Human traffic 073009

Legal slave trade was eliminated for most of the western world in the 18th century. In mid 19th century slavery was banned in the United States. Most of the world slowly banned slavery so by the 20th century slavery was no longer an issue, right? WRONG.

Slavery never ended it merely adapted to new dynamics and governments turned a blind eye to the problem. Now in the 21st century trafficking in humans is the number one international crime. In some cases governments themselves are party to continuing slavery. During World War Two the United States officially imported unskilled workers who were exploited and often held in appalling conditions by Agri-businesses and factories owners. At the end of the war most of these workers were rounded up and ejected from the country without any recourse to justice. Post war Germany sanctioned importation of Turkish “guest workers” who, without rights were exploited by businesses. This practice continues today in many parts of the world as governments seek “cheap labor” to support domestic industry and public works.

The tentacles of human trafficking now reach into virtually every country either in exploitation or supply of cheap labor. Traffickers recruit among the poor, with grand promises, for stoop laborers and the sex workers. These traffickers often add a twist by extorting payments from the victims for the privilege of being of trafficked. Attractive young men, women and children are recruited only to end up as sex workers once in a strange land. As in the 17th century others are captured and sold to traffickers by human dealers in poorer regions of the world.

Once in a foreign land without friend, papers or language trafficking victims are easy prey. Even if they are rescued from traffickers along their odyssey victims may fall into the hands of corrupt officials who trade on fear. Victims have to fear retaliation, attacks on families, criminal charges, deportation and official abuse back in their home countries.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) an estimated 8.1 million victims of forced labor in the world today are denied more than $20 billion due to the perpetrators of human trafficking. These opportunity costs, or "stolen" wages, are incurred largely in the developing world and most significantly in Asia and the Pacific, which accounts for $8.9 billion, or almost half of forced labor's costs in the world. As wages denied and not remitted to workers’ home countries, these costs can be viewed as an impediment to economic development.

Unlike immigrants who eventually work themselves up and take their place in new societies victims of human trafficking are lost in a quagmire that sucks their soul into oblivion. The black market cost of human trafficking is measured (above) but there is another cost that must be considered. Both the supplying and exploiting countries are ignoring the probable potential and future contributions those who are traded as a labor commodity may make in open societies. As nations once learned global societies must learn again that the cost of slavery can not be supported.