Human trafficking: another name for slave trading

One of the most talked about plagues of modern society is human trafficking. People, particularly women and children, are traded and shipped by boats and planes from poor countries to well-off countries that are in constant need of cheap labor and "objects" of entertainment, particularly to serve sexual depravity and perversion of all kinds. In the olden times, it was called slave trade. Until it was abolished, humans were publicly traded from merchant to merchant and the slaves were transported to Europe and the new world (then US) by the boatload. The slaves, most of them from Black Africa, were used to work in plantations as indented cheap labor and objects of their masters’ sexual perversities. The slave trading was so INHUMAN and an evil "incarnate" that it became so infamous. Governments, first the British then their counterparts in mainland Europe, could no longer tolerate the inhumanity of slave trading that it was outlawed in Europe followed by the US after another 100 years or so. But the simple outlawing of slave trading did NOT stop the trafficking of humans. Slavers and human traffickers are so creative in transforming themselves into "legal" recruitment agencies and they tap the one thousand and one ways of shipping or transporting modern day slaves to all destinations in need of indented cheap labor and "entertainers" that also include minors. UN figures on human trafficking are so shocking that they shame sophisticated law enforcement that include the Interpol, the US FBI, and the Homeland Security network tracking terrorists worldwide. The UN reports say that the number of victims of human trafficking at any given time is approximately 2.4 million persons. Of this staggering number about 80 percent are exploited for sexual entertainment and about 17 percent are exploited for forced labor. The ratio of female to male slaves (including children) is two to three meaning two female for every three persons trafficked. Human trafficking which is actually another name for slave trading is a staggering and lucrative worldwide business. The same UN reports estimate an annual value of $32 billion in this modern day slave trading. The Philippine government has passed two important legislations to combat human trafficking, at least on paper! These are RA 10022 otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 and RA 9208 also known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. With about 14 million Filipino OFWs, it would appear that most trafficked Filipinos are "willing victims" and minors looking for ways to provide financially for their families. Moreover, under the two laws on human trafficking, the element of exploitation is the thin line that defines the boundaries between "illegal recruitment" and human trafficking. The element of "exploitation" is hard to ascertain in times of need and during hard times for the families. Every OFW, whether abused or exploited or victimized through fraud and deception, wishes only to provide for the family. In various countries in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, and in neighboring places like Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, they, no doubt, serve as the modern day "slaves" of the bygone era. In the Southern Philippines, the provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Sulu and the peninsula of Zamboanga area are being used as backdoors or gateways for trafficking of modern day slaves. The grapevine even announces the departures of "boats" for the neighboring Malaysia using the Malaysian flag. Thus when you see the Malaysian flag raised in a seaport, everyone in town, except perhaps for the law enforcers, knows that there is a boatload of trafficked persons leaving for the day. Of late, the PNoy administration is showing some seriousness in the campaign against human trafficking. The Interagency Council against trafficking has fast-tracked the conviction rate to an average of 20 per year. The council has convicted 83 persons. Albeit these are small fish convictions, the sign is there that more would be coming and we can only hope that the DOJ and DSWD that chair and co-chair the Council would show more activism in pursuing the big fish involved in human trafficking. As said earlier, slave trading is a lucrative business and the demand for "slaves" is great. Definitely, there is money that goes around that makes the business robust.

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