A North Korean refugee

It is slavery, out and out, a violation of all the tenets of human rights, slavery! There is this common practice that is taking place all over the world. I am talking of human trafficking for profit. Included in this crime are those who are forced into servitude for commercial sexual exploitation. Even in America, it is hidden here and there, but the United States works hard to seek out and destroy those who wish to violate the basic rights that all should have, our freedom. It is essential that we never loose sight of the most precious gift we all possess, be thankful we are Americans.

It is estimated that close to 13 million people are being held in forced labor at the time this article was written (6-17-09). One of the world's major source countries for this form of human violation is North Korea. Every year tens of thousands cross illegally into China to escape the desperate situation that exists in North Korea. To escape economic privation, famine, and political persecution, these people run the risk of being put in prison or sent back to where they came from. Mostly this involves North Korean women and girls who cross the border into China lured by hustlers who promise them food, employment, and freedom, only to be tricked, and in most cases forced into marriage rings and or commercial sexual prostitution. Sometimes these unfortunate men, woman and children find themselves in forced labor camps, with no way of escaping or getting word to anyone who could help them. North Korea is now ranked as a Tier 3 country. "Countries that neither satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking nor demonstrate a significant effort to do so. Countries in this tier are subject to potential non–humanitarian and non-trade sanctions."(Trafficking Victims Protection Act T.V.P.A.)

Another source country is Israel for the trafficking of human beings for various aspects of forced labor specially those exploited sexually. Various facets of organized crime use Israel as a transfer point for their illicit trade. Israel is a tier 2 country because its interior ministry is inactive on the subject of human trafficking. If you are not a citizen you do not get any sympathy from the government if you are a liberated trafficking victim, no protection and no safety from those who have held you in bondage before. The problem is that all of the women brought to Israel for the sex industry are not citizens of Israel so they do not get any help from the government. This is according to the Jerusalem Post's Ruth Eglash in her report 6/3/08.

The virtual sex industry advertises from Israel the prostitution services available. That has become one of the governments new projects the curtailing of this advertizing, at this time the Israeli government has proposed legistration to stop this form of advertizing.

Is Israel a human trafficking haven? Women from Russia are traded at cattle like auctions by the Russian Mob. This is one of the things they smuggle when they bring weapons into Israel. Along with the smuggling of the weapons is the smuggling of the women kidnapped or coerced into servitude. They bring them up through the Egyptian desert with their loads of weapons. It is reported that close to 4,000 women are brought into Israel annually for the sexual slavery business. These women, most of them are promised a better life and good employment, all kinds of promises are made with few of them ever fulfilled, and most of them will never see their dreams realized. Then once they are in-route to Israel across the vast desert they are relieved of their passports and other important property, if they have such, and then taken into slavery usually at gunpoint. All hope is lost as they cross into Israel and are forced to work in the virtual sex industry and in brothels, many of these people are never heard from again. Israel is trying to stop this problem, but this will take a lot more time.

The International Labor Organization, the U.N. agency responsible for addressing labor standards, employment and social protection issues, uses their influence to put pressure on source countries by using sanctions. It is believed that these forms of forced labor pose a multi-dimensional threat, depleting people worldwide of their human rights. These forms of commercial forced labor cause a breakdown in the social structure and it deprives countries of its human capital, thus making it hard to achieve economic growth. These problems also present a global health risk, and it helps organized crime prosper and grow. (The global health risk should be obvious; AIDS, Tuberculosis, and the like.)

According to the T.V.P.A., which uses the U.S. State Department to estimate that, 150 countries worldwide have a significant number of victims that are trafficked across their borders? The yearly financial gain from the smuggling of humans to be held in the forced sex industry is about 70 plus million.

You have seen that there are millions of sights on the internet that are sexual in nature; it is a great large scale business, virtual pornography. Many of the people depicted are victims of this above-mentioned abuse; they are slaves with no rights or freedom. Makes you think doesn't it?