McKenzie Filipek

College Writing 1120

Kristine Koyama

11 April 2019

Human Trafficking affecting Duluth

As people sit in Canal Park here in Duluth, waving and looking at the ships that pass

through the canal, we focus on the ship and how fascinating it is. We look at the ship thinking it

is so cool and that you might want to be on there. For some people they might not think the same

because of experiences they have had. But for the many people that think this, they don’t think

about what is happening on the ship that we can’t see. So many stories and cases of human

trafficking are happening right in your area, but here in Duluth, it is more common then we all

may realize. So many cases are reported each day, and around 10,000 cases reported each year in

the world, and thousands of cases are happening around Minnesota everyday (Carter). Something

that not many people may realize is that these people that are trafficked here in Duluth, are being

taken by ship. What are they being taken for exactly? Most cases of people being taken is for

sex, however, other reports are for labor, money, and more. How is this happening and what can

be done to prevent it is the question that many people wonder these days.

Being promised that your bills and expenses will be payed for sounds pretty great right?

The people that are being taken are promised these things, but that’s not actually true. These

people take you and try to think you might be getting a good life, but in the end its only torture.

These people work for low pay and hard long hours if they are trafficked for work labor. They

also can be at sea on a ship for up to 18 months in terrible working conditions that can cause

illnesses. They might also not be fed a lot and can be beaten and abused for poor performances in

their work habits (Walsh). That doesn’t sound good to anyone that I’ve talked to about this case.
You heard a little bit about the working labor, but what about the people that are trafficked for

sex. These people are forced against their will to do things with people that don’t know all to

please someone. These people that get trafficked for sex are psychically and mentally assaulted

also. In an article I read, talking about the people that are specifically trafficked for sex, it states;

“Girls were sexually abused and raped. Boys were forced to masturbate while wearing plastic

skirts and showering together. Children were stropped, beaten with all manner of objects and

were put in the electric chair; for punishment, for no reason at all and for simple

entertainment.”(Dean).

A major spot that these ships are headed to is Thunder Bay, Ontario (Szmanda). The

people that are trafficked for these terrible things are not just kids. It is adults, children, and

babies of any gender. The thing that is unique to the trafficking scandal is that the main ethnicity

that is trafficked are Native Americans. The Department of Justice states that there are relatively

14,000 to 17,000 people that are trafficked each year in the United States alone (Jones). But

around harbors that pass resources from one city or state to the next, it tends to be higher since

the people can load the ships of crates faster and easier. One good thing that has happened in

Minnesota would be laws focusing more on human tracking itself. One of the laws in that there

are high cost/fees for people that sell other people for sex. I think this is a good law to have, but

what happens to the people who don’t get caught? Therefore, tighter ship security along with

border and community safety and security should be a bigger deal. Along with more harsh

punishments for the people that get caught with the trading or possession of people.

Although human trafficking can still happen in different types of transportation, having

tighter ship security here in Duluth at all of the ship stations for loading and unloading different

types of resources can make a huge difference. This would help tremendously and eliminate
human trafficking by almost half. The reason that it cannot fully be eliminated would be the

other types of transportations, different ways of trafficking someone, and transshipment.

Transshipment is the activity of trading things at sea. Although transshipment can be good for

somethings, such as giving other vessels food or other resources they may need, it is also bad. In

the “Verdict” article, it states that transshipment makes is easier to carry and transport illegal

cargo because there is no monitoring take takes place on these ships (Verdict, 23 July 2018).

Therefore, there should be monitoring on all ships at all times. This is also a good thing to do

since many ships can be at sea for long periods of time.

Human Trafficking is a huge deal when it comes to dealing with it overseas, but it is also

a big deal on land too. Human Trafficking on land can take form in many places and all different

times. This too needs to be monitored better because everyday people are getting taken in the

blink of an eye. Over ten years ago, a man opened a shop downtown in Duluth called “The Hip

Hop Candy Shop.” When the man opened the shop, he knew it would attract girls so while being

open, he used these girls for pictures and multiple other things, along with trying to sell them for

sex (Collin). These girls were also promised paid rent, bills, and more. Luckily the man was

eventually caught. It was never guaranteed, but it was agreed by many that this man was going to

be sending them through ship when he was going to sell them for sex. It is said that over three

million people visit Duluth each year to see what it has to offer its people and the tourist (Collin).

With rates going up for human trafficking, it is no doubt that some of these tourists are taken

each year and that this could continue to happen if nothing gets done about it.

Having security on land at the shipping docks would also make for a better and safer

community in Duluth. With people put at every station to help keep watch, this would make sure

no other or extra things are stored in the crates and put onto the ships. Like said above, although
there are other sources of transportation, it would cut down numbers of trafficking over sea.

Along with the people at these stations, there should also be twenty-four-hour surveillance

cameras that catch every moment at all angles. This should not be known by the workers and

ship people, so they don’t try and do stuff in secret areas. Not only should these cameras and

people be at the Duluth port stations, but all over the place where shipping is a source of

transportation. This will help the world by making sure more people are safe and doing what

they are supposed to when docked at sea. I know this doesn’t go well for transshipment but there

are ways for that too, like said above.

In Conclusion, human trafficking is a major problem in this world, but it is a big deal

here in Duluth in the community we live in. This is something that is happening almost every

hour or if not sooner and many cases of human trafficking are reported each year. Human

trafficking can take forms on land or oversea. Many people don’t realize that it is happening so

close to them and things they can do to help or try and stay safe. Having secure docking stations

for the ships with monitoring on and off all ships, it will make safer transported of resources

instead of illegal human trading. People also don’t realize that it isn’t just girls being taken, it is

men too and this is happening to people of all ages. Something needs to be done about this

terrible crime happening around us. With trusted people and twenty-four-hour surveillance, this

crime can be cut in half when it is happening. The trading of humans for illegal business will be

stopped when people work together to make these changes happen all around the world.