Human Trafficking- Third Most Prolific Criminal Organization in the World

Many of those who have heard me rant and carry on about the issue of Human Trafficking have heard me sling the statistic that HT is the second most prolific organized crime in the world, behind drug trafficking. Well, I'm not one who desires to sling numbers and assertions without having a good base from where I can operate and assert such claims, as doing so only to be proven wrong lessens the impact and severity of the matter. To be clear, I was not pushing this statistic without some grasp on facts I've obtained from various sources; I have heard the crime reported as such, being the second most common behind drugs. Well, I looked into it and discovered that, at least according to some, including the FBI, I was off by one.

It turns out that HT is the third most common criminal activity, not the second.

Yeah, I know. Hold the press.

The thing is, because these numbers and issues aren't exactly reported and collected with the accuracy of, say, car sales, it can be hard to substantiate a lot of what is claimed. Some claim the numbers are far less and that the ballooned claim only serves to weaken the endeavor to help stop the problem. But maybe we're at a point where value judgment based on such statistics is a distraction from the bigger problem, which is the fact that such a crime exists so commonly.

Around the globe, poorer and lesser developed countries are losing their daughters and children at rapid rates to traffickers who sell the victims to those who want them. More than half of these victims are forced into prostitution, which has a market demand everywhere, particularly in developed and wealthier countries (like this one). Forced labor is a significant problem, too, with sweat shops and other menial labors being forced via threats and beatings. To add to the horror, HT is occurring at a remarkable and tragic rate (despite the rankings of numbers) in order to add to the growing pile of black market organs for sale.

Rank the numbers where one desires, but the fact remains that these crimes are global, affecting everyone, threatening everyone (in Russia, poor women aren't the only targets, but also well educated and more sophisticated women lured into victimization via more sophisticated methods) and so widespread that their existence places a pock on humanity nobody can deny with pie graphs and Power Point presentations. Most people will call these things whatever they want to, but the truth is that these crimes place a mark of evil on humanity so obvious that for humanity to allow claims to the contrary would be daunting to support.

The fact remains that the numbers of victims are in seven figures, not two or three, so minimizing the issue through pedestrian arguments such as where the crime ranks compared to drugs or weapons trafficking (yes, there is your #2 crime, precious) or even criminal acts like assault and larceny (two of the most common crimes committed by people) is more dangerous than skewed statistics. Honestly, the fact that this sort of criminal activity is more common than nuclear arms smuggling (which would garner more attention with increased statistics, if I can dare a guess) should ping on the radar of a global society calling itself civilized. Because it is fair to say statistics demonstrate these sorts of crimes are not nearly as prolific or widespread with any other species we know. Bears don't do it, sharks don't do this, whales aren't in on it, and neither are kangaroos. This is a human crime of vast, vast proportions that is not receiving the attention it requires, but is only being fed and supported by human shortcomings and failures.

So, what can we do about this? It is reasonable to support the opinion of those who claim HT and related crimes operate much in the same way as do vampires. They operate well in the dark and away from the awareness of those around them. But expose them to the light by actively seeking them out and forcing that exposure (because what other option is there other than allowing vampires to prey on us because, hey, it isn't as though there are so many of them that they outnumber drug runners), they die off quickly and are rendered harmless to those they seek to harm. This is what we need to do regarding Human Traffickers and modern-day slave drivers; the civilized world needs to view this as a crime against our species and treat it as a clear and present danger to the future of Human Civilization. If bears were pouring out of the forests and hills at a rate that they were preying on humans at a rate of a million per year, it seems reasonable to support the assumption that something would be done about that. It seems likely that there would be a significant drop in bear populations and a rise in cheap bear meat and hide.

So, why does humanity choose to ignore this crime as something abnormal and isolated? Perhaps it has to do with the crime seeming so horrifying that it is difficult to accept as truth when it seems too horrible to contemplate. Moreover, the media simply does not cover it as being this widespread, but instead chooses to cherry-pick the incidences most comforting to the aspect of the issue covered by that particular reporter or team of investigators. Now, the awareness level is rising and people are doing more to help (through watching for signs and reporting incidences as they occur with more organized groups out there), but it still remains that HT crimes are considered quite easy to get away with and certainly worth the risk. The average so-called pimp can make a dazzling annual wage, tax free, through forcing just six victimized, strung out, beaten and starved, addicted, frightened kidnapping victims to turn ten tricks a day while he chills out in his customized car, watching the easy money pour in with very little effort or resistance. Because groups such a Truckers Against Trafficking exist, he can't peddle them at the truck stops so easily anymore, but code words uttered over the CB help some, and there is always Craigslist and Back Page.

The truth of the matter is that this is not just a test of the ability of law enforcement and political leadership, but a test for all of humanity. Humanity would not be happy with an extraterrestrial entity coming to us and labeling us evil because of how we operate and prey upon our own kind, but it would be difficult to argue. If we were placed on some sort of intergalactic criminal list and faced potential prosecution, we could not claim ignorance of the law or existence of any life beyond our own planet, because we adore every opportunity to sling the assertion that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Of course it is ridiculous to concern ourselves with facing this InterGalactic Tribunal from the Realm of Zenu, but it is not ridiculous to ponder the notion that we would be found most guilty if such a dramatic moment arrived. Moreover, there is no good reason to continue with this heinous criminal activity just because we don't face potential prosecution from beyond our own kind. The fact remains that this is a great and horrible evil and should be brought to a halt simply for that reason alone.

The outcome of this crime and how it affects our kind into the future will easily inform us, and every other intelligent species, exactly of what we are.