Tag Archives: forced labor

January 28, 2024 · 1:00 am

Enslaved 2024 – Part 3

File:Human Trafficking.jpg

Human Trafficking, concept image by Tapas Kumar Halder, Author Tapas Kumar Halder, (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

We conclude our discussion of the blight of human trafficking with suggestions as to how the public can prevent and respond to this profound evil [1].

What You Can Do

Concerned as they may be, most people are overwhelmed by the magnitude of human trafficking — at a loss for how they can make a difference.  But there are things the average person can do [2]:

  • Become educated about human trafficking, and stay alert to the situations people may be experiencing.
  • Share information about human trafficking with family, friends, neighbors, business associates, and fellow bloggers.
  • Support local anti-trafficking organizations, either financially or by volunteering.  Pro bono attorneys are especially needed.  An online directory of community organizations is available here:  https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/find-local-services.
  • Buy with care.  Consider where (and by whom) food, clothing, jewelry, electronics, and other items were produced.  An extensive list of items made by forced labor or child labor can be found here:  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods.
  • Get help for a family member, co-worker, student, tenant, patient, or someone else in need.  The National Human Trafficking Hotline https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/contact provides free confidential support, 24/7.  Call 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733 (BEFREE).
  • Partner with the schools, healthcare providers, and other institutions and professionals serving those experiencing human trafficking.  Together with them, craft student safety programs for children at risk, fair workplace protocols, and ethical procurement practices at places of employment.  Work for safe and affordable housing, and accessible healthcare.
  • Speak out.  Inquire what elected representatives are doing about human trafficking.  Urge that trafficking be made a priority.

Continue reading →

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January 21, 2024 · 1:00 am

Enslaved 2024 – Part 2

As discussed in Part 1 of this series, human trafficking is the form slavery takes today [1].

Red Flags

The red flags for trafficking include the following [2]:

A.  In the Workplace, Generally

  • A job offer that seems to be too good to be true.
  • A job offer that requires a move far from family and friends, where the recruiter or prospective employer declines to provide detailed information about the job.
  • A prospective employer who refuses to provide a signed contract, or asks employees to sign a contract in a language they cannot read.
  • A prospective employer who collects fees from a potential employee for the mere “opportunity” to work at a particular job.
  • Promised pay withheld by a recruiter or employer after work has been done.
  • Dangerous work conditions without training, adequate breaks, safety gear, or other protections.
  • Inhumane living conditions provided by an employer.
  • Monitoring by an employer of all interaction with others.
  • Isolation by an employer from support systems.
  • Pressure by an employer to stay on the job.
  • Control by an employer of a passport and identity documents.
  • Threats of deportation or other harm by an employer.

Continue reading →

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January 14, 2024 · 1:00 am

Enslaved 2024 – Part 1

File:ValentinGalochkin 1965 Slavery.jpg

“Slavery – A Study in Marble” by Valentin Galochkin, Author Valentin Galochkin, (PD)

The White House has proclaimed January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month [1].

Scope

Over 40 million people are trafficked worldwide [2A].  Women and girls constitute about 71%  of all human trafficking victims [2B].  In fact, one in every four victims of modern slavery is a child [2C].

Geographic Distribution

Trafficking centers around areas with international travel hubs (airports and seaports), access to highways, seasonal work, a hospitality industry (often associated with tourism), a sharp disparity between rich and poor, and a large immigrant population [3A][8].

A. Overseas

According to the International Labor Organization, Asia and the Pacific region have the highest incidence of forced labor and forced marriages [5].

B. United States

In our country, experts estimate that there are over 199,000 instances of human trafficking (which includes sex trafficking) annually [4A].

The top ten states for trafficking in 2022 were Mississippi, Nevada, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, California, Arkansas, Oregon, and Georgia [2D]. Continue reading →

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May 4, 2014 · 1:00 am

Common Bond

A rally was held in Nigeria earlier this week to protest that government’s inaction against the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram (translated “Western Education Is Sinful”). The group recently kidnapped some 230 school girls, and is selling them into slavery for as little as $12 or “marrying” them to their captors [1].

Though estimates vary, there are as many as 30 million men, women, and children entrapped in slavery, as I write this.

Included among these are forced laborers recruited under threat of violence, by governments and political parties; chattel slaves abducted from their homes – bought, sold, inherited, and given as gifts; bonded laborers whose loans – impossible of repayment – can be passed from generation to generation; child soldiers; child brides in forced marriages; children engaged in toil destructive of their health and well-being; and sexually exploited women and children, now a basis for sex tourism.

If any of this sounds familiar to Americans, it should. The impact of slavery on our country has been immense. It is a lasting scar the extent of which cannot be summed up in a few neat words.

But slavery has not been confined to a single race or nation. Slavery is referenced as far back as the Code of Hammurabi and the Bible [2]. Slavery existed in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; in Ireland, Poland, and elsewhere across the globe. It existed among Christians and Muslims. Slave labor camps in the form of gulags were utilized as a political tool by Russia until 1960. They persist in China (under the name “laogai”) and North Korea today.

By focusing exclusively on grievances of the past – albeit, legitimate grievances – we may overlook the chance we have as Americans of every stripe to make a difference in the present.

The evils (and insidious after-effects) of slavery should, if anything, make America the nation foremost in seeking an end worldwide to that institution, once and for all. Instead, we remain a house divided, consumed by our own pain. Continue reading →

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