“stolen people – stolen dreams”

Social conscience or maybe I should call it political (not at all political interested), but whatever we decide to call it – is something I have plenty of and that I have to thank my mum for. Had it already as a teenager and when it was time for me to see the world I was very aware of where I spent my money.

Still the same, I would never spend my money in a country that I don’t agree with the regime – not by my own choice anyhow. My work has taken me to some countries that I wouldn’t had visit by personal choice – under my year working aboard the little red ship, M/S Lindblad Explorer.

My year aboard resulted that I ended up at hospital in Chile during Pinochet’s time and I visited some beautiful islands of Thailand and Bangkok.

Thailand, I would never go back to with my own money – it’s a beautiful country with so friendly people, but when the regime denies that they have HIV, just so the tourism will not be damage and when children can be sold for sex, is it not destination for me. If I want beautiful islands with palm trees, sand and coral reefs there are other destinations for me to choose from. Sad because my oldest friend lives there since a couple of years back – but I stand by my beliefs.

I never went to Spain during Franco’s regime and I never visit Greece during so long as the Junta was at power.

During my year onboard, Lindblad, I spent quite lot of time in China – it was just after Mao’s death – but today I wouldn’t go back – because of their violations against human rights. Pity really, because I would love to see today’s China too.

This only my own stands, views and beliefs – I don’t condemn or get upset over if anyone that goes to Thailand or anywhere else, it’s up them – their money and time. Maybe somebody will say – then you have to stay at home – because there is always something social and political impropriety going on in nearly every country and I agree with that – but there different levels. There are those that some people cause and there are those that government allows to happen or dictate.

Then we have the “slaves” that works in factories – children and underpaid adults.
Two Swedish worldwide companies have been caught out.
IKEA, a couple of years ago – but they have now much better control over the conditions of their manufactures work environments and conditions. I didn’t shop at IKEA until they statement about harder regulation and now they work hard against child labor – IKEA aganist child labor.
H&M, was caught out last year – and I stopped shopping there for now, until they have taken their responsibility.

The reason for this post is really a film that I watched the other evening – Trade of Innocents (2012) – with Dermot Mulroney, Mira Sorvino and John Billingsley. A film about human trafficking in Cambodia  – were girls so young as 5 to 7 years old are sold for sex after been sold by parents or kidnapped. A true story. Not a brutal film as such, there was some violence – but most of its ugliness was up the viewer’s imagination.

Don’t think the film will receive any Oscar’s, but good enough and I enjoyed the movie – but the issue that is close to my heart – and it’s the one of biggest criminal money making business in the world now – human trafficking. How low can the human race sink??

Women in far too many countries  … in all ages are being kidnapped, lured and sold for sex, maybe not my age group or older – but still 80 year old ladies are being rape and brutal beaten and this happens in Sweden. 2% of the trafficking is male, and audult men are being raped. What a sick world we live in.

Young American girls, 13-18 years old has been kidnapped and found working as sex slaves !!!!!

During my treatments I met a Polish lady – her daughter disappeared during a holiday in Italy – blond and beautiful young woman of 28 – the Italian police thinks she has been kidnapped and sold in some Arab country – she travelled with her girlfriends, had a daughter and husband at home.
Nobody’s daughter, sister or wife is safe.

I’m a member of “Amnesty International” since 2006 – after I watch the movie “Bordertown” with Jennifer Lopez, Antonio Banderas and Martin Sheen. About this Mexican town, Juarez,  just by the US border where 100rds of women has been raped and killed – and large number of women still missing. Their bodies are buried out in no man land and families of the missing goes out and dig themselves to find their daughters and wifes. Based on the truth and the government or police don’t do anything – all because big US companies has their factories there and massive US interests in the town.

I’m not saying that it’s Americans that rape and kill now – but nobody want make an issue about it, so the Americans move their interests somewhere else. The film got Amnesty Honor prize. A very brutal and violent movie – but a movie that everybody should watch. Brilliant acting – and when joining Amnesty I found out that isn’t the only place in South America this happens.

