Later, the crew visited Ali Lakiss, CEO of Saf-Cacao, Ivory Coast’s largest domestically owned cocoa exporter. It was bitterly ironic to see how Mr. Lakiss so confidently claimed of there being no slavery or trafficking in the Ivory Coast’s cocoa plantations as undercover footage was shown of a group of young boys cutting down cocoa pods with machetes in a nearby plantation. Like many children forced into labor, these kids did not attend school, could not speak the local language and admitted to being beaten by the plantation owners if not working hard enough. Even more disturbing was how such children are seen as profitable purchases; where for a mere 230 pounds, plantation owners could cover the cost for transport of a child and inherit an indefinite time of labor. Lakiss only admitted to a problem of child labor when presented with evidence from INTERPOL’s Operation BIA, where Ivory Coast police rescued 54 children working illegally in plantations and apprehended eight traffickers during a two-day operation last June of 2009.

The documentary concluded with Frank Hagemann, Senior Policy Analyst at the ILO’s International Program of the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), expressing his “feeling of helplessness” upon watching the documentary. He spoke to the camera crew that although some positives have come about the already twice extended Harkin-Engel Protocol, real change is yet to be made.

I sat there next to my 14-year-old cousin who was among the first to raise his hand when asked if anyone was angry after seeing the documentary. Films like these are truly to be accredited for the daring and oftentimes dangerous lengths they go to to explain to us visually the harsh realities of our world today. Hagemann’s feelings of helplessness can be shared by many when facing such a vast and worldwide problem. There are, however, small steps in which we as consumers (and downright concerned human beings) can take that positively impact the chocolate industry. Steps like purchasing Fair Trade Certified chocolate or urging major chocolate companies to do so can help in ensuring that cocoa farmers are receiving a fair price for their harvest and that slavery is not being used in the process. See below for some quick and easy ways you can help bring justice to the international chocolate industry today!

• Call Hershey on June 10th!
• Shop Fair Trade and enjoy these deliciously, labor friendly chocolates: Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Sweet Earth Organic Chocolate
• Send a message to Hershey, Mars and Nestle to stop child labor!

*The Washington, DC screening of The Dark Side of Chocolate was sponsored by: Africa Action, American Federation of Teachers, Break the Chain Campaign, DC Fair Trade, Foreign Policy in Focus, Freedom Network USA, Global Exchange, Green America, International Labor Rights Forum and Organic Consumers Association