Children

A child in prison surely sounds like a superfluous statement, for unquestionably children do not belong in prison. The word prison is often synonymous with adult, yet sadly around the globe there are some 1 million children languishing in prisons, and most of these are not some special child prison or version of juvenile detention, but adult prisons.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child the imprisonment of a child to be used “only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time” and that the child “shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age”.

Poverty and war often lead children to the streets and they therefore often find themselves embattled in a life of petty crime, sex trafficking, begging, etc. Life on the streets for many children quickly leads them to be placed behind bars, such as in the Philippines.

In many countries, women who are placed in prisons who have children for which they cannot find relatives to care for, are often forced to take their children with them. Children are then imprisoned along with their mothers, where they often lack access to any form of education. The lack of education on a child can be devastating and in turn create a cycle of poverty. Such a case reached the media in May when in Zambia, Kabwe Social Workers Rescue Five Children From Prison. The five children, who’s ages ranged from 5 months to 4 years old, where placed in the care of local social services after they where discovered in the dire conditions of the maximum security prison. However the case in Zambia mirrors that of many other countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan and many other countries.

The issue of children in prison, or detention centers, does not even escape western nations such as the US. As discussed in the post Child Detainees, An International Crime?, children detained at the Hutto, Texas, center. Hutto was again brought to light again only today in The New Yorker article, The Lost Children: What do tougher detention policies mean for illegal immigrant families?,

Children who are either placed in prison for their own perceived crimes and those who are placed in prison along side their mothers, are not the only children affected by what many see as systems failing families, including in the US as was brought to light this month in the article, Women, children suffer from harsh prison policies, on women in detention. Many states in the US are now looking at alternative solutions including prison nurseries, halfway houses, and other programs which help mothers and children foster healthier and more substantial relationships, in order to brake the cycle of prison life in the family.

The issue of children in prisons and detention centers is complex and varied, but one thing is clear, all of these children are being denied a fundamental right to childhood! The denial of freedom has led these children to be denied the rights to education, the right to play and thus the right to a healthy and happy existence.
See former posts on children in prison and search for other countries and recent articles, including;

• Brazil’s Penal System Shows It’s Lawlessness as A Young Girl is Raped For Weeks
• Child Detainees, An International Crime?
• Haiti’s Children’s Prison - 2005
• INSIDE THE CHILDREN’S PRISON IN ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA - 2002
• SUDAN: Women and children in prison
• Children in Conflict With the Law: What is Done, But Rarely Told - 2006
• DRC: Children “languishing in Ituri prisons”
• CAMEROON: Two months after riots, children remain in prison
• IRAQ: Child prisoners abused and tortured, say activists

While the movie, Trade, may be a somewhat glamorized and dramatized Hollywood film, you are left with questions regarding the plot. The film does however highlight the many of the realities of modern day slavery and human trafficking…a problem which plagues our global world. By giving a face to human trafficking, the film proves to be a great tool in raising much needed awareness to an issues that is all too often forgotten.

The film weaves the stories of various aspects of human trafficking and modern slavery, with a vivid reminder of the violence that greed causes. Taking the fate of a 13 year old Mexican girl kidnapped from the streets outside her home, and a young Polish mother tricked into thinking she was becoming a model, and few sideline stories. Children sold at auction to the highest bidder…like a pair of shoes on eBay…a whim, an indulgent desire to worn once and then tossed in the back of the closet when you have gotten your best out of them. Only these are not overpriced shoes, but the purity of innocent children, sold for nothing more than greed in a market of flesh.

The movie will leave you with moments of laughter as the young girl Adrian’s(Paulina Gaitan) brother Jorge (Cesar Ramos) and Ray (Kevin Kline), a cop with a mission to find his own long lost daughter, engage in their own comedic clash of cultures and ages, while racing tirelessly across the country in search of Adrian. However these comic outtakes, are quickly broken, by the brutal images bestowed upon the human cargo, that Adrian and Veronica (Alicja Bachleda) have been thrust into like pieces of meat. Reality and desperation often take over, as time ticks away, and Jorge knows if they do not act quickly 13 year old Adrian will be lost forever.

