A_Stolen_Life

There is a problem that is getting bigger. It is one that willing governments are trying to fight, but it is one that will take changes in our thinking, in our attitudes, in our hearts for anything effective to happen. It is a problem where the perpetrators are often dealt laughable sentences and victims are treated as criminals instead of as moms, sisters, sons, and daughters of families who were destroyed because of what has happened to them. The “It’s not happening to me or affecting my life” way of thinking needs to change. Picture yourself for a moment as a young teenager. You live in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in a city that law and order seem to come only to make an appearance. It is easy to wake up early to walk to work since you have been doing it for several years. What makes you uneasy is having to walk to and from work under moonlight. While you make your way to the only source of income for your family, you try to budget what your family needs to survive on less money than what you will earn. It may be hard going to work cleaning the trash bins at a local restaurant; but it would be harder going home each night not knowing how you are going to feed your little brothers and sisters. Today, like several others, you wait to cross the highway. A man that you have passed before says … “Hey there. I know someone that can get you a job where you can make tons of money to send back to your family. Come with me, I’ll introduce you and he will help you out.” You are unsure and know you probably cannot trust his claim for tons of money, but the promise of possibilities for your family is too much to not follow him. In a matter of minutes someone’s young life can be turned upside down and their identities wiped from the face of the earth, just as if they had never existed. Every year millions of men, women, and children are exploited and sold into many forms of slavery; there is not one country that is immune to human trafficking. It is defined as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons: by the threat or use of kidnapping, force, fraud, deception or coercion, or by the giving or receiving of unlawful payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, and for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor” (Talati, Ronak, 2007, p. 1). In other words, being made less than a human - an expendable commodity. When you realize that the trafficking of humans for whatever the reason has become arguably the most lucrative multi-billion dollar illegal activity in the world (Clare Seelke, 2008), you begin to understand the power of greed. It is not just a problem for poor, third world people. According to a U. S. State Department report, of the 800,000 and 900,000 people that are believed to be trafficked across international borders each year, 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States (Miko, 2004). Their many destinations range from sweat shops, pimps, and families that are willing to buy kidnapped infants. Another problem starts where some Americans travel to developing countries for “entertainment purposes” to take advantage of those country’s weak laws on prostitution and trafficking. Fortunately, our congress passed legislation within the last several years that make Americans who sexually prey on children abroad eligible for prosecution and sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison (U.S. Department of State, 2005, p.1). The risk of being caught is low, but now as soon as they step foot on American soil they can be prosecuted for their diabolical acts to children abroad. In many cases it is hard for authorities to get information or any type of report from trafficking victims as they tend to be treated as criminals. When police here and abroad have raided brothels whose “employees” were brought in from other countries, they were sometimes detained and punished and /or quickly deported. There have not been many steps to provide these victims with psychological support, healthcare, and access to justice (Clare Seelke, 2008). There is also a fear of what may be done to their family if these victims cooperate with authorities since most governments do not offer sufficient protection for witnesses. It may be easy to see why the victims may not want to tell authorities about how they arrived where they were found, but it is not easy to understand how families and whole villages refuse to report the disappearances of their members. In a book review by M. Askew (1998), that targets the trade of human trafficking in Thailand he states “There is a high level of collusion between families, women, and brokers, with large numbers of villagers expressing an unwillingness to condemn the practice.” Brokers are referred to as people who work the details of the “employment” of the son or daughter in the slave trade market with family members or town council members. Many times the families or council members are unwilling to give the brokers up because the money they receive from their daughter’s/village member’s “earnings” is very good. There is a problem that is getting bigger. It is one that willing governments are trying to fight, but it is one that will take changes in our thinking, in our attitudes, in our hearts for anything effective to happen. It is a problem where the perpetrators are often dealt laughable sentences and victims are treated as criminals instead of as moms, sisters, sons, and daughters of families who were destroyed because of what has happened to them. The “It’s not happening to me or affecting my life” way of thinking needs to change. The change that is needed for a difference to be made in some of these people’s lives is so large that it takes the momentum of many small changes to build until there is enough concern and “awareness” that selective hearing governments and organizations will take any kind of action. The termination of human trafficking and slave trade needs one of those large changes. In reality, it will take a complex plan as it would deal with many governments and organizations that may not want to change what needs changed. But we do not need to change the big problem of human trafficking; we need to change the small and lethal problems of ignorance and complacency. The thought process of “It will never happen to me or affect my life” will kill their hope of freedom by creating a wall blocking any action that we could take. Call or write to the leaders that represent you in congress and tell them more needs done to help the moms, sisters, sons, and daughters that are enslaved to someone’s greed. Be willing to say a prayer of protection tonight for those who find themselves alone and feel that they are without hope. Be grateful for your life of comfort and freedom.   Bibliography Clare Seelke, A. S. (2008). Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Service. Landsberger, J. (2007). Writing Persuasive/Argumentative Essays. Retrieved April 17, 2009, from Study Guides and Strategies: http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm Spears, D. (2008). In Tandem Reading and Writing for College Students. New York: McGraw Hil. Askew, M. (1998). The Traffic in Women: Human Realities of the International Sex Trade. SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 13(2), 328. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst'a=o&d=5002305601 U.S. Department of State. (2005). Trafficking in persons report. Retrieved May 24, 2008, from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46606.htm