When you think about human trafficking, you might think about prostitution, forced labor in restaurants and in homes but, you might not think that the carpet industry would have forced labor, but it does. Many of the oriental rugs and carpets that are made are made by children who have been forced to make rugs for free or to make them for little pay. Some companies such as RugMark are trying to stop this exploitation. The U.S. trade companies should stop buying and selling rugs and carpets without the RugMark tag because U.S. consumers are uninformed about how the rugs and carpets are made and by whom.
The carpet export industry is one of the largest earners in exports for Pakistan, India, Morocco and Nepal. According to the South Asian Coalition on Children Servitude, between 200,000 and 300,000 children are involved in the carpet industry. (Anti-Slavery Society) But, for many years the carpet industry has claimed that "nimble fingers of the children are essential to form the intricate designs used in the carpets."(Anti-Slavery Society) Although the carpet industry has made this claim it has been discredited, the low to middle grade carpets are made by children and the more expensive ones are made by adults. In the carpet industry the rugs and carpets aren't always made in a big factories, they are made in small villages by people who own their own looms and the children who make the carpets are often the loom owner's own children. Children are also secured by human traffickers from poor regions of the countries. The carpet industry says that the two main advantages to using children is that they have good sight which helps them see the intricate designs in the poor lights and that they adapt to the poor working conditions along with poor wages. Although these may be seen by the companies as advantages, they are in reality disadvantages because the children's eyesight is damaged, and they can develop lung diseases from breathing in all the wool used for making the rugs. The children who make these carpets are either forced to or are paid little wages. They are separated from their families to be beaten or locked up. They are paid little wages which are made less by the factory owners for "food and boarding" or whatever the loom masters believe the children have to pay (Anti-Slavery Society). This is no way for a child to live. These children should be going to school and playing outside with their friends, and as longs as consumers are unaware of this situation, it will keep going. But, there is one company that is trying to stop carpet slavery, RugMark.
The RugMark Foundation was founded in 1994 by many non-government businesses, organizations, government entities and multilateral groups such as UNICEF (RugMark). The idea for RugMark was started by Kailash Satyarthi in 1980. Satyarthi had been liberating children from carpet factories. Although he was saving some, more would eventually end up at the factories to replace the ones who were gone. RugMark is a company that gives certified looms to other rug and carpet companies. These companies have to sign a legally binding contract. This contract states that manufactures have to "produce carpets without illegal child labor, register all loom with the RugMark Foundation, allow access to looms for unannounced inspections and pay associated license fees" (RugMark). RugMark Foundation not only makes rugs and carpets but they help the rescued children. They have educational programs that are funded by the sales of RugMark rugs and by donations. These educational programs help rehabilitate children, they also provide daycare, literacy, formal schooling and vocational training. RugMark also tries to help the children find their families. The children have some choices for the schooling, they can go to a RugMark boarding school or can live at home and go to a public or private school with support from RugMark. These educational programs are designed to help the children receive numeracy and literacy training, and prepares them for a formal education (RugMark). RugMark is working hard to change the carpet industry, and it is working.
No one wants to know that children are making the things they are walking on but many of them don't know that children are. RugMark is helping consumers become more aware. As people become more aware of the carpet industry situation more and more consumers are wanting RugMark rugs and carpets. Up to 23% of U.S. consumers are wanting socially responsible products (RugMark). In other words more adults are asking where products come from and who they are made before they buy them. Because the consumers are wanting socially responsible products, isn't in the best interest of the companies to make products that consumers want? By meeting the demands of the consumers the companies are showing that they care not just about their business but the life of others.
"Children in the Carpet Industry." Fighting Slavery Today. Anti-Slavery Society. 12 Dec. 2008 http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/carpets.htm.
RugMark Foundation. 12 Dec. 2008 http://www.rugmark.org/home.php.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Annotated Bibliographies
1. Love146. 2008. Love146. 17 October 2008.
This website is dedicated to helping those who have been trafficked and those who have been forced into sex. They are trying to set up sanctuaries or safe houses for women and child who have been forced into prostitution are forced into labor.
Love146 is a very useful source because they are a very well know organization.
