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A story about Florida's Attorney General recently hit the headlines. As I walk each morning for my physical and mental well-being, I periodically "cruise the news" on a national site, a local site, and some workers' compensation platforms. In the morning quite, I catch up on the days events, often riddled with the law, this pandemic, and various challenges we face.
The headline in this instance was on WEAR: "Florida attorney general aids businesses in recognizing signs of human trafficking." A statewide official striving against a societal problem, but the article ran in the "local news" section of the site. Human Trafficking has been on these pages before. See Supply Chain Slavery (October 2020) and Consequences in Employment (May 2021). It is admittedly difficult to comprehend the persistence of slavery in our modern world.
The WEAR story is an overview. It concludes with an offer of more information or to take a training course from the Florida Coalition to End Human Trafficking. I spent significant time on that site without finding the training course link. However, a quick Google search located the correct link. The course was informative and interesting. It was not a major time commitment.
As I perused the initial Coalition link, I was surprised at the data and information. For instance "Between 21 million and 45 million people are enslaved around the world." According to Worldometer, Sri Lanka has a population of 21 million and Argentina has 45 million. I wonder how people would react if they learned Argentina was enslaved. Another note says that the number is "at least 27 million, the population of Australia and New Zealand." That is likewise an illustrative comparison that clarifies the significance of what is happening.
I learned through these experiences that slavery can be divided into various categories. It involves forced labor, sex trafficking, coercion, and even children. Some victims have been brave and tell their stories. Those narratives are difficult to hear, but I nonetheless recommend it. From the information provided, it is apparent this is a worldwide tragedy, but it has implications and impacts in our own communities; it may very well be occurring in your own community in one form or another.
If one pays attention to the news, there are other stories related to these people and their plight. The British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) alleged in 2020 that "China is forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities into hard labour." That story was followed by China banning broadcast by the BBC in China. More recently, the BBC reported that Tesla's new retail facility in that region of China was drawing criticism related to the allegations of the persecution there. Companies have banded together to pressure China; the New York Times reported last year that 190 companies have joined that effort. It alleges that various well-known brands are connected to cotton harvested there.
Why is the Florida Attorney General interested in this topic? Notably, Florida is number three in the country, after California and Texas, in the number of "calls to to the National Human Trafficking Hotline" (1-888-373-7888). Admittedly, the largest state populations in America are California, Texas, and then Florida. But, the fact is this state generates a notable volume of reports. Additionally, the statistics cited by the Florida Alliance are sobering.
The Attorney General is striving to train 100,000 people in 2022 to spot human trafficking victims. She notes an anecdotal example in which a truck driver "at a rest stop, knew the signs, (w)as trained on the signs of human trafficking and rescued a victim." The driver was not a police officer, social worker, or other expert. But, the driver had obtained some knowledge and was able to save a life. What an incredible achievement that is. The publicity is helpful, and led me to complete the training, so only 99,999 left (how about you decrease that number?)
The Florida Coalition says that "Slave labor is in the supply chains of the items we purchase," as noted by the NY Times article cited above. It lays some portion of blame for slavery, perhaps a significant portion, at the feet of consumers: "We want cheap goods, so businesses secure free, slave labor to cut labor costs." That theme is at the root of the discussion above from the BBC, and the Uighurs. That centers on the production of cotton, and its inclusion in any number of manufactured products. The lessons are not isolated there, a Thompson Reuters report contends that gold, bricks, sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco are all implicated, but the list is much more extensive.
The Coalition site includes a quiz to help you see how many "slaves work for you." That was a sobering experience. It concluded that my consumption habits, foods I eat, clothing I buy, etc. may account for 34 people who are being oppressed or enslaved around the world. The Reuters report suggests that solutions include both awareness of the problem and legislative efforts. It cites multiple recently-enacted laws.
The report suggests that those who produce products can understand the risks associated with various products, that is the probability for connections to slavery. It suggests that reliance on various supply sources can be controlled by manufacturers, thus decreasing demand for products that are intertwined with this slave labor issue. It suggests that capitalism must evolve to "conscious capitalism" with focus upon the sourcing of materials and components.
To that end, the Coalition publishes a list of "slave free companies." There are recognizable names on that list, but in the massive consumerist population in which we live, the list seems short. It is possible that with greater awareness of those millions of victims, there will come greater incentive for producers to verify supply chains and further raise awareness of these human issues. Hopefully, awareness will increase, and you will take the time to complete the training. As noted, the challenge is greater with components and raw materials. Imagine looking at a ton of coffee or cocoa beans and trying to trace each bean, or bag of beans, to the plant and who did the picking. Not easy.
In the world of workers' compensation, we all see a great many people. We travel the state for business, attend events, and have many opportunities to see people, just as the truck driver described above did at a rest stop. It lies within each of us to make change, and perhaps this training is a valid first step in our personal growth and enlightenment? Perhaps we will never perceive a victim of human trafficking, never engage this training. The same may be said of our learning CPR training, but I am glad I took that course as well.
It is unconscionable that our world includes forced labor and human trafficking. We may find ourselves individually unable to remedy the enormity of that challenge, but perhaps it is in each of us to address some part?
By Judge David Langham
Courtesy of Florida Workers' Comp
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