Stop Human Trafficking
It’s not a problem you hear very much about.
Which is part of the problem.
I’ve been reading coverage of the Joseph Duncan murder trial. He has been convicted of stealing two children, raping and torturing them over the course of a few weeks, and then finally murdering one in front of the other.
I think we parents comfort ourselves by not watching this sort of thing, and by telling ourselves it doesn’t happen often.
The truth is that what Duncan has been convicted of doing actually is a thriving industry — according to the U.S. State Department, at least 600,000-800,000 children and women are sold into slavery every year.
Some investigators argue that this may be what happened to Madeline McCann, a little girl who disappeared from Portugal while on vacation with her parents. There may be evidence that a Belgian slave ring targeted her and sold her into slavery.
The Council of Europe calls this a profitable practice, saying: “People trafficking has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade, with a global annual market of about $42.5 billion.”
Before my North American readers think it doesn’t involve them — approximately 14,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year, a large number of them through Canada.
Kids. Stolen from their parents, sold to people like Duncan. For billions of dollars per year.
Predictably, wherever bad guys are coming at kids, our friend Scott Hampton has something to say about it. He’s asking American Express to declare ending human trafficking one of the top-25 most important issues in the world today.
His plan calls for an information campaign that would tighten the circle around the perpetrators and help the victims get away. He’s asking American Express to fund websites, signs, and hotlines.
He has my vote on this project. I hope you’ll take a look and consider giving him yours.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Incredible but true!!
There is on cable right now a two parts serie called Human Traffic on Hallmark tv station, it scared the hell out of me!!! It’s surely make you realize that it’s EVERYWHERE. By the way, made by Canadian Film Board.
Thanks for reaching out. So many parents think ”those things won’t happen to us…” Sadly, it could happen to YOU!
August 27th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
This scares the piss out of me. Enough so that I want to stop blogging and put no more photos of my kids online.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Thank you for posting about this hugely important issue, Liz.
It’s a good reminder for us to open our eyes to those in our community. To really be open (not suspicious). These women and girls are being sold/swapped to people in our communities, in our neighbourhoods, in our cul-de-sacs. I doesn’t just happen in other places… it happens where we live.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am
These children were not sold to him…this is not a human trafficking issue. This is kidnapping and molestation. No money was exchanged here. He did not buy them. Huge difference
August 28th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Well Brian. Yes, difference. But exactly the same. Money exchange or not, it’s all the same in that it’s the very face of evil. The point here is that it all needs to stop. Maybe the purpose of this post is to champion that idea.
Mommy Martini,
You may be interested in the work of International Justice Mission - this is one of their top priorities and they have shut down a number of brothels, arrested hundreds of traffickers, etc. They’ve been on Dateline and such a few times and you can get more info on YouTube in that regard. Or ijm.org.
This is a huge passion of mine and I’m simply thankful to see a post reminding me that other people care too. Thank you.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Dear Lord, I just called you Mommy Martini (HA!) Let’s just say I just got done reading her and then moved on to you and forgot my head when I got so excited to see the subject matter of your post. SO SORRY. oops?
August 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Go on, as if motherhood is a special gift bestowed upon only this generation and becoming a mother is an automatic passage to paranoia. Crime has been in existence since the beginning of the human race and will continue. People have lived through centuries of raising children with & without crime. Be realistic and live practically taking sensible precautions in everyday activities and not schizophrenic reactions to purpoted mafia rings in Belgium. This is the kind of misplaced phony altriusm of the self-induced psycho-analysts and ‘Nancy Grace’ types.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I get what comments like Brian and Kevin’s are saying here, but I don’t really think it’s the point. I’m guessing the point of the post is not about being paranoid for our own children, but caring about people in general. Caring about a real issue. An issue that isn’t in the spotlight often. The issue of trafficking and slavery of any kind. Children and adults. It’s a major issue, especially in other areas of the world, and yes even here. It’s not been blown out of proportion in the media, or a fantastic idea of paranoid mothers. But a very real, documented issue that not much is being done about. No, not a new issue, but a growing problem.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Wow Kevin. That was really deep.
Snort.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Uh, Kevin, why do you even read this site then? DaMomma isn’t a paranoid, ill-informed mommy… something you would know if you read her blog…. She doesn’t need my defense, of course, but as a fan (and mother) I don’t appreciate your perpetuating the idea that “mommy types” are clueless.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Gosh! Thats just sick. I put photos of my daughter on the web, wearing diapers and sometimes not even that, as she runs around playing. But Amanda is right, its scary. What we think as cute can be seen as twisted.
That man looks so scary. Why cant they torture him badly before killing him?
August 30th, 2008 at 1:50 am
and sometimes we think we have actual problems
September 4th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
amen, liz.