This source is great for someone who wants to help people who have been trafficked. It was also useful because it is very relevant to my topic of Human trafficking. Love146 is a great site to visit if your want to find out more about forced prostitution.
2.Eaton-Robb, Pat. "Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads." The Washington Post 7 Nov. 2008.
This source was an article in the Washington Post that talked about how on Craigslist (an Internet site used for personal and business advertising) was brought to court because there were many ads for "erotic services" that turned out to be illegal. eventually Craigslist agreed to ask for legitimate credit cards and working phone numbers.
This source is very reliable because it was in the Washington Post. This is a different kind of source from the other ones in my blog because it takes place today and it also shows us that there are many different ways to advertise prostitution.
The article really shows me that human trafficking is everywhere even in plan site. But it also shows that there are people how are really trying to fix or help stop human trafficking.
3.http://web.mac.com/thefreedomproject/The_Freedom_Project/Stats.html
This site was used for its Statistics. It has really great graphs that show many different things. For example it shows who gets trafficked the most and from where and it also shows what the victims are trafficked for. This site also has a graph on what nationality the traffickers are.
The graphs offer great data for those who don't know a whole lot about who gets trafficked or why. This was a great source because it gives you a visual look at the statistics instead of just reading about them. You can actually see the difference in who gets trafficked and for what.
This was a very helpful source because it really put into prospective for me how many people get trafficked. It really didn't change how I think about my topic, it more really helped prove that Human trafficking is a major problem.
4.iAbolish. American Anti-Slavery Group. 19 Sept. 2008 http://www.iabolish.org/.
iAbolish is all about stopping human trafficking and modern day slavery. They want people to be aware of human trafficking. On the site they have news and events. They also have definitions of what human trafficking and slavery are.
This is a great site to visit if you don't really know what human trafficking and slavery are. It is also great if you what to help or if you want to donate money or you services.
This was a good source for me because it helped me really understand what human trafficking was and how badly it effects people. I was also good because it is really focused on stopping it and getting people aware.
5.Humantrafficking.org. 2001-2006. Academy for Education Development. 17 October 2008
This site is a little different from the others because it tells you the human trafficking situation in different countries in East Asia and the Pacific. Under each country there are different things. They talk about the government of each country and what that government is doing about human trafficking. It also talks about how each country protects the victims and the punishment to the traffickers.
The goal of this source it to show individually how each country handles human trafficking. This was a useful source because it can you information on a specific country.
This site was really good to my topic because I could compare the different countries and see how if how the way the handle human trafficking was different or the same. And by comparing the countries one can see who needs more help in helping victims of human trafficking.
6.Unknown. "Human Trafficking." Issues and Controversies (2004): 297-304.
This article talks about how the United States is helping in stopping human trafficking. It also has a section of little stories of victims and how they got fooled and then were trafficked. It also has a section on the history of Anti trafficking efforts.
This was useful source because it was from 2004 and it helped me compare more recent source to it to see if efforts to stop human trafficking have grown or if the degenerated.
Because it was my first source of this blog it helped me grasp the idea of human trafficking. It also helped me in deciding on how my topic should go.
This website is dedicated to helping those who have been trafficked and those who have been forced into sex. They are trying to set up sanctuaries or safe houses for women and child who have been forced into prostitution are forced into labor.
Love146 is a very useful source because they are a very well know organization.
This source is great for someone who wants to help people who have been trafficked. It was also useful because it is very relevant to my topic of Human trafficking. Love146 is a great site to visit if your want to find out more about forced prostitution.
2.Eaton-Robb, Pat. "Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads." The Washington Post 7 Nov. 2008.
This source was an article in the Washington Post that talked about how on Craigslist (an Internet site used for personal and business advertising) was brought to court because there were many ads for "erotic services" that turned out to be illegal. eventually Craigslist agreed to ask for legitimate credit cards and working phone numbers.
This source is very reliable because it was in the Washington Post. This is a different kind of source from the other ones in my blog because it takes place today and it also shows us that there are many different ways to advertise prostitution.
The article really shows me that human trafficking is everywhere even in plan site. But it also shows that there are people how are really trying to fix or help stop human trafficking.
