a good journalist, contrasted with a rather stupid post by an unaware former Uzbek student, who doesn’t seem to understand the broader ramifications of what he has been involved in.
The two sides of the story would be that the Uzbeks that I have met don’t think of cotton harvesting as a burden or enslavement. I’m sure there are those that do, but the Uzbeks I know consider it a fun diversion from school, temporary freedom from the tyranny of their households, etc etc. I recall being floored when I asked my girlfriend at the time what she thought about cotton harvesting, she’s from Jizzax [big cotton town], and her thoughts were that it was the best time of her life, and she looked forward to the harvest every year. She wasn’t being sarcastic.
I don’t think the Uzbek student’s post was stupid at all. That is their honest opinion. Being unaware of the ramifications is the national condition of Uzbekistan, and not just that student’s problem.
The “other side” of this story is that Uzbekistan will basically collapse without cotton, in more ways than you might think. The harvest is a major boon to the villages, as it is a primary source of funds from the “tourist” industry of students that arrive and live there for the harvest, buying cotton off the villagers to increase their “picking stats.” The students look forward to this time to grow closer.
Children labor in Uzbekistan isn’t exactly a sin on the same level as human trafficking or sending 5-year-olds into the diamond mines. The people of Uzbekistan, if some sort of international demands are made to improve the working ages and conditions of cotton pickers, won’t consider this a “helping hand” from the West. They’ll think that Karimov is right in believing the West is doing everything it can to keep them down.
And while it’s clear to you and me, David, what’s “right and wrong” in this situation, that has a lot to do with where we are coming from. It’s not black and white, and I think that Simon’s reporting was excellent, but even Simon thought that the former Uzbek student brought up some good points, if missing the consequences inherent in the closing of village schools to meet cotton quotas.
I don’t want to equivocate. Cotton is killing Uzbekistan. I know and believe that. Faizullah Xojaev was killed by Stalinist purges in part because of his remarks to the Uzbek Soviet that “you can’t eat cotton.” If Uzbekistan wants to modernize, it needs to move away from the monoculture. And having Western pressure will certainly help to make that happen.
But: this isn’t an easy thing to make happen, nor will it lead necessarily to a change for the better. What little national services exist in Uzbekistan right now are paid for by cotton. If you make the government buy tractors, pay workers, etc — well, there’s a good chance hundreds, maybe thousands of the children we want to save will die in the ongoing economic or political struggles.
While these struggles may be necessary to see Uzbekistan become the country I know it can be, the real Central Asian power it should be — that doesn’t mean I’m excited to see the price that will have to be paid, especially since it’s not my blood that’s going to be spilled, or my stomach that’s going to go hungry. And calling that former Uzbek student’s post ‘rather stupid’ seems unforgiving and rather callous. If his story had been told in the journalistic fashion, sound bytes and video clips and monologues, the same information would be as impressive to you as Simon’s excellent piece. It’s clear that he’s just some guy with middling English. But, unlike Simon, he IS Uzbek, he HAS picked cotton most of his life, and if that doesn’t make his opinion of the subject worthwhile, then what would? Does a person have to listen to the BBC or read the Economist [or Registan
] to have a viable opinion?
Sorry for the long comment. But I wanted it to be clear why I put those two posts next to each other. They are on the same topic, there IS another side to the story, and it’s worth noting that the children of Uzbekistan are not calling unto the heavens for release from some evil burden. Sure, they don’t know better, but again, those that I know look at cotton picking with the same nostalgia I reserve for summer camp. The working conditions in the cotton fields are only a degree more harsh than their normal living conditions – they aren’t exactly living posh lifestyles behind, and I remember my own students doing the same for their own family’s fields. There are so few tractors, you might be spending weeks picking cotton, or weeks picking corn alongside your aunts and uncles.
But, in the end David, I agree with your sentiments whole-heartedly. Child labor, environment abuse, corruption, and political repression are BAD BAD BAD. I’m not offering an apology. I merely state there are other issues to remember when trying to resolve these problems.
Last word: The cotton industry in Uzbekistan is like a cancerous growth entwined in such a way that it’s actually keeping the patient, the country, alive – and we really need to know what we’re doing before we dive in with the scalpel.
I understand that many students might see this as a diversion from the drudgery of everyday life, but I think this must vary from region to region, group to group and individual to individual. My wife and her brothers don’t have much nice to say about it. If I wasn’t overseas now I’d ask them to write their own personal accounts. But what i do know is that although she does talk about some good times with friends that she stole during breaks in the work, she mostly talks about the abhorrent food, awful living conditions, dirty drinking water (literally drinking from a muddy-brown runoff ditch for the entire stint), not being able to bathe for an entire month or more, hazing of students, harsh labor 7 days a week, 12 hours a day that left her hands bloody and her back in pain, and a general lack of care about the students. Her appendix burst during the cotton harvest and despite her pleas for help no one was willing to take her to a hospital. Were it not for the fact that an uncle happened to live in a village nearby-who had to fight with the administration-and borrowed a car to take her back to a hospital in Bukhara she would probably have died in that cotton field. Indeed, a student from her group did indeed die from a neglected burst appendix the very next year. On top of all that, having to owe money when everything is finished? Yes, young people can and do try to make the best out of a bad situation, but this is no excuse for forced labor.
I hardly want to be the one defending the cotton harvest. I didn’t want to give that impression.
The more important point is that Uzbekistan won’t be willing to give up the one sure source of money it has, besides gold.
