A voiceless cry is being let out daily; it is the silent scream of the stolen. Millions of people each year simply vanish and are fed into an underground industry called Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking is simply a fancy word for slavery and today, “there are more people held in slavery than at the height of the transatlantic slave trade” (Polaris Project, 2010). The harsh reality is that slavery is reaching into every aspect of American life, yet we simply are unaware, or unwilling to face the problem. To combat this we must make information more readily available, take action by using our buying power, and make micro-economic and micro-finance opportunities a reality for the poorest of the poor.
Human lives are being sold and used; precious people are worth more than being turned into a commodity. Currently the rough estimate is that, “Twenty-seven million slaves exist in our world today” (Batstone, 2007, p1). The average price that is paid for these lives is approximately ninety American Dollars (Free the Slaves, 2011). The notion that slavery ended in America with the ratification of the 13th amendment is a naive one at best. Today people are actively involved in a black market business: people are turned into products and traffickers profit millions of dollars from them.
Michelle Rickert an active abolitionist, wrote a magnificent paper entitled: Through the Looking Glass: Finding and Freeing Modern Slaves at the State Level for Liberty University. She shares a speech former President George W. Bush gave to the United Nations about this travesty that defines the scope of this issue:
Each year, an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are bought, sold or forced across the world’s borders. Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as five, who fall victim to the sex trade. This commerce in human life generates billions of dollars each year— much of which is used to finance organized crime.
There’s a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life—an underground of brutality and lonely fear. Those who create these victims and profit from their suffering must be severely punished. Those who patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others. And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery. (Rickert, 2010)
As stated, by Bush, another way people are used is in the sex trafficking industry; mainly women and children are taken to other countries and used as sex toys to feed humanities growing addictions to prostitution and pornography. This is a daily occurrence in America, with heightened activity happening during major sporting events. Amy Sullivan reports that “In Miami last year, police estimated that as many as 10,000 prostitutes from outside the area arrived for Super Bowl week” (Sullivan, 2011). The reality that these girls are most likely there by force and some are even underage is hard to accept.
Scientia potentia est or “Knowledge is power” as the popular idiom would go, causes us to ask ourselves when affronted with this information, “why have I never heard about these realities before?” The information void about slavery is astonishing, There are many grassroots movements putting together small informative meetings, non-profit organizations that are writing books and sending e-mails, and hometown abolitionists are putting up flyers in their neighborhoods, all attempting to spread the word quickly and effectively.
The problem with trying to bring information to the frontlines is that people are mainly occupied with trendy issues. If you do not have the impressive ability to engage the attention of the masses, the story will be ignored. Currently the average American is a consumer of information. Not only do people have full control over what TV shows they watch with the introduction of recorded TV, but also with social networking the ability to filter what you see has taken over. RSS feeders capture a massive amount of information, but only when you subscribe to the feed do you get wind of the information. The urge for people to cut out negative information has reached an all time high in this post 9/11 world. This poses a problem for small organizations trying to inform the masses. If people do not want to hear the negative, they are easily able to filter it out. Small movements trying to uproot large issues have to overcome the reality that revolutions necessitate strategy to overcome these obstacles.
With the uprising of simple, inexpensive ways to spread the word, like Facebook and Twitter, there seems to be a new surge of enlightenment and discovery. These social networks have become tools of refuge for the activist, enabling them to rapidly spread information and needs. David Batsone President and Co-Founder of Not For Sale, recently did an interview with Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter and communicates why he believes this is a tool that will bring change:
“I think because there is transparency. That is what social media allows you to do. We can tell the stories of people. Its not then, a rather ideological argument that you have to somehow convince people that you are right and they are wrong or vice versa. But its about actually exposing people to the truth and individual people’s stories. Its also communicating that you create a community of credibility” (Not For Sale Campaign, 2010).
Media outlets of all kinds are entering the fight for life. Recently CNN has added The CNN Freedom Project to their online database, highlighting stories and trying to put and end to slavery, by informative reporting and individual stories. They see the need to initiate a global informative approach: “This year CNN will join the fight to end modern-day slavery and shine a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of the victims, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life” (CNN, 2011). Information is only one facet of this plight; once educated how can we then effect change?
People of all shapes and size, race and color, either sex, are being stolen, and forced into situations that most of us would shudder at the thought of. As consumers, we are buying products that are farmed by little boys and girls who are bought for a price, and forced to work the rest of their lives for our commodities. The coffee and chocolate industry specifically feed into this and there is not much accountability being implemented to keep this from happening. Children are easy prey and once taken are moved with ease across borders, just like that the child is permanently enslaved. The borders across countries are frequently porous and the agents patrolling are deftly bribed. Governments, although initiating laws against such practices, are not able or willing to implement them.
The abolitionists and human-rights activist step in to mandate change through purchasing power and ardent campaigning for the value of human life. Places like Free2Work.org, give people practical information and reasons to choose products that do not support slavery. This organization has gone to great lengths in researching the level of commitment a company has to ensure that their products are not being made by slaves. They have created a very large database in which you can look up a brand and check their level of responsibility, putting the power of choice back into the hands of the consumer:
The complexities of the global slave trade and limited insight into product supply chains make it difficult for the average consumer to grasp how they are connected to labor abuses occurring within the global production cycle. Today, companies are working with a wide range of initiatives- such as monitoring, certification and labeling programs - to assure their consumers that their products do not violate worker rights. And then there are companies that choose to do nothing. This plethora of approaches is extremely confusing for the average consumer who seeks an answer to the simple question: what’s the story behind my products?
