Human Trafficking: Looking into Modern Slavery

Mariah Qureshi

Dr. Melissa Kiehl

Catherine Tran & Barbara Sands

4/25/17
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Abstract

The research study concerns the prevention methods that may be taken against human

trafficking. Human trafficking--modern day slavery--is an infamous industry observed to be

rapidly increasing with each day. The primary issue revolving around human trafficking that

must be addressed is to determine how the link between slavery and law corruption can be

lessened successfully. To solve the issue, a data collection notebook was created and taken to

Pakistan, a country located in South Asia--the prime region of the research study. Law officials

actions were secretly observed as potential trafficking victims--mainly young children--

approached them, asking for money or help. Analysis of law officials actions was conducted and

the aspects of the link between trafficking and law corruption, in South Asia, were discovered.

After analyzing numerous situations, it was determined that law officials may be corrupt and

work with the trafficking captors, or they could simply be unobservant and careless. Though, the

former seems more likely. In order to ensure some type of change was made about these

circumstances, it was decided that a session between interested students and an anti-trafficking

official would be conducted, in order to educate the youth more about the alarming issues of

society today. Overall, the results exhibit that law corruption is the primary culprit, allowing

trafficking to quickly increase every day.

Introduction

Currently, there are 27 million individuals (Statistics) entrapped in the cycle of human

trafficking worldwide. Human trafficking is an atrocious issue that only increases with every

minute of every day, endangering the lives of millions. Human trafficking, also known as

modern day slavery, leads to individuals becoming subject to sexual, physical, and verbal abuse.

Human trafficking must be prevented through actions taken against law corruption. Measures
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taken against human trafficking include spreading awareness about the issue, which may be done

in a variety of different ways, as well as observing and taking actions against the obvious

corruption within law officials. The law officials seem to be the true culprits leading to the

crimes overall success. Within this paper, the seriousness of trafficking, trafficking and law

corruption, why it occurs culturally, and trafficking prevention methods in South Asia will be

discussed.

Review of Literature

Trafficking of persons only continues to increase with every moment of each day. Of the

three types of human trafficking - sex, labor, and debt bondage - debt bondage trafficking is

largely seen in South Asian countries. Often, Bangladeshi workers are promised to receive

satisfactory benefits of a job, offered by an unknown employer who is seemingly wealthy and

influential (Bangladesh). Though, once the workers arrive to the area in which they are

expected to work in, they realize that they have been lied to by the once potential employers that

had approached them (Bangladesh). These workers are then subject to endless amounts of

abuse, where if one does not work consistently, basic necessities - such as food and water - will

be restricted for an unknown amount of time (Bangladesh). Similarly, trafficking instances in

Pakistan mainly revolve around debt bondage as well. Iqbal Masih was a young boy trapped in

the system of trafficking, when his parents were convinced by an authoritative employer to let

Masih work for him to pay off his familys previous debts (D'Adamo, Iqbal). Since Masihs

parents were ignorant, due to a lack of education in their village, they agreed (D'Adamo,

Iqbal). Little did they know that Masih was then to be switched from one trafficker to another,

all of them forcing the young child to make carpets (D'Adamo, Iqbal). These carpets would

then be sold and shipped off to different countries around the world, as Pakistan is well-known
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for its carpet industry. At the age of 13, in 1995, Masih escaped from his torture and later on

freed thousands of children in Pakistan (D'Adamo, Iqbal). However, also at the age of 13,

Masih was shot to death in his village--just shortly after reuniting with his family (D'Adamo,

Iqbal). His assassins are unknown, though it is likely they are linked to the trafficking industry

(D'Adamo, Iqbal). One may note that Masihs story demonstrates the seriousness of

trafficking. Once one stands up against trafficking and rebels against the system, they are often

silenced by death. This allows trafficking to flourish and continue to increase, putting more and

more innocent civilians at risk.

Much of these workers mentioned earlier are also thrown into the world of sex

trafficking, rather than debt bondage. These workers may be illegally smuggled across the

borders of South Asian countries, and sold off to affluent and powerful buyers. The workers are

forced to engage in sexual acts with the buyer, as they are then considered his or her property.

