By Mataeliga Pio Sioa
Slavery! Such an ugly, demeaning, blood turning word to have in our vocabulary of humanity.
Mouthing it out is distasteful enough but it is nowhere close to the venom that crawls up the spine at the reality of what it is.
The word carried news headlines this week and this time our own flesh and blood are bleeding and scarred at the end of the cracking slavery whip.
We are also not the only ones making that injustice of humanity cry.
Our brothers and sisters in our region of peace, envied by the world as paradise, are making the same heartbreaking cry.
The mournful wail of appeal for help at being exploited as slaves is coming from the seasonal workers scheme.
This is the same scheme that has already made it possible for some families to build better homes and enjoy the ease and luxury of riding in their own car.
This is the same scheme that is supposed to be a win-win for everyone.
Our unemployed island workers provide the cheap labour, Australian and New Zealand farming employers benefit from the work.
The apple tasted fresh and sweet at the early going and in most cases it still is. But in Australia there is rot starting to appear in the fruits of our workers hard labour and it is spreading.
Our workers and others from the region are crying out at being treated like slaves.
Even with being fed peanuts when they first started there were enough to send some home to build new homes and buy cars for the families.
The peanuts are still flowing but the employers are finding new and cunning ways to reverse the flow back into their pockets.
Squalid accommodations of 3 to 4 workers in a hot small room that siphon away some of their hard earnings is one.
The problem is not new but the workers stuck it out at first as sacrifice for the sake of carrying the family hopes and dreams of a better life.
Unfortunately, the exploitation and abuse reached a new peak these past few days when workers finally said enough. Time to draw the line.
Manipulating working hours for less payment and variations drawn up in contracts the workers are unable to read or made to understand is where the whip lashing stops.
The one ray of justice that will save and hopefully end this sad episode in a very promising scheme is the investigation underway by the Australian Senate into the slavery complaints.
Our High Commission and Trade Commission in Australia are taking the same path and that is welcoming.
We live in the modern age of better education, communication and most of what it takes to raise our levels of knowledge and understanding.
Acts of slavery in whatever form or disguise are today seen and smelled miles away.
A prisoner convicted of criminal deception summed it up best as he mumbled his regrets on his way to prison.
“You don’t fool nobody no time.”