Raising Awareness

Blog Post 8

"Intersection," an anime film produced by MTV EXIT's (End Exploitation and Trafficking) hopes to raise awareness about human trafficking by spreading its message through schools and nongovernmental agencies. The film, which depicts a brothel owner, a trafficker and the victim, is played by five famous people, including Chinese actress Yuan Quan and Taiwanese singing and acting veteran Alec Su. “Intersection” has been described as both humorous and darkly depressing, and is designed to put its message across young people who can relate to it.

Similarly, the United Nations (UN) has released a second series of videos to raise global awareness about human trafficking by warning potential victims that contracts for work abroad are often modern-day slavery. Because trafficking is one of the fastest growing areas of organized crime, “the UN hopes to alert the public and the criminal justice system in destination countries of the crime (BBC News, 2002).” The UN estimates that more than 700,000 people are smuggled from their home countries each year.

Women from south-east Asia pay about £20,000 to go to the United Kingdom to join the sex trade (probably unknowingly). They work for about 15 hours a day for six months to pay off the debt and get their passport back; however, the traffickers hit them with a bill for expenses they had supposedly run up –and they cycle continues.

Some European countries, such as Sweden, have created stiffer sentences for human trafficking for sexual purposes by up to ten years in prison. “Britain says it intends to increase the maximum penalty from ten to fourteen years (BBC News, 2002).”

The first video, produced by the UN on sexual slavery, was released in January 2001 and has been shown in 35 countries. The two recent videos, made by the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP), are no more than 60 seconds long and have been produced in nine languages.

Creating short films to raise awareness is a different approach that just might work! Many young people do not read news articles relating to human trafficking or they do not have access. But if schools and organizations show these kinds of films, they will be more cautious when approached by a stranger offering them a job. “Intersection” has also been aired on China’s Music Television (MTV), and I am sure many young teens watch this channel. I believe the United States should also air short films about human trafficking on MTV and various channels.

China’s “Intersection”
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE55A7DW20090611

BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1829855.stm

Pictures:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1829855.stm
Yuan Quan http://images.china.cn/images1/200711/413451.jpg
Alec Su http://blog.alecsatin.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/alec-su.jpg

Girls for Sale in Poipet

Blog Post 3

Nicholas D. Kristof is a columnist for New York Times and has written several articles about human trafficking. I found “Girls for Sale” rather interesting because it was not just an article about sex slavery, but an undercover interview with two girls from Poipet.

Poipet, located in northwestern Cambodia, is known as one the wildest places where girls are bought and sold. Many of the alleys are lined with brothels, where girls grab at any man walking by (Kristof, 2004). Since Kristof would not be able to have a conversation with any of the girls, he had to act like a customer. It was $8-a-night at Phnom Pich Guest House, where a female pimp brought Srey Neth to his room.

Srey Neth said that she was 18 years old (but appeared to look younger) and was not controlled to work at the guesthouse. But she soon told him she was sold by one of her female cousins. When asked if she thought about escaping, she said that girls get beat up for trying. And when Kristof asked her why not ask the police for help, she told him that they get bribes from the brothel owners and sometimes even have sex with the girls.

After he interviewed her, he was walking down the street when another girl, Srey Mom, grabbed at him. He paid $8 for a room and $2.50 to have her for the evening, whereas Srey Neth was $10 because of her lighter complexion.

To free the girls, someone would have to pay off their debts and the price of the girl. Srey Neth was worth $150.

No one should be bought and sold, nor should they have to do things against their will. It’s alarming that a girl can be free for $150, yet she cannot make enough to buy her own freedom. And to have sex with a girl can be as low as $2.50 –which is disturbing! Many of these girls die from AIDs by the time they reach their 20s. With this knowledge, it's time to do something about these brothels. I applaud Kristof for doing what he did to write this article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/17/opinion/girls-for-sale.html

Picture of Nicholas D. Kristof:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/nicholasdkristof/index.html

Labor Trafficking

Blog Post 1

Labor trafficking is a form of human trafficking that is also known as modern-day slavery. Men, women, and children of all ages are lured to work in the United States, where the perpetrator paints a pretty picture of a better life with a great paying job. However, it is all a scheme that hundreds of thousands fall for each year.

Between January 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008, there were a total of 1, 229 alleged incidents of human trafficking reported to the Bureau of Justice Human Trafficking Task Force. Labor trafficking accounted for 12% of those reported incidents (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). Keep in mind that the number of labor trafficking would be higher if there were more incidents reported. However, many of them are lied to and threatened with deportation if they were to tell anyone about their situation.

In Kansas City, twelve people were accused of labor racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration violations. “The defendants used false information to obtain fake work visas for the foreign workers, who were then threatened with deportation while living in substandard apartments and working for inadequate pay (Twelve Charged, 2009).” In addition to low income, the illegal immigrants are required to pay a very expensive rent, which ensures that they will not have enough to buy a plane ticket home or even live comfortably in their barely furnished apartment. They also have to pay for their transportation to and from work as well as work uniform fees.

This is just one example of human trafficking. Victims are deceived and brought into a whole new world with nothing. Their living conditions are awful and they live each day with fear that their families or themselves will be killed if they do not comply. They are also threatened with deportation which may mean trouble with the law because they went to America illegally. They are scared and trapped. What little money do they have left after paying for rent and the necessities to live? They are left with nothing –not even enough to save.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090527/us-human-trafficking/
http://ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cshti08.htm http://www.adb.org/media/Articles/2007/12016-asian-human-trafficking/