Forced Labor
Costa del Este, Paraguay, Paraguay
A group of homeless children were recruited to work at a shopping mall to help the customers carry their bags and to also clean the bathrooms, the floors, and parking lots of the mall. They were promised compensation from the shopping mall but what they got were only the tips from some of the costumers. The children were afraid of saying something to the owners because they knew that they could lose even the tips from the customers. However, a small group of courageous kids protested for their salary. The owners immediately fired the protesters, cleared them out of the area, and did not pay them for their work. They made sure to tell everyone that letting the children receive a tip and stay in the mall during the day is more than enough.
2008