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NTSB Says Boeing is Not Providing Key Info on Door Plug Probe; Paul Alexander Who Spent Decades in an Iron Lung Dies at 78; Students Around the World Speak Out Against Child Labor; Former Navalny Aide Recovering After Attack In Lithuania; Ukraine: Russian Oil Refineries Hit By Drone Strikes; Putin Again Threatens To Use Nuclear Weapons If Necessary. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 14, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:45]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. And that includes everyone streaming us on CNN Max.

I'm John Vause. Just ahead, coordinated Ukrainian attacks from the southern border to southeast of Moscow. A clear reminder to Russian voters days before the presidential election, they are a country at war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMERICAN CROWD: Keep TikTok! Keep TikTok! Keep TikTok!

VAUSE (voice over): Is the clock ticking down on TikTok? A bill that could effectively ban the app in the U.S. is now heading to the Senate, where Democrats fearful of election fallout might just play for tie.

And Boeing's problems are piling up fast. U.S. Investigators say the company unable to provide crucial records tied to January's door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines flight.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM, with John Vause.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just days before Russia's presidential election, Ukrainian forces appear to be sending a message to voters. Despite what Vladimir Putin may claim, the war isn't going entirely his way.

Over the past two days, at least three Russian oil refineries, some of the biggest in the country have come under attack from Ukrainian drones, according to Ukrainian defense sources.

A fourth refinery has also been targeted, but for now, no official word of Ukrainian involvement. At this oil facility southeast of Moscow, at least two people work reportedly hurt. Russian officials confirm a fire broke out overnight and was later put out.

According to Ukrainian sources, the drone attacks are intended to limit Moscow's oil revenue, and that in that way impact the Kremlin's funding for the war.

The drone strikes coincide with reports of attacks in southern Russia by pro-Ukrainian Russian exiles. Two paramilitary groups claimed to cross the border in tanks and armored vehicles, and say they've captured at least one village and destroyed the Russian command center there.

More details now from CNN's Matthew Chance, reporting in from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They call themselves the Siberian Battalion, one of several Russian paramilitaries that are striking across the Russian border. We can't verify their video, but the group says it shows their latest assault on Russian soil ahead of a presidential vote that Vladimir Putin is certain to win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)!

CHANCE (voice over): Never mind voting at the ballot box says this fighter taking cover. Join us and vote with the gun, he says.

More dramatic video from another group. The freedom of Russia Legion say they assaulted Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions. Two Russian villages they say were captured.

Russian officials say all the attacks were pushed back with dozens of invaders killed, as well as several tanks destroyed.

It is Ukrainian election interference. According to the Russian president, who set regardless to secure a fifth term in the Kremlin.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): The main goal I have no doubt about it is to -- if not disrupt the presidential elections in Russia, then at least somehow interfere with the normal processes of expressing the will of citizens.

CHANCE: The human rights groups say that normal process has already been distorted in a Kremlin crackdown on dissent. Including hundreds of detentions at memorials for opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died suddenly last month in an Arctic penal colony.

Just this week, his former chief of staff in exile Leonid Volkov, said he was brutally attacked by a man with a hammer outside his home in neighboring Lithuania, left with painful wounds and a broken arm. Meanwhile, the Kremlin strong man is already looking beyond the Russian election to the U.S. presidential race, insisting he will work with whoever, in his words, is trusted by the American people.

[02:05:00]

But he warned U.S. forces to stay out of the war in Ukraine.

PUTIN: The U.S. has said it's not sending troops to Ukraine. But we know what American troops would be on Russian territory. Interventionists. This is how we would treat them. Even if they appear on the territory of Ukraine, they understand this.

CHANCE (voice over): But for now, it is Ukraine doing the fighting, unleashing a barrage of drone attacks across Russia.

Like this one in Belgorod. These images show a drone flying near a Russian oil facility in the city of Ryazan. Russian authorities say, at least, 25 Ukrainian drone attacks have been thwarted.

