Modern Slavery: Human Trafficking in The United Kingdom:-

Modern Slavery:  Human Trafficking in The United Kingdom:-

“Our flag is the friendliest flag in the world because no man fears it. Whenever it is seen the slave knows he is free, the oppressed can come for help, and the righteous can call for sympathy.”  Arthur Mee wrote in ‘The Book of the Flag’. Mee believed it was imperative to inform all that Britain was an upholder of right and justice, and wrote about slavery as a nefarious act of the past. In this article I will be challenging that notion, and bringing attention to the clandestine human trafficking trade that exists in Britain.

‘Human Trafficking is the movement of people by means such as force, fraud, coercion or deception, with the aim of exploiting them. It is modern day slavery.’  -  http://www.unseenuk.org/about/the-problem/human-trafficking

Human trafficking is one of those issues that bothers people upon mention of it, yet very few people are aware of the significance of the problem. Slavery today is in fact a global business and a huge source of income for traffickers and crime syndicates. Ever since 2004, when 23 Chinese cockle pickers drowned in Morecombe Bay, campaigners have revealed a detrimental human trafficking problem in the United Kingdom. 

  According to the National Referral Mechanism statistics published in December 2015, ‘during the three month period April to June 2015, there were 757 referrals of adults and minors to the NRM. These referrals comprise individuals from 61 countries of origin. Of the 757 people referred to the NRM during this period, 167 (22%) received a ‘positive conclusive decision’ and were therefore found to have been trafficked.’  If nothing else, this distressing fact is a stark indication that modern slavery endures, and it is happening in our communities.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, published in 1948 states: ‘No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.’ With this in mind, it is difficult to believe that Human Trafficking is such a colossal problem in the UK, with a shocking 13,000 victims estimated by The Home Office. Following many campaigns and investigations in recent years, the government has been working with the EU in order to combat trafficking. Home Office Minister Paul Goggins said:  “Human trafficking is an appalling crime – a form of modern day slavery. It is a key priority during our Presidency of the EU and today’s seminar with Eurojust is an important step in bringing together all those involved in the prosecution of serious organised crime and ensuring greater EU cooperation in tackling people trafficking.”   The Crown Prosecution Service has also stated that: “It is believed that human trafficking is the third most profitable activity for organised crime after drugs and arms dealing.”

  (http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/145_05/index.html)

Europe’s refugee crisis is worsening, and according to political commentators and MPs, it constitutes a dire threat.  In truth, the countries that have been most affected by the increase in refugees are far from our shores; and the impact on Europe is but a fragment of a crisis arising from hostilities existing in the near and Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. Brian Donald, Europol’s chief of staff stated that: “Modern, enterprising, organised criminal gangs go where the opportunity is high and the risk is low” and “Newly arrived refugees and migrants are being ‘identified for exploitation, especially those of a young age, young women and the unaccompanied’, to be forced into prostitution and slave labour.”

Considering this, it is incredibly likely that the current figures of human trafficking in the UK will increase, and this is why the UK government must act accordingly to prevent this abhorrent crime from continuing any longer. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3300016/Human-traffickers-preying-refugees-Europe-forcing-slave-labour-child-prostitution-warn-Europol.html)  

Extremism in The Middle East - A Human Rights Nightmare.

A man in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to death; beheading in fact; for the offense of apostasy, deserting his Islam religion. He released a video of himself tearing up a holy book - the Koran.

According to The Human Rights Watch, any deviation from the nation's enforced Sunni faith is brutally chastised. Furthermore, public worship by adherents of any religion other than Islam is prohibited and can be regarded as a crime. The infusion of religion and law is a contentious subject of course, and it's difficult to form an opinion on such matters. However, I feel now is the perfect time to address this matter of Human Rights abuse. 

In recent news, we have all seen ISIS - The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. They are presently being held accountable for a multitude of Human Rights abuses and War Crimes. Amnesty International has reported 'ethnic cleansing' by the religious extremists, on a historical scale. We have all been made aware by the media that ISIS are the face of evil, and that they are definitely a common enemy. This may be true, however, I urge people to do their research, as what you might find is fascinating. Human Rights groups say the Saudi justice system suffers from lack of transparency and legitimacy, which frequently denies defendants basic rights such as legal representation. 

Despite the minor judicial reforms that were made in Saudi Arabia, they show absolutely no sign of reducing the number of executions, as well as remaining reluctant to admit mistake and defend its process as fair. 

With so much turmoil in the world today, it's increasingly appealing to believe what you read and hear on the news. I urge you to question sources and do your own research, formulate your own opinion - politicians and the media often use scapegoats - it's much easier to give evil a face; even if it has several. 

Domestic Terrorism in the USA.

