Fresh from the Oven: Another New Anti-Trafficking PSA
Published October 24, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
These days, it seems like everyone wants their very own anti-trafficking PSA. And to make one, all you need is:
- a group of diverse actors who can pull off looking really sad
- some slow and kinda creepy music
- an airport that will let you film
While I love that this message is showing up more and more places, I have to wonder if anyone out there can get a little more creative than this? Plus, the constant airport imagery masks the fact that many, many victims are trafficked within national borders. Maybe it's just me, but I'd like something a little different. After all, different gets noticed.
Here's another bun from the abolitionist over:
Whose Responsibility Is Africa?
Published October 23, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
Today, Africa has one of the most significant human trafficking problems in the world, especially in labor industries. Why is slavery still flourishing in Africa? The international community talks a big game about aid to Africa to combat poverty, HIV/AIDS, and civil unrest. Yet, we allow multinational corporations to continue to enslave Africa's people, often exacerbating these problems. When it comes to the problems in Africa, especially modern-day slavery who's fault is it really?
One theory is that, as a continent, Africa is rich in natural resources, such as rubber (which companies like Firestone exploit) and diamonds, as in "conflict diamonds" and "blood diamonds". These resources coupled with the relative poverty of many African nations and the frequent civil unrest in many African countries make the continent attractive to corporations looking for cheap or free labor. Many of Africa's conflicts and the poverty that results from them can be traced back to resource conflicts, both between groups of Africans and between Africans and Westerners. So did these corporations make the conflict in Africa, or are they merely reaping the benefits from it? Or both?
Modern-day slavery in Africa is not a new phenomenon. It's part of a 500 year history of exploitation of the African continent, including both its people and its resources. The face of slavery may have changed and the practice may have gone underground, but the lives of Africans in bonded labor in the diamond mines and the cocoa fields in Africa today are just as unfree as the lives of slaves in the cotton fields of Georgia were 200 years ago. African people will continue to be enslaved and trafficked as long as there are entities willing to enslave them, be it individuals or corporations. And there will be corporations willing to enslave and traffic as long as the international community lets them get away with it and consumers buy their products. We have been part of the problem of slavery in Africa for too long, but now we can be part of the solution.
So how can you take responsibility? For a start, you can buy conflict-free Canadian diamonds from Brilliant Earth and recycled tires. You can shop for products that use Fair Trade certified cocoa. You can also tell Firestone to stop their unacceptable use of child slaves in producing tires. You can argue about whose fault it is, or you can decide whose responsibility it is: ours.
Photo credit: Peter Ito
Why Human Trafficking is Not a Hoax
Published October 22, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
Every few years, some big study tries to find instances of human trafficking and fails to find them in any significant number. And every time this happens, fiscal conservatives and others come out of the woodwork and claim that the failed study is proof that human trafficking exists only in the imaginations of liberals, evangelicals, federal agents, social service providers, feminists, police officers, organized criminals, immigration officials, parents... you get the idea. Human trafficking was not a hoax before the recent failed study in the UK, and it won't be a hoax after the failure blows over.
The Pentameter study in the UK sought to root out human trafficking in the commercial sex industry by assigning 55 units of police officers to investigate human trafficking. And despite the fact that author Nick Davies begins his article in The Guardian claiming they found not a single trafficker, they actually found several, five of whom were eventaully convicted. But they didn't find the broad and sweeping numbers of victims that they originally thought they would. Is it because there really were only five traffickers on all the UK? Probably not. There are a multitude of reasons this particular study might have failed: the police didn't know what to look for, the victims lied, the traffickers moved the victims before getting caught, the police looked in the wrong places, etc. and so forth.
But the reasons why this study may have failed are not nearly as important as the many, many other studies that have shown human trafficking does exist and in significant numbers. The UN just estimated that 270,000 victims live in the EU right now. The U.S. State Department ballparks the number of individuals trafficked globally at 800,000 each year, with 17,000 of those being brought to the U.S. The International Labor Organization has also weighed in, claiming 2.4 million trafficking victims around the world. I could go on, but that would be quite boring to read. The point is, sometimes studies fail, but that doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist. Many issues, like global warming, that were once denounced as liberal conspiracy based a some flawed or failed studies have been proven to be real and dangerous phenomenon.
The field of human trafficking desperately needs more studies, sounder methodologies, and better statistics so we can appropriately address what's actually happening. I don't know anyone who works in this area who disagrees that we need to know more. But we need most is an actual field of academic literature on this subject. Right now we have one study that says human trafficking is real and one that calls it a hoax. We have one estimate that there are 27 million moder-day slaves in the world and one that says 500,000. When the information is so different, it's almost impossible to make policy decisions based on it.