But as Russia's presidential election nears, the impact of its war next door is being increasingly felt.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me now is Jill Dougherty, adjunct professor at Georgetown University and former CNN Moscow bureau chief in Tbilisi, Georgia, it is good to see you, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOEWN UNIVERSITY: Thank you, John. Good to be here.

VAUSE: OK. For the first time, Vladimir Putin goes into election as a wartime president. And not just with Ukraine it seems. Putin had this warning to NATO about sending troops to Ukraine. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN: If it formally comes to military contingents of foreign states being deployed in Ukraine, I am confident this would not change the situation on the battlefield. This is the most important thing. Likewise, the delivery of Western weaponry to Ukraine failed to change anything. And other point, this may lead to serious geopolitical consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, they're also veiled threats to the U.S. about possible nuclear conflicts. You know, it seems he's painting this picture of Russia under constant threat by and standing up to western aggression.

Is this mostly aimed at Russian voters at this point, wherever rallying support? DOUGHERTY: Yes, I do think that it's mainly aimed at Russians. He -- you know, he is, as you mentioned, this is a wartime situation. It's quite unique for Putin.

And so, he has to ultimately say, we are surrounded by enemies, and they are external. And they are internal in Vladimir Putin's mind, and that he is the person who can protect Russia.

From things like, you know, the attack on the oil refineries. That's the problem, because gas prices can go up in Russia. That's one domestic problem. Then, you have the statement by Ms. Zakharova, who is the spokesperson for the foreign ministry, saying that the U.S. is planning cyber-attacks on their system -- their election system. And that NGOs who are trying to depress the turnout. So, ultimately, you know, again, it's to create this image of a surrounded country, and Putin is men who can protect them.

It really is kind of a delicate balance, because he kind of started this situation by invading Ukraine.

VAUSE: Yes. That doesn't seem to get mentioned a lot. You mentioned that warning that came from the spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Here it is, let's listen to -- precisely, what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA ZAKHAROVA, SPOKESPERSON, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): Washington via Internet resources, urges the Russian citizens to ignore the election. There are plans to involve the leading American I.T. experts and cyber-attacks on the Russian remote electronic voting system.

This will make it impossible to count a substantial part of votes cast by Russian voters. I would like to stress that this is what they are tasked with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just this issue, specifically, given that the outcome of the election is pretty much in the bag, you know, Putin is going to win. There is no real challenger.

So, why make these specific allegations and especially since there is no evidence being put forward, what is the Kremlin worried about here in terms of the actual election and the results?

DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, the it is -- excuse me, actually being conducted electronically in many places. And so, I think, you know, there is opportunity for the Kremlin to manipulate the vote. But also, they might think that there is some way that the CIA is able to influence, and there is absolutely no evidence of that. But there is a certain element, John of paranoia, I think, among some of the Russian leadership about the United States and what it's doing.

And then also, you have an extraordinary effort to use, as they call them administrative resources to get out the vote. I mean, they are going around literally with ballot boxes, to people's houses, in some places, urging them to vote and getting the vote right there.

Also unique, Important to point out is this vote is being conducted in those occupied areas of Ukraine, which Russia considers its own and which Ukraine, of course, consider as part of its own territory.

[02:10:03]

VAUSE: So, along with the Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries over the last day or so, pro-Ukrainian Russian exiles overtake towns and villages on the southern region. This seems to be, at least in part, an attempt to remind Russians that they're at war, not everything's going Putin's way.

So, even if most Russians actually hear that message, then what? Could it be enough to keep them at home and not vote? And I guess the point here is it's on the margins for Putin, it's all about, I guess, you know, what a 60 percent win isn't quite good enough when you basically have an iron fist on power?

DOUGHERTY: No. I mean, they want at least 70, probably 80 percent turnout. That's what they are pushing for. You know, I think people, it's very hard to say what Russians actually feel because right now, polling is extremely difficult.

