What We Don't Know, Won't Hurt Us

The original reason I decided to pursue human trafficking as the topic of my blog was because I felt like it was a relevant issue to research since a close friend of mine is about to delve into one of the greatest epicenters of human trafficking (Southeast Asia) on her upcoming mission trip. Nonetheless, as I continue to read blogs, reports, and statistics, I get teary-eyed at the thought of innocent humans being lied to and exploited against their will. 


The purpose of this post is to be a voice to the cold, hard facts of the situation. As I scrolled through stats given by the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, two facts caught my attention. One proved that over "95% of victims experienced physical or sexual violence" while being trafficked. The other statement made my mouth drop in disgust when it mentioned only 1 out of every 800 people trafficking others are ever convicted of the crime! Have we really been that blind to such an evil force?  Many of us are surprised at the fact that these modern-day slaves are imported to America, and it happens in every state and metropolitan center in the nation.


So the facts are laid out, but how do they even effect us? Americans are individualistic creatures. Many times we go about our daily lives until an issue directly influences us and causes us to take action. Sometimes we refuse to be empathetic to a cause we know nothing about but, picture this. Your sister or younger cousin etc. starts hanging out with an older man. You are livid and demand she stops this. She argues he is a nice guy that buys her things and gives her attention. He's even offered to help her pay for college upon her graduation in a year. The next day, she is missing. Months later...I'll let your imagination fill in the blank of the multiple possibilities. Seriously, play that scenario in your head. It's almost instinctive to become defensive for her at the very thought. 


 I feel almost hypocritical being so convicting in a blog when I haven't made a huge contribution to prevent these acts although I have hopefully sparked an interest in someone's heart. It's a start.


On an end note, I'm leaving a clip from a movie I mentioned before. I hope it helps you relate to the realities of this issue.

Rhetorical Analysis of Human Trafficking Through the Media

Americans often relate human trafficking with other countries such as India or China.  However, not only does human trafficking have a broader scope of definition, it is very prevelant in America, a seemingly established, first world country.

 

Out of the three articles that I found, two were from an actual news source such as night-time news on FOX or ABC. The other articles was found on "the Onion." Keep in mind, our general views about these two outlets.  I want to generalize the common reaction that an audience would have when hearing something about human trafficking. Human trafficking is viewed as immoral under any circumstance, therefore a common reaction to an article about it would mainly be of disgust or a similar response.

The first news article I read was about a man by the name of Vincent Edward Broussard abducting two women and planning to obtain money in exchange of the girls demonstrating sexual favors on another man. Without going into further detail on the story, the article seems objective enough. Very little pathos was displayed from the news source itself. However, the beauty of displaying a "side" on a certain situation by a media source is letting other people share their thoughts and opinions on the subject at hand. Many comments were made about the stupidity of women getting into a stranger's car and the concern/relief that they were lucky enough to live another day. This obviously shows discontent towards Vincent and his schemes. Key words can also play on pathos of an audience through the knews. For instance a quote from the article states, " Luckily, that's when Sand Springs police intervened chased, stopped and cuffed Broussard."

Along with the article just mentioned, the video clip of another human trafficking case uses logos to induce its audience with an emotion. With a common knowledge that human trafficking is represented as a despicable act to ever commit throughout any given population, simply reporting an instance of this stirs negative emotions towards the violators. The consensus of the act is already weighted towards the favor of the innocent people who are victimized by human trafficking. However, this is the general ethos of a regular news station: report the facts, possibly investigate foul play and share it with the public. There aren't visible agendas people are trying to take care of.

Finally, we arrive to a short article found on the Onion. This article makes light of human trafficking by using sarcasm and witty comments. Although the blurb is literally a sentence with some quotes by different characters, the pathos is definitely greater. This article can literally be seen by anyone who has internet access and has a desire to go to the website. That's a quite diverse population. Since it's so diverse, many people will have their own ethnocentric view towards it. An old, white woman might be appalled that anything like this would be posted, a younger adult might find it humorous, yet a woman who has been subjected to trafficking or even a similar type of violence might find it crude and unsympathetic. The ethos of the organization is to be judgemental towards no one particular group or person but to make fun of everyone equally. There is already a predetermined thought process before any article is written that you can't please everyone with your opinion, so you might as well say what you want. Despite the jokes surrounding a serious matter, there is still a weighted opinion, shared between writer and reader alike, that human trafficking is atrocious. Ultimately, even though these type of articles do evoke pathos from most people (even if it is a laugh and not a grunt of disgust), logos provides common ground between the author and its audience on this situation.

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Texas-man-arrested-for-human-trafficking-two/LZ0fz823c0auXlqd-bTmCA.cspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg-W6PHO4Rs

http://www.theonion.com/articles/super-bowl-draws-underage-prostitutes,19038/

So...what's the deal about Human Trafficking?

Before I begin, I want to clarify a couple things.

1. This is an assignment for my English 241 class: Rhetorics of Violence and its Alternatives

2. I have never really blogged, so I'm kind of nervous about this whole process, especially the grading. 

Now then, this blog is designed to talk about human trafficking, a form of violence that people may or may not realize is an extreme threat to women all over the world. So what is human trafficking in a nutshell? Wikpedia describes it as "the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, or a modern-day form of slavery." Yes, I just used Wikipedia.

Human trafficking can be found in multiple media outlets whether it is on the big screen (Taken, 2008) or Twitter. There are so many stories out there revolving around this seedy business of buying and selling girls.  I have multiple questions that I, ultimately, want to find the answer to over the course of this blog, and I feel like once I answer one, it will only lead to another unanswered question.

Why is this issue so important to me? One of my best friends is about to endure a year-long missionary trip called the World Race, something that I am also looking into after college. She will be going to 11 countries in 11 months. Most of these areas are extremely dangerous and include countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Thailand, Cambodia, Latvia and Lithuania. She will only be with 5 other people for an entire year. If these are countries rampant with human trafficking (among other things), how safe is she? Is she at greater risk than the natives of each country? If she is at a less risk, is it because men don't care who they take, it's just their job. How many women are willingly submitting themselves to trafficking for their family's benefit or other sacrificial reasoning?

I hope I am able to find some type of relief and gain a greater knowledge of the subject throughout this project.

Until Next Time,

Rachel