Unrelated Topic: Why is appendicitis so common in Central Asia? I noticed myself that every other person has had an appendectomy there, and many suffer before they are treated, with the stories of death by burst appendix not being rare at all. Is it the food? Stress? Lifestyle?
as for cotton pickers, grape pickers what ever u call it, its damed hard work .
years ago u had the united farm workers & chavez representing the lettice & grape pickers for improve working conditions and pay issues.
most of it was settle back then by boycotts an d press releases.
this was putting pressure on the stores like jewel and a&p & others.
now you could do something like it but should outsiders lead this march or should the uzbek parents and others lead it,its there kids getting chew up by this thing.
and by the way wheres that so called free medical care or health train thats suppose to go to areas of need ?
that poor girl didn`t need to pass on for us to get cheap cotton.
i dont think uzbeks need any more patrol boats [about 20 millon worth !] from the bush folks.
maybe a little more moral leadership from this crowd on this issue.
karimov and his klan should be ashamed of useing kids this way.
Michael,
Yes, I understand, I didn’t think that you were sticking up for the Uzbek cotton monopoly.
As far as appendicitis, yes I know! What is the deal? I looked it up on WebMD once, and I think it implies that contaminated water and/or food may contribute to a bacterial infection that causes it.
I never thought my post will raise so much interest. I am flattered.
You are right Michael. if one googles cotton harvest in uzbekistan, one finds out almost the same text, about child labour, monoculture or exploitation of students. I wanted to share my own experience. share what is on the ground, show a different side of the matter. I didn’t mean to deny all the sad stories that might or did happen to many of us, I didn’t deny child labour. I actually wrote that I want to write about child labour later. I do not have enough information to post about it at the moment.
I, personally have never been forced to pick cotton at school. my friends did niether. sorry, it must be disappointing for some of you. but it is not as simple as you would like to see it. i come from samarkand, maybe that is the reason. it depends on region, how cotton is harvested. Tashkent for example is free from cotton harvest. students of the capital, study longer, and then have longer holidays, which is a frustrating fact for students of other regions.
as far as I know, village children living (schools) next to the fields are sent to cotton fields. But since couple of years, even schools of Samarkand were ordered to send teachers, and sometimes children to cotton harvest. Usually it is well organized, teachers accompany children; (9-10th grade) one bus per school, they leave in the morning and come back by 19:00. It depends tho. Usually it takes 10 days or 15 at most, that they regularly go to fields. and again, children can’t be forced, by teachers. they usually have fun, play with cotton and come back, that’s what my mother says, she is a teacher. she accompanied schoolchildren on several occasions. of course, she is against the whole business, using children or students, or other workers as a cheap labourforce on the fields is wrong; they are simply not effective.
Simon, you’ve done a great research! I picked cotton, i enjoyed it. but i also understand that it is not a proper system. i did boycotted it, on my last 2 years of university. the university officials called me at home, threatening that they will expel me from the university. that is a common practice.
I have a question tho, Simon, in the video the last part shows busses and police, do you think these were taking children to the fields? as far as i know, only students are taken to the fields in such manner, because all universities and institutes send their students simultaneously in one or days. these are hundreds of university students; for them, the local authorities organize dozens of busses, accompanied with police, to clear the way for them, old soviet tradition. I can’t imagine children being sent in the same way. It is just the different organisation.
schools are responsible for schoolchildren, they have busses assigned to them, and they simply do not have that amount of children to send to the fields.
rural children usually work on the fields all day long, the whole season. students also used to buy cotton from rural children, farmer-boy-and-girls. my relatives live near Jizzak, they go picking cotton all together. the whole families, with children. Usually, what I hear from them is that they are glad they can earn some money.
David, you are right to point out the difference between me and the BBC reporter. my post might seem stupid to you, which is absolutely understandable, if you haven’t been to Uzbekistan. again, I am and were aware of the damage the whole cotton industry has on certain individuals and the society at large. there is a lot written about it. the point of my post was to show a different perspective. a mundane one. it is not a hell, that students or children have to go through. there are many societies in the world, where people have to make up with what they have, even in warring Afghanistan, they keep making children, celebrating weddings, dying and dancing.
I just took a step to show things differently, from a student perspective. but again, the same student can tell you a lot more on negative impacts of the same story. my choice was to share my own, and not to repeat what’s been said. I enjoyed watching and reading the research made my Simon Ostrovsky, but still I think there are issues one has to research more in-depth in order to understand. I am in no ways supporting cotton-harvesting-system, uzbekistan has at the moment.
sorry for a long comment…
My thanks for an incredible in-depth review of your own post! I especially agree with your pointing out that cotton harvesting is bad, but it’s not exactly equitable with the living hell that can be found in other countries or cultures.
That’s a great post, former student. But again, I’d like to point out that there is a great variance across the country. You mention you had to do it for 2 weeks, while in Bukhara it’s typically 2 months or more (and Tashkent zero).
I’d lived in Uzbekistan, but never thought that if a student is paid just $2 a day, and his parents have a little bit of money, they’d buy his way out, and the actual picker would get something closer to the free market value of the cotton.
Being against child labor doesn’t depend on where you’re from, if that’s the U.S., which has not ratified the ILO convention against child labor. The ban on child labor is nearly universal. The argument is not simply that work is unpleasant, but that it deprives children of their education, which is clearly the case in Uzbekistan. And also that it’s forced, since children can’t make decisions about where and whether to work.
So cotton picking hurts the country by replacing investment in education, just as sending all the kids on a one-month picnic would. And since this is worse the farther you get from a city, it sets in stone the advantages Tashkenters already enjoy.
It also leads to investment in nonproductive areas, like students paying >$2 a day to subsidize the end-users of cotton.
And in general, when the government forces farmers to grow a crop and forces its citizens to pick it, one can say with a high degree of assurance that this is not the most profitable use of the land.
So while I found the former student’s post very interesting and insightful, cotton is no less insidious.