In Juarez, since 1993 around 400 women have been brutally murdered; kidnapped, raped and suffocated. Mainly young women age 17-22 years of age. Several arrests have been made but no conviction. They call it a mystery – I call it a brutal reality!!!! Because those women hasn’t been raped and killed by aliens or ghosts, it only done by sick and evil men.

Facts from –“Free the Slaves”

Facts about Modern Slavery

• Slavery: forced to work without pay under threat of violence and unable to walk away.
• 27 million slaves are in the world today.
• Slavery is not legal anywhere but happens everywhere.
• The majority of slaves can be found in India and in African countries.
• Slaves work in fields, brothels, homes, mines, restaurants—anywhere slave owners can feed their greed.
• Human trafficking is the modern-day slave trade.
• $90 is the average cost of a human slave sold around the world.
• Slave holders use many terms to avoid the word “slavery”: debt bondage, bonded labor, attached labor, restive, forced labor, indentured servitude and human trafficking.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: THE FACTS from “Untied Global Compact”

The headline facts
• An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced lab our (including sexual exploitation) at any given time as a result of trafficking
Of these:
• 1.4 million – 56% – are in Asia and the Pacific
• 250,000 – 10% – are in Latin America and the Caribbean
• 230,000 – 9.2% – are in the Middle East and Northern Africa
• 130,000 – 5.2% – are in sub-Saharan countries
• 270,000 – 10.8% – are in industrialized countries
• 200,000 – 8% – are in countries in transition

• 161 countries are reported to be affected by human trafficking by being a source, transit or destination count
• People are reported to be trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries, affecting every continent and every type of economy

The Victims
• The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age
• An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year
• 95% of victims experienced physical or sexual violence during trafficking (based on data from selected   European countries)
• 43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of which 98 per cent are women and girls
• 32% of victims are used for forced economic exploitation, of which 56 per cent are women and girls
• Many trafficking victims have at least middle-level education

The Human Trafficking is the 3rd most profitable criminal business in the world – after drugs and guns have been placed around US$32billion.

FBI says about the problem, US is the biggest market for slavery.
“It’s sad but true: here in this country, people are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern-day slaves.”

There is so much information out there about this global issue. I have only touch the surface and I didn’t have to dig very deep.

“Free the Slaves” have a long list of films about all kind of slavery – movie list. I haven’t seen all, but I have seen quite a few. One that I really want to recommend is “Human Trafficking” – a mini TV series from 2005 with Mira Sorvino, Donald Sutherland, Robert Carlyle and Remy Girard, that now is made into a movie.

Regarding the sex industry and prostitution, we should legalize it, because in my eyes it has a social place in our society and there is a need, it’s also the oldest job in history. Hard to admit, but needed!!!!  Legalize and let the ladies pay tax, have regular health checkups and give them a much safer working environment. Just like they have do in Germany and the Netherlands. If ladies  has to be registered and pay tax – it will be under controlled forms and the demand will be so much less, I would dare to say about 60% less.

We can make a difference – if we want to … look what happen in India, when people took to the streets in protest against the laws for rape, after a young woman been gang raped on bus and died from her injuries. Now the laws will be changed.

Look what happened in South Africa with Apartheid. So we can if we want. But so long as – we say lets talk about something else, this really doesn’t concern me … the ugliness will go on and on.

Thanks a million for taking your time reading this … let us do our part and what we can – there is so many organizations that works for this cause that we can support.

As “Free the Slaves” say, we can end slavery in our lifetime. Everyone has a role to play: government, business, international organizations, consumers, you and I.

“STOLEN PEOPLE – STOLEN DREAMS”
National Anti-Trafficking Day slogan 

Photos provided by and thanks to: imdb.com/twitter.com/savedbynails.org/presstv.ir/
bawso.org.uk/photoship.co.uk/struggle.com.pk/fbi.gov