Background Prepared by Andrew Madlambayan

Sexual Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Sexual trafficking is accomplished by means of fraud, deception, threat of or use of force, abuse of position of vulnerability, and other forms of coercion or for short term; Human Trafficking. Many in the world wouldn't know how to define this unsocial justice topic, yet many haven't even heard the word. Human Trafficking is one of the largest profit of 37 Billion dollars around the world (Polaris Project) and counting. Its one of the biggest injustice in the world today and is getting bigger everyday. About 80% of the trafficking involves sexual exploitation and 19% labor (do something). Human Trafficking is one of the biggest problems in our world today.

One of the main groups in our society that have been oppressed would have to be our women. Back then women were viewed as maids and people who take care of everything while the husband works. We know this because it is very common to see prostitutes working off dept for their pimp. Women can be sold for sex and if not compliant then they will be slaved and working as a maid. Sex trafficking also takes place in a variety of public and private locations such as massage parlors, spas, strip clubs and other fronts for prostitution. "An estimated 2.4 million people are currently in forced labour-including sexual exploitation-as a result of trafficking" (BNET 1). This contributes to them being targeted by the oppressor because they see someone who they can over power and force into physical or sexual labor. Women are most targeted because they see them as not only physical laborer but sexual as well. Children are also targeted by oppressor because they are very easy to train and very gullible. Kids are mostly sold by their parents or a relative to the oppressors most likely to pay off a debt that they owe. They are very young and stronger than women which means that they are mostly used for hard labor like building or carrying heavy loads. "According to the U.S Department of State, 50% of trafficking victims internationally are under age 18" (U.S Dept. State 1). Many children are being kidnapped and trafficked every single day in the world. Many are beaten and slaved till they grow to become old men. Children are easily targeted by oppressor because they are too young to know the right from wrong. Many people are kidnapped, sold, and forced into labor, but many people have been tricked and lied to lure them into labor. "Human trafficking is the practice of people being tricked, lured or otherwise removed from their home or country, and then compelled to work with no or low pay" (absoluteastronomy). This quote states that many people have been promised work with high pay and a place to stay. Many people dont know what they have got themselfs into until it is too late. A high percentage of the people who have been trafficked are the ones who have been lured in and tricked. People dont realize it until its too late. We can stop this from happening if only more people knew about this social topic and maybe save people from these horrible experiences. The oppressors are people who abuse, beat and use people for sexual use. Whore houses and pimps are a good examples of oppressors. They pick young teens and women to sell sexual pleasures for other people. Most of the oppressors trick their victims with false advertising and sometimes using physical force. Beatrice Fernando from Sri Lanka was promised a job and a great amount of profit to work in Lebanon. She had no idea that she would be working as a slave and being beaten by her master. The book Enslaved states that "I was going to work as a maid for two years in Lebanon so i can make money to support my son" (Sage 90). She was immediately put to work and beaten. She was held by her will and was slaved. Most of the victims of human trafficking are being tricked and promise work but they are setting themself's up for slavery. Some of the social systems involved is the whore house industry is evil disguised as good. People go and have a good time. People go and have a good time for sexual pleasure but the girls are being held and treated as dogs, beaten and abused by their pimps. A big think that keeps the general public from recognizing this system is that the public does not know about this huge social justice. The general public is not aware that slavery was not abolished and is still present in our world today. Most of the time the oppressors threaten their victims and if they try to run away they will find and kill them. Jill Leignton states "I wanted to run away but i had the fear of Bruce finding me and killing me" (Sage 80). Jill was terrified and did not want to be beaten anymore so she kept it to herself. Many victims grow a strong bond with their abusers, thats why it is hard to stop this injustice. What the world is doing to prevent this injustice is setting up websites, books and other thinks to get the publics attention and make it well known about human trafficking. Many people do not know about this topic and the ones who do know are trying to make it known. A big reason why people want this information to be known is because if they have the knowledge then we will have less people being victims. Slavery is still in the U.S in the 20th century. The reactions of politicians, citizens and other systems is that nobody wants to get their hand dirt because this is one of the biggest social topics in the world. The human trafficking truths state " Approximately 20,000 individuals are trafficked into the U.S" (HTT). Human trafficking is expanding and we need to prevent it from getting any larger. Human trafficking is one of the biggest problems in the world today and is becoming one of the bigeest criminal enterprise. Many victims are not aware of this issue and by having the knowledge it will stop uneducated victims from making this mistake. We need people to help stop human trafficking and save the victims that are already out there. If we all join together as a community we can prevent this criminal injustice to come to an end.