All over the world, our rights to free speech and non-violent protest are repressed - Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger has been sentenced to 1000 floggings and 10 years in prison, simply for calling for the freedom of speech. This disregard for rights we are all entitled to is repugnant and must come to an end, but how are we to seek change when opinion is so widely suppressed, and even punished?

The United States Government is using flawed and misleading information in training agents to identify and investigate 'domestic terrorist' groups such as 'black separatists', anarchists, animal rights activists, and environmentalists. FBI agents were cautioned of activists using the Freedom of Information Act, and engaging in non-violent civil disobedience, and gathering in coffee shops. 

The chief focus of these presentations is gathering as much information as possible on what activists are calling  a 'public relations war'. The FBI issued warnings to activists attempting to use 'false employment'. This is undeniably in regard to activists seeking employment at factory farms and vivisection labs, with the objective of exposing animal welfare abuses - this has been considered worthy of terrorism charges in some cases. In addition the FBI is targeting 'black separatists', anarchists, animal rights activists and environmentalists in almost identical methods - made apparent by the scarcity of innovation where tactics are involved. The FBI manufactures such terrorism threats through conflation. Largely disparate groups are being fused across ideological divides, in order to present them as one united threat - deemed 'domestic terrorists'.  

It is execrable to unify the methods of such dissonant groups, Animal rights activists tactics include Freedom of Information Act requests and examples of 'civil disobedience' such as 'Sleeping Dragons' (a form of civil disobedience in which people lock arms in PVC pipes). Juxtapose these with the tactics of militia extremists and white supremacists who have murdered, lynched, bombed, assaulted government officials, and created weapons of mass
destruction.


Such an abrupt disparity between these groups - deemed with exact punishment explicitly indicates fault and suspicious policy making within the FBI and United States Government.

North Korean Conflicts.

Existing within its own league of human rights abuse, North Korea is in all likelihood the most oppressive regime today. The government of North Korea acts essentially as a dictatorship - led by Kim Jong-un. The dictatorship enforces loyalty and obedience through its Ministry of People's Security, whilst concurrently punishing and even executing anyone who dares to be critical or slanderous towards the government. Torture as well as  enslavement and execution are customary punishments for those who condemn and chastise the government, however there are also over 30 inhumane concentration camps in the country, one of which - 'Camp 22', detains around 50,000 prisoners. These concentration camps are not so different to those of Nazi Germany, appropriating torture methods equally as cold-blooded.

Those detained in concentration camps are subject to a plethora of disciplinary methods, such as forced abortions for pregnant women, because they are deemed 'racially impure', and public hangings. The austere 'guilt by association' law in North Korea imposes that three generations of one family may be imprisoned simply because of the crimes of one family member. Torture and bloodshed are features of every day life for those living in the detention camps of North Korea.

For those who remain 'free', outside of the detention camps, life is far from peaceful. All forms of information are controlled and monitored. For example newspapers and radio stations have been prohibited by the government. North Koreans are forbidden to consume any form of foreign information. Civilians are coerced to praise their 'Dear Leader', and such information is materialized into their lives each and every day using the media - which, again is wholly government controlled.

North Korea carries with it a dark, morbid history - during the 1990's, roughly 3.5 million people died of starvation. Malnutrition is mandatory and universal among the majority of the population. Despite this, Kim Jong-un fails to have mercy on the people of North Korea.  This dark shadow, hanging ominously over the lives of millions in North Korea must be dismissed. 

Guantanamo Bay.

This month marks the 13th anniversary of Guantanamo Bay, a U.S military detention centre in Cuba - set up in response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and subsequent military operations in Afghanistan. Existing migrant detention facilities at Guantanamo were re-purposed to hold detainees in the 'war on terror' . Behind closed doors, for 13 long years, Guantanamo Bay has kept prisoners under inhumane conditions, many of them tortured - and most importantly, most of them didn't even see trial. Men who have been cleared of their said 'crimes' remain in Guantanamo, because they've seen too much.

Waterboarding has been a popular method of torture at Guantanamo, a water-based method which gives the victim the sensation of drowning. Detainees are immobilized at around 10 or 20 degrees, with a cloth placed over their faces. Torturers pour water over the victim's breathing passages, which usually causes an almost immediate gag reflex. The Central Intelligence Agency admitted to using waterboarding as a form of torture in 2002 and 2003. This technique can cause irreversible damage to the victim's lungs, and due to the starvation of oxygen to the brain, often brain damage. This is merely one example of the injustice that goes on every day in Guantanamo Bay.

There has been reports of 7 deaths in custody since the opening, however there is much speculation around the numbers. Guantanamo still detains prisoners who have been cleared, perhaps there is more than meets the eye - of course there is. Detainees have been reported to have committed suicide, under such harsh detention, this would be near impossible.

The inhumanity that resonates at Guantanamo Bay each and every day has to come to an end. It is time for Barack Obama to follow through with his executive order to close Guantanamo within a year, an order signed 6 years ago.