Katie Ford, the CEO of Ford Models, is finding new ways to battle human trafficking. She connects the opportunity of modeling, a handsomely paid career, to the opportunities an immigrant would experience when migrating to the U.S.. However, there is a dark side to being a recruited model, and to migrating to an entirely new country. One might not know for sure what they are getting into. This is often the scenario that gets people stuck in the world of trafficking. An example, as provided by the article, is the story of Shandra Woworuntu. She came to the U.S. in search of employment, and ended up being sold into sex trafficking. Shandra was not allowed to leave the traffickers until she made enough money for them. Hence, she escaped a few times. One of those times, she escaped for good, and got a few traffickers arrested in the process. After receiving help from Freedom For All, Ford's foundation to help victims of trafficking (and hopefully end trafficking for good), Shandra began to help victims like herself as well. Katie Ford's long-term goal is to see modern slavery disappear during her lifetime, and she's doing everything in her power to make sure it will.
In U.S. history as well as world history in general, slavery is a common trend for the advancement of one group due to the recession of another. Shandra Woworuntu in particular reminds me of Harriet Tubman and her efforts to help slaves escape through the underground railroad after doing so herself. Woworuntu's heroism is definitely more respected today than Tubman's was at her time, and I think this is a very positive outlook. It generates hope that maybe one day all forms of slavery will disappear, only to be found in a history textbook. This is perfectly summed up when Ford says, "Today, if we saw somebody chained to a post, we would do something about it, but in the days of the transatlantic slave trade, that was normal. People's attitudes change, but they have to know what they're seeing". For the future of American history, I hope Ford is successful in her endeavors to end human trafficking.
In conclusion, human trafficking has plagued centuries of world history. But it's still not over. People assume that with the abolishment of slavery in 1865, all forms of slavery are only in the past. Today, slavery has no preference- women, men, children of any background are illegally sold into the misery of trafficking. Awareness is essential to true abolishment, and neither will happen if people continue to distance themselves from the reality of modern slavery. Denying the underlying presence of slavery in our culture is to dismiss the significance of the lives of the victims involved. And no lives should be dismissed because of the refusal to accept one's own culture.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/11/world/katie-ford-model-way-slave-labor-fashion/?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion&iref=obinsite
Connor Coleman, 8th Period:
ReplyDeleteHuman Trafficking is a global issues, but it hits the USA hard due to us being a well-known import/export country. We have severe issues with this on our coasts and Mexican/Canadian borders. I know quite a bit about this touchy subject due to my big sister researching this topic as an independent study workshop for the past two years and I have come to understand the true horrors. I have even helped my sister watch the children of human trafficking victims at anonymous group therapies and it's hard just to see their reactions. Your connections of human trafficking to the time where slavery is a flawless example. Both show heinous illegal acts being committed in a time where either it doesn't seem wrong or no one knows that it's going on. This article has really made me think and your analysis has helped quite a bit. I would love to have in-depth conversations with you in person!
Thank you!
Delete-Maddie
It is heartbreaking to read and learn about the alarmingly high statistics regarding the sex trafficking industry, but stories like these bring a wonderful light of hope to the cause for breaking every chain in our world today. It is a huge problem that the majority of United States citizens have mostly disregarded the subject and are quite uneducated about it even though it is a very present and prevalent issue that is roaring loud and clear into the suffering ears of millions at this very moment. I believe that although the steps that are being taken to permanently abolish slavery are tremendous, educating as many people as possible about the issue and what they can do to help would turn those steps into leaps and bounds. By shining a light on the issue, it makes it much harder for those running the slave industry to hide..
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