Global International Republican Institute

Made in Slavery is a four-episode podcast written by Eleonora Mongelli, human rights expert and Vice President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU). The podcast reveals the intricate schemes through which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leverages global market brands to exploit forced labor of Uyghurs, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority living in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The podcast aims to expose how the brands involved directly or indirectly, as well as the PRC, strengthen their economic power and international market presence thanks to the profits derived from the use of Uyghur forced labor, extremely low-cost production and supply chains that have been opaque until now.

Made in Slavery is a four-episode podcast written by Eleonora Mongelli, human rights expert and Vice President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU). The podcast reveals the intricate schemes through which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leverages global market brands to exploit forced labor of Uyghurs, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority living in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The podcast aims to expose how the brands involved directly or indirectly, as well as the PRC, strengthen their economic power and international market presence thanks to the profits derived from the use of Uyghur forced labor, extremely low-cost production and supply chains that have been opaque until now.

Made in Slavery is a four-episode podcast written by Eleonora Mongelli, human rights expert and Vice President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU). The podcast reveals the intricate schemes through which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leverages global market brands to exploit forced labor of Uyghurs, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority living in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The podcast aims to expose how the brands involved directly or indirectly, as well as the PRC, strengthen their economic power and international market presence thanks to the profits derived from the use of Uyghur forced labor, extremely low-cost production and supply chains that have been opaque until now.

Made in Slavery is a four-episode podcast written by Eleonora Mongelli, human rights expert and Vice President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU). The podcast reveals the intricate schemes through which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) leverages global market brands to exploit forced labor of Uyghurs, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority living in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The podcast aims to expose how the brands involved directly or indirectly, as well as the PRC, strengthen their economic power and international market presence thanks to the profits derived from the use of Uyghur forced labor, extremely low-cost production and supply chains that have been opaque until now.

In this series of Global, we’ve been speaking with “Democracy First Responders” — the politicians, activists, government officials and everyday citizens who are working to respond to the COVID-19 crisis successfully and protect their country’s democratic institutions.

Today, we’re taking you to Kosovo. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Kosovar government has struggled to meet the challenges of the pandemic, mismanaging both the country’s political and medical response. Ultimately, the government dissolved and a nationwide political crisis ensued. But in the midst of these crises, young people in Kosovo has stepped up.

Enter our guest for today: Donjet Bislimi. Donjet is a physician, whose work has literally put him at the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. But in addition to that, Donjet is a young political leader committed to democratic governance in Kosovo. He’s the President of the Democratic Party of Kosovo’s youth wing. But before that, at the ripe old age of 23, Donjet was elected to the municipal assembly of Mitrovica in 2017. Since then, he’s been a champion for young people throughout Kosovo, helping the country’s next generation of democratic leaders.

Global spoke with Donjet about his experience as a physician on the frontlines of a public health crisis, the government failure to manage the fallout of COVID-19 and his hopes for a more democratic future.

This episode concludes our “Democracy First Responders” series. It’s been an honor to hear from the politicians, government officials and activists across the world who are proof of democracy’s strength in times of crisis.

Over the past few years, Ethiopia has made significant democratic progress, but with coronavirus jeopardizing democracies across the globe, that progress is at risk. Ethiopia’s elections, once scheduled for the end of August, are now indefinitely delayed and many Ethiopians fear the government is manipulating the country’s state of emergency to restrict the free speech of its citizens.

Enter Mesud Gebeyehu, the Executive Director of the Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations. At the onset of the pandemic, Mesud’s consortium called for the Ethiopian government to implement prevention methods according to WHO standards and respect freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Mesud spoke with host Travis Green about his own experiences in Ethiopia and his hopes for continued democratic progress in the country.