Humans For Sale

Human trafficking is another social issue problem that the world is facing today, well this is not really something very new, since this is the only modern day version of human slavery that mankind has been practicing for thousands of years. Unfortunately today the system of trafficking people has been more sophisticated and expensive and deadly. Human trafficking involves tricking people, luring people or forcing people to be taken out of their native country or homeland and forced to work in another country or place away from their home for low payment to no payment at all and often are exploited. Human trafficking is not to be confused with people smuggling since the latter involves affirmative participation on the part of the person being smuggled.

This trafficking of people is not only an illegal and criminal business operating in third world countries but is also happening in developing and industrialized countries. Most of the victims come from countries like China, Thailand and the Philippines, Eastern bloc European countries like Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Russia and the Ukraine and African countries like Ghana and Nigeria as well as in Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Guatemala to name only a few of these countries reported. Obviously the victims usually end up and work in countries like Austria, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, the United States as far as documented reports are telling us but I am sure there are a lot more countries involved.

It is great to know that inter-governmental organization like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe under the United Nations Charter is fighting this practice. However, the sad part is that strong crime organizations with international network around the world has been very good and elusive to catch. Most of the victims especially the women and children end up in prostitution and the deadly cycle of sex slavery. Other victims are forced to work on legit businesses but for no pay or low payment and are often treated harshly. Crime syndicates who operate this human trafficking business find it very lucrative since they are selling "goods" (meaning a person or groups of people) that can be sold over and over again at different rates. Just imagine these poor victims being sold and exploited. That is twisted!!!

Reading reports about human trafficking and having watched some investigative documentary about the subject, I often wonder or think - What if I was the victim of human trafficking? What if it was my child or someone else I care for?

Photo Credit: Poster Against Human Trafficking Symposium from the Adorers of the Blood of Christ