Red Light To Human Trafficking

Cai Hui Yang

Humanities -10B

5/27/13

Red Light To Human Trafficking

There are many important global issues everywhere, from poverty and hunger to wars and genocide. Out of the many global issues, human trafficking has become a problem.

(This picture was taken from alientointernational.com)

Human trafficking is the selling or trading of humans. Poverty can be a major cause to the increase in human trafficking. It may be that families have been pushed to its last resort into selling kids. This is happening all over the world and slavery is still around today. Over 27 million people all across the world is in slavery. Approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. Around 1 million children are exploited by global commercial sex trade yearly. Out of all the people being trafficked, 50% of them were children, 80% of them were either women or girls. Females were more targeted in human trafficking. In depth, 70% of the women and girls were trafficked into commercial sex industry which involves prostitution. The other 30% become victims of forced labor. The country that have prostitution legalized promote trafficking by having a greater demand for people. Statistics show that worldwide, 161 countries are involved in human trafficking or affected by it. Human trafficking worldwide has generated 32 billion dollars, 15.5 billion in industrialized countries, 9.7 billion in Asia, Up to 67,200 dollars per person yearly involved in forced labor which is a total outrage.

Clearly, human trafficking is terrible and has gotten way out of hand. Human trafficking is a clear violation to human rights and need to be stopped immediately. The people involved in the trafficking loses their will to make choices on their own and forced into doing things. Slaves are mistreated and don’t get enough food or money to feed their hunger. The people loses their family. The people who are trafficked that are brought into forced labor get hurt and injured and not treated or cared for. Women who are trafficked into the sex business are looked onto as inferior. They get looked down by other people. These women aren’t respected and are abused by men. People who get trafficked lose their meaning of being living thing but merely an object that can be kept, thrown, sold or bought. Being trafficked is like getting their voiced taken away from them. No longer able to do anything on there free will or speak out for yourself. They always have to go around listening to orders.

(This picture was taken from Blogspot.com)

In the memoir The Road Of Lost Innocence  by Somaly Mam, she herself was a victim of human trafficking throughout her childhood. Somaly grew up in Cambodia which at the time was poor and going through a lot. In that society, women and children were treated poorly and beat often. Cambodia at the time was going through a war between the Khmer Rouge and the vietnamese backed government. There was poverty in many families. she grew up without a mother or father. She was then sold to a man whom she called “grandfather”. everyday she was forced to do forced labor and had to bring home money for her grandfather. She constantly got beat each time the grandfather put his anger out on her. Poverty left his grandfather in debt which lead to the selling of her a second time. Her virginity was sold to a chinese merchant at the age of 12. She was given no choice or freedom. When she was the age 19 she was sold once again to a soldier whom she would be married to. Somaly no longer believed in freedom. She knew that all that was happening to her was just a switch in masters. In her marriage she was treated as a punching bag and a sex tool for her husband. As she grew older and left she became a prostitute, which at the time was the only thing an inferiorly looked upon women could do for decent money and living. Being trafficked to a sex industry is terrible. When she met her somewhat uncle one day, she was in great shame. Too ashamed to even say a word to him because she felt so dirty and she was disrespected and looked down to. This sympathetic character Somaly had her life runned by human trafficking which led to a lot of sorrow, regret and disrespect.

Slowly human trafficking gets worst but at the same time, things can be done and must

(This picture was taken from Media. sagalradio.atlantabeez.org)

be done to stop human trafficking. We can all help with donations or fundraisers to help get money to those going through poverty to make sure human trafficking doesn’t become a last resort for them. Trafficking can ruin family and one's’ entire life. Things can be done to help the unfortunate people stand on their feets and prevent human trafficking. Everything the trafficked people went through is a memory that will forever haunt them down. We can all take this step for a brighter future for everyone.