As Ambassador to UNICEF UK, in 2004 I was asked to visit Ecuador as part of my commitment to their End Child Exploitation campaign. I witnessed the devastating effects on many of the children I met there who had been trafficked to the cities to work on toxic dumpsites in Quito and Guayaquil, in the Bella Rico mines, and as sex workers in Quito. Many were living in horrific conditions and some were as young as five, depending on older children for their survival.
One of my most vivid memories is visiting a woman called Angelina, who was dedicating her life to helping the young girls who had been set to work on the streets as prostitutes. I went to meet many of the young girls myself, the oldest of whom was no more than 17. Nervous at first, each began their own personal account of what had happened to them -- and they had all thought they were coming to the city to earn money as domestic servants or waitresses, that they would be able to send an income back to their families in rural Ecuador, and that this was their chance of a lifetime. A trusted male family member or friend had in each case persuaded the families to hand over their children for the promise of a better life. Their freedom taken, these girls had entered a life of abuse far from home, kept to all intents and purposes as slaves.
Human trafficking around the world is reaching horrific proportions. With an estimated 12 million people worldwide living in slavery, human trafficking is the third most profitable criminal activity after drugs and arms trafficking. 80% of trafficking victims are women, and an estimated 2 million children are bought and sold each year. 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation of vulnerable women, usually under the age of 18. With $4 billion attributed to the brothel industry worldwide, sex trafficking is big business, with very few people ever arrested or convicted of trafficking. Under-reported and under-prosecuted, these girls and women are the silent victims of poverty and war.
Now on general release and starring Rachel Weisz, The Whistleblower is a must-see film which adds another layer of shame to the crime of human trafficking. Based on a true story, Kathryn Bolkovac was a U.S. police officer who took a job with a government contractor to be a peacekeeper in Bosnia. After facilitating the first successful prosecution of a case of domestic violence since the war in Bosnia, she is put in charge of 'gender issues' and is thrust into the seedy and dangerous underworld of sex trafficking, soon uncovering a criminal network that extends to the highest levels of law enforcement agencies within Bosnia as well as among international organizations working there on behalf of the U.S. government who enjoy immunity from prosecution.
The world portrayed in The Whistleblower is one most of us would never see for ourselves, but we must not remain blind to its existence. It's about time we opened our eyes to this grim reality. The U.S. government goes into war-torn countries with a reputation for believing itself morally superior, enlightened crusaders for democracy and fairness. To be represented instead by people who abuse that position for their own economic gain is a perversion of purpose. As Vanessa Redgrave's character says in the film, we can't go into a vulnerable country ostensibly to protect, but then prey upon its most vulnerable citizens. And as in every conflict scenario, the most vulnerable are the children and the women who are used both as the weapons and the spoils of war.
The statistics for the use of private contractors are a significant factor here, too. During the Vietnam War, the proportion of private contractors to U.S. government forces was 1:55. In Iraq it was roughly 1:1. In Afghanistan the private contractors actually outnumbered the U.S. government forces. In this new reality, governments must exercise control of the behavior of its representatives abroad, and institute some kind of accountability if they step outside of the law. Immunity from prosecution for international forces can only work in an ideal world. But we are very far from an ideal world, and no one should ever be immune from justice.
We need PREVENTION, PROTECTION, and PROSECUTION.
Everyone should see The Whistleblower.
Dr. David Liepert: Ending Slavery the Sharia Way
I have some concerns about your thesis. The US is not to blame for the plight of these girls. Their families sell them and there are no jobs in these countries. People have to eat. This is not going to change.
What does the US have to do with the fact that there are so many countries in which these kinds of horrific things are happening?
We can't even pay our bills, and we're supposed to reform these other countries? In a perfect world, perhaps.
I am also shocked at the use of private contractors, and wonder how that plays out in the budget, in the least, and how its impacting people where there is total impunity.
These guys are representing the United States.
We're living in one of those countries now, and those practices will grow and thrive here (even more than they have already) if we follow the path of Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, Kyl, Ryan, and the Republican party.
The time to act is now before we become the '50 Kingdoms of Republicanna' all in a race to the bottom to create slave labor, free rights to pollute and corrupt, and no taxes for capitalists as the way to do business here in what used to be the 50 United States of America.
We need a Republican solution. Let's see.................the capitalism part of the equation works for them...........and the inhumanity part works out OK..................I guess, that if we handle the children carefully, and provided them with some food, and a few breaks during the day, this could fit into party policy................yup, no doubt about it, as long as this is run by Republican crony, it's a business! We'll just have to get rid of the gangs. Oh, and the idea of breaks is simply out of the question.
as you state 'these girls and women are the silent victims of poverty and war'
My thinking is if we all even do a wee bit we can help, do what we can. Don't let the world keep this dirty secret.
Athough you may know someone who might just brainstorm up a benefit/aid concert..................... now that could make a difference with a voice that will be heard.
I have seen all over the place--it's based on the number of incidents investigated by law enforcement agencies, if my memory serves. The problem with that is that the media and law enforcement agencies give disproportionate attention to sex trafficking, over labor trafficking. It is definitely a horrific problem (and easier to identify, to be sure), but that doesn't mean we should let labor trafficking go unchecked.
A look at reporting on this issue (e.g., an article entirely entitled "On Human Trafficking" that completely neglects labor trafficking and the trafficking of an entire gender) is a reminder that choices are being made for us. The way we understand problems
No one wants to hear about "right and wrong" anymore, but it is our immoral appetites and behaviors that not only allow this activity to thrive but keep it alive and well! I can hear you all scrambling to get back to the dark like cockroaches in the light.... This country needs to wake up and change its ways or we will be found on the trash heap of history. Our founders were right in saying that this republic form of government could only survive if we are a moral people....just look around you. Fortunately, there is hope...in Christ.
It does NOT explain the appetites that drive the need for those enslaved in this work. The porn industry is a billion dollar industry because of the moral bankruptcy of this country alone. You are in denial. Spreading wealth will not put of the fire of immorality.
Also, here's a link to my interview with the real Whistleblower, Kathryn Bolkovac,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephenie-foster/talking-with-kathryn-bolk_b_926772.html