Interview Questions and Notes Prepared by Andrew Madlambayan

Action Reflection Prepared by Andrew Madlambayan

For my action I chose to do a prayer rather than a poster or a letter because I thought that in a prayer I can really connect and have a conversation with God. I thought that it would be easy to make a prayer but once I got down to writing it, it took me forever. I learned that when you write a prayer it has to come from the heart and its just like your talking to God in your own special language. When writing this prayer, I really had to think about what the trafficked go through and who really needs the help.

With this action I wanted to achieve the same understanding that I have when they read this prayer. I believe that when you read this prayer you really see what is going on and what people are actually going through. I would have hope that someone would walk down the halls and see this prayer and just at lease think about it. All I really want to achieve by doing this action is to get people to at least think about the people who really need help. I don’t expect them to go out and give their money away, but I just expect them to learn about this injustice and just think about people who are less fortunate.

In the future I see myself at least going to one third world country and seeing and experience first-hand of what it is like to see the victims face to face. I would like to see myself actually going out to rallies for this kind of injustice or any injustice and supporting what the people are doing. This project has opened my eyes by showing me that just one person can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Age does not matter in this type of thing because every little bit of help counts. This project has widened my view of human trafficking and has also change the way I look at things.

Interview Questions and Notes Prepared by Joshua Rabang

1) What is the most common way victims are deceived? Especially in third world countries, how is the law/government involved in continuing this evil practice?

2) What made you decide to get involved with human trafficking? Was there a specific moment in your life that made you want to get info into this topic?

3) What/who are the major forces behind the fight against modern day slavery? What can us young people to do our part in order to prevent this practice from continuing?

4) If there was one place in the world where you could prevent human trafficking from continuing? In other words, where is the location that is hardest hit by this practice? Why? Any memorable ex-slaves whom you could give us an example of who has a very touching story?

5) Do you plan on carrying on what your father has established? If so, how would you do this? Have you already thought about future plans to fight human trafficking?

NOTES

· He and his dad frequently visit Cambodia and other 3^rd world countries impacted by human trafficking.

· Very friendly guy.

· Those who are trafficked are often baited with money or are lured with unattainable/impossible promises by their captors.

· He is very passionate, especially for trafficked children.

· He spent much of his time abroad caring for and teaching trafficked children.

· He says that we can get involved many ways, including online campaigns and/or donating to those who go overseas.

· It is going to be hard to stop trafficking because he says in 3^rd world countries this practice is almost accepted.

· He says Cambodia, which he has seen the most, is very impacted by human trafficking and that if we compare life here to life over there we would realize how lucky we are to live in such as society where children are not swooped up on the street.

· He plans to carry on his father’s work and is looking forward to traveling overseas.

Action; Prayer prepared by Andrew Madlambayan

Proof of interview

Narrative: Srey neang--Life of a Modern Day Slave

Most Americans are ignorant of the fact that millions of lives around the world are affected by the illegal trafficking of human beings. An average person living in America would not even be able to fathom how real this evil practice may be. The movies and/or the news serve as the only source of information revealing the truth behind this subject. Thus it has become so surreal to think that such an evil force may be dominant in our world’s society that the point has been reached where most are blind to the fact that it could be occurring in their own backyard. A pure example of such a life which has been so surreally touched can be found in David Batstone’s Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade—and How We Can Fight It—she goes by the name of Srey Neang. After being sold into the hands of traffickers by her Cambodian parents in order for their chance to sustain the lives of their other children, Srey Neang was bought as a “house servant”(slave) at the mere age of seven. As she grew up, she, contradictorily, was constantly brought down. Srey was tricked many times into being sold into the hands of people who had the intention of treating her as an object instead of a person. She was so abused that one’s own imagination cannot fathom how such cruelty can exist in the world. Eventually, she ended up at a sex slave at a karaoke bar in Thailand where she ironically became a mentor for other girls who were in the same position as she. However, she still dealt with much persecution: “[their owner] forced women to have sex with ten men each day on average” (Batstone 36). Srey Neang’s life not only serves as an example of the evil exemplified by human trafficking, but also it serves as an inspiration for the rest of the world to prevent such things from happening.