3.http://web.mac.com/thefreedomproject/The_Freedom_Project/Stats.html
This site was used for its Statistics. It has really great graphs that show many different things. For example it shows who gets trafficked the most and from where and it also shows what the victims are trafficked for. This site also has a graph on what nationality the traffickers are.
The graphs offer great data for those who don't know a whole lot about who gets trafficked or why. This was a great source because it gives you a visual look at the statistics instead of just reading about them. You can actually see the difference in who gets trafficked and for what.
This was a very helpful source because it really put into prospective for me how many people get trafficked. It really didn't change how I think about my topic, it more really helped prove that Human trafficking is a major problem.
4.iAbolish. American Anti-Slavery Group. 19 Sept. 2008 http://www.iabolish.org/.
iAbolish is all about stopping human trafficking and modern day slavery. They want people to be aware of human trafficking. On the site they have news and events. They also have definitions of what human trafficking and slavery are.
This is a great site to visit if you don't really know what human trafficking and slavery are. It is also great if you what to help or if you want to donate money or you services.
This was a good source for me because it helped me really understand what human trafficking was and how badly it effects people. I was also good because it is really focused on stopping it and getting people aware.
5.Humantrafficking.org. 2001-2006. Academy for Education Development. 17 October 2008
This site is a little different from the others because it tells you the human trafficking situation in different countries in East Asia and the Pacific. Under each country there are different things. They talk about the government of each country and what that government is doing about human trafficking. It also talks about how each country protects the victims and the punishment to the traffickers.
The goal of this source it to show individually how each country handles human trafficking. This was a useful source because it can you information on a specific country.
This site was really good to my topic because I could compare the different countries and see how if how the way the handle human trafficking was different or the same. And by comparing the countries one can see who needs more help in helping victims of human trafficking.
6.Unknown. "Human Trafficking." Issues and Controversies (2004): 297-304.
This article talks about how the United States is helping in stopping human trafficking. It also has a section of little stories of victims and how they got fooled and then were trafficked. It also has a section on the history of Anti trafficking efforts.
This was useful source because it was from 2004 and it helped me compare more recent source to it to see if efforts to stop human trafficking have grown or if the degenerated.
Because it was my first source of this blog it helped me grasp the idea of human trafficking. It also helped me in deciding on how my topic should go.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Letter to a Leader
November 21, 2008
West Slope Office
291 Main St.
P.O. Box 325
Minturn, CO 81645
Dear Congressmen Udall,
The Human Trafficking industry is the third largest illegal trade in the world today after guns and narcotics. Over 80% of women and children are trafficked each year. I have been researching the topic of Human Trafficking in my English Class over the past couple of months, and I was wondering if you know that this is a major problem. Yes, there have been things that the United States has done like the Trafficked Victims Protection act, but I believe that there is more that we can do. The human trafficking problem is degenerating.
As a congressman, you hold power to help those in need. You might ask yourself what can you do to help. I think that when you are in Congress you can suggest ideas to help those in need or to help crack down on smuggling. You can propose an act that can help these people in need. Women are being forced into prostitution and little girls are being forced to have sex. Also, you can help make people be aware and get them involved. People need to know that this is a big problem in our world today. By getting more people involved in helping victims or by helping build sanctuaries around the world we are helping those who need help the most.
All I ask is that you consider what I have said here in this letter and that you help out a little. I know that you are busy, but are you too busy to help those who need our help the most? I know that it is hard to stop something that is so big and that is everywhere, but if we don't try then how do we know that it can't be stopped. By doing a little, we are doing a lot in preventing human trafficking and protecting victims who have been trafficked. All I'm asking is that you try, and we try to stop human trafficking.
Sincerely Yours,
Rosie Sweeney
West Slope Office
291 Main St.
P.O. Box 325
Minturn, CO 81645
Dear Congressmen Udall,
The Human Trafficking industry is the third largest illegal trade in the world today after guns and narcotics. Over 80% of women and children are trafficked each year. I have been researching the topic of Human Trafficking in my English Class over the past couple of months, and I was wondering if you know that this is a major problem. Yes, there have been things that the United States has done like the Trafficked Victims Protection act, but I believe that there is more that we can do. The human trafficking problem is degenerating.
As a congressman, you hold power to help those in need. You might ask yourself what can you do to help. I think that when you are in Congress you can suggest ideas to help those in need or to help crack down on smuggling. You can propose an act that can help these people in need. Women are being forced into prostitution and little girls are being forced to have sex. Also, you can help make people be aware and get them involved. People need to know that this is a big problem in our world today. By getting more people involved in helping victims or by helping build sanctuaries around the world we are helping those who need help the most.
All I ask is that you consider what I have said here in this letter and that you help out a little. I know that you are busy, but are you too busy to help those who need our help the most? I know that it is hard to stop something that is so big and that is everywhere, but if we don't try then how do we know that it can't be stopped. By doing a little, we are doing a lot in preventing human trafficking and protecting victims who have been trafficked. All I'm asking is that you try, and we try to stop human trafficking.
Sincerely Yours,
Rosie Sweeney
Friday, November 14, 2008
Statistics
I looked at a qraph that compares the Ratio of Human Trafficking Victims. In the graph there are five catagories: Men, Women, Children, Boys and Girls. Then there are six different bars representing a country for each catagory: Africa, Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe/Russia, Latin America and North America. This graph shows us who gets traffciked the most and from what country they are from. The Men and Boys catagory are the smallest of the five and the women and girls are the highest. This graph also shows us that most human trafficking victims come from Asia. One of the lowest bars is the Africa Bar in each catagory. This graph sort of proves that women and girls are the main victims of human trafficking.
http://web.mac.com/thefreedomproject/The_Freedom_Project/Stats.html
http://web.mac.com/thefreedomproject/The_Freedom_Project/Stats.html
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Current Buzz
I found this article on Washington Post online. I choose this article because I thought that it fit perfectly with my topic. On Friday, November 7, 2008 the advertising company, Craigslist, made an agreement with 40 attorney general that “anyone who posts an ‘erotic services” ad will be required to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card.” Craigslist’s CEO says that this deal/agreement will help the legitimate escort services to continue advertising and it helps in “proving a strong disincentive to companies that are conducting illegal business.” This deal/agreement was started because the Connecticut Attorney General was getting complaints for the users of Craigslist about photos of nudity on the site. Craigslist is also going to be using new technology that helps the authorities to find missing children and human trafficking victims. Although the deal/agreement does cover the business advertising part of Craigslist but it still doesn’t cover the personal ads of it, that prostitutes use to find “dates”, but they are working on ways to fix that. I think that these is a good place to help stop human trafficking because the internet is becoming more and more popular every day. It is easy to access and you can do it from the privacy of your own home.
Eaton-Robb, Pat. "Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads." The Washington Post 7 Nov. 2008.
Eaton-Robb, Pat. "Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads." The Washington Post 7 Nov. 2008.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Movie Review "Human Trafficking"
Human Trafficking is one movie that real shows the trauma and the ordeals that women go through when they have been trafficked and forced in to prostitution. Written by Carol Doyle and Agatha Dominik and Directed by Christian Duguay this movie shows the lives of three women who have been tricked or abducted and forced into prostitution. Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland portray to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents who are on a case that is investigating Sergei Karpovich (Robert Caryle). Sergei is a crime boos who uses his model agency as a cover for is international sex trafficking network. Human Trafficking follows the lives of two women and one young girl who have been forced into prostitution. It show how the traffickers lure the women whether it’s by a chance to go to America and model or even having men lure the women into a trap. This movie shows how hard ICE agents work to help free trafficked women and children and how hard it is to catch people who have trafficked people. I liked this movie a lot because it dose show what women and children go through after they have been trafficked. I also liked that is shows us that this women that are forced into prostitution have lives and families that are being threaten if the women try to escape. It shows us that these women are real human beings that have feelings. I think that this movie really gives out the message that we need to stop human trafficking.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Legalization vs illegalization of Prostitution
Prostitution is one of the many problems in the Human Trafficking Industry. Most say that prostitution should be legalized but many say that it should stay illegal. This topic is very arguable. Right now in the U.S. prostitution is illegal but there are some that think that it should be legalized for many reasons. Those that think that prostitution should be legal think that it will help stop the trafficking of women and children for sex. “One argument for legalizing prostitution in the Netherlands was that legalization would help to end the exploitation of desperate immigrant women who had been trafficked there for prostitution.” (Janice G. Raymond) That is the main point of legalizing prostitution, that it will stop the trafficking of women, but it only makes it worse. “Over the last decade, as pimping was legalized, and brothels decriminalized in the year 2000, the sex industry increased by 25% in the Netherlands.” (Janice G. Raymond) Almost all prostitutes are woman and all women have rights. By keeping prostitution illegal it helps protects that rights of women. It is illegal to pimp out women so those who do will be arrested.
Janice G. Raymond. "Prostitution Should Not Be Legalized." Opposing Viewpoints: Prostitution and Sex Trafficking. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. BCR Garfield County Public Library. 6 Nov. 2008.
Janice G. Raymond. "Prostitution Should Not Be Legalized." Opposing Viewpoints: Prostitution and Sex Trafficking. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. BCR Garfield County Public Library. 6 Nov. 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Reflection
When asked to pick a controversial topic what do you pick? There a ton of topics. At first I picked the sex slave industry. I was set on doing that topic until I couldn’t find information and just they sex slave industry. So I decided to go with a topic that still incorporated the sex slave industry but that covered other things as well and that’s how I chose Human Trafficking. I had learned a little about human trafficking through TV shows and books but I want to learn more about it. Making a blog was new to me. I knew what a blog was but I wasn’t sure how to start. At first I thought that it was a bad idea because no one besides the class was going to read it but it has turned out really good. Making and maintaining the blog has given me some great skills.
I have learned a lot about Human Trafficking. I new that Human Trafficking was a problem but I didn’t know that it was such a problem that it is the third largest illegal trade in the world today. I also didn’t know that the U.S. is a destination country. I feel that this a very controversial topic and that it is probably wont be solved in a long time even if all. There are so many bad people and bad governments in our world today that it is just too hard to control everybody and everything. Yes, we can try but in the end doesn’t evil prevail?
In the second quarter I hope to find out a little more about what the U.S. government and the UN are doing to try and control/stop Human Trafficking. I would also how I can get involved from school and how I can get other students to get involved. Next I am going to read Not for Sale. I am also going to try to find a movie about Human Trafficking.
I have learned a lot about Human Trafficking. I new that Human Trafficking was a problem but I didn’t know that it was such a problem that it is the third largest illegal trade in the world today. I also didn’t know that the U.S. is a destination country. I feel that this a very controversial topic and that it is probably wont be solved in a long time even if all. There are so many bad people and bad governments in our world today that it is just too hard to control everybody and everything. Yes, we can try but in the end doesn’t evil prevail?
In the second quarter I hope to find out a little more about what the U.S. government and the UN are doing to try and control/stop Human Trafficking. I would also how I can get involved from school and how I can get other students to get involved. Next I am going to read Not for Sale. I am also going to try to find a movie about Human Trafficking.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Research
Many people agree that Human Trafficking is a major problem but they don’t know how they can help. There are many organizations that have sites that you can go to. Love146, ECPAT International and HumanTrafficking.org are only three of the billion of organizations that you can go to.
Love146 was started in 2002 by a group of people who traveled to South-East Asia and saw how little girls were being sold at brothels. The girls were on one side of a one side mirror just watching TV while men on the other side were watching them and picking and choosing the girls. Love146 was started to help those girl on the other side of the mirror. This organization helps to abolish child prostitution. They train aftercare workers (workers who work with children that have been rescued), they also have multiple safe houses. On the website love146.org you can watch a short video on how Love146 got started. Also on the website you can donate. (Love146)
ECPAT stands for End Child Prostitution Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes. ECPAT is mainly focused on Child Prostitution in Asia. When a team researchers went on a tourism consult in Thailand in 1990, they “exposed the degree to which child prostitution was increasing in many Asian countries.” With in three more years ECPAT was started. Over the next 18 years ECPAT held International Consultations and has partnered up with UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Rights of the Child. This organization follows the governments of the 122 countries that adopted the Stockholm Agenda for Action against the commercial sexual exploitation of Children (CSEC) and then publishes the results. On their web site (ecpat.net) you can read more about their history and how you can get involved. (ECPAT International)
HumanTrafficking.org is a little different than the other two web sites. HumanTrafficking.org gives you information about the situations in East Asia and Pacific countries. This web site was started in 2000 after the Asian Regional Initiative Against Trafficking (ARIAT) when, “it was suggested that countries should build regional cooperation networks, including cooperation through the Internet, to combat the issue of human trafficking.” On the web site (HumanTrafficking.org) you can look at the countries situations and what the government is doing to help prevent human trafficking. You can also read about what you can do to help. (Humantrafficking.org0
Although all three of these web sites are different, they are all working toward a common goal: STOPPING HUMAN TRAFFICKING! You might know what human trafficking is but you might not know where and how much it affects the world today and these websites and many other can help you understand more.
ECPAT International. ECPAT International. 17 October 2008.
Humantrafficking.org. 2001-2006. Academy for Education Development. 17 October 2008
Love146. 2008. Love146. 17 October 2008.
Love146 was started in 2002 by a group of people who traveled to South-East Asia and saw how little girls were being sold at brothels. The girls were on one side of a one side mirror just watching TV while men on the other side were watching them and picking and choosing the girls. Love146 was started to help those girl on the other side of the mirror. This organization helps to abolish child prostitution. They train aftercare workers (workers who work with children that have been rescued), they also have multiple safe houses. On the website love146.org you can watch a short video on how Love146 got started. Also on the website you can donate. (Love146)
ECPAT stands for End Child Prostitution Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes. ECPAT is mainly focused on Child Prostitution in Asia. When a team researchers went on a tourism consult in Thailand in 1990, they “exposed the degree to which child prostitution was increasing in many Asian countries.” With in three more years ECPAT was started. Over the next 18 years ECPAT held International Consultations and has partnered up with UNICEF and the NGO Group for the Rights of the Child. This organization follows the governments of the 122 countries that adopted the Stockholm Agenda for Action against the commercial sexual exploitation of Children (CSEC) and then publishes the results. On their web site (ecpat.net) you can read more about their history and how you can get involved. (ECPAT International)
HumanTrafficking.org is a little different than the other two web sites. HumanTrafficking.org gives you information about the situations in East Asia and Pacific countries. This web site was started in 2000 after the Asian Regional Initiative Against Trafficking (ARIAT) when, “it was suggested that countries should build regional cooperation networks, including cooperation through the Internet, to combat the issue of human trafficking.” On the web site (HumanTrafficking.org) you can look at the countries situations and what the government is doing to help prevent human trafficking. You can also read about what you can do to help. (Humantrafficking.org0
Although all three of these web sites are different, they are all working toward a common goal: STOPPING HUMAN TRAFFICKING! You might know what human trafficking is but you might not know where and how much it affects the world today and these websites and many other can help you understand more.
ECPAT International. ECPAT International. 17 October 2008.
Humantrafficking.org. 2001-2006. Academy for Education Development. 17 October 2008
Love146. 2008. Love146. 17 October 2008.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Survey
For my Human Trafficking survey I ask three questions 1. Do you think that Human Trafficking is an issue today?, 2. Do you think Human Trafficking affects the U.S? and 3. Do you think want to do anything to help stop Human trafficking? My results did and did not surprise me. I picked these question to see if students are aware of this issue.
For the first question I was glad see that more people thought that Human Trafficking is an issue today. It shows that students are aware of the situation.
But there were a few that didn't think the Human trafficking is an issue. The second question kinda surprised me because 7 out of 10 students think that Human Trafficking does affect the U.S. I was expecting for more students to say that it does not affect the U.S. Question Three did not surprise me 8 out of 10 said that they would maybe want to do something to stop Human Trafficking (2 out of 10 said yes). I think that more people said maybe because they do want to help but they don't really know how to.
In conclusion I think to help people get involved i think that I should research some organizations that help in preventing Human Trafficking and help save people who have been trafficked.
For the first question I was glad see that more people thought that Human Trafficking is an issue today. It shows that students are aware of the situation.
But there were a few that didn't think the Human trafficking is an issue. The second question kinda surprised me because 7 out of 10 students think that Human Trafficking does affect the U.S. I was expecting for more students to say that it does not affect the U.S. Question Three did not surprise me 8 out of 10 said that they would maybe want to do something to stop Human Trafficking (2 out of 10 said yes). I think that more people said maybe because they do want to help but they don't really know how to.
In conclusion I think to help people get involved i think that I should research some organizations that help in preventing Human Trafficking and help save people who have been trafficked.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
American Anti-Slavery Group
http://www.iabolish.org
This web site was started but the American Anti-Slavery Group or AASG. They are a nonprofit group that is working with former victims and are trying the help terminate slavery today. They are mainly focused on the slavery in Sudan and Mauritania. The iAbolish web site is all about Awareness, Advocacy, Activism and Aid. On the home page of this site there is a little paragraph about the wed site and the site has a little area where you can see the current news and events that are going on. Also on the home page you can read about how the are acting or showing Awareness, Advocacy, Activism and Aid.
This site is very easy to navigate. On the left side there is a list of things that you can look at from the history of the AASG to essays on slavery. If you click on the link “What we do” you can get a summary of what the AASG is doing to abolish slavery and how they are getting people are aware. Also in this page you can see who are part of the AASG. There is a list of board of directors and staff of the AASG. Under the “Modern Slavery 101” link you can get a definition of what kind of slavery is going on today because it’s not just sex slavery but also labor slavery. There is a link to take a look at the book Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery by Gloria Steinem. There is also a link to their blog. On this site everything is laid out very neatly and it is organized well. You should have no problem finding your way around.
This web site was started but the American Anti-Slavery Group or AASG. They are a nonprofit group that is working with former victims and are trying the help terminate slavery today. They are mainly focused on the slavery in Sudan and Mauritania. The iAbolish web site is all about Awareness, Advocacy, Activism and Aid. On the home page of this site there is a little paragraph about the wed site and the site has a little area where you can see the current news and events that are going on. Also on the home page you can read about how the are acting or showing Awareness, Advocacy, Activism and Aid.
This site is very easy to navigate. On the left side there is a list of things that you can look at from the history of the AASG to essays on slavery. If you click on the link “What we do” you can get a summary of what the AASG is doing to abolish slavery and how they are getting people are aware. Also in this page you can see who are part of the AASG. There is a list of board of directors and staff of the AASG. Under the “Modern Slavery 101” link you can get a definition of what kind of slavery is going on today because it’s not just sex slavery but also labor slavery. There is a link to take a look at the book Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery by Gloria Steinem. There is also a link to their blog. On this site everything is laid out very neatly and it is organized well. You should have no problem finding your way around.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Current events
Human Trafficking is the third largest illegal trade in the world; some say that within a decade that it will outstrip the other illegal trades: guns and narcotics. In 2000 George Bush sigend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. This act helps victims of human trafficking to be treated as victims and not as criminals. They get special visas that allow them to stay in the country for up to three years in exchange for their assistance in investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. This act also categorizes each county into 3 tiers. Tier 3 are the countries that are doing little or nothing to help fight trafficking and tier 1 are the countires that are actively fighting trafficking. Currently there are approx. 29 countries in tier 1, approx. 70 in tier2, apporox. 40 in tier 2 watch list, apporox. 14 in teir 3 and approx. 16 with no teir rating.
An estimated 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked each year world wide, 80% of that is women and children. These people come from all over the world for Asia to Africa and even Europe and the United States. The United States is a destination country. 18,000-20,000 people are trafficked into the US annually. The women and children are trafficked mostly for prostitution but also for servants. In most countries the men are trafficked for labor work, the 3-D jobs: dirty, difficult and dangerous. Out of the 6000,000-800,000 people that are trafficked each year around 25,000 woman and children come for Bangladesh and around 400,000 are Ukrainian woman. In Albania around 90% of the girls are afraid to go to school because they might get abducted and sold into prostitution.
Masci, David. "Human Trafficking and Slavery." The CQ Researcher (2004): 275-92.
Unknown. "Human Trafficking." Issuse and Controvrsies (2004): 297-304.
