Jana Amin has taken great strides to fight for girls’ education. She researched a societal issue and suggested solutions for a school project when she was 13 years old. She decided to write about girls’ lack of access to education. Thus, she contacted Heya Masr, a nonprofit that organizes local educational and empowerment workshops for girls. Then, Amin hired a videographer to film her with Heya Masr’s students. Finally, she created an online fundraising campaign and raised more than $6,000 for the cause.
“We were going to visit family in Egypt anyway,” Amin told The Borgen Project. “And I thought to myself, I’m doing this work anyway. Why not use this as an opportunity to create tangible change?”
This was her first foray into activism. The 17-year-old Egyptian-American has given a TEDx talk, spoken about gender equality on a United Nations panel and curated an exhibit at the American University in Cairo. She advocates changing Western perceptions of Muslim women and wants to fight for girls’ education.
Changing Western Perceptions of Muslim Women
This was Amin’s first time formally conducting advocacy. However, she already had some experience. She lived in Egypt until she was around 10 years old when her family moved to Boston. Her activism began through one-on-one interactions with Bostonians about her life as a Muslim girl.
“On a daily basis, I was asked questions about if Egyptian girls could drive, if my mother could drive, if I was allowed to go to school in Egypt,” Amin said. “And it was all these misconceptions about Islam, the faith, about Middle Eastern culture, and more generally about women in the Middle East, about women in Islam. And so I think that’s how I first initially got pushed towards activism.”
Her desire to fix misconceptions about Muslim women led her to give a TEDx talk, where she spoke about how Western media often portrayed Muslim women as victims of oppression. She suggested that amplifying Muslim women’s voices would change this singular narrative.
Additionally, Amin curated an exhibit at the American University in Cairo. The exhibit featured Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt, the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the shah of Iran. Furthermore, the exhibit focused on the differences in how the Western and Egyptian press depicted Princess Fawzia. While Western media portrayed the princess as a helpless political pawn. Egyptian press depicted her as a humanitarian, champion of girls’ education and representation of the modern woman. Amin presented her research to bring awareness to Princess Fawzia’s accomplishments and to give other young Muslim women a powerful role model.
Fighting for Girls’ Education
Jana Amin continues to fight for girls’ education in many different ways. She recently spoke on a United Nations panel about how governments can tailor their policies to specifically address gender disparities.
“We often think that change in somebody’s life or change on a meaningful level requires so much,” Amin told The Borgen Project. “Something so simple as giving someone an education can do so much for their life.”
On her 17th birthday, Amin invited and interviewed 17 experts in female education and empowerment. She streamed this digital event “#17for17: Advocating for Girls’ Education” for many to view. The speakers included prominent writers, artists, activists and humanitarians.
Collateral Repair Project
As one of her ongoing projects, she also volunteers with a nonprofit organization called Collateral Repair Project to directly support women’s education efforts in the Middle East. Collateral Repair Project (CRP) is a nonprofit organization based in Amman, Jordan. It supports refugees living in Jordan through educational and female empowerment workshops and basic needs assistance.
Jana Amin discovered Collateral Repair Project during a school trip to the Middle East in her freshman year of high school. She was struck by its SuperGirls workshops, which provide young female refugees with a space to express their feelings, overcome trauma and speak up for themselves.
After Amin returned to Massachusetts, she volunteered with Collateral Repair Project. She met with refugees over Skype to help them practice conversational English. After three years, she also began teaching English over Zoom. However, the lessons were unreliable due to Wi-Fi issues and Amin began to doubt whether the lessons were useful. Yet after about four weeks, a Yemeni woman lined up her four children in front of a camera, who recited basic English phrases that Amin had taught their mother.
Amin said the experience reminded her that “you educate one woman and she has the ability to educate her family and in turn her community.”
The Power of Activism
Amin believes that she has a responsibility to create positive change in her community. To many people, fearlessness propels Amin’s activism. This courage is evident when she cold-called Michelle Obama. While preparing for her “#17for17” birthday event, she called and messaged the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance to ask if Michelle Obama could speak at her event. Although Amin did not expect to succeed, the program’s representatives responded within 24 hours to say that Michelle Obama was busy that day. However, its executive director, Tiffany Drake, was willing to be a speaker. She was delighted to discover she is not alone in the fight for girls’ education.
“I think we do the craziest things when we don’t hold ourselves back,” she said.
– Sarah Brinsley
Photo: Courtesy of Jana Amin
Jana Amin and the Fight for Girls’ Education
Jana Amin has taken great strides to fight for girls’ education. She researched a societal issue and suggested solutions for a school project when she was 13 years old. She decided to write about girls’ lack of access to education. Thus, she contacted Heya Masr, a nonprofit that organizes local educational and empowerment workshops for girls. Then, Amin hired a videographer to film her with Heya Masr’s students. Finally, she created an online fundraising campaign and raised more than $6,000 for the cause.
