Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficking

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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by OrangeDragon »

LTO wrote:
Soi Dog wrote:Of course the women/girls are making less as garment workers than as prostitutes...so what is your point? They should be left as prostitutes? Prostitution is illegal. Sewing clothes is not. Your argument is similar to saying "drug dealers make more selling drugs than they do at McDondalds. Therefore the system is failing those drug dealers by encouraging them against their will (by arresting them and re-training them while incarcerated) to work for paltry wages in a dead end job after their release from jail. They should be left alone to deal drugs so they can earn the higher wage."
That's just weird. We are from different planets.
Agreed. But I have time to kill while a process runs... so I'll play...

It sort of IS the same argument when compared with drug dealers... what right does one have to tell them to stop dealing drugs when their only other prospect is one of a live of poverty and misery? The government, who made it illegal, of course has that right... but does any special action group have the right to abduct and "retrain" them against their will without trial, a chance to defend themselves, etc?

The other major difference is the "victim" in the crime. With drugs one could easily argue, as has been done before, that they have addictive properties and therefore dealers of those drugs are predatory, creating victims of their customers, or that they are at least enabling their customers to perpetuate the harmful effects on their body. With prostitution the "dealer" is in fact the one presented as the "victim"... and making a free choice to do so. I'm all for free choices (which is why I support legalization of both). Kidnapping the "victim" and making them another kind of victim who isn't doing so out of free will is far from a reasonable solution... especially for a non government agency.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by phuketrichard »

my opinion,
forget the ones that are already in the game, (hash as it sounds)

Raise money an have a Nationwide campaign aimed at helping families that are needy and have daughters, so they don't have to sell their daughters or ask their daughters to go to "work" to help them.

Make sure they stay in school and give them a future.

Wishful thinking ? Yes

Ur then going to still have girls entering the game ( dont worry guys) but at least they wont be sold into it, an with luck and time u can eliminate the pimps an forced houses an then the only girls working, will be those that "choose" it

Let the out cries commence
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by StroppyChops »

phuketrichard wrote:Wishful thinking ? Yes
No. A faith-based organisation I know of has started doing exactly this, with no religious mandates.

Girl is 9, and wants to continue going to school with her friend.
Girl's single mother now wants Girl to work in the fields to feed the family, and won't let Girl go to school any more.
Organisation pays mother what Girl would otherwise earn on the basis that Girl continues going to school.
Organisation checks in regularly at school to make sure Girl is attending.
If Girl is not attending, financial support is immediately cancelled.

So far, seems to be working well, but it's early days.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by OrangeDragon »

StroppyChops wrote:
phuketrichard wrote:Wishful thinking ? Yes
No. A faith-based organisation I know of has started doing exactly this, with no religious mandates.
this is a huge factor to me. i really get sick of the religious blackmail that comes with a lot of the religion based NGOs.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by StroppyChops »

OrangeDragon wrote:
StroppyChops wrote:
phuketrichard wrote:Wishful thinking ? Yes
No. A faith-based organisation I know of has started doing exactly this, with no religious mandates.
this is a huge factor to me. i really get sick of the religious blackmail that comes with a lot of the religion based NGOs.
Me too.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by Soi Dog »

StroppyChops wrote:
phuketrichard wrote:Wishful thinking ? Yes
No. A faith-based organisation I know of has started doing exactly this, with no religious mandates.

Girl is 9, and wants to continue going to school with her friend.
Girl's single mother now wants Girl to work in the fields to feed the family, and won't let Girl go to school any more.
Organisation pays mother what Girl would otherwise earn on the basis that Girl continues going to school.
Organisation checks in regularly at school to make sure Girl is attending.
If Girl is not attending, financial support is immediately cancelled.

So far, seems to be working well, but it's early days.
What if every family in each village (who always planned to send their kids to school) finds out one family is being paid to do so, and start claiming they also will pull their kid out of school without payment?

Does said organization pay for boys and girls equally?
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

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Soi Dog wrote:What if every family in each village (who always planned to send their kids to school) finds out one family is being paid to do so, and start claiming they also will pull their kid out of school without payment?

Does said organization pay for boys and girls equally?
I honestly don't know that they've thought that far forward, but I know it sure makes a difference in the life of the ones who already benefit from this. They don't claim to have all the answers and this is just knee-jerk troubleshooting while they're doing other stuff. How do you suggest they do it better?
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

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StroppyChops wrote:
Soi Dog wrote:What if every family in each village (who always planned to send their kids to school) finds out one family is being paid to do so, and start claiming they also will pull their kid out of school without payment?

Does said organization pay for boys and girls equally?
I honestly don't know that they've thought that far forward, but I know it sure makes a difference in the life of the ones who already benefit from this. They don't claim to have all the answers and this is just knee-jerk troubleshooting while they're doing other stuff. How do you suggest they do it better?
I have no suggestions, but it seems to be the same "welfare state" trap in the west (or the endless "charity state" comparisons elsewhere). You try to solve a real problem, but the law of unintended consequences kicks in and now there you are helping to perpetuate the "culture of charity" conundrum.

"Why does my neighbor get free housing and $1000 cash per month for not working and having more kids, when I pay my own way and work full time for minimum wage?", etc. The imagined stigma of accepting charity when you don't really need it dissipates quickly.

No easy answers.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by StroppyChops »

Soi Dog wrote:I have no suggestions, but it seems to be the same "welfare state" trap in the west (or the endless "charity state" comparisons elsewhere). You try to solve a real problem, but the law of unintended consequences kicks in and now there you are helping to perpetuate the "culture of charity" conundrum.

"Why does my neighbor get free housing and $1000 cash per month for not working and having more kids, when I pay my own way and work full time for minimum wage?", etc. The imagined stigma of accepting charity when you don't really need it dissipates quickly.

No easy answers.
I understand your point. So, honest question, is it better that the organisation does nothing in this case?
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by OrangeDragon »

StroppyChops wrote:
Soi Dog wrote:I have no suggestions, but it seems to be the same "welfare state" trap in the west (or the endless "charity state" comparisons elsewhere). You try to solve a real problem, but the law of unintended consequences kicks in and now there you are helping to perpetuate the "culture of charity" conundrum.

"Why does my neighbor get free housing and $1000 cash per month for not working and having more kids, when I pay my own way and work full time for minimum wage?", etc. The imagined stigma of accepting charity when you don't really need it dissipates quickly.

No easy answers.
I understand your point. So, honest question, is it better that the organisation does nothing in this case?
It could be, honestly. If they help say 20 families, then 50 more see what's up and pull their kids out (who would have been going otherwise) then they've done more harm than good.
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