Human and child slavery is still a huge problem not only in the United States, but all around the world. Most people thought that the slave trade was over following the civil war and in following years all nations adopting some sort of non slavery agreement, but they were wrong. There is still a high volume of slavery in the world, even more then when slavery was acceptable in the early colonist days. The number of human slaves as stated in the video was estimated at 27 million people. That almost doubles then the amount of slaves back in the civil war time. What I found to be horrible but a possible reason it is higher in today’s world is the amount that they cost. The movie states that an average cost for a human slave in the colonial days was about 40,000 dollars in today’s money. The movie also describes that an average slave today is sold at 100 dollars. So because the price is so much cheaper these people don’t care how they are being used. They will use this child or person to its breaking point and when they are all used up just throw them away. With the colonist days the movie described that “they used the slaves as an investment.” Sure they did beat the slaves and do horrible things to them, but because they were so expensive they wanted to get more out of them then what slave owners today would get. It just sickens me that people today can have a price when every human life is priceless.
The next thing that sickens me is how these children are sold or tricked into slavery. The first girl in the film stated that her father turned her over to this female, because she promised him that she would give her a better life and education. So in efforts to get his daughter a better life she is given to her, but as a result he was tricked. Because he was tricked his daughter was now being used as an unpaid slave and forced to clean multiple houses. Another story was a Vietnamese girl who was told about a better life in Cambodia and that this lady will take her on a trip there but couldn’t tell anyone. Once she got to Cambodia the ladies mood changed and became violent. She was then sold into the sex trade against her will and couldn’t return home. The final story was a young 13 year old female who was sold by her aunt for money into the sex trade. She was in it for a while, but escaped and now is living at a safe home. These people both family and these people who take advantage of these kids are sick. You are taking an innocent child and forcing them to do things they are not meant to do at that young age. You are robbing them of not only their innocents but their childhood. These people need to be stopped and receive the worst types of punishment imaginable.
Another thing that stuck as a reason for all this sex trade is poverty. These people who live in a poverty stricken area or unable to barely feed themselves and others feel like they have no choice. Others are sold into this life by the family because they are tricked into thinking they are helping their child. They are told that they will get an education, or they will be doing other work such as waitressing or other types of work. Poverty is the reason a lot of these kids are put in the places they are today. If it wasn’t because of poverty these parents wouldn’t need or feel the need to sell their kids for their own personal gain or being tricked that they will be receiving a better life. I don’t think poverty is the only factor in the sex trade, but I do feel it is a major part.
These people who do these horrible things to children deserve no consideration when it comes to punishment and they need to have the book thrown at them. And the people who actually engage in sexual acts with these children need to thrown in jail for the remainder of their lives. They are manipulating and robbing these poor children of their childhood. To conclude I really think that we need to take a step back and look at the worlds poverty. Parents wouldn’t be selling their kids if the were able to support themselves and their family. They wouldn’t try to be seeking better lives for their children and in return be lied to if they were able to provide that life for them. One of the things in the video stated that it would cost around 30 billion dollars to end or almost eliminate slavery, but yet no one wants to pay it. These kids are being tortured and used for horrible acts and according to exports there is a solution it just cost money. Yet no government wants to fork the money over to end this rain or terror for these kids. Instead they would rather fund a war that shouldn’t have happened in the first place, or fund a health care system that is flawed and wont work. People are robbing these kids of their childhood and everyone is just sitting back and letting it happen. We need to stand up and be the voices for the children who cant speak in the first place.
Sources:
Modern Slavery: Captive Servants and Child Prostitution. Films Media Group, 2008. Films On Demand. Web. 11 April 2011. < http://digital.films.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=1850&xtid=41369 >.
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