So, the opposition and that, at this point, would be the supporters of Navalny and Yulia Navalnaya, who is his wife, are saying, either, you know, don't vote or protest.

And so, we don't know what will happen. I think that is a concern of the Kremlin. Will people actually end up, number one, voting, and number two, voting for Putin?

People, there is an opportunity that people could spoil ballots, votes for somebody else, et cetera. Even though we know, of course, every single, if even possibly opposition candidate was removed from the ballot or not even allowed to get on the ballot.

VAUSE: Yes. Jill, thanks so much for being with us here in Tbilisi. We appreciate your time. Always good to see you. Thank you.

Well, the U.S. Congress remains bitterly divided over almost everything. There is bipartisan agreement, at least in the lower House, that TikTok is a risk to national security.

And on Wednesday, a bill which could see a national ban on the app received overwhelming support 352 in favor, 65. oppose. There are some lawmakers explaining why they did or did not vote for the bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): I know we're getting plenty of phone calls that young people really love TikTok, and I lift that up, I think that's terrific. But I want to protect them from a foreign adversary collecting their data and manipulating it.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): But I don't know why you want to upset young people and 170 million people on a platform, we knew there is, at least, restrictive ways -- less restrictive ways of achieving the goal.

REP. DAN BISHOP (R-NC): The answer is not to go selectively banning the flow of information for a particular nation. The way we defeat China is being more American, not less.

VAUSE: Next comes the Senate where the bill's passage is expected to be much slower. That is if it ever comes up for a vote. But if it does, and if it becomes law, then TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance, will have about five months to spin off the app and sell it.

If it doesn't, then app stores like the ones on Google and Apple must remove TikTok for sale. Failure to do so will result in massive fines.

For TikTok's roughly 170 million users in the United States, this isn't exactly a popular move. Many are protesting, saying the platform helped them build their business or improve their lives, and a whole lot more.

TikTok CEO is encouraging them, as you would expect to fight on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHOU ZI CHEW, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TIKTOK: We will continue to do all we can including exercising our legal rights to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you. We believe we can overcome this together. I encourage you to keep sharing your stories, share them with your friends, share them with your family, share them with the senators, protect your constitutional rights, make your voices heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK, live to Beijing, Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang is with us. I guess, talking about what they actually how they're reporting into China, what the reaction is there from officials, which is kind of, you know, hypocrisy writ large.

But also explain what is this unique concern that the U.S. lawmakers have when it comes to TikTok and that unique Chinese law, which basically means that, you know, hand us over your data, you got to do it, it's in the law.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right. The Chinese in a way have not been helping themselves, especially under the leadership of Xi Jinping, because they have been, in recent years, increasingly reasserting the ruling Communist Party's absolute control over every aspect of society.

And by passing these, as you mentioned, increasingly sweeping a national security legislature, including, for example, their revised counter espionage law, which would give their security apparatus very broad powers to obtain and inspect any data from any companies operating in this country.

But also remember that reaction on Chinese social media is also in a way ironic, because a lot of the young Chinese users here may not even be aware of this parallel -- this parallel cyberspace they have been living in, and does some even calling for their government to retaliate by banning U.S. social media platforms so only to prompt sometimes answers to tide them over the government is way ahead of you. They've been banning U.S. platforms for years.

[02:15:05]

And, of course, the government's narrative on this is these companies have been banned because they refuse to comply with Chinese laws to store their data on China based servers. That's only partially true as many of those bans predated those regulations.

But of course, some users have also correctly pointed out, TikTok has been trying to address and resolve some of those concerns by the U.S. government, by for example, spending more than a billion dollars on so-called Project Texas by agreeing to store us origin data on servers operated by Oracle, in the U.S.

At one point, TikTok seem to even ready to sell a stake to American companies.

But, of course, none of those has satisfied U.S. politicians because of the reasons we just talked about, not to mention one priority of the Xi Jinping government has always been pushing out the so-called, China narrative, the Chinese values and positions around the globe.