For the time being, here are my answers. If you are person who loves math, statistics, and research methodologies, please go into this field. If you already in this field, do more and better research. And if you are an activist for this cause, please don't give up on the very real victims out there while the academics get their act together.
Photo credit: photogirl17
Glenn Beck: Progressives Are Like Slave Owners
Published October 22, 2009 @ 07:47AM PT
I hate to write about Glenn Beck. You see, I usually prefer to pretend I live in a sane, sensible world where people like Glenn Beck are pitied and indulged, as opposed to aired on television. However, I just couldn't pass up to over-the-top comedic value in the latest phlegm nugget of wisdom he coughed up: progressives are like slave owners because they both want people to be dependent on them.
I shouldn't need to point out that Beck's theory follows the same thread of logic as assuming that a gun and a dishwasher can be used interchangeably because they are both things you load. Slave owners, historically and today, don't want people to be dependent on them. They want people to make them buckets and buckets of money. And slave owners don't ask people to make them buckets of money -- they force them to do it. Progressives don't want people to be dependent on them either. They want a healthy economy where people have the resources they need to be self-sufficient. Saying that progressives are like slave-owners is like saying pizza is like cuddling or the Black Sea is like Pride and Prejudice.
Beck's searing, if nonsensical, criticism of progressives stems from a story about several thousand people in Detroit who stood in line to receive stimulus checks which turned out to be rumor. Beck mocks them for their false hope in this recession, and then calls the progressives who would support them "slave owners." Most of the people who stood in those lines were African-American, and some of them descended from actual slaves. For many them, the legacy of slavery still affects their everyday life. So please, Beck, don't pull worthless analogies out of your butt and fling them, like a monkey with excess poo, over the airwaves. You're insulting people for whom the reality of slavery as a past and present phenomenon is real and painful. And you're surprising no one by continuing to be a dogmatic, myopic, jerk.
Oh, and be careful when you load your dishwasher tonight. You wouldn't want to get two such different things confused again.
Taken in the Night: Martin's True Story of Slavery
Published October 21, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
This story is originally from Reuters. While Uganda has become the most famous backdrop for stories of children trafficked to become child soldiers, it is not the only country where they are currently being exploited. Child soldiers have been used in conflicts all over Asia and Africa, including being used by the Taliban as suicide bombers. But Martin's story represents the experience of many child soldiers in Uganda.
I was 10 years old when the Lord's Resistance Army came to my door in the middle of the night. They ordered me to leave my home and come with them. In my district, we had heard about the atrocities they were committing, and so we were all terrified. The men looted my house, taking chickens, goats, and clothes. Then they took me. My cousins and I, along with other boys, were tied together by our hands. For one whole day we walked like that, trying to dodge the Ugandan army. We walked for a week, until we arrive in southern Sudan to begin our training.
During the day we were taught how to march and how to handle a gun. The mane in charge told us we needed to be ready for battle because President Yoweri Museveni had ordered the Karamoja to ome and raid all the cattle in the countryside and abuse and kill our families. We were told to overthrow the government, which would make Joseph Kony president and life better for us. The commanders told us that overthrowing the government was our main goal, a goal we should be willing to die for. The older boys were the security for the training camp -- forced to kill children if they tried to escape. They did it with a wooden club, and all the children were forced to watch as the offending child was beaten to death. It was meant to be a warning to us all. You would be beaten if you broke even the simplest rules, like not eating pork or shea nut butter. But you would be killed to trying to escape.
I saw my first battle at age 12. I was petrified and freezing, since we were attacking at dawn. Yet, somehow, I survived. For years I kept hopeful that someday I would be able to return home and go back to school. Maybe one day I would be chosen to be part of an operation in Uganda, and from there I could escape home. But that never happened. Instead, we moved from south Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The commanders claimed the war would be over by 2006, and we could all return home. When it didn't I decided with three others to escape. We managed to sneak away, walking three days until we reached a place near Aba in Congo. There, we found the Congolese army, surrendered ourselves, and explained our situation. News of my escape was broadcast over the radio, and my little brother came to meet me. We were overjoyed to see each other again.
Martin is now free and hopes to go back to school to continue his education.
Photo credit: babasteve
To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking in Egypt
Published October 21, 2009 @ 08:56AM PT
Every year, the U.S. State Department releases a Trafficking in Persons report which rates countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking. Each week, I'll be providing a brief glance at human trafficking in one of those countries, based off the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, with my own (often snarky) analysis added. This is just a snapshot of what's going on in the country. For more information, you can check out the full text of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report here.
This Week's Country..... Egypt 
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier 2 Watch List
- Status: Source, transit, and destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability: Stellar compared to other countries in the region, but still about two fava bean shortages away from revolution
- Cash Flow: Could be worse, at least Europeans can still afford to see the pyramids.