“We were going to visit family in Egypt anyway,” Amin told The Borgen Project. “And I thought to myself, I’m doing this work anyway. Why not use this as an opportunity to create tangible change?”
This was her first foray into activism. The 17-year-old Egyptian-American has given a TEDx talk, spoken about gender equality on a United Nations panel and curated an exhibit at the American University in Cairo. She advocates changing Western perceptions of Muslim women and wants to fight for girls’ education.
Changing Western Perceptions of Muslim Women
This was Amin’s first time formally conducting advocacy. However, she already had some experience. She lived in Egypt until she was around 10 years old when her family moved to Boston. Her activism began through one-on-one interactions with Bostonians about her life as a Muslim girl.
“On a daily basis, I was asked questions about if Egyptian girls could drive, if my mother could drive, if I was allowed to go to school in Egypt,” Amin said. “And it was all these misconceptions about Islam, the faith, about Middle Eastern culture, and more generally about women in the Middle East, about women in Islam. And so I think that’s how I first initially got pushed towards activism.”
Her desire to fix misconceptions about Muslim women led her to give a TEDx talk, where she spoke about how Western media often portrayed Muslim women as victims of oppression. She suggested that amplifying Muslim women’s voices would change this singular narrative.
Additionally, Amin curated an exhibit at the American University in Cairo. The exhibit featured Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt, the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the shah of Iran. Furthermore, the exhibit focused on the differences in how the Western and Egyptian press depicted Princess Fawzia. While Western media portrayed the princess as a helpless political pawn. Egyptian press depicted her as a humanitarian, champion of girls’ education and representation of the modern woman. Amin presented her research to bring awareness to Princess Fawzia’s accomplishments and to give other young Muslim women a powerful role model.
Fighting for Girls’ Education
Jana Amin continues to fight for girls’ education in many different ways. She recently spoke on a United Nations panel about how governments can tailor their policies to specifically address gender disparities.
“We often think that change in somebody’s life or change on a meaningful level requires so much,” Amin told The Borgen Project. “Something so simple as giving someone an education can do so much for their life.”
On her 17th birthday, Amin invited and interviewed 17 experts in female education and empowerment. She streamed this digital event “#17for17: Advocating for Girls’ Education” for many to view. The speakers included prominent writers, artists, activists and humanitarians.
Collateral Repair Project
As one of her ongoing projects, she also volunteers with a nonprofit organization called Collateral Repair Project to directly support women’s education efforts in the Middle East. Collateral Repair Project (CRP) is a nonprofit organization based in Amman, Jordan. It supports refugees living in Jordan through educational and female empowerment workshops and basic needs assistance.
Jana Amin discovered Collateral Repair Project during a school trip to the Middle East in her freshman year of high school. She was struck by its SuperGirls workshops, which provide young female refugees with a space to express their feelings, overcome trauma and speak up for themselves.
After Amin returned to Massachusetts, she volunteered with Collateral Repair Project. She met with refugees over Skype to help them practice conversational English. After three years, she also began teaching English over Zoom. However, the lessons were unreliable due to Wi-Fi issues and Amin began to doubt whether the lessons were useful. Yet after about four weeks, a Yemeni woman lined up her four children in front of a camera, who recited basic English phrases that Amin had taught their mother.
Amin said the experience reminded her that “you educate one woman and she has the ability to educate her family and in turn her community.”
The Power of Activism
Amin believes that she has a responsibility to create positive change in her community. To many people, fearlessness propels Amin’s activism. This courage is evident when she cold-called Michelle Obama. While preparing for her “#17for17” birthday event, she called and messaged the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance to ask if Michelle Obama could speak at her event. Although Amin did not expect to succeed, the program’s representatives responded within 24 hours to say that Michelle Obama was busy that day. However, its executive director, Tiffany Drake, was willing to be a speaker. She was delighted to discover she is not alone in the fight for girls’ education.
“I think we do the craziest things when we don’t hold ourselves back,” she said.
– Sarah Brinsley
Photo: Courtesy of Jana Amin
Human Trafficking in Romania
Human trafficking is a highly profitable business and on the rise in Romania. Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon and a few factors might explain why it is so prevalent in Romania including poverty, corruption, social inequality, uneven development, harmful traditional and cultural practices. For example, Romania has a shame-based culture so victims often find it difficult to return home. Additionally, Romania suffers from civil unrest and a lack of political will to end human trafficking in Romania.
The 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report
According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, the Romanian government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” and is on the Tier 2- Watch List for the second consecutive year, along with Ireland. For example, in comparison to the previous report, Romania did not increase its efforts to reduce human trafficking. Moreover, authorities investigated, prosecuted and convicted fewer traffickers, and complicity in trafficking persisted without punishment, especially in the case of officials who exploited minors in government-run facilities.