And before it TikTok, they had to rely on U.S. and Western platforms. So, the -- for the first time they have this China-owned, and China divided platform to disseminate their information. And I think that is just something it's very difficult to see them to give that up. And because that really aligns with their strategic goals, and when it comes to messaging and propaganda.

So, that's why the government has said also very clearly, they are very firmly opposed to any sale of TikTok. So, John -- so, at the end of the day, I think that many experts have also pointed out the crux of this problem really goes beyond one app, and it's very secret. I mean, very effective algorithms. It's really about the control of technologies between two superpowers, not just TikTok and algorithms, but also goes to semiconductors and quantum computing and such, John.

VAUSE: Yes. All social media platforms have way too much data on all of us. It's not just TikTok. Steven Jiang in Beijing. Thank you. Appreciate it.

We'll take a short break. When we come back the first humanitarian assistance arrived in Gaza by ship is scheduled for later Thursday. Airdrops continue all this unprecedented, but still woefully inadequate for hundreds of thousands of people facing famine in Gaza. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: A ship carrying 200 tons of food assistance from the World Central Kitchen is expected to arrive in Gaza, Thursday night. Temporary wharf has been under construction to allow the ship to dock and unload. The first maritime shipment of humanitarian assistance to arrive in the territory since the war began.

Meantime, a delivery continues from the air. The U.S. military carried out its nineth airdrop, Wednesday over northern Gaza.

Germany is now planning its first airdrop possibly by week's end. All this, as international demands continue for Israel to open additional border crossings to allow more aid convoys into Gaza, especially in the north, where fears of famine are growing.

That demand coming from the E.U.'s top diplomat who was in Washington, meeting with the U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF, EUROPEAN UNION: We need to act.

[02:20:00]

The very survival of the population in Gaza is at the stake today.

We need to clear the humanitarian nexus to sea, by air, that good. That's not enough.

You cannot replace hundreds of trucks by sending parachutes. The most important thing is to open the borders by land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Amid this desperate need for food assistance in Gaza as children starve to death. There is been no lead up in Israel's military offensive on Hamas. Gaza's health ministry said on Wednesday, another 88 people were killed over the past day.

The U.N.s Relief and Works Agency says the number of children reported killed in four months of war in Gaza, higher than the number killed in four years of conflict around the world.

The head of the U.N. Relief Agency is calling for an investigation into attacks on U.N. facilities, and those responsible held accountable for any wrongdoing.

The demand comes in the wake of an Israeli strike on a U.N. food distribution center in Rafah, in the southern part of the territory, hospital director says five Palestinians were killed, and UNRWA says at least one staff member is among the dead.

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment, haven't heard back.

CNN's Paula Hancocks, following developments now, joins us live from Abu Dhabi. What more do we know about this strike in Rafah?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, we've had a statement from UNRWA itself, Philippe Lazzarini, the director saying that they want an investigation not just into this particular strike, but into strikes on a number of different UNRWA facilities around Gaza over recent months.

This particular one, they say it was a food distribution center. One of the very few food distribution centers really left standing and fully operational, which is desperately needed at this point.

So, five were killed, one of them was an unremembered, according to Lazzarini. And he also pointed out that the coordinates of this facility were shared on an almost daily basis with, as he puts it, both parties to the conflict.

So, both Hamas and Israel are informed exactly where these UNRWA facilities are.

He also, in the statement had some quite sobering facts of just how badly this U.N. agency has been affected. over recent months. At least 165 UNRWA team members have been killed. 150 UNRWA facilities hit, at least, and that includes schools.

And then, around 400, or more than 400 people killed while seeking shelter near these facilities.

And that's what we've seen over recent months that many people were camping out in the compounds of UNRWA schools, UNRWA facilities, believing that they would be safer in that particular area.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that they did carry out an airstrike in Rafah on Wednesday. They said they targeted and killed Hamas member, Muhammad Abu Hasna. They say that he was responsible for being in the operations room and being able to find out and communicate IDF movements to its team.

