{"id":187269,"date":"2021-06-21T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=187269"},"modified":"2021-06-19T03:16:09","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T02:16:09","slug":"dont-look-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/06\/dont-look-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Look Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

A world that profits from\u00a0human\u00a0slaughter!
\nIt happens in plain sight,
\nNot even\u00a0thinking! Yes,\u00a0this\u00a0could be\u00a0someone\u2019s daughter.
\nIt\u2019s just a transaction, so it\u2019s only\u00a0money that they have after.<\/p>\n

Covered in the silence of the\u00a0dark\u00a0night.
\nOr sometimes in clear glistening sunlight
\nChildren\u00a0are\u00a0brought\u00a0in\u00a0from everywhere,\u00a0the\u00a0young, the\u00a0innocent
\nWith only poverty to bare, sold to the highest bidder
\nO\u2019\u00a0the laws of supply and demand, never mind she has no slipper!
\nFlesh\u00a0peddlers\u00a0demanding more, this was supposed to be the Promised Land
\nAn\u00a0insatiable appetite and quest, a world of\u00a0torture, a world or deceit.
\nWho will know we cheat?
\nIt\u2019s a trade in human meat.
\nThis is unfinished business,
\nNo one will bear\u00a0witness,\u00a0or\u00a0will someone?
\nIn a darkened corner, the innocent girls sit.
\nTheir\u00a0young bodies\u00a0a commodity for\u00a0anyone.
\nA trade in human meat, all on a table, where the perverted will eat.
\nMore than their share.
\nLet\u2019s take a stand and show we care.<\/p>\n

*****************************<\/p>\n

Human Trafficking in South Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Human trafficking is a global problem since trafficking can\u00a0occur within the same country. Human trafficking\u00a0transcends\u00a0people\u00a0of all races, religions, social class, and education. It often results in mental, physical, social and\u00a0psychological repercussions for the victims.\u00a0In short, a trade in torture and coercion.<\/p>\n

Crime in South Africa\u00a0continues\u00a0as criminals seem to regularly find innovative ways to violate, intimidate and eradicate human life. Human trafficking is the worst human rights violation of all times reminiscent of the slave trade. Condemnation efforts are\u00a0not enough to stop this scourge, as South Africa has been considered an enabling and attractive environment for victims.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) made one significant arrest. One of the notable arrests is that of the leader of the Jesus Dominion International Church, Timothy Omotoso, who faces 48 charges including human trafficking, sexual assault and rape. Ediozi Odi\u00a0was sentenced\u00a0in the Gauteng High Court to six life sentences and 129 years\u2019 imprisonment for human trafficking in 2019 (https:\/\/www.iol.co.za\/the-star\/opinion-analysis\/the-truth-about-human-trafficking-in-south-africa<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In Cape Town on 15 June 2021, a 13 year old girl was rescued from a human trafficking syndicate after her family, namely stepmother and step\u00a0grand mother conspired to sell the 13 year old\u00a0to human\u00a0trafficking syndicate\u00a0for R 30 000. (https:\/\/www.timeslive.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/2021-06-16-gauteng-teenager-rescued-from-human-and-sex-trafficking-syndicate\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

South African is considered a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. The sad reality is that victims are not only\u00a0trafficked out of South Africa\u00a0but foreign\u00a0victims are routed into the country.\u00a0It does not take the influential or the powerful to take a stand. The world will look quite different if\u00a0government translated its words into actions. There is still a lack of understanding of human trafficking. Education and\u00a0awareness\u00a0is key to understanding and\u00a0ending\u00a0human\u00a0trafficking.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dr Usha Roopnarain \u2013 Former parliamentarian in the National Assembly of South Africa, social activist and passionate about human rights and gender equality.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A world that profits from human slaughter!
\nIt happens in plain sight,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":115836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[237,1034,868,1218],"class_list":["post-187269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry-format","tag-africa","tag-human-traffic","tag-poetry","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}