Modern Slavery In The USA free essay sample

I became a student at the university back in 2010 and I was interested in nursing and psychology. Both these fields of studies required me to take two English classes and English W132 was one of them. I knew it was going to be similar to W131 but not as hard. When one hears about a writing class, they do not think that it can be very time consuming and involving a lot of research work and studying. Human trafficking has been a major social injustice and also considered to be a heinous crime. We as people have come in contact with a person who is a victim but we do not recognize that that person is being held captive and used as a slave laborer. Human trafficking is not allowed in the united states but just because it is the law does not mean that it does not exist. Topic and question at Issue This topic interests me because I watch a lot of television and see the anguish and torture people go through all around the word when they fall victim of human trafficking. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Slavery In The USA or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It hurts a lot that I cannot help but just taking notice and deciding to write about it makes me learn more about the issue and I can be able to educate my peers about it. This is a human rights issue because it violates the rights of people to have freedom. We have a right to own our own property, live freely and enjoy life’s basic needs but the traffickers deny their victims this right. They hold them hostage and treat them like the scum of the earth. We are all equal and everyone deserves a chance to be in a fair and just world and when this is taken away, a person is like a slave in a place that is supposed to protect them. As I write my last argument for this class, my question at issue is â€Å"has the united states done enough to combat human trafficking or do they need to enact stricter laws and penalties to protect the victims? † this question has really evolved since I started research on my paper and the more research I did, the more the question became more important and I had to find answers to it. It surprised me to find out that in the united states, human trafficking has not always been in the fore front of issues. Yes, laws have been set forth to protect the victims but they have not been properly enforced and this is due to our government officials failing us. The people who are sworn y=to protect and serve the citizens, especially law enforcers have been marred by greed and have been taking bribes from the traffickers. This in turn has made the victims so scared to report the torture and abuse they go through and end up just suffering in the hands of their captors. Enthymeme and Argument After much research, I ended up with the following enthymeme â€Å"the United States may need to do more to combat human trafficking because the laws are frequently not being enforced properly, it is continuously increasing, and it is often due to weak penalties. † After reading all the instructors comments and doing more research on my topic, I realized that the above enthymeme is what I needed to focus on when I am writing my last argument. I added qualifiers to make my claim more believable. I need my audience to know that I present this claim with confident uncertainty because I am cautious and critical about the data and research I am presenting. The qualifiers I used are may, frequently and often and they show the reader that my claim does have limitations due to the research I have conducted. They also show my audience that my claim can be argued because the qualifiers are making them believe that my claim is valid. It is about time that the United States came up with better laws and stiffer penalties to combat human trafficking. There are some laws that have been put in place to stop this type of social injustice but not enforced effectively. At this time, the question at issue is not whether the United States has done enough to stop the trade of humans but simply â€Å"Should the United States do more to combat human trafficking? † I came up with this question after reading a lot of literature on human trafficking and finding out that it is still an ongoing issue which has never been abolished. We are in the 21st. century and have not yet found a solution to combat human trade which is a heinous crime against humanity. After researching a lot on this topic and doing some soul searching, I decided to take the following position; human trafficking should be illegal because it’s a grave social injustice against humanity. To back up this claim of policy, I took to the internet to make myself more familiar with the issue. There were a lot of  journal articles that were discussing the different ways that the government has tried to stop human trafficking but most of them were concluding that the laws were not tough enough and that some government officials were involved in the trade. Human trafficking is the worst crime that can be committed by anyone because it denies a person the right to freedom and equality making it a grave social injustice. Another reason is that I had to revisit the definition of human trafficking from all angles. I had to take into account child labor, forced labor, sex labor of men, women and children, and the factors that lead to trafficking. I chose to pick the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons in Palermo, Italy (2000) definition of human trafficking which states that it is â€Å"the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation† (Gozdziak, and Collett 6). This definition does not state that human trafficking only affects one gender or group of people but instead includes