Entry #663547, added on 08-17-09 @ 1:37 am EDT
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| Child Slavery in Haiti | Entry #663547 |
Finally, TV dealt with a difficult topic, and did it in an entertaining fashion. Topics like this are usually avoided, but The Philanthropist dealt with child slavery in Haiti. The slave trade is still very much alive in vast parts of the world, particularly in Asia and third world countries.
Usually the slaves are young girls and women, but in some places like Haiti, boys are also sold as slaves. Usually the families sell them out of a severe need for money, but as evidenced in this TV show out of greed and cruelty as well. The price is not very high in general. The buyers are people who may have a little more money but need laborers, for their homes and gardens or factories. In many places, they are sold by their families into prostitution. By age 30, they are usually released, if they have not died of disease or mishap, without any real job skills, or family.
Having been robbed of their childhood, they live in adverse conditions, have no rights, may be beaten, and live in squalid conditions. Those who are molested by their owners or put into prostitution are subjected to disease. They do not receive an education. They know nothing but daily fear, hunger, and abuse.
There is a large international market for child sex. Tourists are solicited for such vacations. Although advertising or selling such tours in the US is illegal, Americans can go to another country to make arrangements. Places like the Philippines specialize in child brothels. In Manila, there was such a brothel with a busy trade. All the girls were 12-14. Because the owners feared that they would run away, they were chained to their beds. A can was put in their rooms to use as a toilet. (I have trouble imagining an adult would want to have sex with a young girl who is chained to her bed and may be carrying a dangerous disease. But maybe its the thrill of danger coupled with the feeling of power over a helpless human who cannot escape. These are men who really need to suffer.) When a fire broke out in the house, the girls could not escape or be rescued, but perished in the fire.
Getting the word out is not enough. At the end of The Philanthropist, he asked a question, "What can we do about it? Any ideas?" And that's what we need to do, listen to ideas, asking ourselves what can we do as individuals, as groups, to stop selling children into slavery and offer them a chance to grow, to learn, to work, to have their own families. What will we do for the world's children?
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