As a response to the report, Adrian Zuckerman, the U.S. ambassador to Romania, stated that the report is correct. Gangs trafficked people knowing that they probably will get away with it. Zuckerman urged the parliament to start working with the government to create the necessary legislation to end human trafficking in Romania.
Following negative reports from both the U.S., the Romanian parliament published a decision on November 24, 2020, which includes the following recommendations to the government:
Modern-Day Slavery in Romania
The Global Slavery Index shows that Romania, with 86,000 trafficking victims, has one of the highest rates of modern-day slavery in Eastern Europe and most victims experience sexual exploitation. However, modern-day slavery is common in the following sectors including agriculture, construction, car-washing and housekeeping. Human trafficking in Romania strongly intertwines with migration and encompasses the following activities including prostitution, begging, theft, forced labor and organ cropping. It is especially worrisome that about 50% of the trafficked persons are minors who undergo sexual exploitation, end up in forced labor or have their organs harvested.
Victims of human trafficking in Romania fall into it through numerous means. Sometimes, traffickers will kidnap them or their parents will sell them. At other times, traffickers will recruit them through the “lover boy method” or “a sham marriage.” Altogether, it is a highly vicious circle because there is rarely a way out, and it can sometimes involve multiple generations from mother to daughter. Additionally, gangs may approach low-income families or the victim and charge extremely high-interest rates on the loan they provided for transportation costs and housing after luring their victims.
Trafficking to the UK
Trafficking victims from Romania frequently undergo exploitation in the United Kingdom. In fact, around three-quarters of women trafficked to the U.K. come from Romania and the majority end up in the sex trade.
Begging is also a highly profitable business, as some children can earn £300 a day. According to police reports, gangs value one child at £100,000 a year. Gangs sell the best performing children to other gangs, and virtually all the money makes its way back to Romania, in the case that the traffickers decide to move back to the country.
According to the BBC documentary “Inside Out,” Romania is posing one of the biggest trafficking threat to the U.K. However, it also determined that the British authorities are doing less than their Romanian counterparts in the fight against human trafficking.
Reaching Out Romania and Other NGOs
The main nonprofit organizations fighting human trafficking in Romania are Reaching Out Romania, Eliberare and Antitrafic. Iana Matei is the founder of the shelter Reaching Out Romania which has assisted around 470 victims, mostly Romanians, since 1998. About 54.5% of rescued victims enrolled in further education, nine cases went to court, four persons gave no statement to the police, two returned to prostitution and eight people are still in the program.
Eliberare is an organization that has fought human trafficking quite successfully since 2013. It has accomplished this through awareness campaigns, prevention training, restoration assistance and lobbying events. Meanwhile, Antitrafic works to eliminate human trafficking in Romania and receives co-funding from the European Commission.
In order to end human trafficking in Romania, it is critical that governments and anti-trafficking actors work holistically and across borders. Given that human trafficking is a transnational crime, an integrated and supranational structure could be the best way to reduce it.
– Maria Rusu
Photo: Flickr
Updates on Vietnam’s Poverty
Vietnam’s Poverty Rates in the Past
In 1992, around 94% of citizens lived with under $5.50 per day. Numbers have been improving by small percentages every year since then. However, the greatest significant change was from 2008 to 2010 when the rate of impoverished citizens went from around 78% to 47%. Since 2010, numbers have gone to around 36% in 2014. In 2018, the percentage of those living in poverty was around 23%.
Vietnam’s Present Poverty Rates
In 2019, preliminary data displays that Vietnam’s GDP has increased by 7%. The GDP per capita has reached $2,700. That same year, around 45 million people were uplifted from poverty. Currently, the country has one of the fastest-growing rates in the region. Vietnam has changed from low to a middle-income country. Those who still remain in poverty are usually citizens who are ethnic minorities.
Living in Vietnam
Ella Ha was born in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. She grew up in Saigon, Vietnam. Ella spent most of her childhood there, and she has witnessed how much the city has changed since the war. She agreed to speak on her experiences living in Vietnam.
When asked what was different about her birth city present day compared to the past, Ella said, “the method of transportation, the amount of food and the buildings are what changed the most. During the war, many people did not have the luxury to eat several foods that are offered today. Also, the buildings are now more advanced compared to what we had back then.”
During the interview she stated, “it’s evident that poverty levels have decreased in the city. Although there are still homeless people, the majority of the citizens I see in the city wear pretty clothes and have good food to eat. Back then, I would eat bread with my family if we could not afford sausages or chicken.”
Ella adds, “a lot has changed since the Vietnam War, but it is for the better.”
Government Intervention
Since the early 1990s, the Vietnamese government has been directly trying to reduce poverty by providing the impoverished with credit, housing and food. The government also launched the Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction Programme (HEPR) in 1998. Since then, hunger rates have been decreasing at an accelerated speed. Every year, the program would broadcast their goal on television on helping those with chronic diseases, in poverty and facing famine. This helps remind all citizens that such issues are still relevant, and it gathers support and donations from the community.
Overall, Vietnam’s poverty rates have improved since the last three decades. From slightly decreasing to seeing a drastic change, the future of the country looks positive. With the help from the communities and the government, Vietnam’s poverty percentages will gradually drop even more and eventually diminish.
– Megan Ha
Photo: Flickr
Aiming for Universal Healthcare in Mali
Conflict in Mali
Mali is a landlocked country located in West Africa and one of the most poverty-stricken nations in the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reports that 49% of Malians live below the extreme poverty line. With more than half of the country’s entire population under the age of 18, child poverty is an ongoing crisis.
Mali gained its independence from France in 1960 and has since struggled for stability. Decades of conflict have wreaked havoc on the people living within Mali’s borders.The most recent conflict began in 2012 when a group of rebels, backed by several Islamic militant groups, overthrew the government in a military coup. These alliances did not last long, and as a result, sparked violence that spread across the country. The struggle for land and power continues to this day. In 2018, nearly one-third of Mali’s population lived in areas directly affected by the conflict. As war wages on, child poverty in Mali continues to increase.
A Child’s Life in Mali
Mali’s youth have taken the brunt of the devastation caused by the continuing violence. Many lack necessities like access to clean water, food, education and healthcare. Children under the age of 5 are most vulnerable, and without accessible healthcare, many preventable diseases turn deadly.
Before the 2012 conflict, great strides were being made in the development of programs and policies to improve the conditions of child poverty in Mali. Infant mortality was on the decline, the number of children enrolled in school increased by 10% and there was a dramatic rise in birth registries. Registry of birth is extremely vital because when a child is unregistered, they do not carry the same rights and protections as those who are. Registration at birth assists in securing a child’s access to human rights protections under laws against child marriage, labor and recruitment into armed forces before the legal age. Without documentation to prove identity, education, healthcare and the right to vote become inaccessible.
UNICEF’s Efforts
The country’s instability has halted much of the progression. However, humanitarian organizations like UNICEF, continue to work toward the goal of ensuring every child’s rights are upheld. UNICEF is currently working on four key elements of child welfare in Mali:
The Good News
The Malian government says it wants to see improvement in the lives of its people. For this reason, it is actively working to ensure free healthcare is available to all citizens. The ultimate hope is for universal healthcare in Mali.
Data obtained through a lifesaving pilot program that began in 2008 provides promising news. This trial program provides door-to-door healthcare in the town of Yirimadio, which is located just outside Mali’s capital city of Bamako. When the trial began, the child mortality rate was 154 deaths per 1,000 births. Upon the trial’s completion, the child mortality rate had decreased by a staggering 95%.
This free door-to-door health care program was so successful that Mali’s government has committed to having this healthcare program available nationwide by 2022. At this time, the plan is offered to pregnant women and children under the age of 5. Mali’s health minister, Samba Ousmane Sow, said, “We are trying to make Mali be great again, to improve our healthcare system and save lives and we are hoping this will help us reach universal healthcare with a very powerful, improved system.”
The Road Ahead
The primary concern is ensuring healthcare professionals have the training and provisions to provide the service. The Malian government is seeking ways to become self-sustaining in its quest for universal healthcare as it is saving children in Mali. Currently, it is reliant on external donors to supplement government funding. Nonetheless, amid conflict, there lies hope for the future.
– Rachel Proctor
Photo: Flickr
Organizations Ensuring Toys for Children in Poverty
Samaritan’s Purse
For more than 25 years now, the Samaritan’s Purse annual “Operation Christmas Child” has provided toys for children living in poverty. Franklin Graham, the president of this organization, began the tradition in 1993 by sending gifts to young kids experiencing the violence of war in Bosnia. Since then, the project has grown to spread gifts all across the world to more than 150 countries, including some of the poorest areas. Samaritan’s Purse asks donors to fill a shoebox with various gifts for either a boy or girl which then gets distributed to congregations located in these impoverished nations.The initiative has brought more than 178 million children toys throughout the years. In many cases, the gifts provided by Samaritan’s Purse will be the only toys these children receive in their childhoods. The work done by this organization embodies the true meaning of the holidays and acts as a Santa for the poor.
Play Well Africa
One of the most successful companies in the toy industry is Lego. Lego’s plastic colored bricks are educational and creative opportunities for children. Play Well Africa is dedicated to bringing these Lego pieces to the less fortunate living in Africa. Unlike other toys, which can break, stop working or require electricity, Lego’s offer a unique ability to allow children to play in any circumstances. Young Micah Slentz, a child himself, started Play Well Africa when he asked his father to buy his favorite toy, Lego bricks, and donate it to children in Africa. A simple kind gesture has grown into a massive project that receives both new and used Lego bricks and sends them to impoverished children in developing countries. With offices in both the United States and Australia, Play Well Africa is a multinational organization. Thousands of children in countries such as Uganda will build, create and have fun with Lego bricks, all thanks to a boy who wanted to share his favorite toy with the world.
