Timor refugees make cheap labor

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


As if being terrorized out of their homes and driven into refugee camps weren’t bad enough, hundreds of displaced East Timorese children may have wound up as forced laborers in Indonesian sweatshops and brothels, reports THE AGE.

Recent Must Reads

10/26 – Solar Power on a cloudy day

10/25 – Sing along with Mr. Torture

10/24 – Running on empty

10/21- Russian church rides the rails As many as 1000 children were separated from their parents during the mayhem following East Timor‘s declaration of independence last year, either in East Timor itself or later in refugee camps. Investigators say some were relocated by pro-Jakarta Timorese who plan to indoctrinate them as political activists to push for East Timor’s reintegration with Indonesia; others have reportedly been forced to work in Indonesian factory sweatshops and plantations or as prostitutes.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate