Category Archives: human trafficking

June 25, 2023 · 1:00 am

The Sound of Freedom

An upcoming film The Sound of Freedom documents the efforts to free a young girl from human traffickers.  The film stars Jim Caviezel, best known for his work in The Passion of the Christ.

The Sound of Freedom is based on the real life efforts of Tim Ballard to combat the trafficking of children.  Ballard is a former Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [1].  He spent a dozen years as an undercover operative with the US Child Sex Tourism Jump Team.

Ballard’s non-profit Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) https://ourrescue.org in conjunction with governments and law enforcement has successfully rescued over 6000 children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation, slave labor, and involuntary organ harvesting. Continue reading →

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June 4, 2023 · 1:00 am

Lost Voices

Lost Voices https://www.lostvoices.org/ is a non-profit which uses music as a vehicle to change the lives of children impacted by violence, abuse, neglect, and human trafficking.

The non-profit was founded by Executive Director Mike Ball, after a visit to a Juvenile Detention Center.

Young people are encouraged to get in touch with their feelings by writing and performing their own songs. Workshops are facilitated by trained musicians.

A key element of the Lost Voices program is trauma informed care which focuses on the need to understand life experiences, establishing a non-judgmental setting in which young people can work through their emotions.

The goal is to confirm for these children that — whatever they may have done or been subjected to — their lives remain valuable.

“A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth” (Isa. 42: 3).

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  https://alawyersprayers.com

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January 22, 2023 · 1:00 am

Child Labor in the United States

File:Pig carcasses in a Los Angeles meat packing plant.jpg

Workers with pig carcasses at Los Angeles meat packing plant (1945), Source https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz0002qn8w, Author Los Angeles Daily News (CC-BY-4.0 International)

The term “child labor” conjures up images of 19th Century sweat shops.  If meat packing plants are mentioned, some of us may recall Upton Sinclair’s 1905 expose The Jungle [1].

Few of us would imagine that child labor practices are still engaged in today.  Unfortunately, that is the case.

Cleaning Slaughterhouses

The Labor Dept. in December settled a civil suit against Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) for the violation of child labor laws [2].

Investigators had found some 50 children (one as young as 13 y.o.) employed by PSSI cleaning slaughterhouses at 5 different locations in Nebraska and Michigan.  An earlier investigation in Kansas was dropped when necessary records could not be obtained.

“Oppressive Child Labor” Standards

The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits “oppressive child labor” [3].  Labor Dept. regulations identify many positions in slaughterhouses and meat packing plants as hazardous for minors.

In particular, the “kill floors” in meat packing facilities are known to have slippery surfaces from animal fat, hot water, and soap [4A].  Though safety equipment is required for their use, strong cleaning chemicals can cause caustic burns from exposure.

No Penalties or Fines

Despite all this, the Labor Dept. issued no penalties or fines to PSSI [4B]. Continue reading →

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August 28, 2022 · 1:00 am

Trafficking, Abuse, and the Disabled

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een gehandicapte bedelaar langs de kant van de straat TMnr 20000047.jpg

Disabled child begging in the street, Source Tropenmuseum part of the National Museum of World Cultures, Author H.W. (Henk) van Rinsum (Photographer), (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)

WARNING:  Graphic Images

There are nearly 240 million children with mental or physical disabilities worldwide [1].

Across the globe, the majority of these children have meager access to clean water and sanitation; adequate nutrition; and necessary healthcare, including immunization.

  • 53% are likely to suffer from acute respiratory infections, the leading cause of death in children under five [2].
  • 42% are likely to be “wasted” which is to say emaciated, with muscle mass far below normal.
  • 34% are likely to be stunted in growth.

Disabled children are often denied education.

  • 49% are likely never to have attended school.
  • 42% are likely to lack basic reading and arithmetic skills.

Children with disabilities are at higher risk of abuse (including sexual abuse) and neglect [3][4].  In the United States, that risk is 300% higher than for children without disabilities [5]. Continue reading →

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July 31, 2022 · 1:00 am

Internet Safety Tips for Teens

File:Social media.jpg

Typical social media sites, Source Flickr, Author Automotive Social
(CC BY 2.0 Generic)

The following safety tips were supplied by a child advocacy center all too familiar with child abuse in its many forms.  Please, discuss them with the teens in your life.

Personal Safety 

Never share your personal information with others online unless you already know them offline, and they have good reason for needing to know.

Before sharing the following information with ANYONE, always check with a trusted adult first:  last name, address, phone number, date of birth, school name, social security number, passwords.

Social Media

Many social networking websites (e.g. Facebook/Meta, Twitter, and Instagram) have minimum age requirements for signing up.  These requirements are there to protect you!  Never accept a “friend request” from someone you do not already know offline.  Again, never share personal information with others. Continue reading →

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July 17, 2022 · 1:00 am

Sir Mo Farah – From Slavery to Triumph

File:Mo Farah Helsinki 2012-2.jpg

Mo Farah at 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki,
Author Erik van Leeuwen
(Image modified by MachoCarioca)
(GNU Free Documentation License)

Four-time Olympic champion, Sir Mohamed Farah, has revealed in a BBC documentary that he was trafficked as a child, and forced into slavery in London [1][2][3A][4].

Background

Born Hussein Abdi Kahin, Farah lost his father to a civil war in Somaliland at the age of four.  Separated from his mother, he was brought illegally to the United Kingdom by a stranger at the age of nine, and forced to work as a domestic servant.

Citizenship and Freedom

Farah was not allowed to attend school until around age twelve.  The school was told he was a Somali refugee.

Physical education teacher, Alan Watkinson, was the first to notice Farah’s outstanding athletic talent.  Farah eventually told Watkinson the truth about his past, and moved in with a friend’s family.  It was Watkinson who helped Farah apply for British citizenship. Continue reading →

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