The Toy Foundation
For decades now, the Toy Foundation has strived to create avenues to bring children of the world toys to play with. One of its most successful campaigns has been the “Toy Bank” which started back in 2003. The foundation relies on donations from top toy companies and in turn spreads these gifts to existing agencies located in impoverished countries. Donations come from all sorts of brands, including Hasbro, Lego and Mattel. Children surviving some of the worst living conditions receive brand new toys, an opportunity made possible by the Toy Foundation. Children with diseases, orphans and those in war-torn nations are the top priority for the Toy Bank, making the organization’s work imperative. Ensuring toys for children in the most vulnerable situations is the organization’s focus.
Toys for the Most Vulnerable Children
Toys can be a healthy outlet for children who live in some of the world’s poorest regions. Toys can provide both emotional support and stress relief. Whether it be a teddy bear to hug, a doll to dress up or Legos to build, the psychological benefits of playing with toys are something all children need. These organizations all help to make dreams come true for the young children who need toys the most.
– Zachary Hardenstine
Photo: Flickr
Disability and Poverty in Thailand
Like many other countries, Thailand has been working for the past several years to provide rights, facilities and access to people with disabilities and people living in poverty. In the last three decades, the poverty level in Thailand has reduced from 65% to 10%. Part of this reduction has occured through programs such as The Government Welfare Registration Programme, established in 2016. This program gives registered citizens over the age of 18 earning less than 100,000 Bhat (roughly over $3,000) a monthly fund between Bt1,200 -Bt 1800 (the price correlates with where the citizen lives) to access public transportation and buy basic needs. Throughout the ’90s and the 2000s, the government has instated more rights and organizations for those with disabilities to help guarantee them work, welfare and accessibility in government and public buildings. However, a correlation between disability and poverty in Thailand still exists.
However, poverty is starting to rise in Thailand due to the country’s economic growth slowing down and the environmental challenges that are affecting citizen’s livelihood and homes. And there are still some cultural misconceptions in Thailand about disabilities that can create barriers to those with disabilities. So, even though things are improving, it is still incredibly important to advocate for those living with disability and poverty in Thailand.
Current Statistics on Disability and Poverty in Thailand
Around 3% of Thailand’s population (a little over 2 million people) have a disability card. The top three conditions were mobility disabilities (about 50%), hearing impairments (around 18%) and visual impairments (approximately 10%). Other disabilities included physical impairments, psychological disorders, autism and learning disabilities. Nearly 52% of the disabled population of Thailand are over 60, around 42% of them are from the ages 15-60 and almost 2% are 14 years or younger.
Excluding those under school age, about 4% of Thailand’s disabled population has never had any formal education. For those who have, only around 5% of them have any kind of schooling outside of primary education. For work, only around 24% of those above 15 years old reported having employment, while about 18% reported being able to work but unemployed.
While there were no specific statistics about what percentage of people living with a disability and are in poverty in Thailand, the major reasons people found themselves under the poverty line were ill-health, job-loss or a natural disaster.
Rights and Laws for Those with Disabilities
The Thai government has set up laws and acts to make sure people living with disabilities get the rights they deserve. One of these legislations is The Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act, which the government set up in 2007. It states that anyone who encounters limitations through an impairment has the right to receive legal or personal assistance, sign language interpreters, medical services, house modifications for better accessibility and education free of charge. They can also receive tax exemptions, cheaper public transportation feeds, loans without interest for self-employment and a monthly allowance of 800 baht.
Other Organizations and Resources
Different associations, organizations and charities have emerged within Thailand or internationally to support people with various disabilities and their work frequently involves fighting for specific laws. For example, the National Association of the Deaf of Thailand helped the government recognize Thai Sign Language as an official language in 1999.
Other organizations provide the necessary resources for those who do not have easy access to it. Handicap International has been providing free physical therapy to refugees and neighboring host villages along the border of Myanmar since 1982.
These organizations also aim to provide fun, social events that help give people with disabilities a sense of community. An example of this is The Association of the Blind which, among other things, has held an annual reading and writing in Braille contest since 2013.
Necessary Improvements
Despite government and organization efforts, work is still necessary to meet all the needs of the disabled community, especially for those living with disability and poverty in Thailand. For example, the government’s monthly fund is not enough to live on and get access to different health care services, even with the increase from 800 baht to 1,800 baht per month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the pandemic has made it more impossible for those with disabilities to live off this fund because many of them have lost their jobs, access to many health care services and any way to earn an extra income.
When it comes to other services such as employment and education, some in Thailand have a lack of cultural awareness regarding disabilities and how it can lead to discrimination. For example, studies have shown that many parents feel many mainstream teachers do not have enough specialized training to deal with children with different disabilities.
