Human Trafficking in America Essay Example for Free

Human Trafficking in America Essay According to the report submitted to the U. S. Department of State in 2004, every year there is an estimated account of 600,000 to 800,000 people being trafficked for force labor and sex worldwide. In the United States alone, there are around 14, 000 to 17,000 men, women and children of different nationalities being trafficked each year passing discreetly international borders just to come inside the territories of the United States. Of these numbers, 70 percent are female while 50 percent are children or minors and most of them end up working forcibly in the illegal sex industry. The report also said that most of these trafficked foreign nationals mostly come from Asia. In America, however, an estimated 200,000 missing American children (minors usually women) from the past years are also getting the risk of having trafficked also in the sex industry (Shurter). While the United States has an open policy in accepting foreign nationals to its territories, the succeeding events of terrorism in the American soil during the past years has reorganized its system of policies and became more aware in allowing foreign nationals to stay in America. But then America remained to be the main transit and destination country for trafficking people if compared to other countries in the world. To adhere to the strong commitment of fighting human trafficking in the US and other countries, the US government has enacted The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 or the TVPA to redefine pre-existing criminal penalties and provide better protection for the victims of human trafficking. This act establishes Cabinet-level federal interagency task force to use their federal program in providing services to the trafficked victims. Initially the monitoring program done by the US in the early 1990s was primarily focused on trafficking women for the sex industry. But ever since the U. S. Department of State has included in their report in 1994 that not only women are being trafficked, the department began monitoring all persons with questionable citizenship status in the US beginning in that same year. To greatly reduce human trafficking, the U. S. has begun initiating anti-trafficking programs to aid countries fight this illegal trade. The office of the TVPA was assigned to monitor and allowed by the US State Department to combat human trafficking in the international level while millions of dollars were poured out as grants to organizations around the world to implement programs combating human trafficking. The U. S. has also helped these countries in enacting their laws for anti-trafficking legislation and provided training to law enforcers, prosecutors, border guards and judicial officers in determining, investigating and prosecution of traffickers and providing protection for the victims. Two years after the resolution of TVPA, The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2000 was reformulated to 2003 to provide resources and initiatives in helping the 18,000 to 20,000 victims of human trafficking saved in the US. Then in 2006, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 was signed into a stronger law (Justice). To show that there is clearly the cause for alarm with human trafficking which brought about white slavery in the United States, CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith explores and exposes the world of human trafficking in America by making her own series of research in America’s suburbs and reported her findings for The Early Show in series. Tracy interviewed a number of people who were victims of illegal sex trade and one of these is Shauna. Shauna is a 17 year old girl from Florida who was looking for friends in school because she was the new girl in the campus. Finally she was befriended by another student and invited her for a sleepover in her house. But a man who posed as the friend’s father drugged her drink and woke up to a nightmare. She found herself tied still dizzy with the drug. Not long after, she was brought to a place where she was sold. She was raped and beaten if she refused to have sex. Her parents searched for her and finally she was found by investigator Brad Dennis in a club. According to Dennis, Shauna was a victim of human trafficking which becomes the growing problem in the suburbs of Florida. Tracy Smith has discovered that the syndicates who are behind the kidnapping and human trafficking know the profile of the most potential targets that can be used for their sex trade. In this manner they connive with other people to do their deeds. Dennis said usually girls who are victims of human trafficking are moved around a circuit by their captors hitting major hotels and convention centers looking for potential and moneyed clients. Wan Kim of the U. S. Justice Department said that this kind of business has now developed into a very prolific business and usually undetected. The problem for the authorities is that the people behind this crime have wide connections and they have become even wiser with the trade. They can keep women for years without people knowing they live there as sex slaves. In the case of Shauna, her case has never been pursued because until today her captors remained at large (Smith). Human trafficking has developed into a lucrative business formed by different