Thousands of Haitian children leave every year to try their luck in the Dominican Republic, a substantially more developed country. Extreme poverty, despair and very limited access to education are at the root of most of this emigration. Those crossing the border illegally are prey to robbery, sexual abuse and murder.

The repression of trade union rights plunges Burmese workers deeper into poverty. Oblivious to their rights, they find themselves at the mercy of employers that are only too happy to exploit a totally subservient workforce. Members of the FTUB are developing a clandestine network inside the country.

Burmese political prisoners go through hell during their long periods in detention. One of them, recently released, agreed to recount his experience.

Sri Lanka has for decades been torn apart by the conflict between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers. The fighting has intensified over recent months. Members of a Tamil teaching union give personal accounts of life and work in the most dangerous areas of the country.

From the torture of activists to the imprisonment of minors to make their parents’ crack, the military junta resorts to the most abject practices to repress trade unionism.

Of the three main trade unions active in Sri Lanka’s export processing zones (EPZs), the FTZ&GSEU has received the most disturbing threats in recent months. Many have been directed at its secretary-general, Anton Marcus, a tireless activist who has become a bogeyman for countless employers. The FTZ&GSEU’s vice-president at a clothing factory has also been severely beaten.

Despite the much-heralded media show trial of a few former Khmer Rouge leaders in 2008, Cambodia’s legal authorities are incompetent and collude with the government. Clear examples were the trial following the assassination of trade unionist Chea Vichea, which resulted in 20-year prison sentences for two innocent people, and other cases linked to murders and violent attacks on trade unionists.

Scarcely 3% of Bangladeshi workers are members of unions. The serious repression of union activities and political involvement of too many trade unions mean that almost all Bangladeshi workers are left with no protection.