Human Trafficking: Slavery of the Modern Day
Names withheld
SOCI-4080-2 Social Responsibility
Instructor: Cynthia Beers, Walden University

Child Slavery

The United States of America has not always been the home of the free. For some people, even children, it still is isn‘t. Slavery was not abolished until after President Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. While the 13th Amendment to the Constitution legally ended this barbaric practice, American society at large still treated other citizens as slaves. Booker T Washington himself admits he “[never] slept in a bed until after the ... Emancipation Proclamation...”. (Washington, 1902 pg. 5). We have come a long way to being more socially responsible as a nation, but there is still a lot of work to do. The lingering effects of Civil War reconstruction, the “Jim Crow mentality“, and other social injustices are still visible in present day society.

Booker T Washington stated he“...felt that the Reconstruction policy, so far as it related to my race, was in a large measure on a false foundation, was artificial and forced.” (Washington, 1902 pg. 84). The indifference some southern communities were subjected to is common knowledge. Even segregation was legal in American history. According to Davis (2009) of Jimcrowhistory.org (A web based resource for students and educators): “Jim Crow” can be defined as the “... process of segregation or setting the races apart … sometimes meaning customary or informal segregation and sometimes meaning legal or codified segregation... “. These infamous practices were used to restrict the lives of former slaves, but were made illegal with the 14th and 15th amendments. Even after segregationist policies were made illegal, the progress of American citizens was stifled.

“In response to [their] achievements, southern whites launched a vicious, illegal war against southern blacks and their white Republican allies. In most places, whites carried out this war in the late 1860s and early 1870s under the cover of secret organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan Thousands of African Americans were killed, brutalized, and terrorized in these bloody years. The federal government attempted to stop the bloodshed by sending in troops and holding investigations, but its efforts were far too limited.” (Davis, 2009).

How can we measure the losses society has felt? Society may have been exponentially better by now without the influence social injustice has had on the culture of the World. How do we measure the loss of another person who could have contributed so much? It's common knowledge that many African Americans, Native American Tribes, Irish immigrants, and peoples from all walks of life have been trodden upon as slaves.

In an environment where some social injustice is still legal, it's no surprise that slavery still exists today. We are bombarded with images and stories about horrors around the world. But the worst form of abuse, trafficking in children, happens in the United States as well. It exists in many ways, some of them so subtle, a victim could be right next door. Domestic servitude is a form of human trafficking where people are forced to serve as domestic slaves. Take the case of Shyima Hall, forced into domestic servitude in Arizona at 10 years old. Her neighbor Tina Font was quoted as saying “ I'd look down and see her at … night, “ … ” She'd be doing the dishes. We didn't put two and two together. ...” (Callimachi, 2008).

Many Countries traffic children into the United States (Office, 2009). While ethics are extremely hard to find regarding the perpetrators of this horror, some children may readily be sold into slavery to try and help their families. In some places, people sell or rent their children to make ends meet (Callimachi, 2008). It is time for us, as Humans, to stop the trafficking of children. Lopez (2009) reported that child slavery is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world today, a 12 billion dollar a year industry. Domestic servitude and sex slavery, the most prominent types of child slavery in the United States, are perpetuated through “... violence, fear, and guilt, leaving deep wounds forever ...” (Lopez, 2009).

As mentioned above, Shymia Hall has first hand experience that slavery is a problem that still exists today. At age 9, a wealthy Egyptian couple purchased Shymia after her mother signed her up for a maid recruiter program. She started as a maid in the couple’s apartment in Egypt, but was soon moved to California after her father fell ill, and the family had to assist with medical bills. In her mother’s eyes, this was an opportunity for her daughter to get out of their small village. At this time, little 10 years old Shymia made $45 a month. She worked seven days a week, twenty hours a day, which averages about eight cents an hour. Once in California, this young girl was made to sleep in a garage that had no central air or heat, no light, and no windows after she had tended to the family’s needs. She cooked, cleaned, washed and pressed each person’s clothes, and took care of the children. After a couple of years of this torturous environment, an anonymous tip came into the California Social Services Department regarding Shymia. After an investigation, Shymia was pulled from the home and sent to foster care. When she was taken, her hands were cracked , and dead skin was peeling all over after years of working 140 hours per week, only taking a break when she slept. Since the trial in 2006, Shymia has not spoken to her family. She has sense been adopted and his staring her life over. She was the victim of a horrible crime that many people experience everyday (Callimachi, 2008).

Kathy Lee Gifford is a well-known singer, actress and television talk show host. In 1995,
she was accused of running a sweatshop in Chuloma, Honduras. It was alleged that Global Fashions, the clothing company, was being run by child labor. The clothing was then exported to the United States to be sold in Wal-Mart stores. The staff consisted of minor females, 13 – 15 years old, working for less than .25 per hour. The conditions were extremely hideous. The girls were required to work 75 hours per week. They were not allowed to attend school. They were refused drinks, had to raise their hand for permission to use the bathroom and the plant was loud with supervisors yelling at the young girls to sew faster. When the allegations hit the United States, ABC tried to distort the allegations against Kathy Lee on the popular talk show, Regis and Kathy Lee Live. Kathy Lee's people promoted all the good work she did for charities, but in a hearing about the issue it was said, “We call upon Kathie Lee and Wal-Mart to clean up these sweatshop conditions (Miller, 1996)”. Domestic servitude and sweatshop labor are two large problems associated with the United States today, but we must move on to an even more horrific abuse of our most precious resource.

