Supermarket Slave Trial

2014, Crime  -   26 Comments
8.92
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Ratings: 8.92/10 from 154 users.

Prawn, or shrimp if you're American, was once a luxury and now it's an everyday pleasure. Cheap for us to buy, the human cost of their production is unbelievable. This is the story of globalized slavery and how giant international supermarkets like Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Morrisons and Iceland are selling shrimps fed by slave labor.

Thai fishing industry is rife with abuse, torture and summary executions. Thailand is the world's largest supplier of shrimps. The six-month Guardian investigation has traced the complex food chain from the boat to the supermarket shelf, proving for the first time that the low price of the shrimps on your plate depends on slave labor.

Late at night a cargo boat slips into one of Thailand's busiest ports. On board is a man who hasn't seen land in over 18 months. Like many Thai ports this is a hub for human trafficking where international network of slave traders often buy and sell migrants onto Thailand's illegal fishing boats... and he isn't safe.

The last time he was back on land he was tricked and sold onto another boat. This time his freedom has been bought by a local charity for just £450. Terrified and confused and unaware that he is free he fears that he's about to be trafficked again. Even free he's still afraid to show his face on camera.

A former monk from Cambodia was also a part of the invisible migrant workforce that props up Thailand's multi-billion-dollar shrimp industry. Each year thousands of migrants pay brokers large sums of money to smuggle them into Thailand in search of a better life. With his parents struggling to feed six children he left Burma to help provide for his siblings. After his mother died he was abandoned by his father. He lived as a pagoda boy until he left rural Burma as a teenager.

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26 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Jimbo

    I dont eat prawns. but I hope others who do watch this & vote with their pocket. check the source.

  2. tamsyn

    I live in Thailand and can tell you every time we see the 'EU gives/maintains Yellow Card' we laugh. The Thais won't do anything unless they are Red Carded and I can't believe the EU doesn't know this. So it's mutually beneficial The Thais 'have been warned' again, and EU businesses keep getting to buy cheap slave produced seafood. Shameful. Only the Red Card will stop this. Btw, every time I see it's a bloody Vimeo my heart sinks, I'm posting this whilst waiting for it to keep loading. And some suggest Vimeo as an alternative to YouTube. Pfft.

  3. bodyworker

    Apparently this was a documentary viewed at the New York state mental institution.Judging from the comments there appears to be a shortage of antipsychotic medication.

  4. Heather

    I wish they told us of a charity that FREES these slaves so we can give $$. I want to free a slave.
    When all is said and done....there is a GOD who all men will give account to.
    Breaks my heart how many people are so evil and make these horrible choices.

  5. bluetortilla

    Slavery- any kind of slavery- is the gravest of crimes against humanity and if you believe in punishment, should incur the severest of penalties. Slavery is injustice at the peak of putrefaction, and we shall never rest until it utterly stamped out from this earth.
    I am not sure how I feel about punishment as justice, I don't think I agree with that angry sentiment, but I am sure that I am for whatever means it will take to rid our world from slavery.

  6. TheDanishViking

    Finally a problem you can do something about. By local shrimp!

  7. Shadowblur

    ....These supermarkets are now cooperating against the
    slavery, they knew and turned a 'blind eye' to this slavery for many years, now that they’re in the spotlight, they want to clear themselves as fast as possible. They don't want to lose their customers of course, get a dirty name. I know I'm stating the obvious, but like other giant corps, they don't want publicity, to be singled out.

  8. mycial

    I don't care about big supermarket Wal-Marts etc..Americans are very greedy & shellfish people. Most of them don't care & if you forward this documentary to a American they would say its false. But you must remember that this planet is build on slavery. A prison planet the illusion that your free because your not in shackles is completely artificial.

    1. Dan Corpman

      Well I'm American and I think you'd be surprised how many of US their are that are awake to many things. I don't think you are giving the sheep of America (which I was a member of for a long time) enough benefit of the doubt. We have gone through generations and generations of propaganda, corporate advertising (we see thousands of logos each day), fluoride poisoning, mercury fillings, tv all the time, distractions galore and overworked underpaid (compared average worker here to ceo salaries) times.... We are such a young country but just like a young person who comes accross a large amount of wealth and fame early on in their life, they struggle to be responsible and give a f*ck about other people but themselves.. I wish the world would give us a little more credit every now and then and not always judge us by the 1% of the 1% elite who actually have gained control of our country awhile ago and will do literally anything to keep themselves behind the steering wheel... but then again I can't blame most of them for not being able to try and see a bigger picture because why, well they're "most people" just like "most people" in America they don't have common sense more times than not and they can't ever seem to wake up to anything that actually matters. But I'm sure you're not one of those people Mycial, take it easy brother.

    2. william76

      I'm allergic to shellfish people. ; )

      Not a fan of shrimp or their means to get them either. You and Dan both make very good points.

    3. mycial

      Secondly, I've just found out that there's a company that's putting aborted fetus tissues in our products.
      Children of God for Life is calling on the public to boycott products of major food companies that are partnering with Senomyx, a biotech company that produces artificial flavor enhancers, unless the company stops using aborted fetal cell lines to test their products.
      In 2010, the pro-life organization wrote to Senomyx CEO Kent Snyder, pointing out that moral options for testing their food additives could and should be used.

    4. NewCovenant

      Not necessarily-Truly there is one Who makes us free and it is JESUS! I was a rich multi millionaire on drugs 20 yrs. ago and the LORD appeared to me for real after 1 month of giving my heart to Him! I have never been more FREE in my entire life!

    5. mycial

      No the letter J wasn't in the English alphabet until the 16th century so their could not have been a Jesus. This fictional story comes from Eygpt, his name was Horus. The book of the dead is how your bible was created out of Africa. Jesus could not have been saved or a Christian because the original Jews are African. This mind control of religion has killed millions of people & you say it's loving. It's the book of evil child sacrificing & human sacrificing. A secret society conjured up this mind control to steal other peoples history, language & traditions & then put them in slavery. When the master beat raped murdered anyone that's not European he tells them Jesus loves you while murdering.

    6. NewCovenant

      How do you know that you are correct? You seem to be the brightest human ever! Anyway, God does not need to be defended-Creation Speaks of HIM & the Torah i.e. Bible is a proven document of history of the ancient kings, people groups etc. Man has created evil, not the LORD! you should try reading about Y'shua in the Gospels and then "try" to write with your wit! People show their stupidity!

    7. bluetortilla

      Sorry but I can't help pointing it out: "shellfish people?" : )

      Anyway, it seems to me that people everywhere are greedy and non-empathetic and Americans' consumption as a people is only in proportion to their power as a world empire.

    8. bexy11

      REALLY? You really think all Americans are greedy and "shellfish"? That we are all so stupid we don't know reality when we see it? I think you need to get out and meet more people, dude.

      Yeah, a LOT of Americans are clueless, stupid, greedy, or shellfish. But just like people of every other nationality, you can't lump us all into one bucket.

  9. Sharon Swainson

    A terrific documentary!

  10. Eric Lawson

    Good Documentary.Never was aware of this . I will not by shrimp from these places again !!!!!I always said slavery is alive and well this is just one more example !!!Sad !!

  11. Tripp John

    Who eats shrimp? Disgusting, like eating rats.

  12. MrNukem

    Here in the USA at Walmart at least the frozen shrimp is labeled where it is harvested from and the bags of shrimp from the USA is only $1.50 - $2.00 more than imported, just take a few moments to read the label and buy USA harvested shrimp. I have been for the past few years just to support American fisherman. Best way to fight back against these kind of abuses as an individual is to not buy it, enough of us do that and a real difference can be made.

  13. sonibvc

    Its all about demand for cheap products! I dont know how is it in the USA but in the UK its all about "a penny saved is a penny earned"....everyone wants cheap things and then complains of the quality or the way it was sourced...you cant have your cake and eat it too! Nobody here questions how something can be delivered at a lower price than it was 10 years ago! Something along the chain needs to give in so that you can get your unreasonable demand!

  14. Jo McKay

    What is wrong with us? John Lennon said "It's easy livin if your eyes are closed". Sure for the big fishing industry (legal almost as bad as the 'ghost' fisheries) it is about the need or lust of money, but what is with the overwhelming justification in human beings who support this insanity-destroying ourselves by making our planet uninhabitable for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren?
    Arguing for sanctions against poor governments is ludicrous. 'You' and 'Me' supporting any 'business' who force unsafe and unsustainable practices for cheap 'product' including food are the ones who need to wake up! and 'they' the bullies who feed us (and their pockets) need to be criminalized, not just sanctioned! The over fishing must stop; destruction of oceans and forests and fresh water reserves and air purity, clearly must all stop. Yet most of the signs point to our ultimate suicide pact through gluttony, an inability to delay gratification or feel responsible in any way to make things better for future generations. In a time when many can be connected to the whole world, we are dis-connecting from our relationship to it.

  15. Lenny

    On a side note, !@#$ the Tea Party.

  16. Patrick Adrien Varencaus

    precious lifes in the name of the mighty $$$ :(

  17. cyberfrank

    incredible that it still happens today, not only women are slaves there, they are pretty retarded!

  18. ~Oliver B Koslik Esq

    Tragic... "The Land of Smiles" ain't looking so smiley.

    I see the same mentalities of psychotically violent people in everyday life. It's unfortunate that such people are not only able to prosper, but as well encouraged or enabled.

    +1 SeeUat Videos!