It’s not uncommon to get riled up when you realize that what you’re talking about isn’t some piece of meat but rather an actual person; someone’s daughter, mother or neighbor. This was all too obvious inside the Rayburn Home Office Building room that I found myself in. One extra hot topic: Vietnam. Tempers flared as the pressure was directed towards the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to move Vietnam’s 2009 tier ranking from Tier 2 to Tier 3 in the soon to be released 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (Can’t wait? See the 2009 report here). U.S. Congressmen James P. McGovern and Frank R. Wolfe, Co-Chairmen of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, were quick to point out that the more than 80,000 Vietnamese nationals exported each year highlighted the inadequate efforts brought forth by the Vietnamese government to prevent labor trafficking and protect workers going abroad. Guess what country made it to the even more severe Tier 2 Watch List ranking for its trafficking and forced child labor in the cotton industry?

The hearing took on a more positive tone when we got to hear how some non-profits are fighting (in some cases, literally) human trafficking by means of education and prevention right here in the United States. From instructing flight attendants how to spot a potential trafficking victim through Operation Blue Lightning to Just Yell Fire’s self defense classes for adolescent girls, organizations are doing what they can to minimize the number of people forced into labor around the world. Check out what other discrimination these preventative methods are saving girls from in the workplace.

If for a second you believe that trafficking is only a problem occurring in some small country you’ve never even heard of, think again. The exploitation of human beings is an epidemic both within and across international borders. That’s right, it’s happening in the United States and as close as our backyards and neighborhood Playground. It is too often that migrant workers are trafficked, forced to work in unfamiliar land and because of their undocumented status, don’t demand their rights for fear of being deported. Regardless of where it’s taking place, human trafficking is wrong and it must me stopped.

I walked away from the Hill reminded that unlike the different opinions we may all have towards politics, the violation of human rights is an issue that should be of grave concern for all, no matter what President’s face we have imprinted on our t-shirts. Human trafficking is a direct infringement on worker’s rights and it is up to us to spread awareness so that this bitter reality can be dealt the sweet taste of justice, liberation and hope.

For more information on human trafficking, check out these sites:
Courtney’s House
Not for Sale Campaign
Polaris Project
Shared Hope International
The Somaly Mam Foundation