"Turning a Blind Eye"

The justice system, a system that orders complete and civil obedience from the people at all times, but how can a system full of officials and policemen who have no moral compass call for our respect and obedience? In many countries today, police officers and visa distributors are involved in the black market practice of trafficking. One of the most shocking countries with a high level of slavery is Japan. Even though Japan is one of the most thriving countries in the world, the police and people pay no mind to the amount of trafficked girls. For more than 20 years the government has opened the country to human trafficking by giving them a special visa called the “entertainer visa”, supposedly given to singers and dancers.

Brazil, this country too has much slavery and fewer opportunities to actually battle this problem.Top anti-slavery officials in the capital concede that the number of slaves is around 50,000. Even though this number seems high Brazil is taking action freeing 4,789 slaves in 2003 and another 2,745, compared to Japans rescue of 6 slaves in 2003 and 24 in 2004. The question is what’s the difference? The election of Luiz Inacio da Silva, as president in 2002. Luiz had a background in organized labor and this made him a great candidate for battling this problem of trafficking. In October 2006 he stated, “This [slavery] system channeled wealth to a powerful elite and dug a social abyss that still marks the life of the nation.”

Awareness is a great step towards getting the public involved, but real consequences need to be laid down for these people in our government participating in the black market. I propose Zero-Tolerance Anti-Corruption laws be put in place to punish not exactly the officer who is participating but the highest ranking officer or official who is supposedly in charge of these people.

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The Risks at Stake

In the United States human trafficking is increasingly becoming easier and more profitable for a criminal as opposed to drug trafficking. Both are nonetheless organized criminal groups, committing serious crimes, with only intentions to make money. Both are risky and punishable acts. However the risks at stake for a drug trafficker do not even compare to those of a human trafficker.

If a drug trafficker is caught he is going to spend some time in prison. Reason being, our criminal justice system has laws against drug trafficking, and punishments for those who break these laws. The entrapment of a drug trafficker, normally involves drugs, that which provides compelling evidence in court, along with a conviction. The criminal justice system also has laws against human traffickers, along with punishments. Yet are these laws effective? In some scenarios yes, however, a large sum of traffickers remain unpunished for their crimes and face no jail time. Due to the fact most of these trials are lacking in sufficient evidence and are determined on a victim’s testimony against their trafficker. Many victims remain fearful of their traffickers and are afraid to testify against him. In order to be a drug trafficker one’s entire life is initially put at risk. However for a human trafficker he simply puts all the risks in the victim’s hands. A drug trafficker’s likelihood of getting caught is much higher than human traffickers. Simply because it is part of law enforcement’s job training to recognize and catch such criminals. Law enforcement officials however are not adequately trained when it comes down to catching a human trafficker. Human traffickers are increasingly becoming more common for a number of different reasons. One being the ability to cover up a human being that has been taken against their free will is much easier to hide from law enforcement than mass amounts of drugs. Secondly the selling of prostitutes is much more profitable and less time consuming than the selling of drugs. The last and main reason why the trafficking of humans has been made so much easier than drug trafficking is the risk factors. Human traffickers face minimal risks, and if caught still have a lesser chance of being punished.

Dangerous Drug in Children's Hands

In Bangladesh, a steroid called Oradexon, primarily used to fatten cattle, is being used on child prostitutes to make them more sexually desirable. Oradexon causes these young girls to prematurely develop large breasts, hips, and curves, making them appear older to their clients. In Bangladesh, it is traditionally more appealing to have large curves and have excess body fat. Although prostitution is legal in government-regulated brothels, it is not legal for girls under the age of eighteen. In order to stay out from under the radar of the police, these girls are taking the steroids. Due to the medical dangers of the drug, the government should limit the availability of Oradexon to keep it out of the hands of child prostitutes.

Because of its medical uses and uses for cattle, Oradexon is easily available on the streets. However, many complications come along with taking this drug. It can cause damage to the liver, heart disease, and external allergic reactions. It not only affects their normal growth and permanently alters their body, but also makes these children addicted to the drug. They can suffer from withdrawal symptoms of physical sickness and headaches. Not only are there biological risks, but also there is psychological damage that comes along with the use of this drug. These girls are being treated like animals by being fattened up just like cattle. The culture views of body image are brainwashing these girls to take this harmful drug just for its aesthetic affects. These external pressures, as well as pressures to make money, are turning them towards the steroids.

