Essay 3
Professor Ngezem Human Trafficking: A Modern Day Slavery Slavery may have been abolished more than 100 years ago, but it still exists all around the world. Slavery defined is the subjection of a person to another person; being forced into work. Through the years, countless of battles have been fought and many lives lost to eliminate slavery, yet it still exists in the form of human trafficking. Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy. Nearly every country in the world is affected by human trafficking. According to the United Nations, over 130 countries are origin, transit or destination countries for human trafficking. The Havocscope, the Global Black Market Information, says that human trafficking has a value of thirty-two billion dollars. The people who are traded are paid about one percent of that or nothing at all. They are forced to work in extreme conditions and endless hours for pretty much nothing. Human trafficking is morally wrong because it is a form of modern slavery, it demeans people and makes them feel less than human, and the after effects of it can be devastating.
In the novel Girl in Translation, Kimberly Chang experiences working in an arduous environment that is extremely dusty. The sweatshop that she works in is time consuming and tough. They work her to the bone and she is paid next to nothing. Her working conditions were similar to the people who are trafficked. At first, she is not paid until she works off the debt that she and her mom incurred from coming to America. Many if not all people who are trafficked are unaware of their debt that they “must work off”. Her aunt Paula kept saying they were family, and she would do anything for them. However, they did not know that she was charging them for everything. “We are grateful you brought us over anyway,” Ma finally said, breaking the
Cited: "Human Trafficking Statistics." Havocscope Black Market RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. Groningen Etc.: Noordhoff, 2013. Print. "Slavery." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.