5Th of Young Runaways, Immigrants Become Trafficking
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Young runaways, immigrants become trafficking victims BY CORALINE PETTINE This is why so many young individuals are susceptible to Writing Managing Editor becoming trafficking victims. Kim said, “You don’t need force to get a juvenile to sleep with X, Y and Z. It’s According to the Congressional Research Service, there are more than 1 mil- a distorted version of love. That’s all it takes for them.” lion homeless youth living without supervision on the streets, in abandoned Trafficking is not just limited to sex trafficking young, impressionable homes and buildings, in shelters, with friends or even with strangers every women. Trafficking can also be a result of extortion or exploitation. year. This estimation is considered to be lower than the actual number of Stephanie Blakeman, case manager in the Anti Human-Trafficking Unit homeless youth because this demographic is difficult to track. at the Nationalities Service Center, said trafficking— specifically labor The majority of these runaways are female. trafficking in the agriculture field— is very common among immigrants. These individuals are at an increased risk of physical abuse, mental Immigrants and foreign nationals can be labor trafficked because health issues, substance abuse, sexual exploitation and human traffick- their statuses leave them in fear of deportation and prevent them from ing. reporting employers for exploitation. Thousands of immigrants come Pearl Kim, former senior deputy attorney general, human traffick- to the country under false promises and are exploited by employers. ing advocate and keynote speaker at Cabrini’s Anti Human Traffick- “The vulnerable populations, first and foremost, are individuals ing Symposium on Tuesday, March 16, explained to the audience who come to the U.S. on temporary guest worker visas,” Blakeman that more than 15 percent of runaways become sex slaves. said. “The other vulnerable group is undocumented immigrants “Sixty-eight percent of runaways were in social services or fos- who come from various sectors.” % ter care, and one in six runaways in 2014 were likely sex traffick- These workers sign contracts with employers where they ing victims,” Kim said. agree on wages and living conditions; however, with foreign Young adult runaways frequently become the victims of hu- and immigrant labor trafficking victims, the employer uses man trafficking not through physical force but through emo- their lack of ties, low education, limited language knowl- tional and mental manipulation. edge and the legal system against them. % The human trafficking and pimping business is so lu- “The job will be different. The wages will be lower. The crative, individuals can purchase instructional books on living and working conditions will be quite poor,” Blake- Amazon. man said. “Because the person has few ties to the com- According to “The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide,” munity, they might not know their rights. They feel the human trafficking of young girls begins when the they have no other option but to stay.” pimp, or trafficker, earns the trust of the victim when These exploited workers, in addition to poor she is vulnerable. He conditions her to associate sex working conditions and being underpaid, also do with rewards, buying her gifts after intercourse. not receive overtime and can even miss entire Author Michael Royal writes that the pimp paychecks. must train her to crave the intimacy until the Human trafficking is an ever-expanding ep- pimp has “broken her spirt [and] she has no idemic. Human trafficking rose more than 35 sense of value.” percent in 2016, according to the National When the time arrises, he convinces her Human Trafficking Hotline. that she needs to sell herself to support Human trafficking is on the rise -be them— and, often, their addiction— and cause it is a lucrative field. Profits for -hu she becomes a full-fledged prostitute, ad- man trafficking come in at roughly $150 dict and human trafficking victim. billion a year for traffickers, according Kim elaborated on how normal, to the International Labor Organiza- young women become prostitutes. tion. “When you’re dealing with juve- Hugh Organ, associate executive niles in particular, you can see how director of the Covenant House, vulnerable they are. If they’re run- explained that human traffick- ning away, who knows what their ing is the second largest, fastest circumstances are,” Kim said. growing criminal industry in “And then they meet this guy, the world. and this guy tells them, ‘You’re Organ said, “The only the best thing that’s ever thing more profitable is the happened to me. Let me drug trade, and we suspect take care of you.’ And next it will surpass the drug % of tracking thing you know, ‘Honey, trade, because, ‘Once I you need to help me. We sell this drug, it’s gone. need some money and I can sell this kid again this is what you have and again and again. to do.’” And I don’t have Kim said it does to have my drugs not require kid- shipped in from napping or violent wherever; I can threats to traffic a go to the King young woman. of Prussia It only takes an Mall or go to emotionally a foster care vulnerable home.” person and a manip- ulative man. /5th of % /5th [email protected] HOPE DALUISIO / VISUAL MANAGING EDITOR INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL RUNAWAY SAFELINE, EQUALITY NOW AND DO SOMETHING 2 | THELOQUITUR.COM EDITORIAL THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 WE ARE THE LOQUITUR 2017-2018 Editorial Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ANGELINA MILLER WRITING MANAGING EDITOR CORALINE PETTINE VISUAL MANAGING EDITOR HOPE DALUISIO NEWS EDITORS EMMA RODNER-TIMS KELLY BUSH SPORTS EDITOR JOHN WILLIAMS LIFESTYLES EDITORS ERIC STONE KAITLYN D’AMBROSIO ERIC STONE / LIFESTYLES EDTOR PERSPECTIVES EDITOR LAURA SANSOM WEB EDITOR SHANNON FINN Saint Patty’s Day or Saint Party’s Day? ADVISER No matter their backgrounds or ethnic- three-leafed clover, to talk about the Trinity— the shamrock stands as the symbol of the JEROME ZUREK ities, people far and wide get together and the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. holiday. Because its purpose is not to be celebrate on March 17. Saint Patrick had a burning love for the the name of the famous McDonald’s drink To a vast majority, that date marks a Lord and made it his life to carry out the Shamrock Shake. day reserved for drunken celebration and Word. His love ran so deep that he had com- Its celebrators should understand what it MISSION green-themed activities. plete and utter trust in the Father. To Saint must have meant for Saint Patrick to return to In actuality, March 17— or better known Patrick, he knew that God’s plan was what a country where he was once a slave. It takes The Loquitur student news- as Saint Patrick’s Day— is a religious feast was best for him. This trust ran so deep that someone with a truly pure heart to foster paper and website are inte- day to remember the death of Saint Patrick; nothing filled him with fear— not even death. something with love that once hurt you. gral parts of the educational it is a day to commemorate the evolution of And maybe that is why we should cele- Instead, people far and wide, Irish or not, mission of the Cabrini com- history and culture in Ireland. brate him so deeply. Because he found some- get drunk to the tune of Irish music and party munication department, Patrick, born in Roman Britain, first thing that steered his life and gave it purpose. until the sun comes up. namely, to educate students to take their places in the touched foot in Ireland as a captured slave. He is an example of fulfilling life and engag- But, why? Not to celebrate the change cat- public media. Loquitur Me- After escaping and finding safety in a ing in the common good. alyzed by Saint Patrick, but because it is a day dia provides a forum of free French monastery, he converted to Chris- What Saint Patrick did for the country of marked on their calendars for blacking out. expression. All members of tianity. Then, after entering the priesthood Ireland, and the Irish culture as a whole, is no Yes, the Irish culture is known to enjoy a the univeristy community and eventually being ordained a bishop, small feat. good time and an even better Guinness, but may submit work to the was sent to fill Ireland with the Gospel. It should be celebrated. they do not forget the history of their culture. editors for possible inclu- Over the course of 40 years, during the But, not with green jello shots and bare- So, next Saint Patrick’s Day, when you’re sion. Publication is based on 400s, Saint Patrick built churches through- ly-there green clothes. drinking green-dyed beer, think about why the editorial decision of the out Ireland and converted all the country to Irish culture should be highlighted. Per- there’s a day celebrating the color green. student editors. Christianity, using the famous shamrock, or haps, we should learn to understand why Uber, Lyft contribute to city taxes BY ALLIYAH MADURO Assistant Lifestyles Editor Ride-hailing services, such as Uber and Lyft, have threatened the taxi industries and public transportation in the past few years LETTERS TO all around the country. Public transporta- tion pays for some of the city’s expenditures. THE EDITOR Since ride-hailing services have swept the The Loquitur accepts letters nation, the income for public transportation to the editors. They should has went down tremendously. be less than 500 words, usu- According to an article in the New York ally in response to a current Times, many cities— such as Chicago, Phila- issue on Cabrini University’s delphia, Massachusetts and New York— be- campus or community area gan to tax Uber and Lyft riders.