When an individual is forced to engage in sexual acts for another to earn money, that individual

is a victim of sex trafficking. However, in this type of trafficking, one is often deceived by

another whom they trust immensely. This person could include a family member, friend, or an

acquaintance. Although, it is sensible for the person to be a family member - as an individual

wholly trusts a family member, rather than an acquaintance. For a variety of reasons, the trusted

individual then sells the victim to a trafficker, where the victim is relentlessly abused and thrust

into the horrific world of sex trafficking. Here, they are mishandled from one person to another,

and often, it is uncommon for these victims to survive.

As aforestated, 27 million individuals are already victims of trafficking around the world

(Statistics). Such a large amount of humankind is subject to slavery, yet what is taught in

school today is that slavery was abolished years ago. Though, slavery was clearly never
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abolished. Now that slavery takes place in such a sly manner, it is crucial to understand that

trafficking should be taught about in schools - more so, the seriousness of the act must be

stressed in educational facilities in order to at least inform individuals of what is actually going

on in the world today. It is necessary to know certain aspects of human trafficking, such as

slaves costing about $90 (10 Disturbing Facts about Human Trafficking You Need to Know)

throughout the world, as if a human being has the value similar to a piece of clothing.

Trafficking occurs even in local areas, such as within the most commonly used highways

in Ellicott City, Maryland. In the United States alone, Washington DC is a hotspot for human

trafficking (Sands) - an alarming fact, considering how close DC is to Ellicott City, Maryland.

Little does one think when gazing out of a car window, of how trafficking victims may be

trapped within the vehicles - moreover, trucks - not more than a few feet away. Often, when

trafficking is brought up, one may think that they are free from any harm because of the

protected environment in which they reside. However, this type of mentality is quite ill-advised.

As previously stated, trafficking occurs everywhere, the act is just executed in a more secretive

manner, which is precisely why it is often given less attention to. In order to understand the

seriousness of trafficking, children must learn how to take protective measures in order to avoid

trafficking, or maybe help one they suspect of being entangled within the trafficking system

(Sands).

In addition, US data reports completed on trafficking in Bangladesh and Pakistan

mention that law corruption plays a key role in the occurrence of trafficking. The Government

of Pakistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of

trafficking (Pakistan)--the governments in these countries do not act on trafficking, which

allows the issue to continue to grow and flourish. The US Data Report completed on Nepal states
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that law corruption seems to be quite common, primarily because trafficking victims are

transported across nation borders. It is extremely difficult to illegally smuggle one across the

border, especially if the person has been kidnapped. However, knowing someone on the border

patrol who is willing to help the trafficker smuggle the victim significantly reduces the difficulty

of the situation (Nepal).

Culture and human trafficking are closely linked together in South Asia. Culture accounts

for one of the reasons stating why exactly human trafficking occurs. As it is widely known, males

used to be culturally regarded as dominant to females in every aspect within South Asia. Though

in some areas, males are definitely superior to females and vice versa, numerous men used this

dominance to physically harm women. Understandably, not all men acted in this heinous

manner. However, some certainly did many years ago. Females would be relentlessly beaten and

sexually abused, which may contribute to a common South Asian mindset obtained amongst

individuals today. One may state that from primary observations, this mindset seems to be one of

where women are perceived as subservient to men. Though mankind has come a long way from

this unjust cultural system, one can still see its lingering remains left in South Asia today.

However, it is crucial to understand that in most impoverished South Asian villages, this mindset

where women are depicted as powerless is still utilized, primarily because those in the villages

do not have access to education (Tran). In addition, perhaps the corruption within law officials is

linked to this cultural mindset as well. The lingering remains of this mindset may have impacted

human trafficking to target more women -usually in a sexual manner- than men.

The aforementioned cultural mindset worsens human trafficking in numerous ways. Rape

is directly connected to sex trafficking, as rape is a form of sexual abuse that victims of sex

trafficking are forced to endure. Individuals experience horrific acts of sexual abuse under sex
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trafficking, and this cultural mindset only worsens the ordeal because it feeds into the sickening

idea that women are nothing more than objects - allowing traffickers to further harm victims (5

Heartbreaking Accounts of Sexual Abuse in Modern India.).