Many preventative steps should be taken by the Bangladeshi government to promote the medical welfare of these girls. There should be stricter regulations regarding the acquisition of a prescription to the drug, limiting to those only in the livestock industry. Also, legal prosecution should be increased for the illegal distributors of the steroid. Rehabilitation should be available to those girls suffering from symptoms of withdrawal. Banning the street sale of this drug and making it only available to those in the livestock industry will cause the use of this drug to decline. Although it is not realistic to expect the use of these steroids to be ceased, it is important to stop it from growing and affecting more young children.

Lambs in the Kitchen, Tigers in the Bedroom

In today's society, there is an imbalance of power between the genders. Although this has changed greatly from how it once was, in many cases, men are still the powerful working figures that bring home the money, and woman are the docile creatures cooking supper in the kitchen. However, sometimes in the bedroom, these perceived roles are reversed. And women find themselves being criticized for it.

Sadomasochism, is the sexual practice of using pain and humiliation to heighten sexual pleasure. In "Maid to Order: Commercial Fetishism and Gender Power", author Anne McClintock analyzes people's point of view on strong, empowered women in the bedroom. Why are women who express themselves sexually treated with disrespect, yet men do not get the same negative attention? "In the intercourse of the sexes, the active or aggressive role belongs to man; woman remains passive, defense. It affords man great pleasure to win a woman, to conquer her" (McClintock, 89). In Richard Krafft-Ebing's text, "Psychopathia Sexualis", the author explains various forms of sadomasochism, how the men actually want to be dominated by the woman.

Although a lot of society views sadomasochism as a perversion, it is in reality a way of expressing oneself sexually. Wanting to be dominated, or to be the dominator, is no reason to feel ashamed, or alienated. Even though the topic itself is often taboo, sadism and masochism in the bedroom are nothing new to society. Women should not be criticized for being free-spirited and expressing themselves.

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The Never Ending Cycle of Slave Redemption

Slave redemption is the process of buying slaves and setting them free. This appears to be a great charity, but in reality, slave redemption is actually doing more harm than good. Slave redemption needs to come to an end immediately.

Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world and a place that is greatly affected by slavery. This is where John Eibner, an abolitionist, came up with the idea of westerners buying back slaves or slave redemption. This was not all his idea, however, he was inspired by the local people who were already putting this method into practice. His goal was to make this idea more wide spread. At first, the program seemed to be working, national news broadcasters picked up the story and local churches, schools, and relief organizations began fundraising money for the cause. Slowly these efforts were helping free thousands of slaves. It was not until Eibner made a couple more trips back to Sudan that he started noticing the problems.

The first problem with slave redemption is the profit. The raiders, the people abducting the slaves, are making about triple the amount selling slaves through slave redemption then they would by selling them to the northern slave market. A slave in the northern slave market would go for about 15 dollars whereas thorugh slave redemption the same slave would go for atleast 50 dollars. This is encouraging raiders to take more slaves and to do it more frequently, to gain a profit. Since this is such a profitable market the number of raiders is unbelievably increasing. Since 1995 the number of raiders, has grown from about 400, to about 2,500. Another problem with slave redemption is the value of even the weakest slave goes up. In the past, weak and elderly slaves were released because of their lack of value, but if raiders know that they can get 50 dollars for a slave in any condition, the likely hood of them letting the slaves free diminishes. An additional huge problem that goes along with slave redemption is staged slavery. This is where a raider will force free people to stand and act like slaves while they proceed to convince a buyer that they are freeing those exact “slaves”. The raider then gets free money, it is the ultimate con artist trick.

By paying for these slaves we are basically condoning the practice of slavery, and making it more profitable. Anthony Appiah, author of Buying Freedom: the ethics and economics of slave redemption, suggests that if slave redemption is not stopped then the number of overall slaves will actually increase. Slave redemption is simply giving more money to these raiders. This is only leading them to buy more weapons and pursue more raids which results in the abduction of even more slaves. It is a never ending cycle that needs to be stopped.

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Kids or Killers?

The methods used to train child soldiers turn them into killers through great manipulation; although rehabilitation programs are the only way to attempt to reintegrate these children into society, the people recruiting them must be stopped to end the vicious cycle. From the moment a child is chosen to fight in war, he/she is forced to face death with utter insensitivity. When a child is taken from their home to become a soldier, their families are often killed right in front of them; this is a way for the commanding officers to obtain total control. One of the first few steps in training a child to fight usually involves having the child kill someone; this person is often a civilian or someone from the child’s village. Killing someone from their village ensures that the child will not try to escape, for they will no longer be welcomed at home. It is common for the child to then have to consume the flesh or blood of the person they have killed, in an effort to diminish their emotional reaction to death.

