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Modern Day Slavery: Breaking the Silence
 
Think that slavery is long gone? Think again. Modern-day slavery, better known as human trafficking, is a global horror, affecting up to 1.2 million children a year. After arms and drug dealing, it is the third largest criminal activity in the world, as well as the fastest-growing. Victims are trafficked for a variety of reasons -- mostly for cheap labor and sexual services.
"Mail order brides," as young as 13, are trafficked from Eastern Europe and Asia. Young women are tricked into traveling to other countries for jobs, and instead become sexual slaves and forced prostitutes after arriving. Some are just plain kidnapped. Many are promised to be set free after "working off their debt," which will never really happen. Violence, pregnancies, abortion, diseases, and death all or in part await each victim.
In Mexico alone, more than 16,000 children are engaged in prostitution. One such victim, Rosa, was forced to become a prostitute at 14. She was continually raped and under surveillance during her entire ordeal. Testifying for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, she revealed, "Because I was so young, I was always in demand with the customers. It was awful. Although the men were supposed to wear condoms, some didn't, so eventually I became pregnant and was forced to have an abortion. They sent me back to the brothel almost immediately."
Labor trafficking, or forcing people to work without wages (slavery), is used for sweatshops, farms, domestic servitude (private "servants"), and small labor operations. Travel isn't necessary for trafficking; indeed, by keeping such practices hidden within a country, this cheap labor keeps business going with billions of profits. The t-shirt you're sporting right now could have been made in one such operation without your even knowing it.
In the U.S. Alone, an estimated 17,000 foreign nationals are trafficked each year -- along with more than 200,000 American children at risk. According to World Vision, a nonprofit organization working to stop human trafficking, trafficking continues not only because of poverty, but mainly because of profits and low chances of prosecution. When governments fail to address the issue, it is left in the dark -- keeping citizens in the dark and profits in perpetuators' pockets.
The best thing to do about this is to make loud, obnoxious NOISE about it! Victims like Rosa cannot speak for themselves whilst in such torture: "I couldn't do anything to stop it. I wasn't allowed to go outside without a guard. Many of the bosses had guns. I was constantly afraid. One of the bosses carried me off to a hotel one night, where he raped me. I could do nothing to stop him."
By keeping quiet, citizens unknowingly let these atrocities happen. Start a club against human trafficking. Boycott organizations that use sweatshops and be LOUD about it! Write to your congress members, the president, leaders of countries who perpetuate this crime, your local newspapers -- anyone and everyone. Host a fundraiser for UNICEF, the Polaris Project, World Vision, or other organizations that work hard to stop these crimes. Better yet, join in! Volunteers are always needed. The main thing is to not back down -- and to not be silent.
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 Talk Back: Comment on this ArticleThank you for this article. It's really informative and I know I was inspired to do more because of it. Tina Reply to this comment | Reply to article
Most sexual activity between adults and youth are consentual. So what's your point? Where is the abuse? Reply to this comment | Reply to article
Did you actually READ this article? It is not about consentual sex! It is about slavery and rape. You are an idiot wrapped in a moron! Reply to this comment | Reply to article
I am truly shocked by some of the responses to this article. It is not a new issue by any means; in the eighties young women in New York, addicted to crack, were taken to abandoned buildings, chained to a bed, and "sold" over and over to anyone and everyone for sex until they died from the abuse. It is not limited to women and girls, either. Young men and boys are also kidnapped, sold by their relatives or a "friend" to sex traffickers and received similar treatment. In some countries boys are the preferred "product." Despite the ignorance and acceptance of these conditions displayed in these responses, I hope that some people are getting the message and will help to end this social disease. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
I have to agree with loudnclear1. You are an idiot wrapped in a moron! Any child under the age of 16 is a minor, a child has no idea what sex is, let alone be forced into sexual relationships. I am assuming you have never been sexually abused, if you had then you would have a brain in this subject. How does a child of say 6-10 give consent to have sex? Do you not think this would not hurt them both physically and mentally?
So "Who Cares"? just about everyone in the world expect you and the type of idiot thinking people just like you.
Grow up idiot, it may just happen to your daughter/sister/mother and God forbid yourself.