The reality is, it’s Hollywood, and not the best of it, the movie plot doesn’t always make sense. Why is Ray willing to give up his life savings, and does a cop have that much sitting in the bank, to quickly grab to buy a girl he’s never met? The end of the movie still leaves you with many unanswered questions, like: “What happened to Ray’s daughter?, “Is she the vicious madam?”. Nontheless despite its plot and storyline pitfalls, the movie does make you think and it surely brings attention to a much need cause. For all of its woes, you will hopefully leave the theater asking yourself what you can do to help. One thing did stick with me in the movie, Ray said to Jorge when talking about his daughter:

“I realized I gave up too soon…which is something I do a lot of!’

Giving up too soon is something we all do a lot of, and we must not do in the case of modern day slavery and human trafficking. There is one such citizen activist group in DC, Stop Modern Slavery, who wasn’t about to let movie viewers give up or forget once the credits started to roll. The group was on hand outside the E Street Cinema, in downtown, Washington D.C., to hand movie goers more facts on modern slavery and human trafficking. Information was given to patrons from Free the Slaves, Stop Modern Slavery, and Dreams of Freedom (which is hosting fundraising and awareness events in DC from October 8-13).

We cannot all buy and free a slave, like Ray, but we can all raise awareness and become active in the fight to end human trafficking and stomp out slavery once and for all!

*The movie is based on the 2004 NY Times article, “The Girls Next Door”, by Peter Landesman

Human Trafficking Links

No matter what you say, or what you do, it all leaves a mark on the children around you. A child who witnesses violence and war, is forever scared by what they see. A child who hears nothing but negative, cannot erase the voice that says, “you can’t”. But the child who witnesses peace and love, will carry that with them forever and continue to share hope for the future.

We cannot erase the mistakes of the past, but we can leave a bigger impression on a child with hope, than with despair.

Julianne Duncan is the Associate Director for Children’s Services, with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services. This Q&A is to follow-up with yesterdays posting, and bring you more from my interview with Ms. Duncan. If you have not read yesterdays post, please do so, Ms. Duncan has a great deal of information and knowledge to share on the subject of child trafficking.

What do you think is the biggest misnomer or confusion about human trafficking?
“One of the biggest confusions, well there are two, on one side there is confusion and complexity as to if it is smuggling or trafficking. It may not actually be trafficking, but there are circumstances where they children look like they are participating in something looking like the sex trade…”. “The nexus between smuggling and trafficking is complex, there is great confusion on to what level of proof they need. There has been progress, but needs to be much more”.

Does USCCB work with both domestic and international victims of trafficking?
Yes

Do you find you have more hurdles to face with domestic or international victims?/What is the difference in domestic victims and international victims?
“Internal to the US and not thinking about immigration when thinking of trafficking, but US children trafficked within the United States…there is lots of discussion and confusion, with some people in the United states thinking that U.S. born children not getting benefits that foreign born children have gotten. This mired in a lack of knowledge… as really few children are cared for that are foreign. However US children are also facing huge barriers though very different than foreign born children. For domestic children, they do not necessarily have to say “yes, I did work in a brothel“, as most have been picked up for prostitution, therefore they are faced with being treated as juvenile delinquents, not as trafficking victims.” “For foreign born children who are trafficked, the biggest obstacle is being identified, and therefore cared for. They are not easily able to articulate their situation, they are afraid and ashamed to say, “yes, I was working in a brothel”, but if they do not say it they cannot be cared for.” “So often foreign born children are treated as illegal aliens and not trafficking victims”.

The one thing that Ms. Duncan, stated was the most important consensus with children, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, is that “children cannot consent! For children if they are actively participating in the sex trade, they are defacto victims”

When asked what needs to be done to ensure that both foreign and US born children receive more adequate care and protection, Ms. Duncan stated,

“Continuing to raise awareness is quite important and continuing to improve the laws. The biggest issue is to improve our administration of the law with all the agencies involved. All three U.S. federal government agencies who have responsibilities for trafficking have different goals and objectives in mind…victims are touched by all three and it is easy for them to fall through the cracks”.

According to Ms. Duncan it is “easy to fall through some big gapping cracks”, and it is a problem for everyone involved in any aspect of trafficking work, but it is an even bigger problem with children. “Though it would seem to easier in theory, however in practice it is harder as they do not need the children to testify, and therefore children quickly drop off the radar screen…as they focus on prosecution”. According to Ms. Duncan, this problem is completely “unintentional, but the biggest problem in the US”, and she stated that there needs to be a seamless effort, consensus and way forward within in all three agencies.

