Amnesty International is a global organization which aims to raise awareness of social injustices and human rights violations around the world.
The TCIS chapter of Amnesty International has chosen to focus on human trafficking.
Globally 2.6 million people are "trafficked" around the world each year. South and North Korea have high numbers of people who are kidnapped or tricked into a life they don't choose.
Today 8 teachers and students were 'kidnapped' quietly as they entered chapel.
Our job was to look at the clues and try to identify who was kidnapped through the clues.
When the 'kidnapped' persons were finally released, each person was given a "story" about why they were kidnapped to explain to Chapel.
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| Joshua Kim explaining his story to 6-8 students. |
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| Elizabeth Song explaining her story. |
These stories included children who had been stolen into a life of prostitution, slavery, illegal migrant work, human body part trading and mail order brides. Students were challenged to think about how they would survive without their freedom, just as these people have no basic freedom.
Here are the examples that were used:
FEMALE 1
I am from a poor Chinese. I was recruited for marriage in Korea. They told me I would marry a wealthy man, would never have to work, and would have a lot of money. They told me I would live a high quality of life. But when I arrived in Korea, I was forced into PROSTITUTION.
FEMALE 2
The pressure was too much: the tests, the school, my parents, and their expectations, so I ran away. I met a man who said he’d help me, but when I got in his car, he locked the doors, and took me far away to be auctioned like livestock. My new owners began to sell my body. I work in CHILD SEX TOURISM.
FEMALE 3
I am a Vietnamese girl. I entered a program where Korean men buy brides. My parents were paid for me and I moved to Korea. I cannot understand anything my “husband” says. I have to work hard or else I will be sexually abused. MAIL ORDER BRIDES is human trafficking.
FEMALE 4
I am a migrant worker. I was hired under the Korean governments’ Employment System. But when I came to Korea, my passport was taken away, I wasn’t paid, and I’m not working in the job I was told I would. I can’t leave, and there is no one I can turn to for help.
Female 5
I needed money to pay off college, but I had a huge debt. A man offered me the solution: a job at a massage parlor. He took me out to dinner and immediately loaned me the money. Then I blacked out. I woke up in the US and was forced into prostitution.
MALE 1
I was kidnapped off the streets when I was 10. I was given to a drug cartel and forced to work as a drug dealer. They paid me with drugs. I became so addicted that even though I wanted to, I couldn’t leave. I am trapped.
MALE 2
I am from India. I went to an interview for a job that offered 60,000 rupees. When I got there, they would not let me leave. They offered me 12,000 rupees for my kidney, but I refused, so they beat me and kept in me in confinement until I accepted when they threatened to kill me.
MALE 3
I left Mexico and came to the US. They said they’d give me a job, but they didn’t. They turned me into a slave. They said they’d pay me, but I’m lucky if they give me something to eat. I have to work for 19 hours non-stop and only get 5 hours of sleep. If I try to run, they will kill me. I work in FORCED LABOR.
MALE 4
I am from India, and I came to the United States in answer to a job advertised in the newspapers, but the terms changed without notice as soon as I arrived. My passport was confiscated by my employer, and I was forced to work without wages. I can’t leave, there is no where to go to, and if there were, I can’t speak English.
MALE 5
I ran away from home and met a nice couple on the streets. They told me to come with them and that they would give me a job and a place to live. But then they dragged me off and auctioned me. My new owners kept me locked up and forced me to work as a male prostitute just to get food and water.
I am from a poor Chinese. I was recruited for marriage in Korea. They told me I would marry a wealthy man, would never have to work, and would have a lot of money. They told me I would live a high quality of life. But when I arrived in Korea, I was forced into PROSTITUTION.
- An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labour or sexual exploitation at any given time as a result of trafficking. Approximately 1.4 million, 56%, are in Asia and the Pacific
FEMALE 2
The pressure was too much: the tests, the school, my parents, and their expectations, so I ran away. I met a man who said he’d help me, but when I got in his car, he locked the doors, and took me far away to be auctioned like livestock. My new owners began to sell my body. I work in CHILD SEX TOURISM.
- The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age.
FEMALE 3
I am a Vietnamese girl. I entered a program where Korean men buy brides. My parents were paid for me and I moved to Korea. I cannot understand anything my “husband” says. I have to work hard or else I will be sexually abused. MAIL ORDER BRIDES is human trafficking.
- Bride buying is becoming more common because there are less women than men. In Korea, there are 124 men for every 100 women, when the average is 105 men for every 100 women. It is a common issue that many such marriages end in abuse.
FEMALE 4
I am a migrant worker. I was hired under the Korean governments’ Employment System. But when I came to Korea, my passport was taken away, I wasn’t paid, and I’m not working in the job I was told I would. I can’t leave, and there is no one I can turn to for help.
- 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year around the world. There are approximately 500,000 low-skilled migrant workers in the Republic Of Korea from elsewhere in Asia.
Female 5
I needed money to pay off college, but I had a huge debt. A man offered me the solution: a job at a massage parlor. He took me out to dinner and immediately loaned me the money. Then I blacked out. I woke up in the US and was forced into prostitution.
- 85% of South Koreans who are in serious debt turn to loan sharks, and the majority of South Korean women trafficked around the world belong to this group. In addition, in 2011, South Koreans accounted for the highest population of sex trafficking victims in the US: 24%.
MALE 1
I was kidnapped off the streets when I was 10. I was given to a drug cartel and forced to work as a drug dealer. They paid me with drugs. I became so addicted that even though I wanted to, I couldn’t leave. I am trapped.
- Approximately 1.2 million children - both boys and girls ages up to 12 - are in a forced labour situation as a result of trafficking
MALE 2
I am from India. I went to an interview for a job that offered 60,000 rupees. When I got there, they would not let me leave. They offered me 12,000 rupees for my kidney, but I refused, so they beat me and kept in me in confinement until I accepted when they threatened to kill me.
- Organ trafficking accounts for around 10 per cent of the nearly 70,000 kidney transplants performed worldwide annually. In South Korea, there are 20,000 patients waiting for organs but only 2,500 transplants
MALE 3
I left Mexico and came to the US. They said they’d give me a job, but they didn’t. They turned me into a slave. They said they’d pay me, but I’m lucky if they give me something to eat. I have to work for 19 hours non-stop and only get 5 hours of sleep. If I try to run, they will kill me. I work in FORCED LABOR.
- Men and women from all over the world, including: Russia, China, North Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries are subjected to forced labor in South Korea.
- Many trafficking victims have at least middle-level education
MALE 4
I am from India, and I came to the United States in answer to a job advertised in the newspapers, but the terms changed without notice as soon as I arrived. My passport was confiscated by my employer, and I was forced to work without wages. I can’t leave, there is no where to go to, and if there were, I can’t speak English.
- Worldwide, 21% of trafficking victims are men and for every 800 people trafficked, only one person was convicted in 2006.
MALE 5
I ran away from home and met a nice couple on the streets. They told me to come with them and that they would give me a job and a place to live. But then they dragged me off and auctioned me. My new owners kept me locked up and forced me to work as a male prostitute just to get food and water.
- 95% of human trafficking victims experience physical or sexual violence during trafficking
- 1 in 4 child prostitutes are male
These examples reminded us to try to think beyond our comfortable life.
These examples showed us that not everyone has a free choice in the way they want to live.
At the end of chapel students were encouraged to sign a petition to ask the American government to intervene in a case of human trafficking.
The Amnesty International members did a fantastic job of making the point to us in a real way.