individuals grouped together to run a ring of syndicate. However, this is not always the case. In 2008, Maribel Rodriguez Vasquez, a 28-year old Guatemalan woman was arrested in Los Angeles for her involvement in her family’s human trafficking business. She was the sixth member of her family who was nabbed by immigration authorities as she was charged with 50 counts of human trafficking cases specifically luring Guatemalan minors to the United States with a promise of well-paid jobs but all ends up being prostitutes. Vasquez who was known as the â€Å"L. A. Madam† by her clients was posted on television as one of â€Å"America’s Most Wanted†. But Vasquez’ case was only one of the few cases of human trafficking that was highlighted by the media which makes people believe cases of immigrant sex trafficking are not literally important to be known by the masses. Lisette Arsuaga, director of Development for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking in Los Angeles said we have a clear reality that human trafficking operates in every American city and even to towns but it is craftily hidden it is hard to uncover (Johnson and Rodriguez). The state of San Francisco is known for its liberalism toward sex and it has continuing history of arresting prostitutes around the city. Unfortunately it has also become one of the top American cities to be the favorite sanctuary of international sex traffickers and so large numbers of illegal immigrants pour out to the city each year. This is because sex trafficking is now an $8 billion international business and sadly traffickers consider San Francisco to be the best place to operate their largest commercial trades. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who is not ignorant about this trade said although the city despised such reputation, being underground with unending source of clients makes the state helpless. Mayor Newsom said girls are forced to come to America because their families are being threatened and so the cases of human trafficking seem to be endless. While the U. S. Department of Justice states that thousands of illegal immigrants are being brought to the United States each year, there are still no quantifying data which assure that many of them fall as sex or force labor victims. The CIA is now involved to stop this trade and it has used its significant methods to come up with reliable sources of illegal immigrants. They now rely on law enforcement data, government data, international reports and academic research just to come up with backed-up information and track the sources of this trade. The CIA also confirmed that trafficked women for the sex industry generally come from Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union and also South America. As usual, they are lured to work in the United States for more meaningful opportunities but once they are in, they are held captives and sold to brothels, strip clubs and outcall services. Even high-society call girls who come to the United States admit to the Federal investigators that being in captivity and held as sex slaves can be the most degrading and unimaginably unacceptable. In other parts of the world, human trafficking has also become an insatiable growing business which has overtaken drugs and arms trafficking. According to Barry Tang who is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement attache with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security in Korea, human traffickers in Korea are now highly organized with full logistical network between Korea and the United States. They have recruiters, intermediaries, brokers and even designated taxi drivers and influential pimps. On other countries, women are the usual traffickers and they acquire women from clubs, bars, colleges, restaurants and even pool halls. Their international contacts target mostly developed countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia because this is where the money is. When everything is settled in these countries, they even set up their own shops in the main cities particularly in California, New York, Las Vegas and Texas (May). As a conclusion, we may never stop human trafficking for the moment because it has already rooted itself in our societies. Not even America who advocates for human rights and preservation of human dignity find it hard to control such a phenomenal dilemma. But though this has become an uncontrollable ailment because it made its evil influence to the different form of culture and societies, we might still reduce its havoc in degrading human dignity by involving ourselves and be guardians for the sake of our children and our society. The governments are trying hard to pursue what is necessary but they cannot do it alone. We might not be the victims here but our children maybe their next target. Works Cited: Johnson, Alex, and Cesar Rodriguez. Human Trafficking in America. The World Race (2008). April 14, 2009 http://matthewsnyder. theworldrace. org/? filename=human-trafficking-in-america. Justice, U. S. Department of. Report on Activities to Combat Human Trafficking: Fiscal Years 2001 2005. (2006). April 15, 2009 http://www. humantrafficking. org/countries/united_states_of_america. May, Meredith. Sex Trafficking: San Francisco Is a Major Center for International Crime Networks That Smuggle and Enslave. San Francisco Chronicle2006. Shurter, David. The Problem with Human Trafficking in America. Now Public: Crowd Powered Media (2009). April 15, 2009 http://www. nowpublic. com/world/problem-human-trafficking-america. Smith, Tracy. Slavery in the Suburbs. United States, 2007. CBS Evening News. (September 12, 2007): CBS Interactive, Inc. http://www. cbsnews. com/stories/2007/09/12/eveningnews/main3254966. shtml

