Today is the day marked by the UN as the World Day Against the Trafficking of Persons. Today is a hard conversation, but we need it.
Here are the myriad of resources I listed in this episode:
https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-human-trafficking-day
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=5593#rating
https://www.ecpat.org/what-we-do/
https://www.freedomspromise.org/
https://www.safehorizon.org/get-informed/human-trafficking-statistics-facts/#description/
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-human-trafficking
https://www.google.com/alerts#
INTRO: You’re listening to an unnumbered episode of the Art of Play Podcast. This podcast is about play, all play. This podcast is researching play as a means of not just being better adults, but better, well-rounded humans.
Welcome to the first un-numbered episode of the Art of Play podcast. I wanted this episode to stand alone and be referenced without need to listen to any other episode for reference. Today is July 30th, and today is the day marked by the UN to bring awareness to Trafficking of Persons, or in other words today is the day they have established as a day to note that there are people today still being trafficked throughout the world. There is a large social media movement around the trafficking of children, focused on today, and this is where I feel my voice on this podcast would add to the discussion. If you have listened before, you know that this podcast directly stems from my family’s foundation focused on improving childhood for children around the globe. If you don’t know, let me give you a short synopsis. I have a son that passed away, his name is Oliver. Oliver touched many many lives in his eight months on earth, and in his memory my own little family has taken on trying to influence lives of children around the world for good, in whatever way we can. We have spent time in refugee camps in primarily the Middle East and Mexico, as well as time in rural Vietnam to learn about the ways that childhood is cut short for many children across the globe. I made play our family mission, and a personal push to make play a priority, not just for children, but to reinforce that play is our evolutionary right to figure life out for ourselves. We are hardwired for play from the beginning, and we never really graduate from that need, it simply modifies and evolves with us.
Human trafficking is a problem throughout the globe. Human trafficking happens in just about every walk of life, but does strongly have ties to certain supply chains. Trafficking of children is one horrific way that trafficking gains a compelling storyline. Today, we are talking about hard things. These are things that I won’t necessarily try and soften, but I am going to summarize in order to efficiently give you time to process. I am going to cover three quick things. First, the causes and kinds of trafficking. Second, some good resources for awareness, and then third, 5 things you can actively be doing to advocate for a more robust global community willing to decrease demand for the need of trafficked humans.
First, let’s talk about what trafficking looks like. Human trafficking involves transporting someone into a situation of exploitation. This kind of exploitation is known by a few different names -- “human trafficking,” “trafficking of persons,” and “modern slavery” are the ones accepted by the US Department of State. People are trafficked for a few different reasons, but many times it is a financial decision. Families can be in dire need of a financial increase, there can be too many children to feed, or there is a promise of a better employment outcome. People with a history of sexual and physical abuse or that live in certain regions of the world are considered the most vulnerable of our global population. The estimated numbers are between 20 and 40 million people today that are considered enslaved. The number varies so drastically because there is no good way at getting reported numbers. These numbers come from sophisticated algorithms and educated estimations. But to emphasize, there are no finite numbers. I think the biggest heartbreak is the realization that generational poverty and social structures that allow for trafficking to be economically appealing, are the causes throughout the globe.
Humans are trafficked in many ways that actually affect our lives in many ways. We live in a globalized economy, which means we have access now more than ever to products that reach throughout every country and manufacturing process. Many of the products that we have in our closets and pantry's may or may not be a result of the global need for less expensive labor. Some well known areas of trafficking include: Garment factories, chocolate farming, orphan trafficking, organ sales on the black market, mining, fishing, cotton farming and sex. Just to be clear, most common for that a child can be trafficked is for child pornography. And I think that is where the public outrage and disgust with trafficking is decidedly on point. All of these areas are areas of a supply chain in need of cheap labor to keep the end cost for the company down, so the company profit margins are nice and healthy. And that is a highly complicated, high-density topic that is harder to briefly discuss, so I will leave it to you to do some of your own research and make decisions for yourself.