all human regardless of age, gender and sex. Some of my sources have listed different definitions of human trafficking and mostly concentrating on women and young girls. This paper is written to an audience with a background of social justice issues and that also includes my classmates and instructor. I believe that we all share the same assumption that human trafficking should be illegal because it is a heinous crime against humanity while denying them the rights and freedom that are supposed to enhance their well-being. The victims undergo cruel and unfair treatment which none of us can imagine going through and for this reason, I intend to persuade my audience that my paper is relevant and credible. It is going to have clear reasons to back up my claim from all the research work I have conducted. My audience will need to answer the question of whether the government has already done enough to stop human trafficking. I need to be careful when talking about the laws enacted because I will be addressing this issue happening in the United States even if I am only a permanent resident instead of being a citizen. Some of my audience members might feel like I am interfering with their governmental policies and I am not even originally from here. I also need to make my paper easy to read and straight to the point instead of trying to make them search for the hidden massages. The best evidence that I have found so far is a lot of literature written about this issue, especially peer reviewed articles written by renowned authors and researchers. Most of the literature articles are from published academic journals from people who have dedicated their research solely on human trafficking. Most of these articles support my claim that asks the question â€Å"which laws are set forth to stop human trafficking? † The research articles that I have gathered have a lot of evidence and explanations on the issue that United States has not enacted better laws to combat human trafficking. They do support my claim that not enough has been done to stop this ongoing problem and also show that the laws enacted are not being fully enacted by the government officials. Some counterarguments will arise while writing my final paper and the biggest one I have so far is that there is not enough research conducted in the past or present for me to come to my conclusions and fully support my claim. I will need to answer the question of â€Å"what if the united states has already done enough to stop human trafficking? † Another one will be that the United States has put forth enough resources to stop human trafficking but humans are the ones subjecting themselves to this kind of atrocities because they are trying to run from their home countries to better themselves in the United States hence making the crime a difficult one to prosecute. Most of my articles will be the evidence I use in the rebuttal to show that the government is the one that has failed to enact stricter measures to curb this illicit trade of humans. RESOURCES At the moment I have twenty sources that all discuss human trafficking and the laws that have been set forth. Most of my sources are from the internet via online peer reviewed journals, online magazines and publications, organizations that are against human trafficking, and online articles from accredited authors. I used the library databases from my school (IUPUI) and the one I found to be very helpful was Academic Search Premier. One of my sources is a book written specifically to address human trafficking in the United States. Most of the sources are less than ten years old and some have been updated lately making them current. My authors are also researchers who have done a lot of work about human trafficking and have great knowledge about the topic and this makes my sources credible. Most of them have written several articles about the issues that have been peer reviewed. It has been hard to find a wide range of articles that talks about the stiffer penalties needed or already in existence and that is one area I need to concentrate on more in the coming weeks. Also, most of my sources have the same laws enacted which I found very repetitive and I need to do more research on what other laws are there to protect the victims and end human trafficking and whether the government is currently trying to enact new laws. AUTHOR QUALIFICATIONS I am a senior and psychology major at Indiana University Purdue University Indiana. I believe that I am the right person to write this paper and present my argument because, as a future psychologist or psychiatrist, my main focus will be in the wellbeing of others. I plan to use all that I learn in school to help the victims of human trafficking live a better life while improving their mental health and behaviors. I am also an immigrant who moved to the United States almost sixteen years ago and I have seen a lot of human trafficking around the world especially in Africa where I come from and also in the United States. I am also one of the people who would have never believed that human trafficking was in the United States until I started this research. I live in a town (Indianapolis), where there are always raids set to bust human trafficking stings and I feel that my personal interest and intense research on this topic will help me support my claim. CONCLUSION My biggest concern as I prepare for the last segment of this course is whether my research is relevant with the question at issue and whether my evidence backs up my claim. I have tried very hard to follow instructions and try not to mix my ideas up with irrelevant research and my worry is that I might still fall short. I plan to spend more time doing research on my issue and