Matt Marienthal spoke about the prevalence and "varieties" of human trafficking, and the hurdles victims face in overcoming their "slavery." An excellent response will add to an understanding of this problem and proposals for how to eliminate this unjust practice.
Human Trafficking has been around for years and it's a terrible crime in which we as a global community must react to and end. However, it's easier said then done, in countries such as the U.S. justice for victims of human trafficking is much easier then in countries such as South Africa. It all depends on the system of government and justice in place, and if that government and justice system has the ability to pass and enforce laws. Globally, many countries cannot monitor human trafficking and it will probally never come to an end. But, in countries such as the U.S. and some european countries human trafficking can come to an end because, we have the resources to do so. The improvised countries of Asia and Africa don't have the ability or resources to end human trafficking and enforce laws. And that of course is were most of human trafficking takes place. Without support of more stable/powerful countries, human trafficking can never fully be ended do to the lack of justice and resources that can be spended on this issue.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt Marienthal that many of us don't realize that trafficking is going on. I think we all need to be aware of it because it can very well happen to one of us. I think trafficking is not a major issue for us because we are in our own world where were use to our parents doing everything for us and taking care of us. I think the main way we can help is become more aware of the situation. If someone has bruises on them or doesn’t have family in the U.S. we should try to help them and find out their story. A good example of trafficking is the movie Taken. The girl who is sold into sex trafficking is similar to us not having a care in the world and planning on going to Europe with her friend. When they arrive they meet a cute guy who realizes their vulnerability and sells them into sex trafficking. I think this is a good example because many of us could be in this situation. Go to Europe meet a cute guy or girl and not realize that anything could go wrong. We need to become more aware of our surroundings and realize that not everyone is nice.
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Matt Marienthal’s talk about human trafficking allowed me to see how many different types of trafficking actually do exist and how we need to become more aware of what is happening right under our noses in our own societies. Labor and sex trafficking are just two different types of trafficking that we unknowingly are supporting. I agree with Marienthal’s idea of rewarding the good rather than punishing the bad when trying to prove a point. Marienthal brought up the use of the website Carrotmob. After getting the opportunity to see the website, it showed how a group of people can make a difference. They figured in order to get businesses to agree with your ideas, that instead of boycotting certain businesses that are either supporting trafficking or other indecencies, they decide to reward good businesses for either selling the right products or promoting healthy life styles. By increasing business for these approved businesses it encourages these them to continue on the right path of improving our world.
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I liked the presentation because it showed how common human trafficking is and how it is all around us. Before this presentation i had never realized how much much human trafficking happens just in the United States. Whenever i thought about it, i thought about the movie Taken and it being fare away in another country. However, now i realize how serious it is and how we need to try and stop it. We also need to try and spread awareness to other people that don't realize how big of a deal it is. I also liked the idea of carrotmob because by using this website we can support businesses that are treating everyone equally and not just trying to get cheap labor.
ReplyDeleteIn Matt Marienthal's talk about human trafficking , he gave many different examples of human trafficking and how many are taking place in the United States. When thinking of human trafficking most think of 3rd world countries like India and China where it thrives, but it can happen in top countries like America. We need to be educated and realize that this is happening in our world and find ways to prevent human trafficking and ultimately stop it. For example, he gave the example of instead of boycotting the trafficking businesses we should praise the businesses that have a positive effect on our lives and the lives of others.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, I was intrigued by the fact that human trafficking not only happens in the US, but in places as close to us as Chicago (as stated by Marienthal). Because this problem is so poorly addressed so Matt says, I believe that Matt's organization plays a pivotal role in the solution by helping provide legal representation to victims of human trafficking and unaccompanied minors, and believe that if we would all take a small part in spreading awareness, that we could help to dramatically decrease the occurrence of these trafficking problems; sex, arms, and human trafficking alike. Which is why I reckon that we ask what we can do to best inform those around us of this epidemic. Recommendations given by the "End Human Trafficking" to best work involve ourselves is by ensuring that our families rugs and other materials are Child Labor free by looking at the RugMark label, also by sharing what we learn and keeping up to date on current involvements in human trafficking; and lastly, Support the efforts of NGOs (non-government-orginazation) involved in work to protect women and children from commercial sexual exploitation. By doing these undemanding tasks, we can help to make a difference in this obstacle.
