Live Talk: Slavery in Our Times

Newsweek Web Exclusive

El Paso, Tx: Where do the women sold into slavery come from, and how do they wind up getting caught in the system?
Michael Korzinski, PhD and Lucy Kralj, RGN: Many of the women with whom we are working have been identified during police raids on the brothels in which they are forced to work. The women are often themselves arrested and imprisoned for immigration offences (i.e. working without valid VISA despite having been trafficked in to the country). They are then referred either from within jails or on termination of their sentence.

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Hot Springs, Ark: why is just the u.s. helping? isnt this the U.N.'s reponsibility? where are they???
Michael Korzinski, PhD and Lucy Kralj, RGN: The UN Global initiative to fight people trafficking was recently launched at the Vienna Forum highlighting the paucity of action internationally. The initiative aims to mobilize state and non-state actors to eradicate human trafficking by: 1)reducing both vulnerability of potential victims and the demand for exploitation in all forms; 2) ensuring adequate protection and support to those who do fall victim and 3) supporting the efficient prosecution of criminals involved whilst respecting the fundamental human rights of all persons. There are numerous country specific initiatives and pan-European initiatives also for example Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking Human Beings. This sets out a range of measures to tackle the crime of people trafficking. It is the first international treaty setting out minimum standards for the protection and support of victims. Although the UK has signed the convention it has yet to ratify.

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Jackee Hodges, Bountiful UT: What can I get my kids' classes (they're in junior high) to do to help? This would make a good class project I think, and help teach them that the world is full on injustice and that they should try to help.
Michael Korzinski, PhD and Lucy Kralj, RGN: This is a fantastic question, thank you. It is essential to raise awareness across the generations. When young people came through Journey installation , they were generally inspired to take action and were horrified by the cruelties injustices to which these women are routinely subjected by both traffickers and state agents in the form of government policy. One class took the initiative to create their own play, performed in their school based upon what they had learned in Journey. Another group raised money for the clinical programmes at the Helen Bamber Foundation. Many young people and their teachers fed back that they would be implementing modules on human trafficking within school curriculums. All people, particularly children and young people began to speak to friends, family, teachers, church groups, police and community institutions about action that could be taken. People were inspired and compelled to speak to anyone who would listen, and even to those who would not. Please contact us for more information

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Posted By: Gen_This!!! @ 04/12/2008 3:06:06 PM

Tracing a thread between articles from the past several issues (yes I religiously read all my Newsweeks cover-to-cover) I wanted to raise the question of what any of us can ethically do to eradicate the exploitation of women. Obviously like any other American, I cherish the liberties and rights of every citizen and am outraged to hear about situations like Elena's--which Emma Thompson wrote about last month in the March 17 issue--the increasing number of opium brides in Afghanistan???last week???and the "concerned citizens" of Iraq who are not only essentially extorting the U.S. but also enforcing medieval and discriminatory practices towards women???current. Frankly, I would like to see this sort of abuse stopped permanently. And yet, I inevitably realize that forcing our cultural norms on places such as the Middle East, though seemingly right, are in a sense no less victimizing to those we would be dominating by forcing them to abandon their cultural norms to appease our consciences. My question then is how can we discuss these injustices seriously without inflating ourselves into a neo-imperialist version of 19th-century Britain's "Great White Hunter," and how can we seek justice for the victims of sex slavery (in all its shades of meaning) without caging ourselves in the hypocrisy, racism, nationalism and culturalism of a "White Man's Burden" philosophy?

On some level I suspect that Nietzsche's well worn phrase applies more immediately in situations like this. As we self-righteously glare at the Abyss of culturally inherent abuses, it???s not only staring back. It's practically undressing us with its eyes.
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Posted By: Gen_This!!! @ 04/12/2008 3:05:12 PM

Tracing a thread between articles from the past several issues (yes I religiously read all my Newsweeks cover-to-cover) I wanted to raise the question of what any of us can ethically do to eradicate the exploitation of women. Obviously like any other American, I cherish the liberties and rights of every citizen and am outraged to hear about situations like Elena's--which Emma Thompson wrote about last month in the March 17 issue--the increasing number of opium brides in Afghanistan???last week???and the "concerned citizens" of Iraq who are not only essentially extorting the U.S. but also enforcing medieval and discriminatory practices towards women???current. Frankly, I would like to see this sort of abuse stopped permanently. And yet, I inevitably realize that forcing our cultural norms on places such as the Middle East, though seemingly right, are in a sense no less victimizing to those we would be dominating by forcing them to abandon their cultural norms to appease our consciences. My question then is how can we discuss these injustices seriously without inflating ourselves into a neo-imperialist version of 19th-century Britain's "Great White Hunter," and how can we seek justice for the victims of sex slavery (in all its shades of meaning) without caging ourselves in the hypocrisy, racism, nationalism and culturalism of a "White Man's Burden" philosophy?

On some level I suspect that Nietzsche's well worn phrase applies more immediately in situations like this. As we self-righteously glare at the Abyss of culturally inherent abuses, it???s not only staring back. It's practically undressing us with its eyes.
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Posted By: Gen_This!!! @ 04/12/2008 2:48:14 PM

Tracing a thread between articles from the past several issues (yes I religiously read all my Newsweeks cover-to-cover), I wanted to raise the question of what any of us can ethically do. Obviously like any other American, I cherish the liberties and rights of every citizen and am outraged to hear about situations like Elena's--which Emma Thompson wrote about last month--the increasing number of opium brides and the "concerned citizen" of Iraq who are not only essentially extorting the U.S. but also enforcing medieval and discriminatory practices towards women. Frankly, I would like to see this sort of abuse stopped perminantly. And yet, I inevitably realize that forcing our cultural norms on places such as the Middle East, though seemingly right, are in a sense no less victimizing to those we would be dominating by forcing them to abandon their cultural norms to appease our consciences. My question then, is how can we stop these injustices without inflating ourselves into neo-imperialist versions of 19th-century Britain's "Great White Hunter," and how can we seek justice for the victims of sexist cultures, without caging ourselves in the hypocracy, racism and culturalism of a "White Man's Burden" philosophy?

On some level I suspect that Nietzsche's well worn phrase applies more immediately in times like this because in this case the abyss is not just staring back. It's practically undressing us with its eyes.