To improve attitudes towards disabilities, The Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act states that it is the responsibility of The National Commission on Promotion and Development of Life Quality of Disabled Persons (which was the minister of this act) to inform individual employers and organizations of the nature of disabilities and the rights of the disabled. Regarding education, Thailand established The Education for Persons with Disabilities Act in 2008. It emphasized that education is free for those with disabilities and that they had the right to pick what institutions they choose to attend and request any accommodations to aid them on their academic journeys.
Conclusion
It is important to look back and recognize that Thailand is making progress to help the disabled community and acknowledge the people and organizations that continue to fight for the Thai people at large. However, it is also important to recognize there are still plenty of issues regarding disability and poverty in Thailand that require attention and that spreading awareness about disability and poverty is vital.
– Mikayla Burton
Photo: Flickr
Human Trafficking in South Africa
South Africa is a cultural hub of various ethnicities, races and languages and has kept this reputation despite the colonization of the country. With a plethora of issues regarding race and politics, the country also has an intense trafficking scene, presenting challenges for men, women and children alike. Native South Africans make up the largest number of victims within the country, mostly coming from the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein. Moreover, traffickers tend to target vulnerable people in poor, rural and urban areas. Here is some information about human trafficking in South Africa and what efforts some are taking to fight it.
5 Facts About Human Trafficking in South Africa
The South African Government and A21
The South African government convicted three law enforcement efforts and initiated the prosecution of 19 sex traffickers back in 2014. Meanwhile, the Department of Social Development oversees victim shelters, which assisted 41 victims. However, a serious lack of capacity and widespread corruption among the police force makes anti-trafficking efforts harder. Though when the government fails, South African NGOs such as A21 provide helpful solutions to human trafficking in South Africa by raising awareness, providing education and acting as problem solvers in place of corrupted police.
According to A21, trafficking victims are often unable to speak the local language, appear to be trapped in their job or residence, may have bruises and other signs of physical abuse or do not have identification documents. Brothels, farms, factories and shebeens are common places captors keep victims. A21 provides the opportunity to contact it if a person suspects that human trafficking might be taking place, offering the chance to save lives.
– Marcella Teresi
Photo: Flickr
6 Strategies that Combat COVID-19 in Senegal
COVID-19 Testing
The first strategy in the fight against COVID-19 in Senegal is its high-priority testing for its citizens. Testing is easy to obtain and readily accessible. Thanks to the efficacy of the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, people can obtain their test results in as little as eight hours. The program operates 24-hours a day and the entire country has access to testing. For those with symptoms, the test is free. Clearly, this has helped stop several chains of transmission. Additionally, the Institut Pasteur is currently developing a home test-kit in collaboration with U.K. company, Mologic. Med-tech news confirmed on its website that the partnership already began trials in January 2021 in Dakar, and they intend to start trials in the U.S. and Indonesia as well.
The Development of New Tools
The second strategy is to develop tools for the future. Possessing locally manufactured and innovative testing has been a trademark of Senegal. A home test to check for antibodies in previously infected individuals is close to delivery. Both the Institut Pasteur and Mologic are partnering to make sure the cost is minimal. Dr. Joel Fitchett, medical director for Mologic, stated, “What we’re trying to achieve here is to deliver high-performance, low-cost devices that do not profit [the UK] because if we profit here, we only prolong this pandemic.”
Laboratory Construction
Senegal is building state-of-the-art laboratories. The construction of a laboratory site, DiaTropix, at the Institut Pasteur began in 2019 for the diagnostics of Ebola and yellow fever. Since early 2020, it became equipped with COVID-19 testing, making the implementation and validation of COVID-19 testing swift in Senegal. Furthermore, by making “smaller manufacturing lines closer to demand,” Senegal’s health system has now established a sustainable system with the ability to address a number of epidemics more quickly.
Testing Accessibility for Travelers
The fourth strategy in the eradication of COVID-19 in Senegal is COVID-19 test affordability and rapidity for travelers coming in or out of Senegal. The Institut Pasteur makes it easy and affordable for travelers to obtain tests by offering testing seven days of the week including holidays. It can occur at the cost of $73 (West African CFA francs 40,000). As close as 48 hours before traveling, one can easily obtain a test and receive results within eight hours.
Professional Expertise
Senegal remains at the forefront of the COVID-19 fight in Africa and worldwide. Senegal’s Institut Pasteur was one of only two labs in Africa that had the equipment to test COVID-19 and has continued to lead the way for COVID-19 testing and prevention ever since. The Institut Pasteur’s director, Dr. Amadou Sall, and his team have trained staff from a dozen other African countries on how to test COVID-19. Dr. Amadou Sall’s years of experience, high level of competency and expertise account for a lot of Senegal’s success in preventing the spread of COVID-19. His research covers diagnostics, ecology and evolution of arboviruses and viral hemorrhagic fevers. With more than 100 papers and book chapters, and more than 150 scientific communications, Dr. Amadou Sall is a world leader and accredited expert in this fast-evolving pandemic.