Also, involved in taking control of humanitarian aid, according to the Israeli military, and handing it out to other Hamas members. John.

VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi there, with the very latest.

Well, the U.N. is planning to open an air bridge between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic. So, aid and crisis management staff can safely reach Haiti and the capital Por-au-Prince, with a surge of gang violence and a political crisis. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has details.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A source close to outgoing Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry says to CNN that Henry intends to return to Haiti just as soon as the security situation there allows. As well, Henry's office telling CNN in a statement that Henry believes that even though he is planning on resigning, that he still has the right to approve the Transitional Council that would pick the next prime minister of Haiti. That seems to indicate both of these statements that Henry put plans, remain engaged with Haitian politics, which could complicate efforts to replace him.

Henry has not been able to return to Haiti, since gangs rose up and forced him to remain in Puerto Rico.

It's simply too dangerous flights to come in and out of the country. And much of Haiti is on lockdown now, as the gangs have taken the streets.

The challenge now for the U.S. State Department -- the state department is getting these different groups, different political groups and civil groups within Haiti to decide who is going to be part of this Transition Council that will then pick a prime minister.

There is a lot of infighting going on, although the state department continues to maintain the process is moving forward, and that there will be a transition council that will help navigate Haiti's political impasse.

For the moment, at least Kenyan troops that were supposed to come in and restore security and peace in Haiti are on hold.

[02:25:07]

They are waiting, according to that country's president, to see what happens with the political situation. The Kenyan president spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken by phone, and assured him that the Kenyan troops will head to Haiti, about a thousand of them, just as soon as there is a new government in Haiti, and the political situation stabilizes there. But in the meantime, with no clear replacement government for Henry, and no sense of when those Kenyan troops will arrive, the gangs in Haiti continue to have the upper hand.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

VAUSE: In Nigeria gunman who kidnapped almost 300 schoolchildren and now threatening to kill them if they're not paid more than $600,000. Last week, armed man on motorbikes abducted the children from this school in Kaduna.

While Nigeria's president says that kidnappers will be brought to justice, his government is refusing to pay the ransom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED IDRIS MALAGI, NIGERIA'S INFORMATION MINISTER: Government is not taking any excuses. The president has directed that security agencies must as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who are being kidnapped are brought back to in safety. And also, in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: According to one resident who lives close to the school, the kidnapping is revenge for the death of gang members by government security services.

We take a short break. When we come back, a Boeing plane, under investigation for a mysterious technical event is headed to Chile. Why? Why there? What are they looking at? All the very latest and what the officials want to find out from the black box and the cockpit voice recorder?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The Boeing plane which suddenly plunged in midair on Monday, on a flight from Australia to New Zealand is now enroute to Chile. That's where the plane is registered and because of that Chile is taking the lead on the investigation. Sending aviation officials to New Zealand, Thursday, to examine the plane.

Dozens of passengers were hurt, in what has been called a technical event during the LATAM Airlines flight. The investigators is set to look at the plane's cockpit voice recorder as well as the flight data recorder, try and find the cause of the problem.

[02:30:06]

Meantime, U.S. investigators have accused Boeing of failing to provide key information on the Alaska Airlines plane, which lost its door plug midflight, earlier this year.

Meantime, U.S. investigators have accused Boeing of failing to provide key information on the Alaska Airlines plane which lost its door plug mid-flight earlier this year. For more details on that, here is CNN's Pete Muntean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The woman leading this probe is, once again, putting Boeing on blast. Jennifer Homendy is the Head of the National Transportation Safety Board, and she says Boeing's lack of a paper trail is hampering this investigation. Remember, the NTSB's preliminary report on this January 5th door plug blowout said this, "Boeing did not re-install the four critical door plug bolts before the 737 Max 9 was delivered to Alaska Airlines.

