Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking

By Jamie Wright

February 27, 2011

CJA/313

Henry

Human Trafficking

People are beaten, starved, and are strained into prostitution. The victims involved live their lives in despair; they are slaves in human trafficking. Human trafficking affects humanity personally and psychologically. The transfer of illegal immigrants across boundaries, and provides a foundation of income for prepared crime groups and even terrorists groups (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011).

Slavery is about as old as humanity itself. All of the world's great founding traditions were involved in slavery such as Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, and India; it was a way of life. Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas believed in slavery. Neither the Bible nor philosophers were in opposition to slavery. Aristotle, a truth-seeker; however, protected slavery.

During the 15th century, European travelers sailing to new lands Africa, Asia, and the Americas, began a new beginning in the history of slavery. The Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English established colonies throughout the world. The new lands especially the Americas produced new crop such as sugar and tobacco including gold. Originally, enslaved aboriginal peoples harvested and excavated in South America. However, ill treatment and diseases quickly spread throughout the native population, therefore, prompting the importation of slaves from Africa.

An estimated nine million Africans were shipped mostly to South America, primarily to Brazil in the mid 1500s to the mid 1800s. Haiti and Cuba were under the most inhumane conditions. An estimated of about 400,000 (equivalent to 5%) of all African slaves ended up in the United States; however, a few slaves had better treatment depending upon region, laws, and "owners" (n.d.).

The 17th and 18th centuries, freethinking philosophers Voltaire and John Locke recognized new meanings of poise and human sovereignty. People then began to question the morals of keeping people in oppression. Ancient culture frequently obtained slaves from beyond their borders, typically through war or territorial invasions. Dominated and confined people significantly served as cultivation workers or domestic servants.

Slavery may have reached its peak in ancient Greece following Rome, where human trafficking became a large and lucrative industry. Multiple Greek cities, (i.e. Athens, Sparta) half of the residents were slaves. Slavery was largely extensive in Rome; common people would have at least two slaves. Many slaves did more than meaningless tasks, in the Roman Empire, numerous became doctors and poets, or as influential as to having great influence involving politics, running estates, and assisting generals (n.d.).

A country in Europe, Albania, about 90% of girls in countryside areas do not attend school out of terror of being snatched and sold in sexual servitude. Northern Sudan, a country in Africa, Muslim tribesmen had staged slave raids on non-Muslim Dinka people in the South, taking thousands of women and children. The Muslim tribesmen are still having slave raids. Perhaps, the most well known country in Asia holds the highest fraction of human trafficking, Thailand. The children's own parents sell them for prostitution, which makes up a significant percentage of prostitutes. Thailand is the primary country for pedophile sex tourists (Human Trafficking, n.d.).

Thailand makes about $15 billion a year for the business in sex trafficking. Trafficking within the country is largely of Thai females, ranging from 12-16 year olds, located from hill tribes of the North East. In view of the fact of sex trafficking being large, roughly 610,000 people die each year from HIV/AIDS. The sexual transmitted disease (STD) is the leading cause of death among the people. The healthcare in Thailand reported children who are in prostitution make up 40% of prostitutes (Connors, 2010).

The facts are reality when it comes to human trafficking:

- When it comes to human trafficking there are more slaves today than in the history of slavery.

- There are about 27 million adults and 13 million children involved in human trafficking around the world.

- Human Trafficking involves organ harvesting as well as sex and labor.

- Eighty percent of the slaves sold are under 24 and some as young as six years old.

- Human traffickers are taking pregnant women for their newborns. The babies are sold on the black market.

- Human traffickers often use brutal violence to "condition" their victims (2011).

Organ harvesting is another area of human trafficking. Currently, Moldova is one of the top countries in the world for organ harvesting. The population of Moldova is about 3 million, and the government does not seem to care about organ harvesting. The belief is the government is openly involved with the dealings even after the government has issued a ban. Innocent victims have been murdered for their lungs, hearts, kidneys, liver, and small intestines, by gangs. Several years ago, a viral e-mail was sent about people being drugged, and awakened naked in a bathtub fill of ice with their kidneys removed. However, several victims are being dumped on the side of the road. The belief is the chief of police is the organizer