It appears I'm not the only cyberspace writer who is discussing human trafficking and sex slavery - a member of another anti-slavery coalition/foundation has contributed a blog post to Fox News, and he makes some fair points.
Brent Martz produced a film titled "Not Today - The Movie," promoted by the Not Today Coalition. The coalition, as does Martz' contributing post, focuses on the problem of human trafficking in India, specifically Dalit women (see "Who are Dalits?" for more specifics) . The title of the post is actually "Human trafficking will not end until it ends in India." My first response (prior to actually reading the post): Why?
Turns out Mr. Martz essentially knew I'd be coming up with the question, as he raises the question himself: "But with 27 million modern-day slaves around the world, 100,000 of which are child prostitutes in the United States, why do the Dalits matter?" I'm glad he could essentially read my train of thought - I don't feel so ignorant anymore.
Martz goes on to say that "the Dalits matter because human trafficking will not come to an end around the world, until it comes to an end in India." Yeah, okay, so it's a big issue in India...but what else? It's a big issue in the U.S., Russia, and Kenya too. However, Martz backs up his hypothetical questions with facts. He cites statistics direct from the U.N., which indicate that "India is the epicenter of human trafficking - including 100 million people, with 1.2 million child prostitutes." These statistics alone lead to a statement of fact from the U.N.: "the most dangerous place in the world to a girl or woman is India."
I don't usually tell personal stories in my posts - or write about tangential topics - but before I continue to discuss statistics, I have a relevant experience that I need to share. Upon my graduation from college I worked for four and a half months as a crowd control worker in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Florida. Around mid-fall (November, prior to Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season) I'd noticed an influx of tourists of Indian descent coming to visit the Magic Kingdom - all of who came toting toddler-age or younger children. The parents had a different urgency about the manner in which they monitored their children that was different from the parenting of their American counterparts. In one particular case, an adult of Indian descent approached me about getting first aid for her child who was suffering from asthma. I directed her and her child toward the first aid pavilion, which seemed to be a workable solution at first. On our way to the pavilion, the mother questioned me about if her child would be supervised while receiving care, if the child would get lost while waiting for first aid, and other questions about her child being lost - that at the time, seemed irrational to me, especially since Disney World is so well-staffed.
I asked a friend of mine who I know from high school, who is of Indian descent, why parents who share her culture are seemingly obsessed with making sure their kids don't get lost - and she had an answer that makes even more sense now (after reading this blog post) than it did at the time. The parents are afraid of kidnappers.
However, Martz' story goes on to state that Dalits give up their children to slavery "for a mere $17." He also makes another excellent point - that Dalits are not well trained in self-esteem as members of the lowest caste in India's former caste system. The caste system is long since outlawed - but government officials do not even have the decency to inform the Dalits that they no longer have to worry about castes.
Martz' does go on to give what ultimately turns out to be a commercial for the Not Today Coalition; however, he is quick to offer solutions to the trafficking problems among the Dalits. He discusses education, "teachers who believe in them [Dalits]," and "community" before going to details of his Not Today Coalition. The coalition's goal is to "fund 1,000 schools, affecting 25,000 communities, impacting 500,000 Dalit children per year."
Clearly Mr. Martz has done his homework. The numbers seem idealistic, but his type of idealism is what is needed to combat the worldwide problem of sex slavery. Maybe it does start in India and it will grow - it certainly has to start somewhere. Idealism - rather than half-assed legislation - is what will spark what Mr. Martz calls "doing" rather than "shouting."
I asked a friend of mine who I know from high school, who is of Indian descent, why parents who share her culture are seemingly obsessed with making sure their kids don't get lost - and she had an answer that makes even more sense now (after reading this blog post) than it did at the time. The parents are afraid of kidnappers.
However, Martz' story goes on to state that Dalits give up their children to slavery "for a mere $17." He also makes another excellent point - that Dalits are not well trained in self-esteem as members of the lowest caste in India's former caste system. The caste system is long since outlawed - but government officials do not even have the decency to inform the Dalits that they no longer have to worry about castes.
Martz' does go on to give what ultimately turns out to be a commercial for the Not Today Coalition; however, he is quick to offer solutions to the trafficking problems among the Dalits. He discusses education, "teachers who believe in them [Dalits]," and "community" before going to details of his Not Today Coalition. The coalition's goal is to "fund 1,000 schools, affecting 25,000 communities, impacting 500,000 Dalit children per year."
Clearly Mr. Martz has done his homework. The numbers seem idealistic, but his type of idealism is what is needed to combat the worldwide problem of sex slavery. Maybe it does start in India and it will grow - it certainly has to start somewhere. Idealism - rather than half-assed legislation - is what will spark what Mr. Martz calls "doing" rather than "shouting."
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