The Tatyana-caste :: English Literature Essays

The Tatyana-caste '...Just as the storm clouds often slay The scarcely breathing new born day.' 1 One of the most popular of Tennyson's poems, The Lady of Shalott relates the tragic story of an extremely lonely young lady longing for a soulmate. A poem of "technical virtuosity, inspired landscape-painting based on precise observation, and a dreamworld of artistic beauty denying the commonplace"2, "turning to beauty as a possibility of a more complete life"3, it is one of the highlights of the author's early years. This paper shall attempt to prove my opinion that the work is very much parallel to an even more famous Russian narrative poem finished about the same year as The Lady of Shalott. I will omit discussing the poem's popular critical interpretation concerning "the conflict between the artist's own sensual vision and his need to experience life directly"4 -- I'll rather concentrate on my individual, rather alienated thoughts and feelings arised during the reading, and I will not go into Arthurian considerations, either. Concerning both the subject of a yearning, introverted young lady and the bleak solution, Tennyson's poem may be readily compared to two other, albeit larger scale, masterpieces of the early 1830's -- Balzac's "Eugenie Grandet" and, even more notably, Pushkin's "Onegin" --, each dealing with the same kind of pastoral, embowered, dreamy, grave and generally misunderstood girls or young women. This 'caste' sticks out of its rustic environment like a sore thumb, often being regarded by their own relatives and acquaintances as hopeless misfits, spinsters or nuns to be; being highly sensitive, imaginative and deep-feeling, they find it exceptionally hard, even actually impossible, to become accepted and understood within their immediate environment made up of generally cruder and simpler sorts. Thus, these girls feel obliged to create a world of their own as a progressive act of counterbalance and self-condolence, rich with remnants of childhood fantasy, romantic works they've read and an air of bittersweet wistfulness. Pushkin's memorable portrayal of Tatyana as a child may well resemble the early years of the Shalott Lady: "She was no beauty, like her sister, And had no roses on her cheeks, Which would attract admiring looks. A wild thing, mournful and retiring, Like a doe seen in a forest clearing, In the midst of all her kith and kin She seemed like something alien. She could not manage a caress With ma or pa, or a soft touch. The Tatyana-caste :: English Literature Essays The Tatyana-caste '...Just as the storm clouds often slay The scarcely breathing new born day.' 1 One of the most popular of Tennyson's poems, The Lady of Shalott relates the tragic story of an extremely lonely young lady longing for a soulmate. A poem of "technical virtuosity, inspired landscape-painting based on precise observation, and a dreamworld of artistic beauty denying the commonplace"2, "turning to beauty as a possibility of a more complete life"3, it is one of the highlights of the author's early years. This paper shall attempt to prove my opinion that the work is very much parallel to an even more famous Russian narrative poem finished about the same year as The Lady of Shalott. I will omit discussing the poem's popular critical interpretation concerning "the conflict between the artist's own sensual vision and his need to experience life directly"4 -- I'll rather concentrate on my individual, rather alienated thoughts and feelings arised during the reading, and I will not go into Arthurian considerations, either. Concerning both the subject of a yearning, introverted young lady and the bleak solution, Tennyson's poem may be readily compared to two other, albeit larger scale, masterpieces of the early 1830's -- Balzac's "Eugenie Grandet" and, even more notably, Pushkin's "Onegin" --, each dealing with the same kind of pastoral, embowered, dreamy, grave and generally misunderstood girls or young women. This 'caste' sticks out of its rustic environment like a sore thumb, often being regarded by their own relatives and acquaintances as hopeless misfits, spinsters or nuns to be; being highly sensitive, imaginative and deep-feeling, they find it exceptionally hard, even actually impossible, to become accepted and understood within their immediate environment made up of generally cruder and simpler sorts. Thus, these girls feel obliged to create a world of their own as a progressive act of counterbalance and self-condolence, rich with remnants of childhood fantasy, romantic works they've read and an air of bittersweet wistfulness. Pushkin's memorable portrayal of Tatyana as a child may well resemble the early years of the Shalott Lady: "She was no beauty, like her sister, And had no roses on her cheeks, Which would attract admiring looks. A wild thing, mournful and retiring, Like a doe seen in a forest clearing, In the midst of all her kith and kin She seemed like something alien. She could not manage a caress With ma or pa, or a soft touch.

