Local
An Editorial Update on The Rub
Chris Horne
You’ve probably noticed already that the Macon Police Department (MPD) and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) each went out and raided a total of eight massage parlors, arresting a total of 13 people. And, if you’re like most, you probably think this makes me happy. Well, it does and it doesn’t.
Lt. George Meadows with the BSO says the two agencies hadn’t coordinated this effort—that it was coincidental—but says they are in the planning stages to do that, though details aren’t yet available. The fact that some effort has been made is helpful. Terry Harvin at Lamar Advertising told us, for the original article, that they remove billboards of places busted for illegal activity. Most, if not all the places raided, have billboards up, meaning that the ones Lamar owns (they are not the only company by any means) should soon be cleared. Those are both two good things. But this problem doesn’t rest on billboards and police action.
Unfortunately—whether it is a lack of tools at their disposal or a misunderstanding of the situation—law enforcement went after the prostituted women and their mamasans, who are little more than middle men for the owners—and whoever their financial backers are. No johns were arrested. There have been warrants issued for some of the owners and what happens after that will tell a lot, but my fear, regardless, is that this gets played off as a reason to stop paying attention to this issue.
Remember, the issue isn’t just that prostitution is happening on a grand scale in Macon, GA, but that there’s more than enough reason to believe that the women inside many of these places are being trafficked in, forced to do this illegal activity against their will. If this is true, I can think of only a few things more evil than that. Several folks say, “Well, you have no proof of it.” Well, no one does until they look. That is as true for trafficking as it is for murder, theft, rape or anything else law enforcement must deal with. To date, to my knowledge, the only recent investigation into whether or not this is happening was done by David Corr, an insurance salesman, who went in out of curiousity asking the women if they were forced to have sex or if it was consensual. No offense to David Corr, but it’s an egregious error that his word is all we have.
Dr. Andrew Silver, a professor at Mercer who helped start STOP (Sex Trafficking Opposition Project) on campus, points out that women who do not speak English, are arrested for prostitution and already being abused aren’t likely to simply confess to police. (Or to a stranger like David Corr.) There are organizations as close as Atlanta—like Tapestri and Rescue and Restore Georgia—who can assist local law enforcement in these situations, which may be the only way to really get to the bottom of whether or not sex trafficking is happening here. Dr. Silver and STOP, among others, intend to be at Tuesday night’s city council meeting to address these concerns.
City councilman Erick Erickson is planning to propose an ordinance that he considers a first step in combating these places. Modeled after Cole Thomasson’s legislation, this ordinance would make it illegal in the city of Macon to practice (or claim to practice) massage without a city license, just like it is presently illegal to operate a bar without a liquor license or to cut hair or call yourself a psychic without a city license. As positive as that is, Erickson admits it won’t do much to curb the businesses that are already calling themselves spas and saunas, offering “body shampoos”, showers, scrubs and “dry saunas” among their services. For that, he’s going to try urging Council President Miriam Paris into creating a committee to oversee the issue.
If we’re serious, it is also time to involve other agencies. The bars are additionally regulated by the Revenue Office, who carry guns to shut down places with expired liquor licenses. Hair stylists are regulated by a state board and the health department. Strip clubs are kept out by utilizing the Planning and Zoning committee in addition to both city council and the county board of commissioners. If the community really wants to be rid of this widespread problem—the massage parlors and their ilk, not prostitution as a whole—then we can make that happen.
This is an issue that is incredibly complex and difficult. There are few, if any, straight answers. Likewise, it seems impossible at this point, after years of not reacting at all, to overreact now. This isn’t just about prostitution. This is potentially about preventing Macon from becoming the sex trafficking hub of the Southeast, and trying to keep out all the organized crime that comes along with it. Remember the words of everyone who has ever seen the potential for this city rising to greatness, and remember that much of it rests on our location in the middle of the state, along several Interstates and highways, within hours of the Coast and five other states. The same thing that brought major distribution warehouses to the area is the same thing that draws these illicit businesses. Right now, it is just up to the city and its citizens how much we’re willing to take.