When placing children who have been victimized by trafficking, what is the most difficult hurdle that the children face in their resettlement?
For foreign born children who have been trafficked into the United States, they have many adjustments to make when they are removed from the trafficking situation and stabilized in foster care if they do not have families to care for them. Being among unfamiliar people, even when they speak the language and have familiar food or customs is the initial hurdle. It takes the child a while to begin trusting anyone. Since they have been betrayed by their traffickers and sometimes by their family of origin, establishing trust is the most difficult hurdle.

What programs are most in need when it comes to the placement and rehabilitation of child victims of trafficking?
Getting a child through the system of referrals and barriers is really the biggest problem right now. The system of identification and referral is simply not as seamless as we all wish it would be. Developing adequate program response to assist the government and potential providers is the greatest lack right now. Once children are identified and referred for foster care or for care in local areas, programs need adequate trained staff and enough skilled foster parents to assist the child victims.

“Since the Victims of Trafficking Act was passed in 2000, the number of victims of children identified are less than 100, and if estimates are correct then there should have been 47,000”. Ms. Duncan stated, “Its amazing how poorly we are doing as a country. It’s a hard problem all the way around, for the government, and for us as NGOs”. “There isn’t a lot of dissension that children should not be trafficking”, yet there are a great many strides that still need to be accomplished if we are going to be able to truly protect, assist and rehabilitate child trafficking victims.

The last thing we in the public remember or think is, that there was a raid and then it slips off the radar of our minds….and when the topic of trafficking falls from our minds, we need to aware that is when children are beginning to fight once again, as they fall through the cracks. It is after a raid and the publicity of a raid or law enforcement action that we need to be offering care to the children who have been caught up in the trafficking situation. We must realize not only that the issue of child trafficking is a problem that does not end with the recovery of victims. There are many people and organizations working hard every day to provide the victims of trafficking a bright future, but they too struggle in the fight. The USCCB continues to work tirelessly on behalf of child victims of human trafficking, and continuously works to advocate and lobby for stronger laws, enforcement and support services.

Links:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking
Guidance for Identifying a Child Victim of Trafficking
Frequently Asked Questions About Services to Trafficked Children
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 Fact Sheet
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the US Department of Health and Family Services - Administration for Children and Families
The Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking

This week I spoke with Julianne Duncan, Associate Director for Children’s Services, with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services, about the issues facing child trafficking victims in the United States. The USCCB and the Catholic church have been a strong proponent of migrant rights since the early days of US history when Catholic immigrants where being met with great hardship and public distance. It has been an international priority for the Catholic Church to speak up for immigrant rights, and they see it as their responsibility to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, and therefore program priorities are to access funding and use church funding for those who have no one to care for them. “Most vulnerable of the migrants are those who cannot depend on their own countries support and protections. Refugees or trafficking victims….we speak heavily….most vulnerable of those are unaccompanied children.”

When did USCCB get involved in the fight to combat trafficking, and what prompted the church to get so involved? “Trafficking has been policy priority since at least the mid 90s. USCCB, has been interested and concerned in the trafficking around the world as well as within the US, and was one of the original agencies that advocated and pushed through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000.” The USCCB has been helping victims of trafficking from Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, through three federally funded programs. Programs include a contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, and two grants to raise awareness on trafficking from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, to raise awareness about the issue of trafficking and serve the victims.

In January of 2003, the USCCB and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) received funding for a Trafficked Child Placement and Technical Assistance Program, which places children, including trafficked children, in Unaccompanied Refugee Minor programs. “Through these programs, trafficked children are able to receive culturally and linguistically appropriate care, including mental health services, intensive case management, and education.” In addition USCCB and LIRS offer specialized assistance and training for service providers of trafficked children.

Most recently, the USCCB has been contracted for a National Services Contract for Victims of Human Trafficking. The contract gives the USCCB the ability to subcontract with local organizations to provide comprehensive case management services to adults and pre-eligible children who are survivors of human trafficking, as defined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. USCCB/MRS provides coordination, training, per capita funding, and monitoring to subcontractors, and partners with Project REACH and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) to provide technical assistance to the subcontractors serving human trafficking survivors.