Presidential Actions
The sixth strategy is the efficient and pro-active governmental action against COVID-19 in Senegal. President Macky Sall took action early against the first coronavirus wave with a curfew in March 2020. Due to the risk of becoming unpopular, the president imposed a new curfew in January 2021.
Moreover, President Sall recently thanked Senegalese artists for helping to communicate the importance of prevention measures. He stated, “I am grateful to artists…. and other stars who turned to song, or painted murals, making it crystal-clear what was required of our people to stay safe. Washing hands, wearing masks, keeping your distance are simple instructions, so why complicate them? Why mess around, confusing the message, delaying the action and losing momentum?”
These are some of the most noteworthy strategies and best practices that combat COVID-19 in Senegal. Nevertheless, Senegalese people also deserve substantial credit for following safety measures at the expense of their jobs and communal lifestyle.
– Elhadj Oumar Tall
Photo: Flickr
Informal Employment in Argentina
Informal economies are a global phenomenon that often goes unmentioned by popular media. From street vendors to unregistered employees in sweatshops, informal workers make up a large portion of a country’s labor. Informal employment refers to workers who engage in labor that is not taxed or registered by the government. Informal economies are popular because of the opportunity to access wealth. While many see informality as a chance for upward mobility, there are many downfalls to this sector which are clearly visible in the case of Argentina.
Argentina has one of the largest economies in Latin America as it has vast natural resources in energy and agriculture. As of 2020, their GDP stood at 450 billion U.S. dollars and the country had significant advantages in the fields of manufacturing and tech industries. While Argentina’s numbers stand strong compared to other countries in the Americas, a closer look into their labor shows a different picture of their economy. In 2018, informal employment was 48.1% of total employment in Argentina. While many in Argentina find that informal employment is the only option for financial survival, this sector brings about serious issues for both individual workers and the larger economy.
Poverty and Informal Employment
The push factors to join the informal economy of Argentina differ based on one’s purpose in this sector. For employers, cheap wages are a major reason to seek unregistered workers. Informality markets itself as a money-saving business model. For workers, informality does not present itself as an option but as a means for financial survival. Argentina’s market does not offer many jobs in the formal economy, leading employees to grab at whatever positions are available.
The link between informality and poverty is hard to explore. Questions remain over whether informality causes higher levels of poverty or if poverty leads to higher levels of informal employment. The World Bank team in Argentina has developed a two-year program to analyze the causes and consequences of informality in Argentina. In their study, it was found that informal work appears to be the most common type of employment among workers in poor households, but the degree and direction of causation are more difficult to determine. Whether poverty causes informality or informality causes poverty is uncertain. The program is finding that prior to Argentina’s economic crisis, the increase in poverty rates appeared to be driven by an increase in poverty among informal households. Such statistics confirm at least a correlative link between the two issues. This serves as evidence for why issues with informality should be at the forefront of anti-poverty efforts.
Dangers of Informal Employment
Informal economies pose several consequences for the welfare of workers and the larger market economy of a country. On the side of workers, informal employment is an opportunity that comes with many risks. The biggest obstacle with informal economies is the recognition of worker’s rights. Given that these workers are not registered, organizations do not have the responsibility to uphold necessary protections. In Argentina, the Confederation of Popular Economy Workers estimates that only approximately 20,000 workers, or about 0.3%, have acquired labor rights so far. This 0.3% comes from a total of 7.2 million informal workers, thus showing that many of these persons lack access to health insurance, pension, and protection against labor accidents. Consequently, informal workers often find themselves at the margins of society as their work fails to secure a stable income.
Informality also poses a threat to the overall economy of a country. In a personal interview with Dr. Jeronimo Montero Bressan, a full-time researcher for the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Argentina, he explained the ways in which the informal sector affects the rest of the country. Informal employment is a subsidy to the private sector. Most informal employment falls in the hands of private companies that produce subcontracting chains. This way informal workers can work under formal companies.
For Dr. Montero Bressan, while many come to have a romantic view of informality, the reality presents a chain of exploitation and an overall risk for the livelihood of the rest of the country. Dr. Montero Bressan has attested that because informal workers receive little money, wages will likely diminish throughout the entire economy, thus serving to motivate this type of employment. He has also said, “So, you tell people you won’t hire them because you could get the same labor for half what you pay them.” Informal economies do not just have an effect within a certain sector but come to influence the economy of the entire country. Without stronger regulation, everyone will stand at a loss as the value of labor falls with companies being able to ignore worker’s rights.
What is the response?
