Human trafficking, close to home By SEPIDEH SAFAEE Staff Reporter SOSSO34OPSU.EDU "Christelle is a young girl living in Togo, West Africa she is a victim of child trafficking and survived a return home to start her life again (www. Planusa.org) Fighting child and trafficking, stories from children." This is her story: "One day a woman named Yawa came to my village to talk with another woman...about me. The two women told my mother that I could make a lot of money working in Gabon and that I would be able to continue my education while there. They said I would be in good hands and safe. Yawa returned with three other girls and we were taken by another lady found to be, a suburb of Lorme, then on a bus to Benin. We had to cross the Togo-Benin border on foot then took another vehicle to Cotonou, the capital, where we were brought together with another thirty girls. We were fed sugar, flour and steamed dough. From there, we took a boat to Cotonou. We were kept in the back, hidden under a tarp. We were at sea for seven days. When we reached Gabon, the police were on patrol. The crew fled the boat and we were taken in canoes to a village on the water. We were put on a bus to Gabon where we were finally reunited with Yawa. A few days later, I was brought to stay with a couple who owned a shop where I was to help out. After a few days of work, I started having trouble. The woman began insulting me, Fr'‘ calling me a thief, and hitting me. When she was away, her husband would touch me. I was afraid of him, but he kept threatening me. Then one night, he raped me. It was not long before I became aware of the signs. I knew I was pregnant. When I told the couple, they sent me away. I was helpless, on the streets of a strange place. Somehow I found the Togolese embassy and they helped me return home." There is a misconception that slavery has died, but it is still going on. Slavery is now known in the twenty-first century as Human Trafficking. Men, women, and children usually from poverty stricken countries come to the United States in search of a better life, but are often exploited by traffickers. There are an estimate of eighteen Photo courtesy of googlio.com Above is a map of routes of human trfficting into the United States to twenty thousand people trafficked each year into the United States, and approximately eight-hundred to nine-hundred thousand people being trafficked worldwide. The majority of the victims are women and children. Thirty- five percent of the trafficked victims are under the age of 18. The victims are not only forced into labor, but are also forced to engage in sexual activities. Traffickers recruit their victims through false advertisements in newspapers offering good jobs at high pay or use modeling or match making agencies to lure unsuspecting young men and women. Traffickers will threaten their victims by verbal or sometimes physical abuse. Millions of immigrants who are trafficked ."4”* t into the United States are afraid to report their abuse for the fear that they would be seen as criminals or will be detected and deported. The most profitable part oftrafficking involves sex trafficking in women and children. "The sex trade has emerged as an issue ofglobal concern. Sex trafficking includes force prostitution, bride trafficking, child prostitution, and child pornography. Girls as young as twelve are sold to traffickers, usually virgins are repeatedly raped. This is a process used by traffickers to break their victim's sprit, so that they becomeeasiertocontrol(lnternational Organization for Migration)." Children who are also sold into sex trades are often exploited to physical violence where beatings and rape are a daily occurrence. They are also more venerable to sexually transmitted diseases. According to Anti-Slavery International "The trafficking of children has assumed alarming proportions. Child trade is a huge business, with billions of U.S. dollars made annually worldwide. Thousand of children are being reduced to human misery. They are bought and sold to satisfy perverted sexual appetites, to provide slave labor or to be harvested for their organs and body parts." A recent article in Guardian newspaper reported the case of a retired Italian Couple who had been arrested for buying a 3 year old Albanian boy. The couple paid six thousand dollars to the trafficking gang that specialized in underage trafficking. The boy allegedly had been sold by his father for a color