The USCCB is also part of the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking, other member organizations include Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, Covenant House, and many others. The Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking woks to develop plans to combat trafficking, increase aid to victims, work with policy makers, provide public advocacy and education.

According to Ms. Duncan, “trafficking victims are in a precarious position”, which is due to their immigration status, high level of vulnerability, and in regards to children their often inability to speak up for themselves. The USCCB aims to get more policy and advocacy for victims, and gives “equal importance to advocacy and policy, as to program services”.

Please read my next post, tomorrow, July 11, which will contain more information on USCCB and child trafficking, as Ms. Duncan answers a number of detailed key questions.

Links:
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking
Guidance for Identifying a Child Victim of Trafficking
Frequently Asked Questions About Services to Trafficked Children
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 Fact Sheet
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the US Department of Health and Family Services - Administration for Children and Families
The Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking

Photo by Time

No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 37(b)

Detention centers rarely look different than prison, and for a child the effects of spending time in such facilities can be detrimental. The complex nature of seeking asylum often leaves children and their parents, often single mothers, in limbo for weeks and sometimes more than a month. The effect that the feeling of isolation and on any person can be extremely hard to handle, but for a child isolation is mixed with fear and confusion, as their is no way to clearly explain that they have done nothing wrong to deserve the restrictions and lock-up they now face.

Holding child detainees in immigration detention centers is of growing concern, and now the subject of much debate on both sides of the water. Just last week grave concern was raised in Brittan about Yarl’s Wood, as many children have been being held at the facility for more than four weeks. The British government admits that detaining children is not ideal, however they see it as the only way. The Minister of Immigration, Liam Bryne, went so far as to place a majority of the blame on the parents, saying the lengthy time in detentions was due to parents stalling the deportation process. However, for the parents and children looking out of locked doors in Yarl’s Wood the view is quite different. One mother of two, who has been detained twice, said:

“The Children found it very upsetting. They kept on asking me if we are in a prison and whether we had committed any crime. They still have nightmares, they don’t sleep, they think about detention.” (BBC: Young are too Long in Yarl’s Wood)

In the United States Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services have been conducting interviews and visits with families who are being held in a detention centers in Texas. The two groups claim that based on their findings the center in Hutto, Texas should be shut down, as children are living in ‘jail-like conditions’, which in the Texas facility is exactly that, a jail! The groups also found that children where not receiving adequate education, if a child is over five they are separated from their parents at bedtime, threats to separate families where used on both children and parents. These conditions are obviously detrimental to the welfare of children and serve little purpose in adding the immigration progress. Both groups recommended that that families holding no criminal or security threat be released, and alternatives such as parole, electronic bracelets and shelters run by nonprofit groups, be used in replace of penal facilities. “The Homeland Security Department defended the centers as a workable solution to the problem of illegal immigrants being released, only to disappear while awaiting hearings.” (Group Seek Shutdown of Immigration Center) That said it is presumptuous of the government to assume all will run, and surely the suggested use of ankle bracelets and a house arrest situation would suit all concerns of flight risk, while allowing children a sense of normality in their daily lives.

In the report, The Detention of Children in Member States’ Migration Control and Determination Processes, the authors looked at the increasing use placing children in detention centers by EU member states. Recommendations in the report included The report concluded that: immigrant minors rights be monitored by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) , statistics on the detention of minors be composed by all states for report to the FRA on an annual basis, a report be produced annually highlighting each countries when detaining children in regard to the mentioned recommendations, the placement of health care in all detention centers, legal representation for all children before detention, an automatic right for independent judicial review for all children regarding their detention, the use and adherence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and for all member states to use ‘detention only as a last resort’.

Australia has been in the spotlight, regarding the detaining of children in facilities which have been seen as inadequate and prison like. Concerns have been raised publicly for a number of years, especially over the use of facilities that are mandatory for all asylum seekers, including children, that are deemed by many, as worse than the prisons of the country. The detention of children in Australia is of serious concern, as children do not receive an adequate education, are at risk for mental illness and abuse. In the article, The impact of detention on the mental health of detainees in immigration detention, and the implications for failing to deliver adequate Mental Health Services: Who Cares?, Claire O’Connor researches the mental health effects that are caused by such prison like conditions for asylum seekers, and the governments failure to recognize, treat and prevent these grave health concerns.