ReplyDeleteLike Alex, I was shocked to learn that human trafficking took place in Chicago. I was glad that the speaker came in to educate us about this important topic because I believe it is our moral responsibility to extract such practices from our city. As a Catholic and just as a good person, I think it is necessary to promote awareness of this topic and make changes towards stopping the traffickers. Some ways I could do this would be using my vote and donating my money towards organizations such as this one. One unique way I was impressed with that a man used to reach out can be viewed here http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2011/04/14/stout.cfp.daniel.reetz.intv.cnn.html
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Human trafficking is a barbaric practice that has survived in the midst of civilization. What makes this crime continue to occur throughout the world is not only the fact that it operates “underground” but also that society does not want to believe that something as horrendous as this could be going on around us. By being ignorant to the problem at hand, we are then able to convince ourselves that the problem does not exist. It is out of sight and out of mind. Speakers like Matt Marienthal play an essential role in stopping or at least decreasing the drugs, arms, and sex trafficking prevalent in the U.S. and in the world. I agree with Shea that raising awareness of the problem and bringing it out to the forefront could help eliminate this practice, since many people fail to recognize it as a serious problem. However, Matt also mentioned that in Arizona for example, the state decided to attack only the symptoms of human trafficking and not the source, by cracking down on immigration. We could write to the congressmen or senators of Arizona urging them to be more supportive of immigrants so that border patrol or the police can get more information on who exactly is the source of human trafficking to the U.S. ALERT is one organization in Arizona dedicated to ending trafficking. This website also provides other links for more information about human trafficking on the national and global levels.
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Like Shea, mentioned we can stop trafficking through using our votes and supporting organizations but most importantly we need awareness. The first step for an issue like this is to be informed and this is what I believe were Mr. Marienthal intentions. Everyone has heard of drug and sex trafficking but few know of the several other types of trafficking. Even fewer know that this is happening so close to their homes. I personally did not know what labor trafficking was until the presentation. It is a shame to find out that this type of modern day slavery goes on and it was even more shameful find out prevalent in our lives it is while being very hidden. After some research a trafficking, i discovered that there's a movie on trafficking
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Things like this help inform the general public, which is the first step for creating a big difference.
After listening to Marienthal speak, I was surprised at to just how prevalent trafficking is around the world and in our own country today. I had heard of trafficking before, but had been unaware of trafficking taking place in our country like some of my other classmates, and i wasn't very well-educated on other types of educating other than sex trafficking because it shocks and enthralls us, which is why we mostly focus on it the most according to Marienthal and I would have to agree. I also felt the same as Claire when she said, "Labor and sex trafficking are just two different types of trafficking that we unknowingly are supporting." The ignorance of this topic by so many people in our country makes it difficult for there to be any massive sort of movement, and this is where we need to make a change. All of us know, no matter who we are or where we live, that treating a person as a means rather than an end is wrong; enslaving someone is clearly against our moral code, and we should be reaching out to help these people that are so vulnerable and helpless. Marienthal mentioned a few things we can do to help, such as being aware, but I think one thing that needs to be changed is the United States' policy on issuing 5 year visas to those who were imprisoned. Just because some people don't have any form of identification on them doesn't mean they should be shipped back to their home country; I think it is important for us to find a better way of dealing with these cases and helping these people. I also believe that it is important for us to support those groups that are trying to put an end to sexual, drug, and work trafficking, and we can learn more ways to help these people or we can donate to organizations trying to stop this at the following link:
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ReplyDeleteI first learned about human trafficking when I watched the movie "Taken." It was a shocking movie, and I thought, "Oh I should probably not go to Europe or Africa so I won't get kidnapped and sold like a slave." well it turns out this was happening less than 10 miles away from my house. Matt Marienthal's speech was really mind-blowing. Like most of my classmates said, I never expected that human trafficking was happening so close from me unnoticed, and "this problem is so poorly addressed" (Alex). Yet, the worse part is that human trafficking is happening mostly in countries that do not have proper law reinforcements and capability to monitor this immoral act. Although it is going to be extremely challenging trying to eradicate human trafficking, I believe we can start fighting this global issue with more active awareness movements and more political movements with more global leaders' involvement so everybody is aware of and fight this problem.