also visit the writing center before it is too late. I need to find more credible sources and evidence which will shed light about the laws and penalties relating to human trafficking. I am so scared that I may not be able to pass this class and I have thought of dropping it and taking it in another school but I know if I do so, it will just push me back from graduating and also make me lose hope. One day at a time, that’s my motto and I also want to believe that I can be able to improve on my final portfolio. Agence France-Presse EU Nations Warned to Act As Human Trafficking Worsens. SIRS Issues Researcher. Apr 15 2013. Web. 24 Sep. 2013. This article has no named author. The article is an informative piece with the European Union member countries as the intended audience. The article was written to warn the EU-27 about a looming deadline in getting tougher sanctions against human traffickers or the countries would face sanctions. This article was written from Brussels and it claims that the number of forced labor in the EU has increased greatly and that because of cheap labor, it is going to worsen. It calls out the member states by saying that most of them have failed to enact tougher sanctions as agreed before and that human trafficking has increased 18% from 2008 to 2010. It calls for tougher laws like 5 years in prison but if the act has aggravated circumstances surrounding it, it calls for 10 years in prison. According to the author Men, women and children are being sold for sex, hard labor forced into marriages, domestic servitude, begging, or have their organs removed for trade. All these crimes against humanity have to be stopped and abolished and the article calls for the 27 countries to toughen their laws. This article will be good in my research because it talks about the tougher sanctions which are being put forward to end human trafficking and the consequences countries face if they do not comply. Bales, Kevin, and Ron Soodalter. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Kevin Bales is the author of Ending Slavery and Disposable People, both from UC Press. He is also Co-Founder of Free the Slaves, Washington DC, and Professor of Contemporary Slavery at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at the University of Hull. He is the worlds leading expert on contemporary slavery. Ron Soodalter, historian, folklorist, and lecturer, is the author of Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader, as well as articles on the historic and modern slave trade, the Civil War, and the American West. A respected Lincolnian scholar, he serves on the Board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute. The book was written to expose human trafficking in the United States. It details how the victims are everywhere we go from restaurants serving as cooks and dishwashers to the people working in our own houses. It talks about the way we need to come together to combat human trafficking and slavery. Davis, Michael Cory. HUMAN Trafficking. Hispanic 20. 8 (2007): 46-48. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. Michael Cory Davis, founder of The Journey Film Group, is an actor/filmmaker/activist. He has been involved in the fight to end modern day slavery since 2003 when he became the Goodwill Ambassador for the organization Face to Face Bulgaria, which works to combat trafficking. Michael wrote, directed and produced the award-winning film Svetlana’s Journey, a true story about a Bulgarian girl forced into prostitution. In this article the author talks about trafficking in the U. S. A and how the captors lure their victims and get them to come with them with a lot of promises about their future. He also details the torture they endure and how they are held captive and exploited. He points out that it largely happens here and the reasons why it happens and the people involved especially the wealthy, educated and trusted people in society. Feingold, David. â€Å"Human Trafficking†. JSTOR; Foreign Policy, No. 150 (Sep. Oct. , 2005), pp. 26-30, 3230. Aug. 2005. Web. 28 Sept. 2013. Feingold is director of the Ophidian Research Institute and international coordinator for HIV/AIDS and Trafficking Projects for UNESCO Bangkok. The author is trying to warn people that if they continue to fight the war on human trafficking, they may end up losing. He is mostly against what all the other authors are saying about ending human trafficking. He strongly believes that trafficking is not about organized crime, prosecution, sanctions by the U. S. A or tightening borders. Gozdziak, M. Elzbieta. , and Elizabeth A. Collett. Research on Human Trafficking In North America: A Review of Literature. International Migration 43. 1/2 (2005): 99-128. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Dr. Elzbieta M. Gozdziak is the Director of Research at the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) and Editor of International Migration, a peer reviewed, scholarly journal devoted to research and policy analysis of contemporary issues affecting international migration (Georgetown Uni). Elizabeth Collett is European Policy Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, and Senior Advisor to MPIs Transatlantic Council on Migration. She is based in Brussels and works on the International Program, with a particular focus on European policy (Flad). The authors wrote this article to map out research that currently exists and make note of research gaps that need to be filled in order to establish appropriate and effective policies and programs for trafficked victims (Gozdziak). Hodge, David R. Sexual Trafficking In The United States: A Domestic Problem With Transnational Dimensions. Social Work53. 2 (2008): 143-152. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. The author is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. He is also a senior nonresident fellow with both the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University and the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hodge is an internationally recognized scholar in spirituality and religion. He has also written widely on social justice, cultural diversity, and social inclusion (asu. edu). This article seeks to increase readers awareness and knowledge of sexual trafficking in the United States (Hodges). The author is making the audience aware of the heinous crimes which are happening in our own backyard and how even the law enforcement is involved. He tries to make suggestions of how to curb trafficking and end it and he also talks about how the laws can be made stricter to end it. Kapstein, Ethan B. The New Global Slave Trade. Foreign Affairs 85. 6: 103-115. Academic Search Premier. Nov/Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. The author is a Paul Dubrule Professor of Sustainable Development at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, and a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development, in Washington, D.C. His most recent book is Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field. The author argues that the United States government offers too many incentives to human traffickers and states that support them in order to market humans and promises too little action against the trafficking. He states that most government officials cooperate with traffickers and are afforded a high pay due to the high profits of the trade. He writes this article in hopes of the general public gains knowledge about the slave trade here in the United States. Kara, Siddharth. Supply And Demand. Harvard International Review 33. 2 (2011): 66-71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Siddharth Kara is an author, activist and one of the worlds foremost experts on modern day slavery and human trafficking. He is an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Director of the Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and also a Visiting Scientist on Forced Labor at the Harvard School of Public Health. The author’s article explains how human trafficking is more in demand and profitable now than back in the day. It details how the victims end up being captured, transported and sold around the world and what they go through once in the hands of their owners. Kessler, J. â€Å"Human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. † Catholic Woman, 33, 15. Proquest. Mar/Apr 2007. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. The author is a legislative commission chair For the National Council of Catholic Women. She writes this article to inform the people of all the steps that the government and non-governmental agencies with a particular focus on catholic groups, are taking to combat human trafficking and exploitation especially of children. Kiener, Robert. Human Trafficking and Slavery. CQ Global Researcher 16 Oct. 2012: 473-96. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. Robert Kiener is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in the London Sunday Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Readers Digest, Time Life Books, Asia Inc. and other publications. He holds an M. A. in Asian Studies from Hong Kong University and an M. Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge University (CQ). Kiener’s purpose is to inform the general audience about the ongoing battle to stop human trafficking and slavery. The author talks about the struggles people are facing with forced prostitution and forced labor in many countries around the world including western countries. He talks about how the laws put forward to protect the people are not strong enough and a lot of countries are not following the laws or trying to abolish the social crimes. He talks about the few laws which have been set forth but do not have stiffer penalties when broken. He also informs us about the 32 billion dollar industry and that â€Å"the biggest obstacle to halting the trade in human beings is the lack of political will† (CQ). This article is very important and basically the foundation of my research. It explains all about human trafficking and slavery and gives accounts of the problems facing abolishment of these social crimes. It also talks about the countries still involved and those which are not helping at all. Potocky, Miriam. The travesty of human trafficking: A decade of failed U. S. policy. Social Work 55(4), 373-5. Proquest. Oct. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2013. The author is a Professor in the Florida International University School of Social Work. Dr. Potocky is a specialist in refugee resettlement, human rights, international social work, and research methodology. She has authored over 50 publications, including Best Practices for Social Work with Refugees and Immigrants. The article focuses more on the failed policies and prevention of human trafficking in the united states. It talks about how politics plays a role in the enactment of better laws to combat human trafficking and how the government cannot even have statistics right. Tran, Jonathan. Sold into Slavery. He is working on a book about the Vietnam War, theology and memory. The author talks about the impact human trafficking/slavery has caused to the point where the Vatican has called it a worse crime than The Transatlantic Slave Trade. He talks about how a lot of people are surprise that modern day slavery exists and the factors that contribute to it. He talks about how the trafficking begins and how he believes that it is declining.