More on Contemporary Slavery

Today, Nick Kristof writes another op-ed calling attention to the global slave trade. Although he often focuses on forced prostitution, today he correctly reminds us that “slavery is what this is. The real problem isn’t prostitution or trafficking, it’s the enslavement of people.”

It is not a simple problem, and it is a substantial one. Kristof writes:

“It seems almost certain that the modern global slave trade is larger in absolute terms than the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries was,” notes an important article about trafficking in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. It adds, “Just as the British government (after much prodding by its subjects) once used the Royal Navy to stamp out the problem, today’s great powers must bring their economic and military might to bear on this most crucial of undertakings.”

The link to Kristof’s full op-ed is here:

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/opinion/12kristof.html?hp

Bipartisan concerns over trafficking led to the 2000 passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Unfortunately, the criminalization of migrants — both domestically and abroad — is clearly a factor that further enables traffickers.

jmc