Though it would certainly take a considerable amount of time, this mindset can definitely

change overtime. However, this still wont ensure the complete prevention of trafficking, as

some traffickers are only involved in the system to earn money - not as a result of their cultural

mindset. Overall, this mindset will be changed the instant that families of South Asia begin to

teach their children about trafficking. Families must also teach their children that one gender is

not more powerful than another gender. In general, South Asian families must teach children that

everyone should be treated in a just manner - no one should ever be treated like a slave.

Traffickers often participate in this system as a result of cultural mindset, as

aforementioned, yet greed is also involved. Traffickers usually come from unsatisfying financial

means, which serves as another explanation as to why traffickers engage in trafficking. Once

traffickers start to traffic individuals, it is often difficult to abstain from these illegal activities.

The trafficker could be targeted by more powerful officials if they refuse to do as ordered. Even

if the trafficker wants to stop trafficking, there is often a fear held of federal authorities

imprisoning the trafficker. Though, usually, it seems that the traffickers do not stop because they

are addicted to the quick and fast money they earn as a result of these sex and labor slaves under

their command. This money enables them to fulfill their desires (Human Trafficking is Caused

by the Greed of Criminals).

As aforestated, human trafficking thrives in many countries. However, one may ask why

exactly does trafficking thrive in countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are

predominantly Islamic nations. However, it is well known that Islam forbids the occurrence of
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this type of inequality to take place. Moreover, these occurrences take place anyways because of

the fact that culture is often mixed in with religion. Individuals force women into prostitution or

marriage ("Human Trafficking and Forced Marriages.") because Islam states to do so--only,

the Quran does not. Prostitution - a form of sex trafficking - is very common in Afghanistan

(Human Trafficking, Prostitution Thrive in Afghanistan). Mainly, one would state it thrives so

much because of the way women in general are treated in the country--they are powerless and

deemed as worthless. Since the women sometimes are ignorant because they have not been

provided an education, they continue to believe that they are insignificant--and then, this system

continues to flourish because there is not firm or effective opposition.

On the other hand, the Maldives recently signed an anti trafficking law (Maldives Signs

Anti Human Trafficking Protocol). The passage of this law demonstrates that various countries

are taking measures against trafficking, and are working to lessen its happenings. Though human

trafficking continues to develop, many measures against the act are being taken all over the

world. Countries in South Asia have at least acknowledged that trafficking is an immense and

crucial issue, and are working on enforcing prevention measures.

Research Methods and Data Collection

Corruption within law officials is known to be one of the primary reasons that accounts

for human trafficking. A research question was developed based on this information--which

advances can be made toward lessening the amount of human trafficking amongst all young

adults within South Asia? From this research question, it was hypothesized that a declined

amount of corruption within law officials will greatly lessen the occurrence of human trafficking

within South Asian countries. To collect data, a data collection notebook was created. This data

collection notebook was utilized to record observances and analysis in the country of Pakistan.
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When visiting Pakistan, one observed how law officials seemed a bit indifferent to the events

going on around them. For instance, in Lahore, many children would run up to cars driving on

the street and beg the passengers inside for money (Appendix A). The officers would not ask the

children if they had any food to eat, or a place to sleep that night. Perhaps the officers had a

sufficient reason as to why they refused to help the children. However, one would still believe

that the officers should have investigated this situation in order to ensure that the children were

not being trafficked. Another reason as to why the officers did not assist the children begging for

money may be that the officers were involved in the trafficking system as well. Iqbal Masih

recalled how when he tried to escape from captivity initially, he was brought back to his

trafficker because the man had bribed a few police officials (D'Adamo, Iqbal). Within South

Asia, law corruption is known to occur on a regular basis. Often, traffickers bribe border patrols

when smuggling victims from one country to another. At the end of the research process, all

entries from the notebook were compiled electronically and printed out in a book-format. The

product expected to be created from this research process is the conduction of a human

trafficking session--where members of the STOP (Stop Trafficking of Persons) Club at Mount

Hebron High School would shadow an anti-trafficking official for one day.