Child prostitution is a very grotesque, and also very real, part of child slavery and trafficking. One example of how this lucrative business is alive and well in the United States comes from a story in San Diego, California. For more than a decade the Salazar brothers, Julio, Tomas, and Luciano Salazar-Juarez, were the "dons" of a large network used to traffic and sexually exploit children that were brought into the United States from Mexico. This ring of sexual exploitation operated in the agricultural camps and suburbs of San Diego. Hundreds of girls between the ages of 12 and 18 were being kidnapped or duped into becoming sexual slaves in southern California farm labor camps. Deputy Sheriff Rick Castro began investigating the Salazar brothers in 1996 and continued to be a vital part in bringing down this horrific crime ring. With the help of some of the girls who had been held captive but had escaped, the police raided Kelly's Bar and were able to shut down this operation along with 25 others just like it throughout the southern California area. These children were forced to serve as many as 35 men in an hour, and were also forced to perform other slave-like tasks starting at 8 am and not ending until the late hours of the night. Although these particular operations were shut down, two of the Salazar brothers are still at-large and this is only a small example of a practice that is still very prevalent in the USA (Garcia, 2003). We must continue to do our part to stop the prostitution and trafficking of children, and there is much work to do.

How can we stop the trafficking and enslaving of men, women and children? This is no simple task. As free countries expand around the world, and open their borders to new cultures, it is unavoidable that the darked sides will be exposed. In several of the instances studied the persons trafficked were from the same country as the individuals enslaving them (Francis, 2008). This can often be because it is an accepted part of life in other, often less developed countries. Some of which include countries in Africa and the Middle East (Office, 2009).

Governments around the world have banded together for this reason to stop these atrocities from happening, but some of the reasons given for the continuation of human trafficking given by Caritas (2009) – a Catholic charity founded in 1897 – are poverty, unstable economies, war and gender degradation. Again, most of these relate specifically to the country of origin. However, the economy only exists for such services due to supply and demand (Lopez, 2009). Without the demand for the sex trade and services, child labor, and other generally unthinkable services performed by modern day slaves, the whole trade could dry up.

Some of the shocking truths can be found between the lines, as stated earlier, “These children were forced to serve as many as 35 men in an hour.” What are the statistics? Potentially 245 men a week. Up to 1000 men per month. Ask yourself, if this many men could be abusing children in one place, what is the chance you have met or possibly know someone who has done this? The fact is, a lot of these people do not realize they are doing anything wrong. Often these children are much older when they are abused, 16-18 years of age, and often the abused is made to make it appear they do this of their own free will, or they will suffer further abuse (Garcia, 2003).

The key to ending such treatment of human beings is education. Not only in western countries, but education in less developed areas of the world. In places like Africa life truly is not worth as much as in some western countries (Callimachi, 2008). This is why they often allow such abuses to continue. By educating all people about the affects of human trafficking and slavery it is much easier to help them find better ways of improving their economies, and thus potentially ending human trafficking.

While we focus on education being the key component to stop child slavery, we need to think globally on how to get the word out to such a wide spread population. One of the first things to do is petition people to support putting an end to child slavery. Peaceheroes.com, a website devoted to educating people about child slavery, has many good recommendations within their website at (http://www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/stopchildslavery.htm). They collect signatures and send them to the political leaders statewide, nationally and internationally. This heightens awareness and brings attention to the outrageous social issue at hand. They tell us not to be quiet about the problem, and to Share the information with friends, families, co-workers, and school functions. Communication and information sharing is essential in the education process. Before long, leaders in already established activist groups may join forces to become a monopoly to make drastic changes to this very gruesome social issue. It often takes one individual coming froward to change things. At (http://www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/craigkielburgerbio.htm) we find the story of Craig Kielburger, who at 12 years old, helped organize his community to form Free The Children, and organization devoted to helping end child slavery around the world. If a 12 year old can do this, it stands to reason that almost anyone can help contribute to helping eradicate child slavery. We just need to get the word out there. In the words of Hillary Clinton,

“... Bringing an end to the global trade in people is a priority for the United States in keeping with American values that place a premium on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. I am confident that together we can make a difference, all over the world, in the lives of people deprived of their freedom. (Office, 2009 pg. 1)”

References

Callimachi, R. (December 28, 2008). Child maid trafficking spreads from Africa to US. The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 15, 2009 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/28/child-maid- trafficking-sp_n_153814.html

Caritas. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2009, from: http://www.caritas.org/activities/women_migration/caritas_migration_trafficking_and_women.html?cnt=431

Davis, R. (site updated 2009). From Terror to Triumph: Historical Overview. Www.Jimcrowhistory.org. Retrieved June 20, 2009, from http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/resources.htm

Francis, R. (December 28, 2008). Child ‘slavery’ now being imported to US. MSNBC. Retrieved June 15, 2009 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28415693

Garcia, Anabel Hernandez. (2003, January 9). Children Forced Into
Prostitution in San Diego Agricultural Camps. El Universal.
Retrieved from http://www.captivedaughters.org/sandiego-english.htm

Lopez, D. (Reporter). (2009, July 6) Child Slavery [News Broadcast]. Jacksonville, Florida: Action News WTEV FOX30.

Margarida, A. (2009). Human Trafficking and Global Policy: A Study on the Casual Factors of Human Trafficking. Providence College Digital Commons. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/socialwrk_students/37/

Miller, George. (1996, April 29). Children Exploited by Kathie Lee/Wal-Mart. Democratic Policy Committee Congressional Hearings. Retrieved June 16, 2009 from http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=436

Washington, B. (1902). Up From Slavery. New York: Doubleday. Retrieved June 15 2009, from
http://books.google.com/booksid=Pa8JAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA221,M1

Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs. (2009) Trafficking in Persons Report. (U.S. Department of State Publication 11407) Washington, DC: Author