
Forced Labor Is the Backbone of the World’s Electronics Industry
Poor people around the world are streaming into Malaysia in search of factory work. Once they arrive, they often find only hardship.
People forced to work in circumstances beyond their control
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This project is supported by Dignity Health Foundation and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Poor people around the world are streaming into Malaysia in search of factory work. Once they arrive, they often find only hardship.

Kids as young as 10 and 11 are picking cash crops for giant international companies—and hardly anyone is watching to make sure the work is safe.

“The shackles introduced by this visa provide the diplomatic employer with incredible power.”

“I had to brush the dogs’ teeth, clean their ears, and give them vitamins each day. But I had to sleep on a dog bed in the living room.”

“In the Philippines, I was independent and knew everyone in my neighborhood. In the U.S., I had become isolated—a shadow of myself.”

“I was a fixture in the house; a robot there to do things for them. I felt invisible, dispensable, and alone.”

Three stories of women who came to America looking for a better life, but instead found astonishing cruelty

Racida Eslabon came to the U.S. expecting to send money back home to the Philippines. She still hasn’t told her mother what happened after she arrived.

Many of the women who work in agriculture often have few options but to put up with abuse on the job.