Tag Archives: modern slavery

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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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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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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August 15, 2021 · 1:00 am

Forbidden Music

Afghan women, Author Eric Draper (PD as federal work product)

Many fear the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan will place in jeopardy the advances girls and women have made there in the past 20 years [1].

If the Taliban resumes control of the country (as now seems inevitable), women are likely again to be penalized for infractions such as failure to wear a burka, leaving home unaccompanied by a male, and adultery [2].  Even music will again be forbidden, since the Prophet Muhammad is thought by some to have criticized the use of musical instruments [3].

Punishments have, in the past, ranged from beating or flogging, by religious police, to death by stoning [4].

Radical Islam v. Christianity

The Taliban argues that the harsh restrictions placed on women are meant to revere and protect them.  Taliban leaders have, however, been known to engage in human trafficking, selling women into slavery and forced prostitution [5].

The contrast between Radical Islam and Christianity could not be more clear.

When Christ was confronted with a woman caught in adultery, He defended her against her accusers, then instructed her to go and sin no more (John 8: 3-11).

“…He…said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first’ ” (John 8: 7).

—

[1]  CNBC, “US withdrawal of troops puts Afghan women’s education in peril” by Richard Engel, 5/3/21, https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/05/03/u-s-withdrawal-of-troops-put-womens-education-in-peril.html.

[2]  Wikipedia, “Women in Afghanistan”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Afghanistan.

[3]  Wikipedia, “Islamic music”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_music.

[4]  Radio Free Europe Radio Library, “Afghan Rights Group Investigating Video of Woman Being Stoned to Death” by Frud Bezhan, 2/3/20, https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-rights-group-investigates-video-of-woman-being-stoned-to-death/30414665.html.

[5]  Time Magazine, “Lifting the Veil on Taliban Sex Slavery” by Tim McGirk and Shomali Plain, 2/10/02 , http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,201892,00.html.

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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September 30, 2018 · 1:00 am

Hope for Sex Trafficking Survivors

Acer Aspire 4930G laptop, Author Jeff777BC (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)

Catie Hart was trafficked by a man she thought of as her boyfriend.  Their relationship became increasingly threatening, till the 18 y.o. was forced into prostitution.  Fear kept her from escaping.

The line between “boyfriend” and “trafficker” was intentionally blurred from the outset.  This type of grooming is typical.  Catie’s story did not though end there.  She is now training to become a computer programmer.

The fledgling non-profit AnnieCannons https://www.anniecannons.com/ helps survivors of human trafficking achieve financial independence by teaching them web design.  Since survivors are often stigmatized by a past which includes an arrest record, AnnieCannons, also, assists graduates of its program with networking and job placement.

Obstacles remain.  The non-profit operates on a small scale.  While involved with the program, survivors must provide their own food and housing.  With limited job skills, some continue to work in so called “gentlemen’s” clubs to do this.

But, as Helen Keller, said:

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

Christ, of course, offers hope to all.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Cor. 5: 17).

—

[1]  Global Post, “This sex trafficking survivor is moving 0n — by learning how to code” by Arthur Nazaryan,  8/17/18, https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-08-17/sex-trafficking-survivor-moving-learning-how-code.

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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August 5, 2018 · 1:00 am

Shelter

“Unaccompanied minors” at south Texas border, Author US Customs and Border Protection (PD as work product of US Dept. of Homeland Security)

Levian Pacheco of Casa Kokopelli – one of eight federally funded private shelters Southwest Key operates in Arizona – has been accused of sexually molesting at least 8 migrant boys between the ages of 15 and 17 at that facility [1].

Fernando Negrete, also employed by Southwest Key, has meanwhile been charged with groping a 14 year old migrant girl [2].

The Arizona Dept. of Health has cited Casa Kokopelli for failure to complete background checks on employees.  Yet, Southwest Key has received over $1 billion in funds for its shelters.

Police nationwide have responded to hundreds of calls reporting sex crimes against immigrant children held by the government at shelters.

Tragically, this is not the only situation in which illegal immigrants are vulnerable to exploitation.  Fleeing poverty and violence, an estimated 17,000 to 19,000 immigrants are trafficked into the United States each year [3]. Continue reading →

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