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Serenity Masuno

Mrs.Kitt

English 3P/Per 5

March 2 2017

Parallel Structure

Rhetorical Questions

Extended Metaphor

What is Democracy to Outsiders?

As we look into history and see Declarations which state things such as We hold these

truths to be self evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by

their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of

happiness;... (Stanton) These words needed to be repeated in the past... must they be repeated

once more? Is history repeating itself? We as Americans say that we are a democracy, but are

we? Do we stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Is every individual offered those

same rights? Or are we simply hypocrites? Maybe even a little selfish or misinformed?

Human trafficking is real, yet rarely talked about. However, in a CNN article by Griselda

Vega and Shandra Woworuntu, they speak of a human trafficking victim, a man named Mark.

Mark, was a Safe Horizon client, he was a successful salesman in the Philippines, with a

master's degree in Business Administration. Using his minimal savings and additional

high-interest loans, he paid hefty recruitment fees to legally enter the United States where he was

placed in a hotel job. This man was then was forced to stay in a tiny makeshift room with no
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ventilation, AC or heater and eight other people. He worked long hours yet was never paid

overtime, checks were months late, and when he complained, he was threatened that if he spoke

up he would be deported (Vega, Shandra). Mark was a successful man with a college education

looking for something new and better in the United States, and someone saw that as an

opportunity to take advantage and make profit off of a human being. Services which individuals

in the United States are enjoying everyday, such as service at a restaurant, getting nails done in

the salon, or simply having a clean hotel room are possibly being done by people like Mark who

are being held against their will. He spent everything he had and more to come to the United

States as a legal citizen and was taken advantage of. He got no home to live in, no steady

income, not even any form of communication. He did not get to experience what America is

about, he did not see the joys of our world.

Human trafficking is not a problem in only immigrants trying to come to America but

also young girls being taken advantage of already here in America. A 17 year old girl's mother

was sent to prison and her father left and When a guy on Facebook reached out with caring

messages, she took notice, stating He said everything I wanted to hear, especially with my

mom being away, Then, she bought a bus ticket to see him, planning to stay with him for a

week. But to her surprise, the man...immediately told her she needed to make money upon

arriving...The woman and up to seven others were taken across state lines to strip and engage in

commercial sex. She recalled going to Colorado, Arizona, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Maryland

(Alvarez). Just like immigrants coming to the United States not knowing what they are getting

themselves into, there are young girls who are not adults yet and are able to be taken advantage
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of just as easily. These young girls are afraid to speak up in fear of being abused, or accused of

crimes they did not commit.

Therefore, when in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one portion of

individuals to question their freedoms in America, and be afraid to stand up for themselves, it is

our job as American citizens to stand up for them to create a world of true democracy. Not only

do human trafficking victims live a hard life, but many survivors live in poverty not speaking the

language, or having the correct skills to make it on their own; some even being trafficked again.

This is our modern day form of slavery: being paid less than deserved, treated like objects

instead of human beings, scared to speak up because they might lose their life, educated and

talented yet no equal opportunities. Do you see these similarities? It was not okay in the past so

what makes it okay now? In 2016, there were 6,340 females and 978 males involved in some

kind of human trafficking 2,387 of them being minors, and 2,075 being U.S citizens (National

Human Trafficking Hotline). The numbers may not seem that high compared to the world

population but that is over 7,000 people in one year who will now have to struggle the rest of

their lives trying to recover. This can be reduced greatly if government would step in and set

laws to protect people from human trafficking. In 2013 the Fraudulent Overseas Recruitment and

Trafficking Elimination (FORTE) Act was brought to congress but never passed. It is laws like

these which ensure foreigners a safe way into the United States that would help reduce human

trafficking. Our citizens need to be more aware and speak up, labor trafficking is seen everyday

we just are not educated enough to see it. With your help lives can be saved, and our world will

be that much closer to being a true democracy, so take a stand and give others the same freedoms

you have.
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Citation Page

Alvarez, Priscilla. "When Sex Trafficking Goes Unnoticed in America." The Atlantic. Atlantic

Media Company, 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

"Human trafficking in the U.S. -- the ugly truth." CNN. Cable News Network, 22 July 2015.

Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

"Hotline Statistics." National Human Trafficking Hotline. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.