Group Progression in Society Essay

The pressures of society force humans into groups, whether to change something, unite, or to feel a sense of belonging. Nonetheless, it can be difficult to find what groups you may fit into and these groups can change as you transform into a more critical thinker. Studs Terkel tells the story a of Ku Klux Klan member turned school board activist, C.P. Ellis, in his essay, â€Å"C.P. Ellis.† Ellis’ struggles and realizations prove what critical thinking and self-examination can do. Mike Rose’s essay, â€Å"I Just Wanna Be Average† also displays the importance of growing through groups and how changing mental habits can help transform one into a more efficient critical thinker, therefore allowing one to surpass the cultural myths placed upon them. Gary Colombo enlightens readers by defining and giving advice on how to transform oneself into a critical thinker in his essay, â€Å"Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths†. Colombo argues that by thinking critically and challenging the norms of our society we can fight to be the people we truly want to be. Humans form into groups subconsciously as well as consciously. Consequently, these groups we cast ourselves into are the very things that can hold us back from becoming true individuals. By reexamining old ways and becoming active critical thinkers, members of society can participate in groups in a manner which will allow them to grow intellectually and outlast the cultural myths that is society has placed upon them. Groups have a large impact on society since they are constructed to allow humans to do more than they would be able to as mere individuals. However, groups can often hinder the thought process of individuals and may cause people to settle for less than what they are actually capable of. The â€Å"cultural myth† of belonging in society can cause individuals to become immersed in a group’s ideas wholly instead of blending them with their own beliefs. Ellis recalls when his former Klansmen called him after he started working for integration on the school board with Ann Atwater, African American women. â€Å"My old friends would call me at night: ‘C.P, what the hell is wrong with you? You’re selling out the white race.’ This begin to make me have guilt feelin’s. [. . .] My mind was beginnin’ to open up. I was beginnin’ to see what was right and what was wrong. I don’t want the kids to fight forever† (405). Had Ellis remained a narrow-minded member of the Ku Klux Klan his judgments and perceptions would have continued to be overly influenced by the Klan’s extremist beliefs. By expanding his mind Ellis was able to work on non-Klan related issues and overcome his racist tendencies thus transforming him into a more independent thinker. Critical thinking such as this is essential in being able to think independently opposed to being over powered by a group’s point of view and opinions. Colombo defines critical thinking as â€Å"a matter of dialogue and debate – discovering relationships between apparently unrelated ideas, finding parallels between your own experiences and the ideas you read about, exploring points of agreement and conflict between yourself and other people† (9). By applying these skills Ellis talked through the issues on the school board and reexamined his relationship with Ms. Atwater which in turn matured his critical thinking abilities. These critical mental skills will enable one to choose which groups they truly belong to instead of merely becoming a drone in order to fulfill their own senses of belonging. However, not all group enrollment and involvement is by the choice of its members. Some are pieced together by members whose superiors have placed them in said groups. In some cases, placement into these groups can impede on the development of critical and independent thinking. Mike Rose’s unjust placement into his school’s vocational is a prime example of this forced-group hindrance. Colombo states that â€Å"[c]ultural myths become so closely identified with our personal beliefs that rereading them means rereading ourselves, rethinking the way we see the world. Questioning long-held assumptions can be an exhilarating experience, but it can be distressing too† (8). By rethinking the groups’ society places us in we can gain a better understanding of ourselves as well as a better perception of the cultural myths that hold our true identities down. Rose tells about that the defenses mechanisms that he and his classmates built up to deal with the below average, self-image that the vocational track gave them, â€Å"[they] to twist the knife in [their] own grey matter† in order to stand up to the mental wear-and-tear of the vocational schooling process. Rose delves further into this process: You’ll have to shut down, have to reject intellectual stimuli or diffuse them with sarcasm, have to cultivate stupidity, have to convert boredom from a malady into a way of confronting the world. Keep your vocabulary simple, act stoned when you’re not or act more stoned than you are, flaunt ignorance, materialize your dreams. It is a powerful and effective defense – it neutralizes the insult and the frustration of being a vocati onal kid. (Rose 162) Defenses like the ones used in Rose’s essay