By: Phyllis Bivins-Hudson
These last few months have really been interesting.
There have been highs and lows.
However, I am glad there have been more highs than lows.
One of the many highs is a free event coming up on November 2, 2023, at 281 Essex Street, in Milburn, NJ, where I will be reading from my book, Flying on Broken Wings. I'd love to have you all come as my guests.
As for the lows, I've spent quite a bit of time wrestling with thoughts of the trauma around human trafficking and reporting on them.
In August, we began the conversation about human trafficking.
Then, in September, I shared the interview I conducted with Raven Symone, who led a discussion about mental illness.
But now it's time to circle back to bring some closure to our conversation about trafficking.
While the conversation will move from center stage for now, it in no way means we won't revisit this critical topic.
This is an issue that will not go away any time soon, and we need to always have it present in our thoughts.
We spent time talking about the sex trade, but there are other forms of trafficking. There's forced labor, domestic servitude, child begging, and illegal harvesting of organs.
Forced labor is a very serious issue in this country and abroad.
Forced labor trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.
Labor trafficking includes situations of debt bondage, forced labor, and involuntary child labor.
Many of us are aware of situations where our friends, family, and even we have domestic servants. We usually pay them based on an agreed-upon salary.
However, when these people perform labor or services in which they receive no wages or are unfairly paid for their services, it is illegal and considered labor trafficking, forced labor, or modern-day slavery. There are many instances of this.
In fact, right here in North Jersey, Newark-East Orange, to be more specific, there was a case of a woman enslaving young girls under the guise of providing them with work opportunities.
According to NJ.com (10.15.09), the West African woman involved willfully "smuggled girls from Togo and Ghana and forced them to work without pay at hair-braiding salons in New Jersey."
There were more than 20 girls who ranged in age from as young as ten years old to 19 years old.
All of them were "... from impoverished African villages with the promise of a better life in America, authorities said. But once the women arrived, Afolabi, the [West African woman charged], forced them to braid hair for up to 14 hours a day at salons in Newark and East Orange in a case investigators equated to modern-day slavery."
Once these children and young women were in America, "Afolabi confiscated their passports, beat them, and used a voodoo ritual to frighten them into believing they would go insane if they escaped. They were barred from attending school, learning English, making friends, or dating. Several were [even] sexually assaulted by Afolabi's ex-husband and her son."
And this is but one of the many cases of its kind.
The trial of this woman served to highlight for us all the pervasiveness of human trafficking not just in New Jersey but across the United States and abroad.
Smuggling people into New Jersey seems easier for criminals because New Jersey has such easy access. Our highways are crowded, making it difficult to note any irregularities, and because we have ports, bus and train terminals, and large immigrant communities, it is fairly easy to ship and/or conceal victims.
Common types of labor trafficking include people forced to work in homes as domestic servants, farmworkers coerced through violence as they harvest crops, or factory workers held in inhumane conditions with little to no pay.
While it may seem that we may not be able to directly do a lot for these victims, there are a few ways in which we can help. Read through these human trafficking indicators.
- If an employee is living with an employer, this should raise a red flag. In today's world, it is a bit unusual for workers to live with their employers. However, it may not always be the case that the person is being labor trafficked.
- If the person appears to be in poor living conditions, this, too, should be a red flag. However, many among us are and have been living in poor conditions due to other factors and circumstances. So, to the best of your ability, make sure those conditions are suspected because of evidence that might suggest labor trafficking.
- When there are multiple people in a cramped space, this might be a case of labor trafficking. For instance, when an apartment is designed with only two bedrooms, but you know there are too many people living in that space, then it may be cause for an investigation into labor trafficking. i.e., eight people living in a 2-bedroom apartment.
- The inability to speak to other people alone should also raise a red flag. When capable people are not allowed to speak for themselves, it should beg the question, why not? And perhaps if that question is asked and not answered correctly, then it may very well be a case of labor trafficking.
- When talking to a person whose answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed, a red flag should be raised. If a person is engaged in a normal conversation, but their responses or general comments don't sound general but instead sound as if they are coming from someone else, beware! This, too, maybe an instance of human trafficking.
- No matter what your employment may be, no one has a right to hold on to your credentials, however, this is often the case in labor trafficking instances. The "employer" will hold on to the victim's identity documents to keep them from possibly running away, going to the authorities, or telling someone else about their circumstances.
- Although you may not know what happened, if you see an individual with signs of physical abuse, it should raise a red flag. If, for instance, you know the person is living in a work situation, but you suspect they are being abused, then you might report this information but do not question the person or the "employer." If the red flag is raised, then you know what to do.
- If a person appears to be overly submissive or fearful, consider why. If you know anything about the person's status and you believe he/she might be a victim of labor trafficking, report it to the proper authorities, but again, don't approach or question the person or the employer. Remember, doing the latter could put the victim in more danger.
- Another red flag is when victims work for periods of time and either receive no payment or very little payment. These are unfair labor practices and should be reported.
- Finally, when a victim, whether male or female, is under 18 and in prostitution, the red flag should be up. Report this immediately. In fact, this particular act can also be considered sex trafficking.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, globally, the International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with IOM, estimate that there are 24.9 million people trapped in forced labor, with 16 million victims of labor trafficking in private industry, 4.8 million victims of sex trafficking, and 4.1 million victims of state-imposed forced labor.
The U.S. Department of Labor has identified 148 goods from 76 countries made by forced and child labor. The numbers are staggering.
These figures may seem unbelievable to the average person, but if you do just a cursory search for information about human trafficking and, more specifically, labor trafficking, you will be surprised at how rampant this crime against humanity really is. I dare you to do the research!
Remember—if you see or suspect something, say something to the proper authorities, but not to the victim or the criminal. You could be putting the victim and/or yourself in mortal danger.
Until next time, keep flying on your own wings…