The bolts were removed at the Boeing factory for corrective work on another part of the plane. The NTSB says Boeing has not been able to produce the paperwork that details that work. Here is what Homendy says in her new update to the Senators on the committee overseeing aviation, the absence of those records will complicate the NTSB's investigation going forward. She also underscored that Boeing has been unable to locate the security footage of that work. Boeing has responded saying it has supported the investigation from the start and it will continue to do so.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He was known as the man in the iron lung, polio -- Paul Alexander lived most of his 70 years in an -- most of the past 70 years, I should say, in an iron lung. That is after his polio diagnosis in 1952, he was just six years old, paralyzed from the neck down, unable to breathe unassisted. Alexandra though would go on to learn breathing techniques which would allow him a few hours of freedom from that device at a time.

He became a lawyer, wrote an autobiography. Last year, Guinness World Records declared him the longest surviving iron lung patient. That is until Monday. Paul Alexander survived polio as a child but died from COVID on Monday. He was 78 years old.

(Inaudible) here on CNN. We mark our annual -- our eighth annual My Freedom Day with homeless students all around the world. We are live in Hong Kong and India. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: It's been eight years since CNN began My Freedom Day. This is the eighth annual one, a day of action led by students around the world to raise awareness of modern slavery. We heard from children and teens from Nepal to the Ivory Coast standing up against child labor. Now, this student from Ecuador shares her plea for action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a plethora of illegal services where children are exploited. One example of this can be founded at in the agricultural sector or in the internal conflicts where children soldiers are recruited from a young age.

[02:35:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If something is not done, the number of children within the forced labor in the street will just keep increasing. Immediate action must be taken in order to stop and eradicate child labor in all of its forms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: We are covering student events around the world today, as CNN's Vedika Sud is standing by for us in India. We also have Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and we shall begin with you, Kristie. What's happening there at the international school?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, here in Hong Kong, I met one of many schools around the region, around the world, marking My Freedom Day, this day of student-led action against modern-day slavery. In this year, the focus is on ending child labor and the students here, ranging from the age range of around 13 years old to 17 years old, have been taking part in a sweatshop simulation challenge to just understand what it feels like to be in a forced labor situation. And I'm joined once again by some of the students who did take part earlier in this simulation, as well as the organizer behind it. But first, let's talk to the students. So, Nicole and Charis, this was your first time experiencing the simulation. How did it feel?

NICOLE, STUDENT: The tasks looked quite easy at first, but after doing it for some time, I find it to be quite numbing and very repetitive. So through this experience, I really felt like how harsh it was on them, not only physically, but also mentally.

LU STOUT: And Charis, what did you learn?

CHARIS, STUDENT: Before participating in the sweatshop workshop, I was thinking how on earth would someone manage to do this every day for nearly half of their days. And after the workshop, not only my hands got tired, my lips and my eyes went dry as well, so I could hardly focus and I had almost forgotten that I'm actually at school.

LU STOUT: Yeah.

CHARIS: So, I think overall, this workshop is very worth experiencing because we not actually want to help people who is going through these, but actually we want -- we -- it makes us realize how fortunate we are to be at school learning --

LU STOUT: Absolutely.

CHARIS: -- apps and to be with our friends and our teachers, instead of being in a sweatshop for -- throughout our teenage years.

LU STOUT: You're absolutely correct. And you designed it this way, Matt, like this is a program that you designed. It may be virtual, but it has a real impact. Tell me about that impact.

MATT FRIEDMAN, FOUNDER & CEO, THE MEKONG CLUB: Well, we want people to feel this. I mean, if you get a lecture on child labor, you hear about it, maybe you see some pictures. When you're actually there with the nut and bolt, doing this for an hour and having people shout at you, you experience what it feels like to be in one of those situations. You develop a sense of compassion and empathy and understanding that you wouldn't get otherwise.

We've had students who did this years ago contact us and say, it was one of the most impactful things they did because it allowed for them to feel and experience something like this, and that helps them to be motivated to want to do something.

LU STOUT: Yeah. And now, you're modern-day abolitionists. You've devoted your life's work to fighting modern-day slavery. And I know that these two students have a question to ask you. What is the question?

