Posted on 08/03/2004 10:35:03 AM PDT by UnklGene
An Evil We Can't Ignore - Human Trafficking
President Bush recently made a speech that didn't receive much attention. It wasn't about one of those issues dear to the media's heart, like the war in Iraq, so it slipped under their radar. Only a handful of articles were written about the speech, and it received very little TV coverage. I think it deserves much more attention than that, because the subject of that speech is one of the biggest moral issues of our time.
Addressing the National Training Conference on Human Trafficking in Tampa, Florida, the president talked about steps he's been taking to stop human trafficking. You may remember that President Bush unexpectedly addressed the United Nations on this subject last year, calling it "a form of slavery" and asserting that "such conduct should be a crime in all nations." Also last year, the president signed the PROTECT Act, which cracked down on those traveling to or from the United States "for the purpose of sex tourism involving children." The president's actions surprised and delighted those who have been struggling for years against an evil that's too often ignored.
In his Florida speech, the president highlighted more of his initiatives against human trafficking. These include providing "more than $295 million to support anti-trafficking programs in more than 120 countries"; doubling the number of new trafficking investigations over the past three years; and passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. This legislation gives refugee status to trafficking victims in the United States, so that, once they're freed from their oppressors, they can remain here and get help.
Why does President Bush give so much time and attention to this issue? For one thing, foreign human trafficking is moving ever closer to this country. As the president pointed out in his speech, "A recent study by the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University found that Cuba has 'replaced Southeast Asia as a destination for pedophiles and sex tourists.'" That makes it easier for U.S. citizens to participate in this vile trade. And this, whether it takes place within our borders or outside them, is a betrayal of everything our nation stands for.
"The American government has a particular duty," Bush told his audience, "because human trafficking is an affront to the defining promise of our country. People come to America hoping for a better life. And it is a terrible tragedy when anyone comes here only to be forced into a sweatshop, domestic servitude, pornography, or prostitution."
But there's even more to it than that. The president put his finger on the central issue when he stated, "Human life is the gift of our Creator—and it should never be for sale."
That's why I'm glad the president keeps calling attention to human trafficking, and why we at BreakPoint will continue to do the same. Every person who believes that life is a sacred gift from God needs to take a stand against the buying, selling, and exploiting of human beings. This violation of human life and dignity is an offense to God. It's a blot on our civilization, and it's an evil all of us must resist.
It's called international 'Darwin' socialism.
/sarcasm
The evil traffic jams caused by humans where I live is intolerable.
You can't ask the media to fight human slavery because they support socialism and communism...which are human slavery.
SOF magazine did some very interesting articles a couple of years ago on human trafficing out of Florida by the Saudis. That's aparently where a lot of our children and young women disapear to.
The Bush administration has done more to address this issue and fight human trafficking, especially trafficking in children for sexual slavery, than any other administration.
Under Clinton, US contractors in Bosnia were found to be frequenting brothels where children were sexually enslaved and a few of them even bought their own private sex slaves. As far as I know, nothing was ever done about it.
When you confront liberals and liberal feminists about this, their response is usally ..... No Comment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.