Those Who Make Levi Chapter Summary

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Recommended: Ethical issues in the fashion industry

During his night out he realizes that the majority of the garment factories are owned by Chinese businessmen. Timmerman notices that a majority of the club's patrons are Chinese and western men look for Cambodian escorts. While the Cambodian girls are actively seeking to marry western men; not out of love, but out of necessity to leave the circumstance that they were born into. If there’s even a little possibility that they’ll be able to live the European lifestyle that they desire the girls are more than willing to fulfill to the request of these men. In reflecting back on this chapter it's hard not to assume this is how the sex trade and most sex workers come about. In no way am I trying to degrade or look down on women who are sex works, …show more content…

As illustrated in the chapter entitled “Those Who Make Levi”, we come to learn the importance of family and sweatshops to those who live in Cambodia and countries similar to it. In this we learn about the approximate income that Nari and Ai (who are both Cambodian garment workers) and their roommates make per month. We also learn that depending on how much over time the girls put in at the factories they make anywhere between $45 to $60 dollars per month. Phoan, one of the roommates states that she makes about $60 per month and that she send at least half of that to her family back home. Timmerman jokes and states that he’d wish to have her as his daughter. However, Phoan doesn’t find the humor in his joke and replies by saying “I support 10 people. I have five brothers and five sisters. I have no education. I can’t do anything else but work at a garment factory” (107). In this instance we learn the importance of family to Phoan and many others living in similar circumstance. No one want to work in a factory for the rest of their lives barely making anything to sustain their life let alone the lives of ten other people. However, we have no control over the circumstance of our birth and the families and realities that we’re born into. Due to the simple fact, Phoan and many others like her will accept living in unbearable

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