CHARIS: As a teenager who worked part-time -- who worked the part-time job, how do you define child labor?

FRIEDMAN: So, they say under the age of 18, but, you know, when I was 16, I worked a job. I worked in a restaurant, I made money. That's a way kind of having an apprentice. It is when you are put in a situation where you no longer have an opportunity to go to school, no longer have an opportunity to be with your friends, no longer have an opportunity to develop as an individual, that's when it gets into the child labor sense of things. You want your childhood to be filled with joy and peace and education to reach your full potential. And so, child labor prevents you from doing that.

LU STOUT: Matt, Nicole, Charis, thank you very much indeed for that. Modern-day slavery is real and it is growing. And the students here at KG V, as well as other schools participating in My Freedom Day all around the world are learning more about this disturbing practice and raising awareness, and they are determined to fight it. Back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Great question from that student there. Kristie, thank you for that. Let's go to Vedika in India. She is at the Genesis Global School and you've got some kids there behind you. What are they going to do?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Yes, we are on stage at their auditorium here at their school. Action packed day really here at the Genesis Global School. You can see children right behind me. This is their performance on stage. The focus is on child labor today. I have three very young students with me. I have Vidhi, Sowmya and Viraj. We are going to talk to them about how they thought of this concept, child labor, and what they thought they should do with their script.

Let me start with you, Vidhi. Why child labor and what are you trying to say through this performance today?

VIDHI RANA OJHA, STUDENT: Child labor is a very sensitive topic. We chose this theme for our play because it is a very humungous issue not only in India, but all across the planet, and must be resolved as soon as possible. We believe that all children should -- all children deserve quality education, whether they live in rural or urban areas. And through our play, we are trying to advocate, spread awareness and stand up against modern slavery and forced child labor.

[02:40:00]

SUD: And modern-day slavery, just like Kristie said, is real and these children have read about it. They discuss it in their classrooms with the teachers and hopefully, back home with their parents. Sowmya, we are talking about modern-day slavery. There are so many forms of it. You are talking about child labor here. But as an individual, as a young girl, as a young student, how can you make a difference?

SOWMYA WADHWA, STUDENT: One way we could do is advocacy. There are many other ways, but one thing as a student we can do is advocacy, like what we are doing right now. Its advocacy, poster making, speeches, performances, songs, they are all various forms of advocacy.

SUD: Absolutely. And Viraj, what would you say? How would you make a difference at such a young age?

VIRAJ GUPTA, STUDENT: So I believe like, as Sowmya mentioned that we are making posters, we are performing through drama and music, which are great ways to convey emotion that the child laborers may feel. And as I have seen myself, I would like to extend my reach to the trafficking agents as I have seen them, myself, around me. And I would like to reach out to them and help them think through their actions.

SUD: Right. Thank you. You know, John, just a few days ago, we put out a story here from India of a young man in Kolkata and how he made a difference after he attended a few sessions on campaigns against child labor. He actually went and reported such a case to the agencies, to the organizations, to the government.

And he helped save two young girls from child trafficking and child labor. I think that's what these young children here want to do, grow up with that awareness, spread this awareness around to their parents, essentially to the community because everyone feels the other person is going to make the difference. But it is time now for everyone to do what they can to contribute in every way possible. And that loud message is going through these children, more than a dozen of them on stage today, wanting to end child labor. Back to you.

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VAUSE: Vedika, thank you for that. Also, Kristie Lu Stout there at King George School there in Hong Kong. Great kids today, really good to hear from them, as well as both of you. Thank you.

Now, will you stand against forced child labor and join the movement? Post your message using #MyFreedomDay on social media. Also, go to cnn.com/myfreedomday for a lot more information.

And thank you for joining us. I'm John Vause. "World Sport" is up after a very short break. Then, "CNN Newsroom" will continue with my colleague and friend, Paula Newton. See you back here tomorrow.

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