cause individuals to do the bare minimum and do not allow individuals to grow within the group but rather the opposite; it stunts their identities and makes them complacent rather than questioning the world around causing a lack of internal expansion. By questioning the cultural myths of society and expanding the mind to think more critically individuals will be able to broaden their intellectual and social horizons. Ellis reminiscences at the end of the essay about his person growth by saying that â€Å"our troubles are over with. They say the older you get, the harder it is for you to change. Since I changed, I’ve set down and listened to tapes of Martin Luther King. I listen to it and tears come to my eyes’ cause I know what he’s sayin’ now. I know what’s happenin’† (408). By progressing through groups (the Ku Klux Klan and school board) Ellis was able to become a critical thinker and overcome the many cultural myths of his life. Similarly, Rose progressed to become a critical thinker. By going from vocational track to college prep, Rose was forced to reassess his self in order to become the type of student and person he wanted to be upon entering college prep. â€Å"I’d been mediocre for too long and enjoyed a public redefinition. And I suppose the inner workings of my mind, such as they were, had been private for too long† says Rose on regards to his switch and achievement in college prep (166). Both of these experiences show that by reevaluating the cultural myths in society and growing through different groups individuals can become critical thinkers and redefine themselves as the people they want to be. Society is filled with cultural myths and pre-assigned groups for its members. Only by overcoming these myths and growing intellectually can individuals become who they want to be rather than what society decrees them to. The experiences of Rose and Terkel show what critical thinking and group progression can do to one’s true self. Since Colombo defines critical thinking in his essay, the two experiences of Rose and Terkel allow the idea to be brought to life and put his work into context. Upon building critical thinking skills and experiencing group progression throughout life, individuals will be able to gain a multifaceted understanding of their true selves. This understanding will allow individuals to delve into the critical thinking and lead them to constantly challenge the world and groups around them. Works Citied Colombo, Gary. â€Å"Thinking Challenging Critically, Cultural Myths.† Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Eds. Colombo, G., Cullen, R., and Lisle, B. Boston: Bedfortd/St. Martin’s, 2010. 1-15. Print. Rose, Mike. â€Å"I Just Wanna Be Average.† Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Eds. Colombo, G., Cullen, R., and Lisle, B. Boston: Bedfortd/St. Martin’s, 2010. 157-169. Print. Terkel, Studs. â€Å"â€Å"C.P. Ellis.†.† Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Eds. Colombo, G., Cullen, R., and Lisle, B. Boston: Bedfortd/St. Martin’s,

The Health Assessment Tool For Health Care - 1424 Words

The healthcare professionals in the United States are educated and trained for those in illness. However, American is now a multi-colored environment with different cultural beliefs and traditions. Many immigrants seeking medical helps are not readily accept western practices and beliefs. To care for these diverse patients, health professionals must be cultural competent to render appropriate care. The Health assessment tool is a valuable tool for health professionals to aid and help them learn and identify a patient’s cultural beliefs and background. By using the assessment tool, health professionals may have a clue the tradition practices and beliefs and compliant level of a patient. Using the HAT, a nurse can identify pattern of†¦show more content†¦Therefore, cultural competency is the vital part in making changes. Health promotion is the process of improving one’s health, moreover, it moves beyond an individual, but a wide range of social and enviro nmental interventions. After the Vietnam War, numerous Vietnamese flee the country in 1975. These people were the first generation that resided in American. Majority of this population are living in California. They brought along with them culture and traditions that are still being practiced and passed on to the next generation. Their health practices and beliefs has not changed due to many barriers. They believed in many mystical and supernatural as the main force in their health. Traditionally, men has the dominant status in the family household; moreover, they are the final decision maker. Originating from farming as their background, most of their diet consist rice, vegetables and fruits. Traditional foods are the still the main meals at the dinner table. Most of them are averse to eating American food; furthermore, they prefer food that are cook from scratch consisting more herbs and spices. Common health practices includes eastern herbal remedies, coining, and cupping. Though some of thes e practices has not proven effective, it is still being practiced base on culture. Some of the practices were mistaking with abuse; for example, coining is the process of using a coin-like object put pressure on the