Megan is passionate about integrating the principles of organizational management with the grassroots response to human trafficking in the US. Megan uses her blog to raise awareness about trafficking, engaging her neighbors to fight exploitation 365 days a year.
Today's Organization: Truckers Against Trafficking.
This is one of my favorite organizations. Human trafficking is everywhere and so are truckers. Truckers are often the first individuals to come in contact with a trafficked individual. This organization is educating, equipping, and mobilizing truckers and companies to combat domestic human trafficking.
Thanks for your hard work and continued efforts!
I read an article this morning about a young man finally feeling safe after being forced by traffickers to work. The article was intriguing because for the first time in a long time, the trafficking victim was not a female, but a male.
We often hear about sex trafficking and female workers, and forget to discuss labor trafficking and the fact that we have males being trafficked as well. Tomas Miko's story starts off like most stories; he was promised a job making a certain amount of money per month in another country and he agreed to this opportunity because he was not able to find work in his own country. Unfortunately, the construction job was never an option for Tomas Miko. He was taken to Canada under fraudulent terms and forced to work 14-16 hour days with no pay. He is safe now and that is important.
We must not forget that Tomas Miko's story is just one. There are more characters that need to be found, put in safe environments, and given the opportunity to tell their story in order to arrest and convict their traffickers.
22 members of the Domotor-Kolompar Ring have been convicted of human trafficking in Canada; 20 of those members were deported from Canada back to Hungary. The members controlled and forced their victims to work illegally, provided little to no food, and more.
Question: What will happen to the members of the Domotor-Kolompar Ring in Hungary? Will they await trial? Will they serve time? Are they free to continue trafficking human beings?
Dallas, Texas
On July 23, 2014, Rudolph Bush wrote an article for the Dallas Morning News, discussing human trafficking in the Dallas Metro and how it should concern us all. I want to thank him for speaking out on the topic and helping to raise awareness.
He is correct, human trafficking should concern us all because it is taking place in little towns and big cities. Dallas/Plano is my hometown and I will say, much is being done to combat human trafficking, but there is still more that needs to be done. I firmly believe that we need to better educate the community, by talking about human trafficking not only at church events or public outings, but discussing human trafficking with parents and their children in school. Predators are everywhere! The only way to stop the predators is to inform and teach the community how to avoid them.
On July 20, 2014, a Benin-based socialite, Mrs. Eunice John Ayegidi, was sentenced to 10 years for trafficking of girls for prostitution.
The Main Points:
In May 2014, Equip The Saints, an organization I work closely with, traveled to Italy giving seminars on human trafficking, and consulting with other anti-trafficking organizations/individuals. The organization worked hard to inform Italy about trafficking and what they can do to combat it. It is important to remember ---Trafficking is not only taking place in America, it is occurring in many countries around the world.
Today, I read an article about how Italy is working with Nigeria to combat human trafficking. Nigerians are being and have been trafficked into Italy; both governments are now working together to stop this criminal act. Continued efforts and collaboration are needed by all governments! It may be only one step, but it is one step more heading in the right direction.
You can find out more by reading: http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/21072014/news/news4.html#.U9b04Ba53DM
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45904#.U9b4Rha53DM{C}
Book of the Week!
Today, I recommend, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, by Siddharth Kara.
Enjoy!
Today's Organization: National Council of Jewish Women in San Francisco
The organization has a Jewish Coalition to End Human Trafficking. When I moved to San Francisco in April, the first organization I came into contact with was the NCJWSF and they welcomed me with open arms. They are working hard to educate not only the Jewish community, but all communities about human trafficking, raising awareness, and advocating for anti-trafficking legislation. I highly recommend you look them up if you live in the Bay Area and figure out how to get involved.
A few days I wrote about human trafficking occurring on oil fields in North Dakota. After writing that post, I found an article discussing a Wisconsin man pleading not guilty to human trafficking in North Dakota. The man was accused of bringing and forcing women into prostitution within the oil patch. His case is scheduled for trial on September 16, 2014. What will happen to the individual? If found guilty, what will be his sentence?
A shared effort to talk about pimps, how they trick and recruit our children has been started in Tampa, Florida. The name is brilliant and immediately caught my attention. The collaboration is called F Bombs. The 'F' stands for FRIENDS, not the word you that first came to mind. The group of organizations came up with this campaign to help children and parents understand how children are being recruited into trafficking. Is your friend being trafficking or tricked? Find out how you can learn more at http://www.droppingfbombs.com/shes-being-tricked.