Kyndra Prietzel

Period 1
4.2

One thing in the reading that surprised me was on page 278 from the Foreign Affairs
magazine, “Slavery and the global slave trade continue to thrive to this day; in fact, it is likely
that more people are being trafficked across the borders against their will now than at any point
in the past.” This shocked me because when you think of slavery, at least in my case, I think
about in the past. I thought slavery was something you just read in history books, and I wasn’t all
that aware that slavery is still happening today. I think this is important discuss because just like
me there are probably thousands of others unaware about the problems.
Another thing that shocked me was also found on page 278 about the statistics of
America. “The Global Slavery Index listed the United States as currently having almost sixty
thousand people in bondage”. Before reading this article, and if I agreed that slavery was still
occuring today I never in my mind would have assumed that the United States still had slavery. I
do remember coming down to my parents who were watching 60 Minutes, an episode on the sex
slavery in India. So, if slavery is still alive then it’s not the U.S, but in India or some other
country; that’s what I thought. I was shocked to learn about the statics that are going on right
here. In my own country. If I’m an American citizen, and I’m unaware about these statistics then
I am sure so are the millions of other Americans.
One thing that I found also alerting was on page 279, “The U.S State Department
estimates that about 800,000 people are traded across international borders each year, and 80
percent of these victims are women and girls.” Not only is the information outrageous, but it was
also new to me. Eighty percent of victims are female. I think this is significant in showing the
suppression against women. If there were hundred victims, eighty of them would be female.
From the statistic above if there are 800,000 people traded across international borders then that
is 640,000 women or girls traded across the borders. I think we should be more aware of this
problem, and acknowledge the oppression women are faced with around the world. Within the
reading on page 280 it states how parents will sell their daughters to get money. On the same
page it Carter recalls that parents “bemoan” the birth of a daughter, and “celebrate” the birth of a
son. Overall, this information was very alarming.
Another thing that shocked me was on page 279 when Carter expresses the penalty of
trying to sell another human being, in the United States, is only a 50 dollar fine. This really
shocked me because I think it would be more strict. A human life is worth much more than 50
dollars, and I think there should be more rules and harsher legislation involved with slavery.
There also should be more than a fine I think too, maybe community service or imprisonment for
a year or too. This shocked me because you could be caught shoplifting, and get into more
trouble for that than selling a human.
On page 280 near the bottom Carter states that some girls are promised to good husbands,
education, and training to become teachers or nurses. In reality they are taken, beaten, drugged,
or raped into submission. I found this shocking, and disturbing. Most of the time I thought if girls
were sold to the traffickers they would know what’s coming. I had no idea that most of them
played a sly game of lying and deceiving them to believe in a false fantasy. This clearly shows
that girls are being taken under false pretenses without even knowing. On the same page Carter
states that some girls are taken right off the streets. This makes me think about all the many
times when my parents have told me they don’t want me walking home alone at night. It makes
sense now. It’s scary, and I think people should more aware about it. We should also know what
to do when in scary situations, such as those.
Another thing that surprised me was back on page 279-280. “It is known that teenage
girls are sold by pimps and placed in brothels in all large American cities, almost invariably with
the local police being complicit or waiting for ‘more important’ things to command their
attention.” I found this interesting and shocking that local police don’t take an interest in helping
others that have been taken into slavery. Perhaps because they feel uncomfortable, but in my way
of thinking if I were a policeman I would feel uncomfortable doing anything policeman does.
There’s no difference. Besides, these are human beings who are in need of desperate help. It’s
very shocking.
On page 282 what I also found shocking was the information about how some people are
held prisoners, and forced to work under duress because they are illegal immigrants. “In such
situations, captive workers were held against their will by their employers for many years
through threats and beatings, shootings, and pistol-whippings” (pg. 282). I found this severely
shocking. I was thinking that maybe their boss made them work long hours, but I didn’t know
that physical abuse could happen. Most people, like me, are oblivious to things like this and
should be more aware. Also, I think in the workforce we should accept all races and ethnicities
with kindness and respect. If there’s a problem communication is the best solution, except threats
and insults. This I found shocking because I had no idea, and also I haven’t truly experienced the
immigration life to know what it is like.
“This sounds good, but the law is essentially ignored. Although the U.S. Department of
State has estimated that there are at least sixty thousand people being held against their will in
the United States, only 138 traffickers were convicted in this country in 2012” (pg. 283). This
data is shocking considering the very wide numbers between those enslaved, and those
traffickers convicted. I think it shows where America’s priorities are, and it is not in
enslavement. I think the American people realize this and truly try to help out more with these
problems, at least make more of an effort to.
Also, another thing I found interesting and surprising was when Carter visited Africa to
try to suppress AIDS, or at least lower the high percentages of it. On page 283 he states, “Mbeki
had not even acknowledged the need for an aggressive response to the devastating impact of
AIDS in their country, where the rate of infection had grown in the previous twelve years from
less than 1 percent to more than 20 percent of all adults, with an estimated 1,800 new people
being infected each day.” I knew that Africa had its problems with diseases, and AIDS in
general, but I didn’t know it was so severe. Also, the people's lifestyles changed from AIDS, and
are now being transported into babies. On page 284 I found it shocking when Carter spoke about
the AIDS clinic in Bangui, Central African Republic. There were 267 people in line, mostly
mothers, with babies waiting to get treated, but there was no treatment. When the women could
no longer stand they were moved to a nearby hospital to die, and ninety percent of the hospital
beds were filled with sick patients like them. I found this shocking to hear. What shocked me
more was that President Thabo Mbeki didn’t want any medication for his people. He accused
President Carter of trying to introduce Western medicines to interfere with the progress of black
people eliminating colonialism (pg. 284). I found it shocking that he was so stubborn, and
unwilling to help his people. I think we should try to make headways where everyone can be
treated for HIV/AIDS.
The last thing that shocked me was all of the many organizations included in the overall
reading. None of them I had ever heard of, except one, UNICEF (mentioned on page 280). I was
able to collect donations for UNICEF when I was in Key Club, but still I didn’t fully understand
where the money was going since the club gave a very vague explanation. From reading this
article though I’m glad it’s going towards a good cause. There are many others, however, that I
have never heard of before. For example, Stop Girl Trafficking (SGT) on page 280 which helps
rescue and protect victims in sex slavery. There was also Free the Slaves at the beginning on
page 278 which helps exposing and abolishing slavery. Also, on page 280 is Rural Health and
Education Service Trust (RHEST) which helps give rescued women education. On page 282
there’s the organization that expose landowners who are holding their farmworkers in
involuntary servitude, Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). On page 283 there is Women
Thrive Worldwide where a quote is given by the President, Ritu Sharma who presses The
International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). All of these organizations I have never
heard of before that are doing amazing things. It shocks me that if these organizations are so
willing to help then how come I’ve never heard of them before? I think learning about different
organizations, especially those who want to make a difference in the world, is a very important
thing. I had no idea so many organizations were committed to these sorts of problems around the
world, and I think they should be more widely known.