Source: the (UNODC) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- "600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex (U.S. Government)
- When internal trafficking victims are added to the estimates, the number of victims annually is in the range of 2 to 4 million
- 50% of those victims are estimated to be children
- It is estimated that 76 percent of transactions for sex with underage girls start on the Internet
- 50% of those victims are estimated to be children
- 2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)
- There are 20.9 Million victims of Trafficking World wide as of 2012
- 1.5 Million victims in the United States"
 |
| source |
I have seen a heart breaking movie, based on a true story, a few years ago. It was about a girl from Eastern Europe, who was promised to get a job. Her passport was taken and she ended up as a sex slave. My poem is based on her.
Prompt human trafficking for Poets United
Human trafficking
Sparkling eyes,
the kind young
dreams are made off
lured with bait
of a better future,
Bait thrown out
by the greedy ones.
A girl caught in the net
of human trafficking
the kind young
dreams are made off
lured with bait
of a better future,
Bait thrown out
by the greedy ones.
A girl caught in the net
of human trafficking
Her tears silenced,
in a dried up well
Shackled in shame,
teared down by
sex obsessed beasts,
dressed in designer suits
ripping out the soul
of a girl as young
as their daughter
The eyes of the world
don’t meet hers
don’t record what’s going
on in their backyard
There is shopping to do
in a dried up well
Shackled in shame,
teared down by
sex obsessed beasts,
dressed in designer suits
ripping out the soul
of a girl as young
as their daughter
The eyes of the world
don’t meet hers
don’t record what’s going
on in their backyard
There is shopping to do
Well, as usual, the UN deals with statistics only - no real actions. And, as you mention in the last stanza of your poem - the world is busy ..shopping.
ReplyDeleteFor all the bright lights and shoppingwe we live in an ugly world but it is so easy to look the other way...or go shopping as you sarcastically put it.
ReplyDeleteThat last line is a killer! You make the issue visible in this amazing poem. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBeasts are better than these filthy, lowly humans and one step further on the evolutionary ladder. What a shame that this world has come to this! True your last line is a killer, just as Susan says.
ReplyDeleteA powerful write - I loved every word
ReplyDeleteYes, when we put a face on it..."young as their daughter," your poems is so meaningful.
ReplyDeleteYour final stanza says it all.
ReplyDeleteMarja, what is the name of that movie? I watch such films as feel I need to know what is happening in the world, much as it breaks my heart. Your poem captures her to perfection - her bright eyes and dreams starting out, trapped in a hell she cant escape - while the world goes shopping.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember but it was on YouTube and it was produced by the victim itself. There are many on YouTube now. I will have another look tonight and see if I can find that one.
DeleteCan't find it There are many on you tube however movies and documentaries All shocking
DeleteA great poem! This has been making the news. Thank you for helping to raise awareness.
ReplyDeleteYour words are so realistic as is this problem.
ReplyDeleteThank you for focusing on human trafficking. But I have nothing else to say about this tragedy. I am speechless.
ReplyDeleteIt's problems like human trafficking that make me wonder if our species will survive. The weak and helpless are so easy to ignore.
ReplyDeletehidden in plain sight.............amazing
ReplyDeleteHi Marja - so well written and so descriptive of the poor girls - just desperate for them. Congratulations on an excellent poem on a terrible subject - all the best Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe bitter truth. We see, but we choose not to. Selective memories...
ReplyDelete'Shopping to do' - you told a whole story in these words
And everywhere, the greed allow traffickers to flourish — to abuse and exploit! And we all have a role in stopping it.!What a pity...!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lines...