From: Kempadoo Kamala (kempadoo@sobek.colorado.edu)
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Maybe reply: Kempadoo Kamala: "Re: Issues to discuss"
Reply: Kempadoo Kamala: "Re: Issues to discuss"
In response to Melanie's suggestion to have a bit of dicussion going about
I too am concerned about the conflation between smuggling and trafficking
that is occurring in international discourses. This conflation was also
evident to me in some sessions during the Beijing +5 conference a couple
I would strongly argue for letting go of the term "trafficking" and to
educate the public about forced labor and inhumane working conditions that
people (particualrly women) are being moved (smuggled perhaps) or
migrating around the world for.
I am convinced that these conditions are going to get even worse unless
the globalizing processes that operate in the interests of big capital as
opposed to that of labor (to use some old fashioned terms), are not turned
Trafficking is also so highly (and historically) connected to issues of
force and coercion in sex industries, that it evokes very specific images
about poor young women being "lured" and "trapped" in prostitution. It
therefore makes it very difficult to talk about other forms of labor or
services that people are "trafficked" for.
So I'm perhaps putting my foot in it here, but just thought I'd throw out
something we can chew over on this list.
> 2.	I believe that people international are conflating
> trafficking and smuggling. This is illustrated on a daily basis on
> Stop-Traffic, with newspaper clippings that use trafficking and
> smuggling interchangeably. How do we educate people as to the
> differences? What can we do to effect change?
> Thanks and I look forward to reading your comments.
> Melanie......