Professional Documents
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Academic Article First Draft
Academic Article First Draft
Academic Article First Draft
McKenzie Filipek
28 March 2019
As people sit in Canal Park here in Duluth, waving and looking at the ships that pass
through the canal, we focus on the ship and how fascinating it is. We look at the ship thinking it
is so cool and that you might want to be on there. For some people they might not think the same
because of experiences they have had. But for the many people that think this, they don’t think
about what is happening on the ship that we can’t see. So many stories and cases of human
trafficking are happening right in your area, but here in Duluth, it is more common then we all
may realize. So many cases are reported each day, and around 10,000 cases reported each year in
the world, and thousands of cases are happening around Minnesota everyday (Carter). Something
that not many people may realize is that these people that are trafficked here in Duluth, are being
taken by ship. What are they being taken for exactly? Most cases of people being taken is for
sex, however, other reports are for labor, money, and more. How is this happening and what can
be done to prevent it is the question that many people wonder these days.
Being promised that your bills and expenses will be payed for sounds pretty great right?
The people that are being taken are promised these things, but that’s not actually true. These
people take you and try to think you might be getting a good life, but in the end its only torture.
These people work for low pay and hard long hours if they are trafficked for work labor. They
also can be at sea on a ship for up to 18 months in terrible working conditions that can cause
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illnesses. They might also not be fed a lot and can be beaten and abused for poor performances in
their work habits (Walsh). That doesn’t sound good to anyone that I’ve talked to about this case.
You heard a little bit about the working labor, but what about the people that are trafficked for
sex. These people are forced against their will to do things with people that don’t know all to
please someone. These people that get trafficked for sex are psychically and mentally assaulted
also. In an article I read, talking about the people that are specifically trafficked for sex, it states;
“Girls were sexually abused and raped. Boys were forced to masturbate while wearing plastic
skirts and showering together. Children were stropped, beaten with all manner of objects and
were put in the electric chair; for punishment, for no reason at all and for simple
entertainment.”(Dean).
A major spot that these ships are headed to is Thunder Bay, Ontario (Szmanda). The
people that are trafficked for these terrible things are not just kids. It is adults, children, and
babies of any gender. The thing that is unique to the trafficking scandal is that the main ethnicity
that is trafficked are Native Americans. The Department of Justice states that there are relatively
14,000 to 17,000 people that are trafficked each year in the United States alone (Jones). But
around harbors that pass resources from one city or state to the next, it tends to be higher since
the people can load the ships of crates faster and easier. One good thing that has happened in
Minnesota would be laws focusing more on human tracking itself. One of the laws in that there
are high cost/fees for people that sell other people for sex. I think this is a good law to have, but
what happens to the people who don’t get caught? Therefore, tighter ship security along with
border and community safety and security should be a bigger deal. Along with more harsh
punishments for the people that get caught with the trading or possession of people.
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Although human trafficking can still happen in different types of transportation, having
tighter ship security here in Duluth at all of the ship stations for loading and unloading different
types of resources can make a huge difference. This would help tremendously and eliminate
human trafficking by almost half. The reason that it cannot fully be eliminated would be the
Transshipment is the activity of trading things at sea. Although transshipment can be good for
somethings, such as giving other vessels food or other resources they may need, it is also bad. In
the “Verdict” article, it states that transshipment makes is easier to carry and transport illegal
cargo because there is no monitoring take takes place on these ships (Verdict, 23 July 2018).
Therefore, there should be monitoring on all ships at all times. This is also a good thing to do
Human Trafficking is a huge deal when it comes to dealing with it overseas, but it is also
a big deal on land too. Human Trafficking on land can take form in many places and all different
times. This too needs to be monitored better because everyday people are getting taken in the
blink of an eye. Over ten years ago, a man opened a shop downtown in Duluth called “The Hip
Hop Candy Shop.” When the man opened the shop, he knew it would attract girls so while being
open, he used these girls for pictures and multiple other things, along with trying to sell them for
sex (Collin). These girls were also promised paid rent, bills, and more. Luckily the man was
eventually caught. It was never guaranteed, but it was agreed by many that this man was going to
be sending them through ship when he was going to sell them for sex. It is said that over three
million people visit Duluth each year to see what it has to offer its people and the tourist (Collin).
With rates going up for human trafficking, it is no doubt that some of these tourists are taken
each year and that this could continue to happen if nothing gets done about it.
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Having security on land at the shipping docks would also make for a better and safer
community in Duluth. With people put at every station to help keep watch, this would make sure
no other or extra things are stored in the crates and put onto the ships. Like said above, although
there are other sources of transportation, it would cut down numbers of trafficking over sea.
Along with the people at these stations, there should also be twenty-four-hour surveillance
cameras that catch every moment at all angles. This should not be known by the workers and
ship people, so they don’t try and do stuff in secret areas. Not only should these cameras and
people be at the Duluth port stations, but all over the place where shipping is a source of
transportation. This will help the world by making sure more people are safe and doing what
they are supposed to when docked at sea. I know this doesn’t go well for transshipment but there
In Conclusion, human trafficking is a major problem in this world, but it is a big deal
here in Duluth in the community we live in. This is something that is happening almost every
hour or if not sooner and many cases of human trafficking are reported each year. Human
trafficking can take forms on land or oversea. Many people don’t realize that it is happening so
close to them and things they can do to help or try and stay safe. Having secure docking stations
for the ships with monitoring on and off all ships, it will make safer transported of resources
instead of illegal human trading. People also don’t realize that it isn’t just girls being taken, it is
men too and this is happening to people of all ages. Something needs to be done about this
terrible crime happening around us. With trusted people and twenty-four-hour surveillance, this
crime can be cut in half when it is happening. The trading of humans for illegal business will be
stopped when people work together to make these changes happen all around the world.
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References
2019.
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/05/05/sex-trafficking-on-the-north-shore/ Accessed: 10
February 2019
Dean, Dave. “First Nations Woman are being sold into the Sex Trade on Ships along Lake
Superior.” https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/gq8xnx/first-nations-women-are-being-sold-into-
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA224224792&v=2.1&u=mnauduluth&it=r&p=
Szmanda, Jessie. “Human Trafficking on the Ships of Lake Superior.” Stories Foundation.
2019. Walsh, Don. Slavery Exist at Sea. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings. Jan2018, Vol. 144
https://www.freedomunited.org/news/how-transshipment-hides-human-trafficking-at-sea/