After extensive research, Free2Work grades companies on a scale of “A” to “F” based on supply chain transparency, code of conduct, response to child and forced labor, and overall efforts to empower workers. A broad range of certification programs also exist that attempt to protect worker rights. The volume and variety of these systems and product labels can be confusing to consumers. Free2Work helps to reduce the confusion and demonstrate to consumers how each program differs by rating these certifications. (Not For Sale, n.d.)
Is this helping though? If the people with the buying power actually made a simple decision to change the way they purchased, then yes this would make a difference. The reality is this grassroots movement has little support, and many though disgusted by the idea of child slavery are not willing to give up their novelties such as chocolate and coffee or buy fair trade to save lives.
So if what we are doing is not working, what is the next action? We must go into the places where the poorest of the poor live and give them opportunities to grow. Microeconomics change the way small villages exist. Unfathomably poor is where most of the world lives daily. The idea we have as Americans of the term “poor” is comparatively wealthy in the minds of those in ravaged third world countries. The decision to give up a child is not that far outside understanding if it comes down to exchanging one life for betterment of the rest. Those in the trafficking business will also lie about the child. They go to poor villages and tell parents that if they let this child go to work, they will send money back. Once convincing them of this lie, they take the child never to return.
If we go into communities that have nothing and teach them a simple trade or give them an animal that can be bred or offers a product (like eggs or milk), the entire community will be changed. By giving them a commodity other than children, you are in effect increasing the worth of life. Trades like making jewelry and the investment of animals like goats or chickens are among the most popular ways to bring small economics into tiny communities that will gradually improve the overall state of life. Organizations such as Heifer International are firm in their stance to provide long-term solutions instead of a quickly digestible free lunch. This comprehensive way of giving achieves much more than a gift, it increases the worth of life, as those who are impacted have gained the dignity of sustainability.
First, Heifer helps a community group analyze their situation. They ask: What do we need? What are our resources? What would we like to see happen in five years? Then, they plan specific activities to achieve their goals.
At this point, the Heifer “living loan” becomes reality. Farmers prepare for their animals by participating in training sessions, building sheds, and sometimes planting trees and grasses.
Then the livestock arrives – bringing with it the benefits of milk, wool, draft power, eggs and offspring to pass on to another farmer.
Finally, the group evaluates its progress, and the cycle repeats as the group moves to more and more ambitious goals, each time visioning, deciding, implementing and reflecting.
Every family and community that receives assistance promises to repay their living loan by donating one or more of their animal’s offspring to another family in need. This practice of “Passing on the Gift” ensures project sustainability, develops community and enhances self-esteem by allowing project partners to become donors.
This is Heifer’s sustainable approach to ending hunger and poverty – one family, one animal at a time. It’s not temporary relief. It’s not a handout. It’s securing a future with generations of people who have hope, health and dignity. (Heifer International, n.d.)
There are also ways that Americans with a surplus in their budget can equally impact the movement. Microfinance institutions are blooming in many communities. Someone wanting to help can offer loans in small amounts through institutions like Kiva, “a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the Internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world” (2005-2011). Microeconomics and microfinance organizations are trying to infuse poverty not only with hope, but also money, which supports real change.
The reality of trafficking and slavery is daunting, and it would only make sense that the ways we are trying to stop it must be just as big. If we do not take action to end Modern Slavery completely, we will see the worth of human life continue to decline. The statement given by the Congress of the United States when enacting the Trafficking Victims and Protection Act speaks to this resolve:
One of the founding documents of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of all people. It states that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. The right to be free from slavery and involuntary servitude is among those unalienable rights. Acknowledging this fact, the United States outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude in 1865, recognizing them as evil institutions that must be abolished. Current practices of sexual slavery and trafficking of women and children are similarly abhorrent to the principles upon which the United States was founded. (Rickert, 2010)
The idea that human life is more precious than our comfort, and freedom is worth fighting for, must be adopted on a global scale before we will see much improvement in this perversion of life. As a whole, we must create a community that is willing to take simple steps in making this happen. Humanity has enabled this evil to make a mockery of our most precious and valuable commodity: freedom. The scales are tipping in a chaotic and demeaning direction and this must stop. It is time to bring about worth that rises above the consumerist mindset of momentary bliss and engages ideas of lasting value.
The information we are producing, the decisions we are using with our purchasing power in addition to the active role we are taking by infusing the poor with real tools to step out of poverty are all a step in the right direction. In fighting this, we must continue to utilize information and make it accessible to all, actively participate in choosing to wield our buying power, and help those who are impoverished by investing in micro-economic opportunities. These need to be implemented on a vast scale before we will see any signs of authentic radical alteration in the attempts to combat slavery.
References
Batstone, D. B. (2007). Not for sale: the return of the global slave trade-- and how we can fight it. New York: Harper, San Francisco.
Not For Sale Campaign. (Producer). (2010 ). Abolition conversations: social media & social change. [Web]. Retrieved from
Rickert, Michelle L., Through the looking glass: finding and freeing modern-day slaves at the
Sullivan, A. (2011, February 26). Super Bowl Sex Trade: Religious Groups Try to Crack Down - TIME. Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2046568,00.html
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