Reply to this comment | Reply to article
I can't believe you are that ignorant! Children were not made to have sex. Young minds do not understand it, and it should only happen in a marriage environment. Anything otherwise screws with the brain, even if you're an adult. And to think about all the young children being forced to do those acts with so many sick people...and it doesn't affect you! You must be one of those sick people. Shame on you! I hope they get to you before you harm one of those children. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
Insensitive, ignorant, small minded male who only cares about himself. Watch out you might get raped sometime and find out for yourself just what it is like to be written off by society. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
This guy must be another pedophile to make such an assnigne comment. I'm in the Private Security field, and unfortunatley am restrained from shooting, skinning, and otherwise decorating P.O.S.'s like this with the badge they they earn everytime they VIOLATE an innocent child. It's unfortunate there are laws protcting scum like these people. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
Children are children. The only way it is conscentual is if the child is being abused in anyway, by their legal guardian.... that does not mean that it is not wrong. First of all these children are abused and taken advantage of. The children are very innocent and do not know that it is wrong. They know nothing else. You are an idiot and you should be shot!!!!!!!!!!!! Reply to this comment | Reply to article
The reason the market is sustained is because there is a market for women who come here to be wives and love men in exchange for having their lives changed dramatically for the better.
No one is advocating the slavery of young women to be sold as prostitutes, but don't attack mail order brides. Many American women outside of Los Angeles and Las Vegas are not very open-minded. Many are cold and heartless.
European women, on the other hand, are not afraid of sex, or afraid of meeting a guy, sleeping with him, making him really happy, trusting him, and letting the guy reciprocate all of that to her.
That's why American men would rather pay for a mail order bride than suffer the constant hurt and bullshit they get from American women. "We're tired of being treated like shit," say these men, and "just as deserving of a beautiful, sexy, fun, and loyal wife or girlfriend as an American guy who looks like a weightlifter but acts like a jerk and the women love that."
This is a sad commentary, but often a true story. Bottom line, if American women were open, honest, sexual, and loyal to men... actually making effort to make the man happy rather than blow him off after one date or be influenced by their friends bullshit about how they don't like the guy, things might be dramatically different. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
Women everywhere should not have to put up with making a guy happy and giving him sex. You want a woman who is too afraid to think for herself and totally dependent on you because you are too afraid of a woman who is strong and doesn't need a man to take care of her. You are welcome to find a mial order bride and bring her to this country, but you are going to have to lock her up and throw away the key because once she realizes that this country will give her to opportunity to make something of herself besides your sex toy and house maid she is gonna change buddy. How about you leave the land of the free and the home of the brave for some country that still lives in the dark ages so you can a have a castle and some slave girls to lap at your shrivelled manhood. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
You are saying that there wouldn't be human trafficiking if American Women would do watever american men want. you are making men look perfect but they aren't. they are mostly the ones running these human trafficking businesses. what about them being loyal, honest, and open? why do women always have to be the only ones being loyal. we werent put on this earth to be your sex toys and to do whatever you say. yur comment enrages me and i think u should go and get some new views on things. Reply to this comment | Reply to article
There is lots we can do today to raise money to support UNICEF, the Polaris Project, World Vision and other organization.
Feel free to read my blog at http://www.gasolineincome.blogspot.com and I'll get around to posting something similar here at this blog spot.
By our becoming sales persons in a simple thing like GDI, we can create domain names along the lines of the various causes.
Example: In this article the issue is slavery; for $10 a month someone can start a domain name called:
www.unitedagainstslavery.ws
This is very likely an available domain name and it would only cost $10 a month.
Now bring in creating a movement behind this:
People interested in joining this cause and raising money to put toward the organizations can step up and create domain names right in line with it, i.e.:
www.unitedagainstslavery1.com
www.unitedagainstslavery2.com
www.unitedagainstslavery3.com and on to infinity...
Each person would be inviting those they know who are interested, and when the person they contact takes the necessary simple steps that person who referred the person to the domain name host would get a commission from the host, in this case GDI.
This is universal throughout. So everyone can generate enough income to cover the basic cost, keep a bit for their time and effort and then contribute a portion to the organizations who are working to stop human trafficking (or whatever the cause).
Feel free to see the mechanics of proceeding thusly at http://www.my.ws and enter the code: danhall
Understand that this can be done, is right and just and God glorifying.
So it is written, so it be done.
Listen to the entire 7 minute movie that explains it all at http://website.ws/kvmlm2/_show.dhtml?speed=high&sponsor=danhall&fname=&lname= just enter your name on the check...
Totally, Seriously, Yours,
Dan Hall
www.gasolineincome.com Reply to this comment | Reply to article
I have been speaking to my friends about this subject, but it never seemed to effect them. It's not that they didn't care, it's that I personally didn't have enough facts to cause any sort of change in them. Anyway, the point is I'm planning on sending this to the lot of them so that they will understand what I've been trying to explain to them. (I'm not very good with my words)... Reply to this comment | Reply to article
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