- Do I Think They Care?: Some Egyptians are try to, but it's a real battle.
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women:commercial sex, forced labor
- Girls: commercial sex, domestic and agricultural forced labor, begging, forced marriages, child sex tourism
- Boys: domestic and agricultural forced labor, begging, child sex tourism
Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?
- Victims are trafficked from Sudan and other parts of Africa to Egypt.
- Victims from Uzbekistan, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, and other Eastern European countries are trafficked through Egypt to Israel for sexual exploitation.
- Egyptian children are trafficked internally.
What's Gotta Happen
- Substantially increase law enforcement activity against trafficking.
- Draft and enact legislation criminalizing all forms of human trafficking.
- Create a formal victim identification procedure.
- Implement a information campaign to educate the public on trafficking.
What Can I Do
- You can support Coptic Orphans, an organization which helps children in need in Egypt, especially girls who are vulnerable to human trafficking.
In summary, Egypt is doing that whole democracy and rights of women things a lot more than some of it's neighbors <cough> Saudi Arabia <cough>. But they still have a long ways to go to get off the Tier 2 Watch List, where they've been for awhile. But in general, Egypt's attitude towards human rights can really be summed up by this joke,
The President of Egypt dies and goes to hell and is greeted by the devil. The devil says to him, “Since you were a leader of a country for many years, I’ll allow you to choose which room you’re tortured in for the rest of eternity.” Mubarak walks down a corridor with doors on either side, opens the first door and inquires what type of torture he would endure. The man at the door says, “You’re tortured for eight hours with burning flames, eight hours of hot oil and eight hours in boiling water.” Thinking he should try his luck elsewhere, Mubarak opens each door on the corridor and finds similar replies. He comes to the final door. The man says he will endure twelve hours of torture on a terrible looking machine, followed by another twelve hours in a burning tub of oil. Mubarak tells him that sounds terrible, and he thinks he’ll just stick with the first door he opened. The man leans in and whispers, “No sir, this is the Egyptian room, the supplies of oil are never delivered on time and our torture machines never work.”
South Korea's Disposable People
Published October 20, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT
Abolitionist Kevin Bales was the first to coin the term "disposable people" as a reference to modern-day slavery. It's remained a popular term because it has both great descriptive power and great accuracy. Victims of human trafficking are treated temporary, replaceable items -- not individual human beings. Amnesty International has recently shined a light on one group of people who are particularly treated as such -- migrant laborers in South Korea.
South Korea was actually one of the first Asian countries to grant equal rights to migrant workers, including the same status as Korean workers. In 2004, they passed legislation guaranteeing equal labor rights, pay, and benefits for all migrant workers. However, five years later, many migrant workers continue to face the hardships and abuse they experienced before legal reform. Workers often work with heavy machinery and dangerous chemicals without sufficient training or protective equipment, putting them at greater risk of accidents and fatalities. They receive less pay than South Korean workers in the same jobs. Female migrant workers face sexual harassment, rape, and trafficking into prostitution. Many workers have had wages withheld without cause and been cheated out of wages.
South Korea is an example of the importance of implementation of law. On the books, migrant workers have great legal protections and full rights. However, in reality, no mechanism for implementing the law exists. Workplaces are not monitored for safety violations, the claims of unfair dismissals and wage theft are not addressed. Unfortunately, this sort of situation is not unique to South Korea. Since the U.S. began issuing it's annual Trafficking in Persons report and rating countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking, more countries have passed better anti-trafficking legislation. Strong laws are important, but ultimately meaningless if the country lacks any mechanism to enforce that law. Too often, strong anti-trafficking laws have failed to make a difference in the lives of at-risk and trafficked people because of a lack of enforcement. We should learn from South Korea's example that the "how" of law is often just as imporant as the "what."
Until a better enforcement mechanism is in place, Amnesty International is asking South Korea to do the following:
- to ensure that employers respect, protect and promote the rights of migrant workers through rigorous labour inspections so that the workplace is safe, training is provided and migrant workers are paid fairly and on time;
- to protect and promote the rights of all female migrant workers and stamp out sexual harassment and sexual exploitation;
- to allow irregular migrant workers to remain in South Korea while accessing justice and seeking compensation for abuses by employees; and
- to ensure that during immigration raids, immigration authorities adhere to South Korean law requiring them to identify themselves, present a warrant, caution and inform migrant workers of their rights, and provide those under their custody prompt medical treatment when needed or requested.
Photo credit: 2017
- 36,553
-
Categories
Writers
Amanda Kloer
Shelton Green
About Human Trafficking
-
-
ECPAT-USA
-
213 Supporters
-
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW)
-
-
- Polaris Project: CNN interviews Ambassador Lagon regarding child trafficking and Shaniya Davis http://bit.ly/1F8xd
-
