Human Trafficking – a worker’s rights problem

President Obama has declared January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The problem of forced labor and imprisonment of women, children and men has been increasing globally and nationally. Forced labor decreases the number of jobs available for legally employed workers or adds to the hidden problem of sex trafficking.An article from the Detroit Free Press states that “the number of cases under investigation has skyrocketed in the US — from 300 in 2008 to 2,515 in 2010.”  A 1000 of the 2010 cases were said to involve children. Two million cases globally and up to 18,000 nationally is an estimate of the number of victims involved yearly.

A calico comfort dolly, for a painful problem.

“Eighty-three percent of victims in confirmed sex trafficking cases in the U.S. in 2010 were American citizens, though 67% of labor trafficking victims were unlawful immigrants and 28% were legal immigrants.” (the 2,515 cases) [The news article is no longer available.]

“The National Human Trafficking Resource Center hot line gets 1,000 calls a month about suspected trafficking victims. Hot line calls coming from Michigan also have doubled in recent years, from 87 in 2009 to 173 in 2011.”     NHTRC hotline (24/7): 1.888.3737.888

It can seem like a black world, or a blank self.

*hopeless, gray/black – lightless and hopeless, abusers often devalue their victims with negative comments about them and the things they like, mixed with occasional nice or loving treatment – it leads to the victim becoming more obedient, hoping for the nice treatment.

Victims frequently are emotionally abused, lied to about how bad the risks in the outer world actually are and about their own self worth and value. Frequently the victims are invited to a foreign place for a job and then are kept in debt and isolated with limited language or knowledge of the local customs.

Awareness of hot-lines and emergency shelters helped bring domestic violence and child abuse into the light. The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
or for those with Text Telephone service: 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
[thehotline.org/get-educated/what-is-domestic-violence/ ]

The USDA Domestic Violence  Awareness Handbook : [dm.usda.gov/shmd/aware.htm]

The scared person who looks a little different may benefit from a smile and maybe a business card with a few important phone numbers and self worth statements. It is hard to speak up for yourself if you don’t know the language and believe you don’t deserve to learn it.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center hot line is part of the Polaris Project which was named after the North Star. Slaves used the North Star as their compass to navigate the dark woods on their journey to freedom along the Underground Railroad. The name is a figure of speech not a train ride – it was mostly hiking more often than kindly hay rides. Many helping hands were involved however and the tradition has been continued since 2002 by the Polaris Project. It is working towards a vision of a world without slavery. [PolarisProject.org]  1.888.3737.888

How to recognize the signs that someone might be a victim of abuse or slavery of some sort: [polarisproject.org]

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. 

On courage and self acceptance – from a child’s face to the world’s eyes, please see

MoveOn.org has a page of resources that included these two videos about two individuals a little distance in years and age but not in shared pain and understanding. Growing up with ears full of negatives can leave self worth in the bucket. Add bullying and crushing shame can lead to believing the negative messages.Rewriting the bad names that are engraved on the inner workings of the mind can take time and maybe even 10,000 hours of practice to master new messages of believing in self and others. (10,000 hour research was summarized in the book, Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, the mastery part was summarized, not the bad name part).

A problem with bad names is the self doubt that they can turn into. Regularly being told to believe certain things that disagree with more internal messages, can make those instincts and preferences that arrive with growing up even more confusing than they are for “normal” teenagers. A hormonal cyclone – a whether condition, whether surviving teen years with fewer or more emotional trauma triggers may be the question. Storm conditions turbulent, expect a little weather and consider packing an umbrella when traveling with teens, tots or any of the rest of us.

On Facebook
  • [a video response to the second video link- I saw the response first – very powerful – it helped to handle the second one.  Bullying by others can be painful but self bullying can bite deeper yet. Thanks to all courageous survivors and especially to the ones who share the message of change. The bully is fear and doubt and worry and hunger too – magnesium deficiency = irritable and stubborn and impatient  http://front.moveon.org/a-powerful-response-to-jonahs-extremely-viral-video/]
  •  [powerful video jonah, http://front.moveon.org/what-if-this-were-your-child/]
  • Regarding self injury which was an issue for the young adult in the previous link by Jonah, moveon.org, since he was in Second Grade, I’ve since learned of a biological reason that might underlie the urge to self injure in some cases. Hyperparathyroidism can be caused by low calcium levels or by low vitamin D levels. An endocrinologist would likely be the specialist involved in diagnosing the condition but any medical professional able to order lab tests could order a screening lab test for the parathyroid hormone level. A low PTH level may cause feelings of jitteriness, racing thoughts and an internal explosive feeling with an urge to ‘pop’ it open – really weird and scary – in my personal experience with the condition. Bullying is bad and difficult to cope with but add hyperparathyroidism and racing uncontrolled thoughts that include an urge to self injure and the potential for suicide can be hard to control. In my case I needed only add more calcium, as I have a tendency towards excess vitamin D. Vitamin D can affect calcium and magnesium balance and both minerals can affect mood. Magnesium is more relaxing and calcium can cause anger/rage. Having both in balance is important. I discuss the condition and my experience further in this post: https://transcendingsquare.com/2016/04/23/self-injurious-behavior-in-autism-patients-with-low-calcium-levels/
  • TheTrevorProject.org 

Transgender issues are not about choice but about estrogen like chemicals polluting nature and our food and water supply. Transgender is an issue for many species of wildlife these days – not just humans. The issue has appeared in history in societies that were at a stressed and maximal population level.

Bullying, name calling and discrimination are all related issues and are not about making choices or about denying self.   Love one another every day.

MayChy28‘s Youtube Channel: Merry Christmas Africa – I don’t know what the text says but the piano music is lovely and the photos speak volumes, I’ll hope that the text matches. link
Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World” with photo montage  link

/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./