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This is something I have heard about for quite a while. Just recently I found out how widespread it is, and just how many people have been victims of this terrible crime.
Just when you thought slavery was a thing of the past. Well, I am here to tell you it isn't, and it is not just happening to people of color.
I watched the miniseries on Lifetime called Human Trafficking. As I watched I learned a whole lot about this wide spread problem. Like always I had to put this subject on this web site. Actually this has spawned this page, and one on Runaways.
This web site is here for the purpose of getting involved in important issues. It is meant to reveal information which will help those who visit the site to stay safe.
I suggest the visitors visit the link below to learn all you can about this problem. If Lifetime ever runs the miniseries on Human Trafficking again, I suggest everyone with young kids or who have young adults living in their houses, watch this important movie. It will open your eyes like it has mine.
Imagine being taken or told about a rewarding experience and then find out you were purchased like a possession. You then find yourself forced to do things you would never imagine doing, but life depends on doing just what you are told. Your life is not your own, but it belongs to those who have paid a price for your services. This is what this page deals with, and I hope you all will get involved.
The information provided on this page was taken from Human Trafficking.
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Get the Facts on Human Trafficking
Trafficking in people is modern-day slavery; human beings are bought, sold and forced into slave labor and/or sexual exploitation.
The U.S. government estimates that each year up to 800,000 people are taken from their homes and families against their will and transported across international borders, while millions more are trafficked within their own countries. Eighty percent of these victims are women and girls.
According to U.S. government sources, approximately 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into this country every year.
The sale of women and girls is becoming as common as that of illegal drugs and weapons.
The U.S. government estimates that criminals are making $9.5 billion a year from this industry.
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Three True Tales From Human-Trafficking Survivors
When a friend offered Namwaan* a well-paying job as a housekeeper, she left her family and traveled with six other women across country borders into a foreign land. After arriving in a new city, Namwaan was taken to a brothel and locked in a guarded room. She was made to work as a prostitute, even when she was ill. Though she tried to convince other girls trapped there to escape with her, they were too afraid; they knew that runaways were brutally abused if caught. Namwaan was eventually rescued, thanks to evidence presented by the International Justice Mission (IJM). She was taken to an aftercare facility, where she received a vocational education and began the healing process. She has since returned home and embarked upon a new life of freedom.
To escape her violent brother, 14-year-old Manna* ran away from home. At a train station, a young woman noticed Manna crying and offered to help, promising her a job selling fabric. The woman took the teen somewhere to sleep, but when Manna awoke, another woman warned that her life was no longer her own. She would not sell fabric but would have to sell her body instead. Manna refused her first customers, but one of the brothel keepers beat her till she submitted. The nightmare continued for two years, until IJM worked with local authorities to rescue Manna from a soundproof dungeon. She now lives in an aftercare home and is studying to become a social worker. In 2004, her brothel keepers were sentenced to five years in prison.
Grace Coleman* sent domestic servant Jane M.* from Ghana to the United States to be a nanny for the Blackwells*, Coleman's daughter's family. Jane was able to get a visa because Coleman, a member of parliament in Ghana, gave a personal guarantee of Jane's prompt return. Upon her arrival in the U.S., Jane's passport was confiscated. She was forced to serve the Blackwells, cook and clean for them as well as care for their children and sometimes their friends' kids. Jane worked every day, from 7 a.m. until 12:30 a.m., for almost no compensation. She stayed because of constant threats, including harm to her own children back in Ghana. Two women helped Jane flee in 2001. Coleman and her daughter were indicted on seven criminal counts.
*Names and identifying characteristics have been changed.
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In the Field With a Real ICE Agent
Supervisory Special Agent Anthony Scandiffio of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seen too many women and children from around the world trapped due to fear, coercion and exploitation. Based on his experience with human-trafficking cases, he believes that some of the hardest hit areas are in Asia, where parents facing poverty are forced to sell their children. "I remember an Asian girl whose father sold her to be smuggled into the United States," says Scandiffio. "She was told at the airport that she had to pay off her smuggling debt by working as a prostitute at a massage parlor. She was terrified. Little did she know that we were the ones posing as the smugglers as part of an ICE investigation."
The cases Scandiffio has witnessed have also involved slave labor. "I've seen kids as young as 10 from India who've been sold by their parents for $2,000. I found some working on construction sites holding jackhammers."
Trafficking can take place in any neighborhood. "We had a case involving a suburban house on Long Island. There were 50 Hondurans living there; we found mattresses all over the place. They were sent out to work, but were too frightened to escape," says Scandiffio. Also, the public isn't aware of how sophisticated trafficking operations are. "They're like organized crime, with groups of people at different levels," he says. "Usually, it's presented as a legitimate business, such as a beauty parlor or a modeling agency."
As soon as trafficking victims are taken into ICE custody, victim witness coordinators inform them of their legal rights and offer medical, housing and other types of assistance. But the road to recovery is rarely easy. "There's so much psychological damage that's lifelong," Scandiffio explains. Helping to free trafficking victims and clear the way for them to stay legally in the country "is the most rewarding part of the job," he says.
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What Can You Do to Help Stop Human Trafficking?
1. Educate yourself. Many people are surprised to hear that slavery still exists and that it happens within our borders. To learn more, go to the other areas of this resources section.
2. Tell your friends and family. Once you know the facts, educate your family and friends about this human rights abuse. Urge them to join the fight to stop human trafficking.
3. Contact your elected representatives – they need to hear from you. While there are some laws that combat human trafficking, more needs to be done. Contact your federal and state representatives and urge them to do more to stop human trafficking and to provide needed services and protection to victims. Your call can make a difference and will let your representatives know that this issue is important to the people they serve. For more information, click on Legislation above.
4. Support anti-trafficking organizations. A number of U.S.-based and international organizations provide direct services to trafficking victims and are working to make our anti-trafficking laws stronger. To learn more about what these organizations are doing, click on Partners above.
5. Report a suspected case of trafficking. Be alert to signs in your community that someone is being held against her will and forced or coerced to work. To seek assistance for a trafficking victim, call the Department of Health and Human Services Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE or 800-787-3224 (TTY). Both hot lines are prepared to answer calls in a number of languages. To report suspected trafficking crimes to law enforcement, call the U.S. Department of Justice Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force at 888-428-7581 or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at 866-DHS-2ICE.
6. Download the discussion guide. Here's how you can find out more about the human trafficking problem.
Hot Lines
For victim assistance, contact:
Department of Health and Human Services Human Trafficking Hot Line
888-373-7888
National Domestic Violence Hot Line
800-799-SAFE or 800-787-3224
To report suspected trafficking crimes, contact:
U.S. Department of Justice Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force
888-428-7581
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
866-DHS-2ICE
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