Unimaginable

When several international clothing firms boycotted cotton from Uzbekistan as a protest against the child labor they were using, the government instead drafted ordinary citizens including medical personnel such as surgeons and nurses. Every year during cotton picking season they are to report to the given rural areas and have to meet their quota: pick 60 kilos (about 120 pounds) of cotton per day or be fined. Picking cotton is painful, difficult work but none is spared. People with illnesses like asthma are drafted, only pregnant women and those who are nursing can be exempted. News from Uzbekistan is hard to come by, but according to a BBC report, of the countries where forced labor is found, Uzbekistan is the only one where it is orchestrated by the government. International labor organizations have not been able to verify that children are indeed no longer involved. As a result of the boycott, fifteen is to be the cut off date but where there might be a need, many believe, some below that age have been enlisted. Although internationally Uzbek cotton only represents 4% of the total, it is 45% of their exports. It may be unimaginable in the 21st century, but government orchestrated forced labor is happening.