One can only imagine the pain and helplessness someone can feel when being abandoned by family. Srey Neang dealt with this early in her life. She was never once addressed by name. She cooked her master’s meals, gave her baths, did her laundry, scrubbed her house floors, and “performed any other chore demanded of her” (Batstone 20). She was never once addressed by name; sometimes she would “[whisper] her own name softly to herself simply so that she would not forget” (Batstone 20). Everyday she would wake up before the sun rose just to prepare her master’s meals. She then would toil away for the rest of the day until her master lay her head down on her pillow for a night’s rest. The absurdity of these duties are magnified when taking into consideration that Srey is only seven years old when she has started working for this woman. Luckily, the woman dies when Srey is at the young age of twelve. Srey is then taken into the arms of the woman’s son and his wife. She did the same work, but this time physical abuse was added into the mix. “Both husband and wife beat her with a reedy switch or the slightest offense: the porridge was too salty, or the front door of the house had been left open. Often they beat [her] for things she did not even do” (Batstone 20). The was definitely not a family/working system. Rather it became a master/slave relationship.

Naturally, as Srey grew older she developed a desire to have a relationship with a person of the opposite sex. This is when Sovanna comes into play. Sovanna was a married man from Phnom Penh who, in his early twenties, looked as if her were sixteen. However for Srey, Sovanna became the man of her dreams and they eventually formed a relationship outside of the house she toiled away at. Little did Srey know that Sovanna held a secret agenda. Sovanna tricked Srey into escaping from her master’s home and believing that his mother oculd provide her a job and an education in Thailand. He used sweet sounding works such as these: “My mother could use your help in her shop. You could attend school and work for her on the weekends” (Batstone 26). In the end, Srey was tricked into becoming a sex slave at a Thai karaoke club.

From the instant Srey arrived at the club, she looked for the chance to escape. Each girl held captive at this place had sex at an average of ten dollars a day at a rate of only two dollars and fifty cents for every twenty minutes. “The johns [would] behave like adolescents, publicly pawing their ‘dates,’ squeezing their buttocks and breasts with little shame” (Batstone 60). Srey lived at the bar for an unbearable amount of time until she finally stumbled upon her own serendipity. One of the johns which she was picked to have sex with noticed a wound from one of Srey’s beatings. As conversation between the two picked up, Srey’s emotions began to spill out. All of a sudden, the john realized the whole scheme behind this karaoke club. He realized that women were being held captive to be beaten and have sex with any man willing to pay. He then helped her escape from the club and she was taken into a shelter named Hagar which was for women in the same situation as she.

Srey Neang’s story is one of the thousands of other stories which exist. If we as Americans think life is hard as it is, we should take into consideration the lives of people who are actually suffering at the hands of heartless business men. These slave owners in third world countries treat innocent, helpless women and children worse than Americans would reat their pets. “Twenty-seven million slaves exist in our world today” (Batstone 1). Imagine hearing twenty-seven million more stories like Srey Neang’s. This evil practice must stop now and awareness is the first step.

Interview Write Up Prepared by Andrew Madlambayan

The interview took place at Saint Ignatius High School in San Francisco. We interviewed Zak Batstone, son of the author Not for Sale. He is just a student in high school but he travels with his father to places like Cambodia to play with the trafficked kids. In the interview he talked about his experiences when he visited Cambodia on spring break. He said that he helped the kids who were slaved and abandoned. He played basketball with the kids and described them as "Full of joy". Zack was also saddened seeing these kids and hearing what they have gone through. He also gave us information on third world countries and shared most of his stories that he had heard in Cambodia.

When we met our interviewee he was very welcoming and was very excited to be interviewed. He did not mind being asked a couple questions and answered all the questions that we wanted to know. He was very open by sharing all his information and emotions he felt with his experiences. Zak was a very outgoing person and was very easy to start a conversation with. He wanted to give us all the information that we needed and really informed us on third world countries.

I expected to hear harsh and heart stopping stories of how kid and adults were beaten and enslaved. I wanted to learn more about the effects on what the kids were like after being slaved and how difficult it was to transform back into a regular child. Zak states that, "The kids seemed joyful that he was there to help and play basketball with them". He told us that he thought it was amazing that he is just eighteen years old and is already helping the kids who need help, just like his father.

