Reaction Paper

856 Words2 Pages

Labor exploitation remains economically profitable around the world. Businesses and individual entrepreneurs attempt to utilize available labor and increase productivity at the least cost possible. Against this backdrop, business executives advocate for increasing migration and the availability of cheap labor. The demand for cheap labor and the growing economic disparities within and between countries have resulted in the exploitation of vulnerable populations, especially women and children. Rebecca Surtees (2003) notes that the migration of Indonesian workers within the country and internationally was exacerbated after the 1997 economic crisis and has resulted in the violation of labor and human rights. In my opinion this paper was well written in stating the wrongs of human trafficking but it is lacking in suggestions or possible deterrents to the exploitation of these women and children. Citing Ford, Surtees highlights that remittance to Indonesia from female migrant workers increased in 1999 by up to three hundred million US dollars. She notes that women are the primary targets of forced economic migration, in part because they are considered to be more docile than men, and contribute efficiently to household economies. Forced economic migration is not unique to Indonesia. It occurs globally and is especially prevalent in countries where the rule of law and strong institutions are not readily available. Labor laws in these places are substandard and enforcement agencies are either complacent, corrupt and/or participants of exploitative labor practices. Domestic servitude of migrant workers and associated abuses are very visible and often openly practiced in many places. For exploiters, the life of a migrant worker has little... ... middle of paper ... ... these women enables this trade to continue. There is no end in sight to the illegal trafficking of women, as well as to migration. The money these migrant workers earn, in addition to corruption and cultural acceptance, ensures the longevity of human trafficking. Despite the importance of this issue to women and migrant rights, this paper I feel only reiterates what is already known without data needing to back it up. Women are being exploited and abused worldwide in numbers that surely are not accurately documented. I believe more literature should focus on the socioeconomic structure in these countries and prevention addressed at a grass root level. It is easy for us to judge the perceived “exploitation” of a family selling their child into domestic labor for a family in Germany but fail to understand what would happen to same family if this were not an option.

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