Ok, I have to admit something to you right now. I only put that title to get you to click and see this, although this is technically a review.You see, I don't have an I-phone 5, although I do have an iPod touch. But this review is about the iPhone 5. I know you're probably confused. Very confused, but I'll tell you what's going on here.
Ever heard of Bibek Dhong from Nepal? Neither had I. He worked to make your i-phone 5, and I know he wouldn't have a good review of it. His job required him to go into 1,000 dollars debt, just to start working in the factory in Malaysia. Well, he made the money back easily you might be wondering.
He worked 12 hours a day and guess how much me made a MONTH? 175 dollars! Wow, isn't that great? (I'm being sarcastic) Anyway, the company he works for is called Flextronics.
So after all this, Flextronics confiscated his passport! After it was confiscated he began work testing the iPhone 5's camera. They weren't put together very well, and the production line was shut down in three months. So Bibek and his fellow workers waited to here from flextronics in their living quarters.
He told Bloomberg Businessweek that each of the brokers told him never to mention the fees, saying that "if any worker reveals it to anyone, he will be sent back to Nepal immediately, and he will be charged and punished."
Finally, 20 days later they arrived only to tell them the company had been shut down and then paid them all 600 dollars. While 200 of his fellow workers were sent home to Nepal, Bibek was among the 1,300 that were forced to stay and wait in their living quarters. So they did, in fact so long that began to think they'd starve.
As one of Dhong's coworkers toldBloomberg Businessweek, "We were scared. We thought, if we die here, we will die together." Another claimed, "They treated us like dogs."
So they rioted, and it worked the police came and told Flextronics they had to feed them. FINALLY Bibek Dhong got his passport back, on the way to the airport, and he was able to go back home to Nepal. He's now working in a shoe factory, making less than $90 a month, and paying $300 dollars a year in interest for his debt.
So what is being done about this?
When contacted by Bloomberg Businessweek, a Flextronics spokeswoman said, "As with previous practice, we will immediately reimburse any employees that have been charged excessive fees by labor agencies." An Apple spokesman said that Cupertino will make sure "the right payments have been made" when Flextronics finishes its investigation into the Bukit Raja fiasco.This factory also makes components for Cisco, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, & others. I want you to remember this next time you pick up your iPhone to scroll aimlessly through your facebook feed. That you are holding a device that was made by slaves, and mistreated people. Why? Becuase we feel it is so important to have this thing that wastes most of our time anyway.
Now you might protest that this may be a 'rare case'. IT'S NOT! Many times they have to put nets below the factory windows because of so many workers committing suicide by jumping.
Below I'm posting links for many other times apple has been cause doing these wicked things.
Please join me with rising up against apple, and the evils they are allowing and making a profit off. I'm not going to be supporting apple anymore, by buying new devices, or recommending their products.
Sincerely, Rachel
P.S. I'm going to be posting about another half of the story in Africa soon.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/07/apple_iphone_workers_imprisoned_in_virtual_slavery_report/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/how-the-iphone_b_5800262.html
http://uproxx.com/technology/2012/01/ny-times-investigation-confirms-that-apples-factories-in-china-are-basically-slave-labor-camps/
http://www.naturalnews.com/035474_Apple_slave_labor_working_conditions.html
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jan/25/apple-child-labour-supply
http://nupge.ca/content/apple-admits-using-child-labour
