Conference on World Affairs: Human trafficking touches every country

U.S. tracking focuses on prevention, protection and prosecution

In the world today, who is trafficking whom and why? This topic was discussed Tuesday at 11 a.m. during the Conference on World Affairs by Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Carolyn Rose, Joy Zarembka and Charles Jess.

Trafficking of humans is defined as the recruitment and transportation of persons based on force or coercion.

Suwanvanichkij, who explained the social, economic and political aspects of trafficking, said to think about trafficking as migration.

“There are facts that push people to migrate, and there is a pull for people to migrate,” Suwanvanichkij said.

Charles Jess explained that no country is immune from trafficking.

“An estimation of two million people are being trafficked and enslaved around the world,” Jess said. “The trade is now a market worth 30 to 40 billion dollars a year, and is worth more than drug trafficking.”

Jess continues to explain the U.S. government’s role in dealing with trafficking. Since 2001, the U.S. has set up an office to rate the trafficking problems in other countries. Every year, this office rates countries on the three “P’s:” prevention, protection and prosecution.

Joy Zarembka explains the irony of the U.S. government rating other countries.

“What’s interesting,” Zarembka says, “is even though the U.S. talked to other countries about their trafficking problems, they failed to look in their own backyard.”

Zarembka also explains that trafficking is like commuting.

“We all commute for a job,” Zarembka said. “People who are being trafficked just travel a lot father.”

Carolyn Rose focused more on the trafficking issues between Hades and the Dominican Republic. She explained that it is mostly children being trafficked to work in the Dominican Republic in the sugar cane fields and in construction.

Suwanvanichkij said trafficking has not been dealt with in the proper way.

“In really dealing with unsafe migration and trafficking, we are not winning, we are losing,” Suwanvanichkij said. “We have to deal with those factors that cause these problems.”

Jess said he agrees with Suwanvanichkij’s statement.

“We are basically playing politics here,” Jess said. “What we should be doing is addressing the underlying qualities, we shouldn’t be trying to play a political game.”

Rose said she thinks we are up against macro-dynamics that are happening in the world, and Zarembka questioned if we are just trying to imply some sort of pressure to certain countries.

“I think we are in the midst of a changing economy,” Rose said. “We need to look at all of us, not just one piece of us as an us vs. them, because the world is changing.”

Contact Campus Press staff writer Molly Gasiewicz at [email protected]