An estimated 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked each year world wide, 80% of that is women and children. These people come from all over the world for Asia to Africa and even Europe and the United States. The United States is a destination country. 18,000-20,000 people are trafficked into the US annually. The women and children are trafficked mostly for prostitution but also for servants. In most countries the men are trafficked for labor work, the 3-D jobs: dirty, difficult and dangerous. Out of the 6000,000-800,000 people that are trafficked each year around 25,000 woman and children come for Bangladesh and around 400,000 are Ukrainian woman. In Albania around 90% of the girls are afraid to go to school because they might get abducted and sold into prostitution.
Masci, David. "Human Trafficking and Slavery." The CQ Researcher (2004): 275-92.
Unknown. "Human Trafficking." Issuse and Controvrsies (2004): 297-304.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Background
Slavery/Human Trafficking dates back all the way to the Romans. From Mesopotamia to China to Egypt to India, all of our greatest cultures embraced slavery as "fact of life." Slavery was very common in the Americas and in the sub-Saharan Africa. The natives of the Americas often enslaved other natives that were capture during war. Even though some Greek philosophers defended against slavery, other great thinkers nor the bible took a position against slavery. But in the 17th and 18th centuries a bigger amount of people started to question slavery.
Human Trafficking/Slavery became very profitable in ancient Greece and Rome. In the cities of Athens and Sparta about half of the residents were slaves. Even common people could afford and had one to two slaves. Two great Romans, Pliny the Younger and Cicero wanted the masters to their slave with kindness and urged them to have conversations with the slaves. It was very common for the slaves to be freed after many years of service and slaves even became physicians and poets in the Roman Empire. Some became politicians, powerful generals and even managed estates.
Though there was peaceful ways for the slaves in the 1st and 2nd centuries slave revolts were suppressed and slaves were maintained by crulty and violence with wipping and crucifixion. In the 5th century slavery was not ended with the new order of the Catholic Church. It actually made it worse the slaves became serfs and peasants couldn't leave without permission of the masters. Because slavery/human trafficking have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years who knows if it will ever stop, but we still have to try.
Masci, David. "Human Trafficking and Slavery." The CQ Researcher (2004): 275-92.
Human Trafficking/Slavery became very profitable in ancient Greece and Rome. In the cities of Athens and Sparta about half of the residents were slaves. Even common people could afford and had one to two slaves. Two great Romans, Pliny the Younger and Cicero wanted the masters to their slave with kindness and urged them to have conversations with the slaves. It was very common for the slaves to be freed after many years of service and slaves even became physicians and poets in the Roman Empire. Some became politicians, powerful generals and even managed estates.
Though there was peaceful ways for the slaves in the 1st and 2nd centuries slave revolts were suppressed and slaves were maintained by crulty and violence with wipping and crucifixion. In the 5th century slavery was not ended with the new order of the Catholic Church. It actually made it worse the slaves became serfs and peasants couldn't leave without permission of the masters. Because slavery/human trafficking have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years who knows if it will ever stop, but we still have to try.
Masci, David. "Human Trafficking and Slavery." The CQ Researcher (2004): 275-92.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Introduction
The book Sold is what first introduced me to the issue of Human Trafficking. The book is about a girl in Nepal who was sold into prostitution by her stepfather to pay off a gambling debt. She is forced to have sex with men. At first she refuses and is starved and beaten. She is only 13 years old. Nepal is not the only place were the sex slave industry is. It is all over the world. There are organizations that are trying to help those that are sold as sex slaves. Love 146 is one organization that working on trying to stop child sex slavery.
One of the reasons that I am interested in this topic is that I want to understand how families can sell their own children to men and women. I also want to know if the families know where their children go and if they know what they are doing. I want to know what these men and women are thinking when they buy children for the intention of forcing them to have sex. I want to know what is being done by the governments of the countries to stop this.
One of the reasons that I am interested in this topic is that I want to understand how families can sell their own children to men and women. I also want to know if the families know where their children go and if they know what they are doing. I want to know what these men and women are thinking when they buy children for the intention of forcing them to have sex. I want to know what is being done by the governments of the countries to stop this.
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