Human Trafficking Hiding in Plain Site

Did anyone one notice the recent articles on human trafficking? It’s happening in plain view. A TV journalist reported Pakistanis using illegals as virtual slaves in a dozen 7-eleven stores in New York and Virginia—forty other stores in NYC are being investigated; the man rightfully sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, raping and holding captive the three women in Cleveland killed himself; a Wikipedia article proclaimed that “…across the globe, an estimated 20.9 million people are currently living in modern slavery – stripped of their dignity and humanity—forced to work effectively without pay—trapped behind bars or worse—the world’s most vulnerable sentenced to a lifetime of rape, abuse and extreme labor…” Does this Wikipedia article have a familiar ring to it? It should…we see it every day…note the two articles referenced above.

It’s happening right in front of us: from one person being forced to work as a maid with little or no pay, to large numbers of children discovered in mines. This issue deserves heightened awareness and sensitivity to what’s happening around us and in front of our very noses. We need to take action and punishment should be severe. Here’s a couple of other headlines from the internet:

“…Over 100,000 U.S. children every year are forcefully engaged in prostitution or pornography.”
“…The UN estimates that nearly 4,000,000 individuals are trafficked each year, with a disproportionate number of children and women in the sex trade…”

“…UNICEF estimates that as many as 50% of all trafficking victims worldwide are children and that as many as two thirds of those children are at some point forced into the sex trade. Two children are SOLD every minute…”

This is a $100 billion annual business for criminals and terrorists. Estimates show this business is the third largest income producing criminal activity in the world. There are many trying valiantly to fight this heinous international criminal activity. We must educate ourselves and support organizations that are combating this problem. Research what you can do on the MOJU project on the internet.