Name:Emily
Posting #2
Period: D
Topic: Civil Rights
Title: Held as Slaves, Now Free
Author: Scott Bronstein, Amber Lyon and Alexandra Poolos
Publication Name: CNN
Publication Date: December 2, 2010
Word Count: 407
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/02/slave.labor.ring.busted/index.html
Summary:
It is shocking to believe that human trafficking still exists, even in the year 2010. Young women, now around the age of 19, were only recently freed from being slaves. They were brought from their home country and their families to the Newark area, which is ironically just under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. They were promised a good education, but when they arrived, they were told that they were not going to school. Instead, they were forced to work in hair braiding shops. They were around the ages of 12 to 15 when they first began working. They often worked for 12 straight hours, weaving braids into the hair of free teenagers. One of them said, “I wished I could go with them. Most of the time, I’d end up just breaking down later crying… I just couldn’t understand why my life has to be this way…” They would also not get enough sleep. Some days they would be braiding hair until 2 in the morning if the customer wanted really small braids. Other days, they would not have enough food to eat. Even though they were in plain sight, they were under the eyes of their captors. They often said that it was like being trapped in a cage, and always being forced to behave. They would work seven days a week, and the people whose hair were being braided never knew that the people braiding their hair were slaves. Unfortunately, human trafficking continues widely today in the United States, but it goes on undetected. The girls would often lie about their ages to the customers, and had to say that they were 18 because their captors told them that. They sometimes wished that one of their customers would help them and go to the police. Now that they are free, they can attend high school, and one of them has been accepted into college. They have not been able to go home to visit their families , but they want to raise awareness about human trafficking.
Conclusion:
I think it is shocking and disgusting that slavery still exists in the world. What is even more alarming is that human trafficking also exists in the United States. I think the government should do something because there is too much undetected human trafficking going on and it is incredibly illegal. It strips people of their right to liberty and should not be tolerated.
I agree that human trafficking is unethical, and what is even more horrible is that it happens in front of our very own eyes without us realizing how widespread this problem is. As much as I agree that if people knew, they should have helped the slaves, I just don't see how everyday people are able to tell if a worker is a slave or not. Sadly, there is no fullproof way to fix this problem but hopefully we can find a solution soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think that something can be "incredibly illegal."
I'm surprised that there is human trafficking in the United States. It is scary because it was a very similar kind of slavery that happened in the colonial times. People took these girls from their families and used them to make money. It's hard to accept that these girls just lost many years of their youth.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked that human trafficking still exists in the United States. It is very sad that the people that were getting their hair braided, couldnt even notice that the girls were slaves. The people who are behind this should be ashamed.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that there was human trafficking here still in the United States. I think it should stop immediately, and people should make sure this doesn't go on. The people behind this should be captured and imprisoned. It's sad to know that these kids have lost their youth due to this terrible thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine that such a thing could still exist in the world today but then again many unjust activities occur around the globe. This is truly awful and we should do all we can to prevent this everywhere to protect the modern age's reputation of safety and equality or at least its progression towards that.
ReplyDelete