To Better Know A Country
To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking in Jamaica
Published November 18, 2009 @ 07:00AM 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..... Jamaica
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier 2
- Status: Source, transit, and destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability: Ey mon, it's all irie!
- Cash Flow: Ey mon, you want some ganga?
- Do I Think They Care?: Ey, what is dat trafficking ting you keep talkin' about?
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women: commercial sex, forced labor
- Girls: commercial sex, domestic servitude, child sex tourism
- Boys: commercial sex, domestic servitude, child sex tourism
To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking In New Zealand
Published November 11, 2009 @ 07:00AM 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..... New Zealand
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier1
- Status: Source and destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability: Ruled by wizards, but populated by all the diverse creatures of Middle Earth
- Cash Flow: The Gandalf and Friends tour package accounts for 62% of the GDP.
- Do I Think They Care?: Yes, and it shows.
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women: commercial sex, agricultural labor
- Girls: commercial sex
- Men: agricultural labor
To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking in South Africa
Published November 04, 2009 @ 07:00AM 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..... South Africa
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier 2
- Status: Source, transit, and destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability:It seems racial justice is actually good for a country. Who'da thought?
- Cash Flow:They are to the rest of Africa what Donald Trump is to me: someone a lot richer who isn't going to give the money away.
- Do I Think They Care?: Yes, but they're making a lot of bad policy calls.
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women:commercial sex, domestic servitude
- Girls: commercial sex, domestic servitude, forced marriage, sex tourism
- Med: forced labor in mobile factories
- Boys:forced street vending, begging, crime, agriculture
To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking in Thailand
Published October 28, 2009 @ 07:00AM 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..... Thailand
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier 2
- Status: Source, transit, and destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability: Solid as a rock, just as long as no one tries to end the rampant corruption that holds the system together
- Cash Flow: Best in the region, though tourism and sex tourism are a big part of that
- Do I Think They Care?: It's hard to turn down the huge influx of Western money that lax prostitution and child protection laws entice, even when it's the right thing to do.
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women:commercial sex, forced labor, domestic servitude
- Girls: commercial sex, forced labor, domestic servitude, begging, sex tourism
- Med: forced labor
- Boys: commercial sex, forced labor in fishing and agriculture, domestic servitude, begging, sex tourism
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.”
To Better Know a Country: Human Trafficking in Norway
Published October 14, 2009 @ 07:00AM 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..... Norway
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier 1
- Status: Destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability: A frozen, socialist paradise
- Cash Flow: Exporting fish and the ideals of a strong welfare state since 1066.
- Do I Think They Care?: Yes, even though they can afford not to.
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women:commercial sex
- Men: forced labor in construction
- Girls: commercial sex, domestic servitude
- Boys: Forced labor in construction
Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?
- Victims are trafficked from Nigeria, Bulgaria, Brazil, Estonia, Ghana, Eritrea, Cameroon, Kenya, and the DRC to Norway.
- Victims are trafficked from Africa and Brazil to other parts of Europe, especially the Balkans.
What's Gotta Happen
- Investigate and prosecute traffickers for both labor and sex trafficking.
- Seek appropriate sentences for traffickers
- Reduce demand for commercial sex in Norway.
What Can I Do
- You can support Redd Barna, an organization which helps children and families in need in Norway.
In summary, Norway's got their act so well together when it comes to fighting trafficking, they should want to shout it from the fjord-tops. They recently passed a prostitution law akin to Scandinavian sister Sweden's, which criminalizes the act of buying prostitution but not selling it. It's an innovative move they hope will help reduce demand for commercial sex in Norway. I think it might be more effective to make it legal as long as it takes place outside and between November and March. Brrrrr! Now that would end demand.
To Better Know A Country: Human Trafficking in Panama
Published October 07, 2009 @ 07:00AM 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..... Panama 
Basic Stats
- Ranking: Tier 2
- Status: Source, transit and destination country for trafficking victims
- Political Stability: You know that scene in Superbad where the cops are drunkenly doing donuts in the car to Van Halen's "Panama"? That's about what it's like.
- Cash Flow: Van Halen has yet to pay royalties.
- Do I Think They Care?: As long as the U.S. funds them to care, why not?
Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?
- Women:commercial sex
- Girls: commercial sex, domestic servitude
- Note: Forced labor is not illegal in Panama, and thus not included here. But it happens.
Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?
- Victims are trafficked from Panama to Jamaica, Europe, and Israel.
- Victims are trafficked from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Central America to Panama.
- Panamanian victims are trafficked internally.
What's Gotta Happen?
- Amend laws to prohibit labor trafficking, including domestic servitude.
- Investigate and prosecute traffickers.
- Dedicate more resources to victims' services.
- Develop a system of identifying trafficking victims in prostitution.
What Can I Do
- You can support Sustainable Harvest International, an organization which helps farmers in Panama and other parts of Central America get out of poverty and support their families.
In summary, Panama is a natural transit point for human trafficking victims. It contains the Panama Canal which can allow ships to carry humans from South America to the U.S. and Europe and connects South and North America. Unfortunately, Panama's border security it woefully inadequate. Things are getting better in Panama for victims trafficked internally, but border security remains a huge issue. My reccomended solution? I think Panama should adopt the Van Halen song of the same name as their national anthem. Sure it's actually about a car, not the country, but it's energetic and catchy. And who could possibly violate the borders of a country that David Lee Roth seems to love so much?
