Human Trafficking, a Modern Slavery

In the spirit of Frederick Douglass, Upton Sinclair, and the women of the Triangle Factory Fire, I ask you to investigate and respond to the problem of slavery today.  It has not disappeared.  It is different today, however.  Despite these differences, I believe Douglass, Sinclair, Schneiderman and Gompers would still be speaking out, crying in the wilderness, for change, for action, for compassion.  I ask you to be willing to look at the reality and to choose not pity or sorrow, but action.  I believe that when we know better, we can and should DO better.  Education is not a spectator sport.  Let’s put our learning into action, today.

Once you have been assigned to a group, you and your partners will be responsible for a thorough investigation of all the links found in your section.  As you read you will answer the questions and go beyond them a bit.  Consider as you research how you will present this information to your classmates.  Will you use powerpoint, make other visuals, overhead transparencies, handouts for the class, maps, graphs, charts, something interactive?  Choose the vehicle that best suits your material and your style.

Intro to Human Trafficking
        
http://www.iom.md/faq_ht.html
http://www.garstangfairtrade.org.uk/slavery_today.htm
http://www.ilo.org/
http://www.iwu.edu/~wstudies/studentprojects/lirwin/Modern%20Slavery.htm
http://www.mit.edu/people/etekle/Index/
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0DE5D6173AF934A15754C0A961958260
http://www.iabolish.org/slavery_today/primer/types.html

  1. Identify and define the 6 or more main types of trafficking that occur. 
  2. Who is the most vulnerable?  Why?
  3. How is modern slavery different from slavery 100 or 200 years ago?
  4. Provide a map that shows major areas affected and provide the names of some places where particular types of trafficking occur.  Do NOT give details of each situation.  Other groups will do that.

Moldova Today

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2931646.stm
http://www.osce.org/moldova/13429.html
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Moldova.htm
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=691
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/10/c28fad55-44c3-4fcc-b3dc-73e93e4d8119.html
http://www.globalrights.org/site/DocServer?docID=643

  1. Where is Moldova?
  2. What form of trafficking is occurring there?  To whom?  Why?
  3. How does it compare to other countries?
  4. Why should we care?

In Seattle, a Port City

www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/204989.pdf
http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/east_asia_pacific/chinese_human_smuggling.html
http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive_Index/The_Social_Organization_of_Chinese_Human_Smuggling.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/85312.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/dying/map_china.html
http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/insideice/articles/insideice_041105_Web2.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-09/01/content_259947.htm

  1. Who is smuggled?  Why?  What are some of the push and pull factors that motivate them?
  2. Who are the snakeheads?  What motivates them?
  3. What makes this situation difficult to control?  What makes it grey versus black and white?

Child Soldiers

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/childsoldiers-index-eng
http://hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm
http://www.child-soldiers.org/childsoldiers/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.shtml
http://www.afsc.org/issues/issue.php?id=315

  1. Where and why are children being forced to take up arms?
  2. What are the international laws regarding this behavior?
  3. Provide some photos and/or interview excerpts.
  4. Lisa Ling and George Clooney just appeared on Oprah to talk about child soldiers in Uganda and the conflict in the Sudan respectively.  Feel free to talk about those as examples of the global problem of enslavement as soldiers.

Brickworkers in Nepal

http://citypages.com/databank/20/966/article7654.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3490926.stm
http://www.utdallas.edu/~shaila/gall08p.htm

  1. What is brick working in like?  Where is it happening?
  2. Who is doing the work and why?
  3. Look at the links on the right-hand side of the BBC site and delve further!  Explore the Pakistan situation and more.

Weavers in India

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/galleries/india/photo3.html
http://www.newint.org/issue292/marked.htm
http://www.acandleinthenight.com/labor.htm
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/policy/papers/carpet/carpet3.htm

  1. Where are children employed or enslaved in the rugmaking business?
  2. How are they brought there?
  3. What conditions do the labor under?
  4. What is or can be done about this? 
  5. Who is working on this problem?

Sweatshops around the World

http://behindthelabel.org/
http://cleanclothes.org/
http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/
http://www.aworldconnected.org/article.php/525.html
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=108
http://www.behindthelabel.org/pdf/Sweatshopfiles.pdf

  1. In the spirit of those who died in the Triangle Factory Fire, explain the situation as it exists today.
  2. Where are people employed in sweatshops today?  BY WHOM?
  3. Why does this problem persist?
  4. What can de done?

Sex Work

http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/press/grantee-news/2001-2002/thailand-sextrade.html
http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/globalissues_stp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_tourism
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26296
http://search.oprah.com:7782/search/search_results.jsp?querystring=human%20trafficking&fromSearchPage=yes

  1. What is sex work?  Where is it happening?
  2. Who are the clients?  Who are the exploited?
  3. Use the wikipedia page’s links to find out more.
  4. Several news magazines have interviewed child sex workers and filmed raids during which sex tourists were arrested.  Find a Dateline or 60 Minutes episode dealing with this matter and explain that particular situation.  Do these investigative reporters make a difference?

FGM

http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm
http://www.fgmnetwork.org/index.php
http://search.oprah.com:7782/search/search_results.jsp?querystring=fgm&fromSearchPage=yes

  1. What is FGM?  Where is it happening?  To whom?  Why?
  2. How is this a form of slavery, or bondage?

What Can Be Done?

http://www.freethechildren.com/aboutus/ftchistory.htm
http://www.rugmark.org/
http://www.cwa.tnet.co.th/Publications/Newsletters/vol11_2-3/v11_2-3_rugmark.html
http://www.heifer.org/
http://search.oprah.com:7782/search/search_results.jsp?querystring=human%20trafficking&fromSearchPage=yes
http://responsibleshopper.org/

  1. What is each of these organizations doing to stop the trafficking and enslavement of children and women?
  2. How can we get involved in each or with each?
  3. Call 1-800 numbers, introduce yourself and ask questions about what we can do.
  4. Have real and realistic actions we can take as a class and individually.  Recommend them based on effectiveness and ease of involvement.