Evidently, after this process the children are killers; they now see killing as a solution to most problems and have no emotional reaction to the crime they are committing. A child soldier, whos name was anonymously recorded as M, was quoted saying, "When I was fighting, I enjoyed it- killing and destroying. I killed human being, many; young, old, anyone. The first one, an old lady, I shot from far away. I was very angry, so I shot her. Their families killed my people" (Children At War). Although the children affected did not choose to be murderers, they are nonetheless a threat to society once returned to their normal lives. The rehabilitation programs and laws in place to protect children are not aggressive enough to put an end to this issue. Most of the rehabilitation programs in place by the United States in other countries require the children to want to willingly go through the rehabilitation process. Also, with the high possibility of children being sent back into war, they are only helped temporarily before being placed back into this vicious cycle.

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http://childsoldierrelief.org/laws_treaties/

http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=6684

Singer, P. W. Children at War. New York: Pantheon, 2005. Print.

The Code of Lekë Dukagjini

Nations, like Albania, still employ laws set during ancient times. These laws are sexist, abusive, and unfair to its citizens, especially women. In “Sex Trafficking: inside the business of modern slavery,” written by Siddarth Kara, he explains that Albanians are still ruled by the Code of Lekë Dukagjini, which was written in the 1400s, by Kanun I Lekë Dukagjinit. It’s laws are based on honor. This, however, is biased against women, who according to this law, are subordinate to men. The code states, “The blood of a woman is not equal to the blood of a man. A woman is known as a sack, made to endure.”

This code makes life extremely difficult for females. Kara, states the code “renders life extremely difficult for unmarried women.” (Kara, 7) He goes on to say that in some cases, family members sell each other as sex slaves, as was the case with Pira, a former sex slave. He writes, “A former sex slave named Pira told me that the night she was married, her husband sold her to the owners of a sex club, where she was forced to have sex with hundreds of men before she escaped.” (Kara, 7) This code accentuates the roles of males and females in rural Alabania. A wife’s duties to her husband primarily center around complying to his demands, and fulfill her marital duties. An article in The International Herald Tribune depicts women’s roles as caring for the children and maintaining the home, along with all the other conjugal duties she must face. (Bilefsky, 2008) Whereas, the husband’s only duty to his wife is to provide clothing and shoes and to preserve her honor. The wife, by no means, may complain to her husband about her responsibilities. Furthermore, if her husband wishes to divorce her, he has the right to cut off her hair, strip her nude and take her away from her relatives, expelling her from her village with a whip. This form of abuse is seen in Albania and women endure this type of injustice to this day, all because of an ancient, cruel code. Through the years, though, the code has lost some influence. Life is not structured around this code as strictly as it once was. The code is almost nonexistent in developed cities, but that is not the case in the rural communities.
The struggle these women face is so brutal and excrutiating that one of the options the Code of Lekë Dukagjini gives women in order to liberate themselves from the oppression of marrying, is to undergo a sex change, and swear an eternal oath of celibacy. With this promise, these women, now converted men, can live their lives and rule their families as males. It is unfortunate, however, that they have to surrender being who they are and take on completely new lives, just because society dictates it.

In order for rural Albanians to move away from this lifestyle they should observe their neighbors of the developed cities. With their influence they might be able to organize and unite to put an end to this vile code. I strongly believe that once they begin to organize and make strides to bring about change, other nations and humanitarian organizations will jump in to join their fight to bring justice to all members of the community and not just a select few. It is encouraging to see major news outlets, like The International Herald Tribune, a member of The New York Times Media Group, making room in their publication to shed light on this issue. The more people know about this issue, the more influence the people of Albania will have, since they will have the backing of the international community.

links: http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/eccc14&div=15&g_sent=1&collection=journals
http://www.mapsofworld.com/images/world-countries-flags/albania-flag.gif
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WWb-wx1gjLwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=sex+trafficking:+in+the+business+of+modern+slavery&ots=Rx5Gs7wOIj&sig=J_V5RabvqBOCOA6K9z6gbb55BxE#v=onepage&q=sex%20trafficking%3A%20in%20the%20business%20of%20modern%20slavery&f=false