T.V. This is a seriously devastating issue which is going on right know, but there is far less international effort to help stop child trafficking then there is to stop Global Warming. There are many non-profit organization against human trafficking: The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) www.CATWintemational.or_ and The Polaris Project: for a world without slavery www. polarisproject. rmy National Guard e are prepared you'll 1 be part of a team. r, faster and stronger land force prepared nges that lie ahead. part of this team, and • beret with prime. CmYLienciar Penn State Harrisburg Diversity and Educational Equity Committee Presents The Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Lecture Series 2007-2008 Theme— "The Anatomy of Social Justice: Still Dreaming" Shaun L. Gabbidon, Ph.D. Professor of Criminal Justice February 19, 2008 12:30 p.m. Gallery Lounge, Olmsted Grupo Latino Cuban Band 12:15-1:15 p.m. Stack's Stage February 20, 2008 Mind Tripping 9:30-10:30 p.m. Community Center Singer/songwriter Andrew ThingsNeedT° You Know Finance Club for the Spring semes ter 2008 has started. Come join us in learning about stocks and creating a student portfolio. We meet every Thursday at 12:30 in Olmsted - Room 334 e. Pizza is provided. Inter- ested? Just show up or contact Alex Kravets asksos7@psu.edu. All students are invited to meet informally with Chancel lor Madlyn L. Hanes and mem bers of the Student Govern ment Association Tuesday, February 26 from 7 to 8:15 p.m. in the Olmsted Lobby. Light refreshments will be served. Tarnhelm Lireary magazine will be accepting submissions of artwork, poetry and short stories. Submit all work by March 14. Visit http:// www.hbg.psu.edu/clubs/tarnhelm/ guides.htm for more information. The free shuttle service from the campus to the Village of THE CAPITAL TIMES (Koji) Shiraki will play acous tic guitar and is joined by his band. They will perform on Tuesday, February 26th at 9 p.m. It's FREE and open to anyone and will be held in the Olmsted Cafeteria on Stack's Stage. Funded by SAF. Central PA Employment Consor tium (CPEC) Tues. Feb. 19, 2008 10 am —3 pm Radisson Hotel, Camp Hill, PA www.cpec.info Penn State Harrisburg's first-ever "Feel Your Boobies" women's bas ketball game will be held Feb ruary 20th, 2008 at 7:00 pm against the visiting Phoenix of Wilson Col lege. The event is designed to raise money for the Feel Your Boobies Foundation and to encour- Pineford in Middletown and to the Willow Garden Apart ments in Highspire will con tinue until the end of the se mester. The shuttle will leave at 9:15 p.m. from the bus stop located behind the Olmsted Building (Penn State Way), Monday through Thursday. For information, contact the Student Life Office at 948- 6018. The Office of Human Resources is pleased to announce a 12-week At Work Weight Watchers program for the Spring Semester at Penn State Harrisburg. A minimum of 15 participants is needed to host the classes, sched uled for Thursdays at 1 pm on the following dates: February 21 - Library Conference Room April 3 -207 W Olmsted February 28 -207 W Olmsted April 10 -207 W Olmsted March 6 -207 W Olmsted April 17 -207 W Olmsted March 13 -207 W Olmsted April 24 - Library Conference has been proven in war, st century. Once you've f something greater than February 18, 2008 age prevention and early detec- tion of breast cancer. Fans are en couraged to wear pink to the game, and Penn State Harrisburg asks attendees to make a donation. Also, the gate for the game will be donated to the foundation, which is located in Middletown, PA INTRAMURAL DODGEBALL - Entry forms can be picked up in the CUB. Deadline for entries is February 15. Mandatory team captains' meeting is Feb. 19 at 12:30 in room 217 CUB. INTRAMURAL SINGLES RAC QUETBALL - Entry forms can be picked up in the CUB Deadline for entries is February 15. Mandatory players' meeting is Feb. 19 at 9:15 PM in room 217 CUB. Room March 20 -207 W Olmsted 1 -207 W Olmsted March 27 -207 W Olmsted 8 -207 W Olmsted To register: Click on the following link (http://www.ohr.psu.edu/HealthMat ters/catalog/ healthmatters.cfrn). Select Weight Management from the program list and click "view courses." Then choose Weight Watchers (WEL 018). You MUST register for WEL 018 in the Health Matters system to be reimbursed. The deadline to register for the At-Work Weight Watchers program is February 18, 2008.
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