Tag Archive for: Kazakstan

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Kazakhstan: Children Help Harvest Tobacco for Phillip Morris Cigarettes

From the NY Times:


July 13, 2010

Philip Morris Is Said to Benefit From Child Labor

By ANDREW E. KRAMER

MOSCOW — One woman said children as young as 10 working in the fields developed red rashes on their stomachs and necks as they harvested tobacco for use in cigarettes made by Philip Morris.

Another migrant laborer working in the tobacco fields in Kazakhstan said a farmer confiscated her identification papers and withheld pay to force her to continue working despite dismal conditions.

Human Rights Watch, the group best known for documenting governmental abuse and war crimes, plans to release a report on Wednesday showing that child and forced labor is widespread on farms that supply a cigarette factory owned by Philip Morris International in Kazakhstan, in Central Asia.

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