When I watched the youtube video entitled "Disney Goes to Haiti" I was both shocked and appalled at the conditions that these haitian workers had to endure in order to just try and make a living. Many people here in the United States have good feelings when the name Disney is brought up or they see anything visual related to Mickey Mouse, but it is clear that Disney goes to great lengths to keep their dark underside hidden from the general public in America. Disney would not allow these journalist into their own factories and the reporter even mentioned at the end of the video that some of the workers who spoke out were identified and fired. Those who were interviewed wore masks or had their backs turned trying to not be identified, but it was clear that the conditions were bad enough that they felt it was their duty to speak out against them.
It is sad that a large cooperation such as Disney who makes their money off children's dreams and good clean entertainment treat their factory workers this way. They do not pay their Haitian workers a living wage, which the workers claim could be as little as 58 cents an hour. Many of their workers are forced to share housing with three other families and cannot afford to even feed their families. Yet, Disney chooses to charge thirteen dollars a shirt in America what cost them as little as twenty eight cents to make in Haiti. It is clear that the Disney cooperation is taking advantage to the poverty in Haiti and the willingness of the workers to accept these wages.
What I found most interesting however was the fact that when the factory workers were asked what they would tell the president of the company, they did not say that they wanted Disney to leave Haiti. The workers acknowledged that working for Disney was much better than working for the Haitian government and that Disney needed to remain in Haiti and even offer more jobs. It is clear that if cooperations like Disney began to lead the way in giving their factory workers more human rights and better wages then the Haitian government would be forced to follow. Disney is clearly a powerful presence in Haiti and it is sad that they are willing to treat their workers like the Haitian government rather than use their position of power to try to make things better.
It would be interesting to go to Haiti today and see if anything has changed for these workers now that the national spotlight had been focused once again on Haiti after the earthquakes.
References:
National Labor Committee, 1996. Micky Mouse Goes to Haiti Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_OXhtgHBxk
National Labor Committee, 1996. Micky Mouse Goes to Haiti Part II. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8zcwniS3Es&feature=relmfu