Second, Let’s talk about information about trafficking. I commend people who have made it their lives mission to talk about, fight against, and rally support for human trafficking of all kinds, and especially the children of this world. The children of the world cannot rally for themselves, they cannot protest in order to raise awareness, they are the vulnerable and underrated asset of this world. It is gut-wrenching, heartbreaking work to be confronted and witness to abhorrent acts against children. There are many opinions about how to go about helping globally in a manner that is diplomatic, and politically correct. There are so many opinions about how to help in the rescue missions, social programs, legislation, after-care, and so many more. What I hope to focus your attention on by the end is little ways you can give yourself to help, and refocus your attention on the things you can do, rather than big, complicated activities. But first, we have to talk about resources to get information. Information is tricky, because we have access to so much, and sometimes it is skewed to be sensational, or attention grabbing, but not portrayed in accuracy. Vet your organizations you are getting your information from. Make sure they align with how you think, but more importantly how you would want resources from you to be used. A vetting resource for charities is Charity Navigation. They have a vetting process that will tell you all about organizations and give you ratings based on financial transparency, or accountability. This is important not just to curate what you see and hear, but so you make a decision about where your dollars are going, or where you look to for solid guidance.
Here are some resources for some good follows on Instagram (all of which I will include on the show notes): The Freedom Story (focused on thailand), ECPAT and ECPAT-USA which is working to end sexual exploitation of children globally, and Freedoms Promise which works on getting to the root cause of labor disparates that contribute to trafficking. I would also like to note that I have followed Operation Underground Railroad for a number of years, and they make a compelling stance, and although I am not completely on board with HOW they run, I admire and applaud them using their capabilities to dismantle the problem.
Finally, let’s talk about steps. Easy steps. Five of them, that can help you feel like you can actually help.
Number 1: Purchasing power. Try your best to make sure that you are buying things that will mean people on both ends of the supply chain will not suffer because of your buying power. This is hard. This is complicated, and in the end, I am just going to tell you don’t be too hard on yourself, but just try and remind yourself to stay aware of using your money in the abundant good energy, instead of the scarcity and lack mentality. Your closets and pantrys will not go without, but if we are aware we can make sure others in the world have the same outcome.
Number 2: Google Alerts. Go to Google Alerts, and set up some alerts to send you emails about news or articles that keep you informed. This will become a non-conformist, non-political way to get information about a myriad of subjects. Use a few that may make you uncomfortable. They are easily changed, and readily altered. Just keeping your awareness piqued is one way to help.
Number 3: Support preventative measures. Community support everywhere, schooling everywhere, demand for fair wages, and safe homes for children globally are all initiatives that help keep kids and families safer. If you can’t donate, share, if you can’t share, talk about it with others, if you don’t know anyone else, broaden your horizons and make new friends. It’s all cyclical, and it helps the global village thrive.
Number 4: Fight the high demand for porn. Fight it with your words and actions. Follow Fight the New Drug. It’s an organization fighting the stigma that porn is normal and fine. They do an amazing job of advertising and not shaming, but bringing open dialogue and awareness. Have hard conversations, get used to being uncomfortable with people normalizing it, and call it out. Remember that the most common form of child trafficking is child pornography. The United States is the highest demand for child porn in the world, and we are responsible for owning up to, and putting a stop to it.
Number 5: Do not turn away. Do some research, ask questions, be willing to challenge your assumptions, find experts you connect with, and support them with your dollars or with your digital follows. Find your sources, and share it with others. Keep the dialogue going with the children you may influence for the better. Find ways to support and create connective communities. our neighborhoods, schools, communities, towns, cities and nations can all benefit from a communal sense of protecting each other, and fostering safe connective substance.
Thank you for getting to this point. Thank you for not turning away and turning off an important conversation. I am grateful for your effort. Again, if you have anyone that could use this message in their lives, please share this episode. If you found this episode helpful in any way, please leave a review. Today was a hard one, we talked about trafficking and the kinds and causes, we talked about reliable information, and then we talked about ways you can help. I believe in the best of you. I believe in the best of society, and our global community. Thank you for listening.
This podcast is fueled by my family’s mission at the Oliver Fund. We send playthings to children in hardship all over the world. Because we believe to have the ability to work hard there is value in playing well. It’s a part of our personal family creed. You can find out more online at the oliver fund .org or on social media at The Oliver Fund and AT ART of PLAY PODCAST.
OUTRO: Here’s to leaving you to your weekend a little more hopeful and hopefully more happily playful, if only for five minutes.