When Barbara Sands was interviewed (Appendix B), she mentioned how the law often

prevents trafficking victims from being rescued. This instance does not exactly fall under the

category of law corruption, however, it does exemplify how laws must be changed in order to

help trafficking victims. Sands described how a persons family must wait for 48 hours before

filing a missing persons report (Sands). However, it solely takes 48 hours for the trafficking

captor to kidnap the trafficking victim and disappear from the face of the earth (Sands).
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Catherine Tran mentioned the link between human trafficking and the black market when

interviewed (Appendix B). Tran stated that the fact that there is so little known about the link

between the black market and human trafficking just further allows the industry to develop. It is

widely known the black market involves the transportation of illegal substances - in some cases,

people - including drugs, machinery, and even human body parts. However, those involved in the

black market are often sure not to leave any tracks when they conduct their business. Although,

participants in this market are caught at times, they reveal little information about the black

market itself.

Discussion and Conclusion

The research study may have been much more thorough if the time spent in Pakistan was

extended, though it had to be cut short due to school and work schedules. Human trafficking only

continues to increase in numbers every second of the day. Without properly establishing global

prevention methods against trafficking, the amount of victims will never decrease. Individuals

around the world are forced to engage in sexually abusive acts and work hours on end every day,

while others pretend that this modern day form of slavery does not exist. It must be known that

the power to end human trafficking is in every persons hands, but it is up to the individual

themself whether he or she will use that power to help those who cannot help themselves.
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Works Cited

Anonymous, and Gabriel H. Sanchez. 5 Heartbreaking Accounts of Sexual Abuse in

Modern India. Buzzfeed, 2 Oct. 2016, www.buzzfeed.com/anonwriter/heartbreaking-

accounts-of-child-rape-in-india?utm_ter=.paKal8NlmX#.rszMlgvl64. Accessed 12 Oct.

2016.

"Bangladesh." US Department of State: Diplomacy in Action, 16 Nov. 2016,

www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2015/243392.htm. Accessed 16 Nov.

2016.

D'Adamo, F., & Leonori, A. (2003). Iqbal. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

"Human Trafficking Is Caused by the Greed of Criminals." Gale, www.gale.com/.

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"Human Trafficking, Prostitution Thrive in Afghanistan." DW, www.dw.com/en/

human-trafficking-prostitution-thrive-in-afghanistan/a-16327746.

M, Judy. "10 Disturbing Facts about Human Trafficking You Need to Know."

Care2, 10 Jan. 2017, www.care2.com/causes/

10-disturbing-facts-about-human-trafficking-you-need-to-know.html.

Mustafa, Ammara Gul. "Human Trafficking and Forced Marriages." Dailytimes, 6

Nov. 2016,

dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/07-Nov-16/human-trafficking-and-forced-marriages.

Accessed 6 Nov. 2016.

Naish, Ahmed. "Maldives Signs Anti-Human Trafficking Protocol." Maldives

Independent, 28 Dec. 2015, maldivesindependent.com/politics/

maldives-signs-anti-human-trafficking-protocol-121018.

Sands, Barbara. Telephone interview. 6 Mar. 2016.

Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2016, from

http://www.mdhumantrafficking.org/statistics/

Tran, Catherine. Telephone interview. 10 Jan. 2017.

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Appendix A
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Appendix B

Interview Questions
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1.) In my research so far, Ive found that there are three major types of human trafficking -
known to be sex, labor, and debt bondage trafficking. Do you think putting an end to one
of these types of trafficking should be stressed more than others? Why?
2.) Do you believe that the steps taken against human trafficking today are sufficient enough
to eventually lead to human trafficking ending permanently? Or do you think something
more should be done to combat trafficking?
3.) How do you think human trafficking in South Asia could be lessened?
4.) Throughout my research, Ive continuously been encountering sources that discuss the
link between human trafficking and the black market. However, these sources dont go in
depth about the link. How does the black market enable human trafficking to occur?
5.) Ive learned that in places within South Asia, trafficking victims can be easily lured into
the system because of the location in which they live in, as well as how educated they
are. In the US, how does the perpetrator usually lure in a potential victim of trafficking?
6.) Do you believe there is a connection between human trafficking in South Asia and
corruption within law officials in those South Asian countries?