The case of unaccompanied children is far more difficult than that of children detained with their families, as children who seek asylum independently face a far more difficult time in obtaining assistance. Children who are alone are also at a greater risk for abuse and often disregarded as nothing more than runaways or delinquents, their rights are then seen as something secondary to their unknown crimes. The Harvard Review of Latin America published an article, Children Seeking Asylum, highlights the grave concerns that have emerged in the immigration and deportation process in a post 911 world, including an increase in children applying for asylum independently. “In the U.S. separated children who seek asylum are regularly and routinely detained, often for months on end. A third of the 5000 children detained each year are locked up in secure jails, alongside juveniles convicted of criminal offenses; they are subjected to handcuffing and shackling, and other intrusive and punitive measures… Refugee advocates report that children seeking asylum are used as baits to find, detain and eventually deport undocumented parents already in the country.” The article also highlights how many children are detained, and many times even deported, due to their parents illegal status, even though they are US citizens.

The use of detention centers for children appears to be a clear violation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as the best interest of the child are not being met. Therefore we must take efforts around the globe to see that new regulations, procedures and facilities are established, for all detainees, especially children. While the process of asylum is underway, a child should never be denied his or her human rights.

CHILDREN CONFINED- Immigrant Detention at Hutto
d movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/HBCAgSCGM04" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Links:
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children

Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service

Immigrant Detention and Human Rights

Chill Out: Children out of Detention

More Than 2,000 Children of Asylum-seekers Detained

A Last Resort

Hopefully many of you where able to catch the powerful and shocking, first part of ‘Slaves in America’ with Charles Gibson to follow the the story of Evelyn Chumbow, from Cameroon, a former slave, held captive in Maryland. Chumbow, was brought to the US at 11, with dreams of an education and new life in a land of prosperity.

“What I would say to the American people is that they have to realize that this happens all over the country, in the backs of restaurants, in the fields in Florida, in the timber industry in the north of New York. There’s nowhere in America that it doesn’t happen,” said Melanie Orhant, Chumbow’s attorney. Ms. Orhant is also the managing attorney for the Break the Chain Campaign, an organization dedicated to helping survivors of trafficking. (Beatings, Isolation and Fear: The Life of a Slave in the U.S.)

You can find more victims stories on Polaris Project’s website, who has a collection of hundreds of victims testimonies from more than 50 countries. You will find haunting stories from victims like Rosa:

“When I was fourteen, a man came to my parents’ house in Veracruz, Mexico and asked me if I was interested in making money in the United States. …He said I would be in good hands, and would meet many other Mexican girls who had taken advantage of this great opportunity…the men told me that my employment would consist of having sex with men for money. I had never had sex before… Because I was a virgin, the men decided to initiate me by raping me again and again…I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I wasn’t allowed to go outside without a guard…”

While victims stories are frightening and deplorable, the most frightening aspect of trafficking is that it is at an all time high, and no country or city is immune from its effects. The United States has one of the highest ratings as a destination country for human trafficking victims, though we issue the Trafficking in Persons Report yearly, we are failing to secure the problem in our own country.

Destination Countries of Trafficking Victims

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2006. Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns, p. 39.

Source countries and routes of human trafficking

Victims of trafficking in the United States are lucky in one sense, as we are a country that dose not just deport victims once found, where as many countries lack the laws and infrastructure to see victims as anything more thank prostitutes and illegal immigrants. Therefore many victims of trafficking and slavery are simply jailed and deported to their home countries. This not only re-victimizes, but also places these vulnerable woman and children right back into the hands of those who trafficked them. Protect Act, which focuses American sex tourists and foreign nationals that traffic children into the US. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 , which was reauthorized in 2005, includes provisions targeting demand for trafficking victims, and issuing more protective T-Visas to victims. The Form I-914, which is a victim self application, that serves to give temporary benefits to illegals who have been victims of trafficking. The form also give benefits to their immediate family if applicable. If you are a victim of trafficking, or know someone who is, you can find more information on U and T visas for victims of trafficking on the National Immigration Law Center and immigration.com.

Working to prevent trafficking worldwide, Shared Hope International, has had great strides in pushing forward legal and political reform against trafficking, as well as successfully rehabilitating victims. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has a a number of programs for victims and resources, including how to identify a victim of trafficking. You can also see The Salvation Army - Emergency Response to Suspected Trafficking Cases for information on identifying victims, and finding support services.