As Argentina sees stable numbers in the informal economies, efforts to reform this sector continue to fall short. According to Dr. Montero Bressan, the government of Argentina has done little to improve the rights of informal workers. In recent years, fines for specific sectors were blanketed, preventing companies from being fined when they leave workers unregistered. From his perspective, Argentina has weak labor laws that can provide little security. Dr. Montero Bressan has stated that if one were to be fired from an informal job, the employer could be taken to trial, however, the only likely result would be compensation. Such compensation gives laborers some value for their work, however, one-time compensation will not fix the problem of informality. Employees will find themselves back in poverty and seeking informal employment once the compensation runs out.
Informal employment generates consequences from the very beginning as worker’s rights are denied. For Argentina, the informal sector poses an extensive problem for both informal workers and the larger economy as informality decreases wages in the country. The informal sector has a strong connection with poverty as this means of labor is generally common in poor households. This sector, however, is not sustainable and the government of Argentina must respond by providing protection for workers and holding companies accountable for failing to register their employees.
– Ana Paola Asturias
Photo: Flickr
Human Trafficking in Vietnam
For the past 20 years, Vietnam has become a major exporter of foreign brides to East Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan. These countries are all experiencing low birthrates and are unable to replace their populations and continuing economic growth without help from migration in various forms. In China alone, an estimated 100,000 Vietnamese foreign brides exist. Marriage migration offers hope for some to improve standards of living for Vietnamese women but also leaves them susceptible to becoming victims of human trafficking during the process. Here is some information about human trafficking in Vietnam and some of its nearby countries.
High Risks of Women Becoming Victims of Human Trafficking
There is little governmental oversight on the Vietnamese side of marriage migration, which means that potential brides are vulnerable to brokers and criminal elements in the process of migrating abroad. Although many choose to migrate abroad voluntarily, fees often exist when hiring marriage brokers. Upon arriving in receiving countries, the visa status for foreign brides ties to the new husband, which creates a power imbalance that men can easily exploit.
The porous borderland region between China and Vietnam is particularly problematic for women living in economically challenged northern provinces of Vietnam. Traffickers moved at least 3,000 women and children from Vietnam to China from 2012-2017 for purposes of marriage migration and sex trafficking. Many were victims of rape and physical abuse in transit and China. On the Chinese side, there is little transparency on the true figures of marriage migrants, regardless of whether the foreign brides were there willingly or not.
Lack of Protection for Victims of Abuse
Several scandals involving foreign brides from Vietnam and other countries have rocked South Korea over the past 10 years with their South Korean husbands beating them, and in some cases, murdering them. South Korean government programs and NGOs have provided more protective measures to address these tragedies, but many foreign brides still avoid these groups out of the concern they might lose their visa status and have to go back to Vietnam. In 2015, reports determined that four out of 10 international marriages in South Korea ended in divorce within the first five years of the marriage, leading the Korean government to place more restrictions on marriage migration.
In China, human trafficking networks brought in an estimated 5% of Vietnamese foreign brides and initially sold them into prostitution upon their arrival. When living in China, some new husbands imprison their foreign brides and sell them repeatedly to different partners in a form of modern-day slavery. If victims are able to escape, they quickly undergo deportation back to Vietnam.
If foreign brides escape or decide to return to Vietnam after a failed or abusive marriage overseas, NGOs such as Blue Dragon, Pacific Links and others in Vietnam have to fill in to assist these women, rather than governmental agencies in many instances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations like these are struggling to provide adequate support for returnees and will need additional help to properly provide care to citizens.
How to Address These Risk Factors
The Blue Dragon NGO offers a variety of services for victims of human trafficking in Vietnam, including psychosocial support for trauma, legal representation and providing emergency shelter for recent victims. To date, it has directly rescued nearly 600 women from brothels and forced marriages (mostly in China) and assisted the police with an additional 627 cases to help women return to their villages in Vietnam.
Pacific Links focuses on prevention through awareness and also reintegration for victims of human trafficking in Vietnam. Another important measure it assists with is working with and providing training for local government agencies and border guards. It also offers academic scholarships to young girls in high-risk areas for human trafficking in Vietnam.
South Korea has been showing positive steps in offering classes in cultural awareness and the South Korean language for newly arrived Vietnamese spouses. The South Korean government has reportedly budgeted $100 million per year to fund these programs. It could also expand these programs and encourage them in other East Asian countries to raise more general awareness of the risk factors involved in transnational marriages.
The government of Vietnam in recent years is making more of an effort to address human trafficking through awareness campaigns, legal representation for victims and lengthening time periods for shelter and financial assistance. Penalties for human traffickers have also stiffened as a punitive measure, with convicted individuals facing five to 10 years imprisonment and steep fines.
Conclusion
Widespread marriage migration will likely continue throughout Asia as birth rates continue to drop throughout the developed parts of the region. As immigration procedures tighten for labor migration, marriage migration has become a loophole that while technically legal, must still undergo monitoring to ensure protection for Vietnamese women who participate.
– Matthew Brown
Photo: Flickr