ReplyDeleteI was quite surprised during Matt Marienthal’s speech just as Shea and Alex at how such an unknown and disgraceful act can be so prevalent in Chicago and the world in general. I believe what allows this problem to live on is the unawareness regarding its scope. While almost everybody in the Chapel affirmed that they at least knew what trafficking is, very few were aware of how far it has spread throughout the world and how close to our own lives it must be. The reason for this unawareness I believe has to do with what Marienthal said about people avoiding the guilt of knowing and choosing ignorance over action. If we truly want to significantly reduce any kind of trafficking, we must step outside our fear of guilt and openly acknowledge that these problems exist and that it is our responsibility to fix them. While supporting non-trafficking businesses may help reduce the problem, the biggest step we can take is to educate others of the situation and actively convince them to make the solution a part of their daily lives. We must embrace the guilt of these actions until trafficking is completely gone.
ReplyDeleteMatt Marienthal’s speach was interesting at times. i have known about human trafficing and other sorts of traffic for a while now. it is not as recent aas an issue as many would think. i learned more info than i had known before, but most of it was just random facts thast he said. his presentation was not the best. it was kind of boring and at times when he was talking it seamed like he did not know totally what he was talking about, or atleast not off the top of his head. also there were no visuals to keep the listener interested. trafficing has been a major problem for a while now, but it has spread throughout the world more and has become more prevelent in the last couple years. overall the presentation was well done, but not great.
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ReplyDeleteI did some research on the topic and found out that it has been a major problem atleast from 1994. many people who are trafficed are either wemon or young girls to be brought into the growing prostition ring of the world. it is not just sex that people are being taken for, they could be used for labor for free. people who are trafficed live in horible conditions, such as a concentration camps where they are right about at the brink of death, but kept alive.
I thought that the speech given by matt was interesting. I never knew that so many people in the US were human trafficking to make money. I didnt realize that human trafficking exists in almost every country. Our country is monitored so well and the technology we have is so advanced that I think we will be able to over come this wide spread issue. The US is a place where everyone and everything they do can be monitored but in countries that are not as advanced in these issues are not going to be able to control this inother countries because they don't have resources and governmental systems that we have in the US. But like matt said we need to spread awareness around the world so we can help eliminate this issue.
ReplyDeleteThe presentation that Matt Marienthal gave on Wednesday touched on a topic that many people are not entirely aware of; human trafficking. Some of the statistics he gave were so surprising that they almost seemed fabricated. The fact that so many innocent people have been forced into the world of human trafficking, especially in a modern nation like the United States amazes me. I will agree with Matt in saying the biggest thing human trafficking has going for it is the fact that it is occurring right in front of us yet we remain unaware of it. Hopefully presentations like this and people like Matt can help to make human trafficking a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteLike Brian, I too enjoy many of the fast paced, action packed Liam Neeson films such as Batman Begins, Star Wars Episode I, and The A-Team. However, one of his movies which really stood out to me was Taken and it's shocking view of the underground european human trafficking business. After seeing this presentation and all of my classmates opine about it I have come to a conclusion that awareness alone is not enough to stop such a firmly planted industry across the world. There have already been many international steps towards stopping human trafficking, but I believe that more radical steps must be taken to stop such a cruel and amoral business from continuing. Not every unaccompanied minor has a father trained in martial arts who will be able to fight his way through the european underground to rescue his daughter as Liam Neeson did. However, similar radical action can and should be taken by the nations of the world as a whole instead of weak efforts by petty local law enforcement. Because human trafficking is not a local or even national issue... it is international and should be treated and solved as such.
ReplyDeleteUp until Mr. Marienthal talked to us about human trafficking, I really didn't know much about it. And to be honest, it never really slipped my mind. Now that i actually think about it i feel that there is a need for change. Human trafficking not only is morally wrong, it goes against what America supposedly stands for. I understand that it goes around in different countries but not the US as well. This issue is serious and i agree with what Mr. Marienthal was saying. We need to be aware and spread the awareness of where our food comes from. It sickens me to realize that i might be eating or drinking something made from an enslaved being. There is such a guilt knowing that stuff that makes us happy can make another human being miserable. One person has no right to claim the life of another let alone make them do anything not under their will. One way we can stop this is by asking for free trade coffee at Starbucks. It wouldn't hurt to ask for free trade products at other stores as well Because there is no harm in asking but their is harm if we don't ask and human trafficking gets worse. I already asked for free trade coffee at Starbucks and it was that easy. That what we as a community should do. Its one step at a time. I even signed up for a free trade club at Michigan state university. (They have about 3 different free trade clubs and clubs against human trafficking.) It just takes one step at a time.
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