Please see the previous post for more information and resource links.

Photo by Polaris Project

“Hiding in Plain Sight: How can we find and protect child victims of trafficking!”- Sheila Neville, Staff Attorney of The Legal Assistance to Trafficking Victims Project

One never thinks horrid things happen in their home town, nor does one want to believe that right next door unthinkable abuses are being committed, yet the truth is they are. Very often I am faced with people who are in utter dismay that human trafficking exists right here in the United States. While victims of trafficking are often from foreign countries, it is not necessary for a victim of trafficking to be taken out of their home country, nor their home state or city. According to C.I.A. estimates, approximately 900,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, 20,000 of which make their way to the United States. There are hundreds of thousands more people who are victims of domestic trafficking, most of which are children, who are most often forced into the sex trade. Anti-Slavery International estimates that the numbers of slaves in the United States are much greater at around 27 million. These are shocking numbers, for slavery is at an all time high, we currently have more slaves today than during legalized slavery.

The most frightening aspect of modern slavery is that very few Americans, realize the enormity of the situation, let alone are they aware of the presence of slaves in their own communities. I hail from the Great Plains, the Midwest, Middle America, and we have slaves! I have recently been drawn back to my hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, where a trafficking ring has recently been exposed, the ring that was exposed luckily did not involve the use of children. However, this event opened the eyes of many in the community to the fact that human trafficking is not only in the United States, but it’s in every town, not just the metropolis’s like New York and Los Angeles. With the discovery of the human trafficking ring, my own family truly realized for the first time the reality of what I had been trying to preach to them all this time. Needless to say their shock and dismay where short lived, as they quickly retreated back to their every day lives. Unfortunately this is not the first case of human trafficking or slavery in my home town, a year ago a ring was busted for forcing students from Russia to work in Ice Cream Trucks, unfortunately there have been many other cases and there will be many more.

“Maria Suarez, came from Mexico to Los Angeles legally…, hoping to find work. She was offered a housecleaning job at the home of a 68-year-old man who instead converted her into a virtual slave - threatening her and her family if she told anyone of the rapes and beatings that ensued over the next five years.” (‘Human trafficking goes on in U.S., too’)

Victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery, endure physical, sexual and mental abuse by their captors. Their value is regarded as nothing much more than a cheap form of labor, a money making opportunity or are seen as less than human. Victims of modern slavery are hidden in the dark corners of every city, every country, but they are also right there in the open. You may pass a slave today as you leave work, you may have a victim living down the street, or you may even know one, but for many they cannot speak for they have been silenced by fear and abuse.

Tonight I highly urge you to watch, ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson, as the series,’Slavery in America’ begins. Take this opportunity to become aware of slavery in your backyard, and begin the fight to end this atrocity in the United States, and begin to end human suffering from the brutal chains of slavery.

Links and Related Articles:

Story from May 8 on trafficking in the Greater Kansas City Area
‘Ice cream sellers face forced-labor charges’
Hope House - A Kansas City based shelter for victims of domestic violence, and a new trafficking program
Polaris Project - A DC based anti-trafficking organization and shelter
Anti-Slavery
Free the Slaves
‘Slavery in America Today’
The American Slavery Awareness Project - A video documentary
American Anti-Slavery Group
“Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States” - 2004 report
Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery - Contains links to articles about trafficking all across the United States
Captive Daughters
Body & Sold - National Campaign to Raise Awareness about Sex Trafficking of American Children and Teens
Boat People S.O.S
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - Human Trafficking Program
Human Trafficking - US Resources
Vital Voices
UNICEF - US Legislative Update

“There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace.”
– Kofi Annan

Mark Vallen from his series Art for Change

They are your children, though you cannot and do not see them. They are all of our children…the parentless, homeless, abused, innocent victims of war, and the unloved children of the world.

Why are they our children? Because they are the future, they are the future politicians, war lords, business leaders, suicide bombers, teachers, terrorists, writers, dictators and presidents.

If our actions, love and understanding lead a child on the right path today, taking them out of war and strife, then how do we sit idly by and do nothing?

A future teacher or terrorist…The choice is ours!