After 9/11, Kevin was deployed for a few months to Thailand.1 He says one of the most disturbing things he saw there had nothing to do with the military operation.
It was the local watering hole and its female staff, young women known officially as “hostesses” and euphemistically as “bar girls.”
One look at Kevin’s uniform and these gals were on him like white on rice. When he demurred, they would always say, “Ah, you good man.” Which was immediately followed up with eyelash-batting and “I wish I had good man.”
Funny… until you realize that most of these girls were sold into their jobs by their own families, and that their nasty, brutish and short lives will most likely end with AIDs.
Human trafficking is very lucrative and thus epidemic in poor countries; Thailand is only one among many.
Most (70%) of the 600,000 to 820,000 people trafficked across international borders are women and children. Though they can be forced into everything from organ donation to religious cult membership, most are forced into prostitution. 2
And since most of the trafficking is done by organized crime, if the merchandise complains, they just make her an offer she can’t refuse.
But don’t go thinking this horror is all happening “over there.” An estimated 14,000 people are trafficked into the United States and 600-800 into Canada every year.3
I can’t believe that almost 150 years after Lincoln freed the slaves, people right here in my country are purchasing other human beings.
So every year, I donate to the Amnesty International campaign to end human trafficking, and today, I’m proud to join other bloggers as we Unite for Human Rights.
All of the non-governmental organizations below work to end the suffering. Act Uppity and donate. It may not seem like much, but I promise you — every little bit helps.
After all, if we don’t speak for the voiceless, who will?
- The American Anti-Slavery Group
- Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity
- Transitions Cambodia
- Ansar Burney Trust
- Anti-Slavery International
- Project to End Human Trafficking
- Free the Slaves
- The International Justice Mission
- HumanTrafficking.org
- Shared Hope International
- Not For Sale
- Stop the Traffik
- Love 146
- The Redlight Children Campaign
- The Red Light Movement
- The Salvation Army – Human Trafficking
- Project Rescue
[tags]human trafficking, Bloggers Unite for Human Rights[/tags]
- For those who don’t know, Kevin is an Air Force reservist. And yes, he does make me call him “Major.” [↩]
- Source: Wikipedia. Because of the nature of trafficking, exact statistics are difficult to get. [↩]
- Source: Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery – Canada [↩]
You probably won’t believe this, but the antagonist in my WIP is a human trafficker. I don’t know that much about it yet, so I thank you from the bottom of my too-flat feet for writing this post.
It’s heartbreaking, and I’m going to write it as ugly as I can just to drive the point home.
You’re very welcome, U. I look forward to reading your book!
Thanks for an informative post about an often-ignored obscenity.
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds
Hey – it’s great to see human rights getting coverage in the blogosphere.
Last summer Nelson Mandela brought a group of really dedicated individuals together – ex heads of state and Nobel laureates – to work on solving global issues. His hope for the new group, The Elders, is for them to “speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken”. They’re working on topics ranging from the crisis in Zimbabwe to rising food costs and they want your help.
There are so many issues in dire need of attention right now, but human rights ties them all together. The Elders launched the Every Human Has Rights campaign to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and celebrate human rights as that common thread that weaves our struggles and our victories together.
We’re asking the blogosphere to take part. Would you be willing to add a link from your page to the Every Human Has Rights website? We also have badges and flash widgets so bloggers can show support for the campaign.
We’re trying to get as many people as possible to sign a personal pledge to uphold the principles of the Universal Declaration. We have action partners to help people get more involved. We have tools so people can bring the ‘rights perspective’ to their own organization’s events. We’re doing everything we can to bring people together to stand up for human rights.
We need bloggers. We need you. Please join our effort.
All the best,
Carly Scott
Every Human Has Rights,
campaign team
http://www.everyhumanhasrights.org