Human Trafficking

Okay so this blog is pretty much a week late because I pretty much forgot :o( I think Spring Break got to my head. But anyway, I still wanted to do the blog because I like doing the blog assignments and I like the issues that have been assigned and last week's issue, Human Trafficking is such an important one.

I remember the first time I had ever heard about human trafficking. It was actually on the Oprah Winfrey show a couple of years ago. I think I was a freshman in high school. It was more about human trafficking in Asian countries but they did touch upon trafficking in America. I remember telling my mother about it and even she had not heard too much about it and she is always up to date with current events. Then maybe my sophomore year of highschool, the niece of one of the teachers at my school who is an ambassador for the U.S spoke about human trafficking but mainly in Thailand. She actually deals with cases of human trafficking. Quite a few of my classmates had never heard of it. Then maybe a year and a half later I read a true life account about a teenage girl from an Asian country who was subjected to human trafficking. I learned that many of the girls think that they are going to be taken to a better place and more suitable living conditions but instead they are tricked and sold to brothels. In the video clip, it seems like many of the girls are from Latin American countries. Maybe they were told that they were going to be given a better life in America.

I think that Human Trafficking may be very difficult to cease in America because it seems more secretive but if the word is spread more than I think a difference can be made. If there are more documentaries made and educationals there might be a decrease. My mother and I love watching movies and we frequent our Brighthouse Networks indemand movie channel. Guess what documentary was there? Skid Row!!! I told my mother all about it. I told my father as well and neither had heard a word about it and both were shocked when I told them the average age of a homeless person was 9 years old. Word of mouth might be the best way to go about these issues. And from what I have learned so far from writing the exploratory essay is the issue, Why should we help? So why should we help these people and children who are being sold? I've come up with a few answers.
Sex with minors is illegal.
Sex without consent is illegal.
It's basically like slavery which is also illegal.
For many of the people, it really is not their fault. They were tricked.
Our children could be stolen and sold.
We ourselves could be stolen and sold.
If you have a heart, you know that it is wrong.
And this is probably the least important answer and is the last thing on my mind but for people who are very much into economy and taxes: you know that the traffickers certainly do not report the money they are making on their taxes...they probably don't even file taxes...that is cheating our government and economy, no? So techinically they can be charged with some kind of tax fraud I guess. I know, this is not the best and most important answer but I was simply brainstorming but it is somewhat true.

The important thing to remember about Human Trafficking is that it is NOT prostitution!!! Prostitutes made a choice but someone else made a choice for the victims of human trafficking. The people of the United States have worked together during tragic times such as the World Wars and after September 11th. I believe the people of the United States can come together to fight issues such as this one and become a voice for people who have none.