Source: http://macon.11thhouronline.com/
13 Women Arrested at Macon Massage Parlors
By Phillip Ramati Friday, June 27, 2008
To read the article, visit http://www.macon.com/198/story/389661.html
State
National
Inside Human Trafficking
June 23rd 2008 Cutting Edge Contributor Amb. Mark P. Lagon
Earlier this month Secretary Rice released the eighth annual Trafficking in Persons Report—the flagship publication of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons which I direct.
In virtually every country around the world, including the United States, men, women and children are held in involuntary servitude, exploited for commercial sex, coerced into work in factories and sweatshops. In some, children are forcibly recruited as soldiers. These are forms of human trafficking. They are, in fact, forms of modern-day slavery. Estimates of the number of victims vary widely. According to the U.S. intelligence community, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. About 80 percent of them are female. Up to half are minors. These figures do not include millions who are trafficked for purposes of labor and sexual exploitation within national borders as well.
As a function of the information collected in compiling this document, we know far more today than we did eight years ago with the first edition, or even three years ago, when, for example, we started taking a closer look at forced labor practices. Some key trends emerged this year which are best exemplified by an individual tragedy because it is truly these personal stories of anguish that motivate modern day abolitionists.
To Read the rest of the article, go to:
http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=580
Round Up the Usual Suspects; It's the Human Trafficking Report
6/16/2008 By Joel Brinkley
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=12&a=347598
Researchers Issue Report on Human Trafficking
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/541773/
Letter To the Editor: A Task for Senator Obama
June 16, 2008 The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/opinion/l16kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
DSS to help teen sex slaves
Figures: 70 percent of prostitutes are runaways
By Marie Szaniszlo Sunday, June 15, 2008
www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1100873
76 Arrested on Prostitution Charges in Craigslist Sting
By Monique Garcia June 14, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-craigslist-sex-sting_both_15jun15,0,6491915.story
International
We ’ll empower women to fight human trafficking, says NGO
• Monday, Jun 23, 2008
An NGO, Global Improvement of Persons’ Initiative, said it would empower women in some states in the northern part of the country as a strategy to combat human trafficking.
The Director of the NGO, Alhaji Lawal Mashi, made this known in Kano in an interview with the newsmen
Mashi said the organisation was already working in six states in the northern part of the country.
He said the NGO recently organised a sensitisation lecture in those states to draw the attention of parents, religious and community leaders as well as youths to the dangers inherent in human trafficking.
The director also said the focus of the campaign was to stress to the people the need to be self-reliant.
“The lecture, organised by the NGO in collaboration with UNICEF, had achieved a lot in terms of creating awareness among the people,” he said.
Mashi said poverty had been identified as one of the major causes of trafficking in human beings in Nigeria.
He said empowerment of the people, particularly women, would assist in dealing with the problem.
He said the NGO in its desire to set good example, had empowered some mothers by teaching them skills such as soap and pomade-making.
Mashi added that it had also provided training on agriculture to some youths in the region.
The director urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and state governments to collaborate with NGOs and law enforcement agencies to stop the practice.
Source: http://www.thetidenews.com/
Creating awareness on human trafficking (India)
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=135865
Rwanda Girls Trafficked for Sex Trade
15 June 2008 By Henry Mukasa
http://allafrica.com/stories/200806160002.html
Cambodian sex workers gather at Buddhist temple to protest against crackdown
The Associated Press Monday, June 16, 2008
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=13733407
Sligo, Ireland Conference Addresses Human Trafficking and Sex Industry Concerns
Saturday June 14 2008
www.herald.ie
Put Predators Behind Bars
http://www.bangkokpost.com/140608_News/14Jun2008_news16.php
The Modern Slave Trade is Thriving
http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11561082