I was surprised that he had been to Cambodia during spring break and saw first-hand what the kids were like being trafficked. He told us that the kids were playing basketball with him and just enjoying life. I was amazed that these kids were having such a great time with Zak playing basketball because these kids have been through a lot and are still enjoying life. If i was slaved and abused I do not think that I would be happy. I then realized that these kids were very young and did not really know what is going on. I realized that it is just a shame that someone can slave a little child and have no sorrow or guilt.

The overall impression of the interview was eye-opening because Zak is only a senior in high school and is already doing things to help kids who have been victims of human trafficking. It shows me that i am not too young to help other kids who are in need and that every little bit of help counts. Zak played with the kids in Cambodia and lifted up their spirits giving hope to them and making them realized that they are loved. One day I wish I could do the same and dedicate little of my time to help the ones in need. Every little thing you could do can lift of the spirits of the trafficked, giving them hope.

Interview Write Up Prepared by Joshua Rabang

The interview my partner, Andrew Madlambayan, and I conducted took place at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco on March 31, 2010. Our interviewee, Zack Batstone, is the son of the author of the book I read regarding human trafficking, Not For Sale: The Return of Global Slave Trade—and Howe We Can Fight It. We chose Zack not only because of his affiliation with the cause of fighting human trafficking, but also because he is our age (a senior in high school). Zack and his father David are well known advocates of the fight against modern day slave trade and make frequent trips to impacted places to make a difference. Zack’s father has been involved in this type of business for many years and is internationally known for his firsthand experience in fighting several trafficking rings. The benefit of interviewing Zack instead of his father, however, was very significant because for one reason he was our age. Speaking to high school seniors rather than accomplished adults would take a huge amount of pressure off of anyone and would allow for a more casual, personable interview which could lead to a new friendship forming. Zack was very willing and enthusiastic to inform me and Andrew about what he knew and what he was seen around the world regarding this evil practice. He simply did not only inform us about the basic, fundamental facts about human trafficking (he already could tell we were knowledgeable in the subject due to our initial conversations/questions), rather he told a few inspiring stories about the places he has been to. Zack told Andrew and me about his trips to Cambodia (especially about his recent trip over spring break) and how he actually helped trafficked children recuperate. He spoke of how full of joy each child was and how sad how they were cold-heartedly taken advantage of. Later on he compared life here in America to life in such 3^rd world countries and stated that “if we lived over there (Cambodia, India, etc.), half or over half of the people you see in front of you would not even be here. They would be either toiling their lives away in sweatshops or being abused in sex brothels.” Such a powerful statement touched Andrew and I to the point where we needed to speak more and ask more questions. Sadly Zack needed to leave, so we agreed to send more questions through email and he promised to answer them as soon as he could.

Zack, from the start, was very friendly. His being a friend of a friend already acquainted us with each other. He held eye-contact at all time and was very respectful throughout the interview. His willingness and enthusiasm was evident through his friendly voice, constant smiles, and our side conversations about sports. I can definitely say that he had the best attitude someone can have during an interview (enthusiastic, open, and friendly) and that we were treated as if we have been friends for a long time. Although Andrew and I were in “enemy-territory” (S.I.), everyone around us was very friendly as well.

Andrew and I did not expect to learn much regarding information, rather we expected to learn about what it really is like in places where trafficking is clearly evident. His recounting of the times he has been oversees for the sole reason of combating these evil forces provided this and much more. We definitely were given a good image of what it is like to live in a place such as India or Cambodia.

However, what surprised us is how incorporated into his father’s duties Zack was. Being only 18 years old, he was as involved or more involved as the professors at several colleges we have done our research at. Over spring break Zack went with his father to Cambodia to help the saved trafficked children recuperate from their abuse. What was also surprising was how Zack attached emotions to his stories. He made it real to Andrew and I by comparing life here in the United States to life in third world countries—this is definitely not what a book can ever do.

Overall, I think that the interview went very well and very smoothly. From beginning to end there was nothing else but good feelings. He answered every question we asked and even added more. The interview could not have gone any better. And I am happy that an informant as well as a friend was gained through this experience.