This!is!a!story!about!a!girl!who!was!in!an!unstable!life!in!the! Philippines.!She!constantly!felt!unsafe!and!had!to!be!ready!for! anything.!She!thought!life!could!not!get!any!worse.!This!story! is!many!personal!stories!compiled!in!to!one!story.!It!talks! about!domestic!slavery!in!the!United!States.!In!this!story,!there! are!8!human!rights!violations.!The!articles!being!violated!are! the!following:!Article!4!(held!in!servitude),!article!5-subjected! to!torture!or!degrading!treatment!or!punishment!(she!gets! beaten!for!not!doing!to!things!properly!or!making!rules),!9obituary!arrest,!detention!or!exile!(she!is!kidnapped),!12interference!with!his!privacy!(she!has!no!privacy!because!she! lives!in!the!garage),!Attack!upon!his!honor!and!reputation,!! article!19-right!to!freedom!through!speech!(she!can!not!speak! freely,!article!24-right!to!rest!(she!has!to!work!until!they!go!to! bed),!article!25-right!to!a!standard!well-being!of!ones-self.! Including!food,!clothing,!housing,!medical!care!(she!never! went!to!the!doctors,!she!got!very!little!food,!she!slept!on!the! ground!with!one!blanket).!article!26-right!to!education!(she! never!went!to!school).!“there!are!an!estimated!50,000!slaves!in! the!United!States!and!an!additional!17,500!are!being!trafficked! into!the!country!every!year.”!The!United!States!is!spoken!as!a! safe!and!free!country,!but!the!country!holds!a!lot!of!the!total! worlds!slaves.!Many!people!just!like!“Flor”!are!enslaved!right! now!and!we!are!just!floating!around,!not!bothering!to!take!a! deeper!look!!This!needs!to!stop,!slavery!must!go!
I was nine years old
My little brother and i had no parents and were living homeless in the philippines
we had started to get used to being alone when typhoon haiyan hit
We didn't think life could get worse
we Watched as our neighbors and friends floated down the river
We got dragged out in to the current
MY brother slowly slipped out of my numbed grasp and floated down the river
I eventually crawled my way to shore and cried and cried until I fell asleep.
That was the last time i saw my brother
The next day i woke up in some strange building with strange men talking a language I barely understood
And then I don't remember anything
I woke up in a black room, cold and hungry
my n-a-m-e is FLOR
welcome to our family
whats your name, daughter
okay, Now that you are part of our family we have expectations that must follow. You have to realize there will be consequences
If you do not do this I will have to resort to very bad things and don't think I won't do this because you are a child or a girl
THAT NIGHT was the start to 9 years of swollen eyes and torn up knees blisters and the beginning of a drowning dream of getting out of that house
Here is the exact list of rules they gave me
i was just so hungry, I am so sorry for taking from them.
he hit me for hours.
I couldn't do it anymore, I tried my hardest to be the best daughter. I'm just never good enough.
I started working on digging my way out of the small garage i was staying in. Every night i would a little bit more. I was so determined to get out of there!
I ran to a nunnery, where I found my current day role model, Sister mary
She taught me how to read and write.
SHe taught me to read and write and she supported me every step of the way to recover
Sister mary talked to me about helping others that were in my situation. It was an amazing idea! Sister mary got on the phone to greg and he and I had our first meeting
Greg and I started an organization to help stop slavery. I toured the united states promoting noslavery!
"Polaris!Project"!is!a!non-profit!organization!that! Client Services helps!people!in!servitude!or!were!previously!in! They!offer!comprehensive!clinical!social!services!to!victims!of!all! servitude!The!project!brings!community! forms!of!human!trafficking!through!specialized!local!offices!in! members,!cur!visors!and!professionals!to!fight! Washington,!D.C.!and!New!Jersey. trafficking!and!survivors!in!the!spirit!of!"a! modern!day!Underground!Railroad"!The!Polaris! NAtional Human Trafficking Project!runs!a!shelter!for!trafficking!victims!and! Resource center an!organizational!Web!site. They!operate!a!central!24-hour!national!human!trafficking!hotline! They!help!the!victims!in!many!different!ways,! like!the!following...
for!the!United!States!and!connecting!professionals,!victims,!and!
Training and Technical
Policy Advocacy
community!members!to!information!and!services.
It!is!!a!central!hub!of!human!trafficking!legislative!expertise!while! Conduct!trainings,!offer!consultations!and!technical!assistance, develop!specialized!curriculums,!Assist!task!forces,!coalitions!and advocates!with!capacity!building!and!sustainability,!Provide!current information!on!federal!and!state!laws,!promising!practices,!victim identification!and!assessment!and!recent!human!trafficking!trends,
advancing!state!and!federal!policy!related!to!the!crime!of!human! trafficking!on!a!national!scale.
fellowship Program
Global Programs
Polaris!Project's!Fellowship!Program!is!a!formalized!leadership!
They!plan!to!map,!connect,!and!support!human!trafficking!hotlines!
development!program!focused!on!training!future!leaders!to!serve!in!
globally!in!order!to!develop!a!more!coordinated!and!data-driven!
the!anti-trafficking!movement!and!other!related!fields.!
response!to!modern-day!slavery.
ALl!The!polaris!Project!does!is!Help,!so!i!recommend!you!helping!them.!There!are!children!like!Flor!all! over!the!world.!Helping!The!polaris!Project,!volunteering,!taking!small!steps!increase!the!chance!of!saving! them!and!helping!them!to!safety.!These!girls!and!boys!do!not!deserve!to!be!enslaved.!No!body!deserves! that.!DO!whatever!you!can!to!help!people!like!this!because!you!never!know!who's!daughter!it!is!or!son.! THe!reality!of!this!problem!has!increased!and!you!need!to!raise!awareness!to!show!this!is!not!how!you! want!your!country!to!be.!YOu!will!not!stand!for!this!anymore!
Sources:) Batsone,!David.!Not!for!Sale:!The!Return!of!the!Global!Slave!TRade--and!How!We! Can!Fight!It.!New!York:!HarperSanFranciisco,!2007.!Print.! "Domestic!Work!|!Polaris!Project!|!Combating!Human!Trafficking!and!Modernday!Slavery."!Domestic!Work!|!Polaris!Project!|!Combating!Human!Trafficking!and! Modern-day!Slavery.!Polaris!Project,!n.d.!Web.!08!Apr.!2014. Hume,!Tim,!and!Hilary!Whiteman.!"45!Dead,!More!than!260,000!Displaced!in! Philippines!Flooding."!CNN.!Cable!News!Network,!22!Jan.!2014.!Web.!08! Apr.!2014. Maddox,! Tony.! "Modern-day! Slavery:! A! Problem! That! Can't! Be! Ignored."! The! CNN!Freedom!Project!Ending!ModernDay!Slavery!RSS.!CNN,!04!Mar.!2011.! Web.!06!Apr.!2014. "Sisters!of!Providence,!Mother!Joseph!Province!-!Renton,!Washington!-!Home! -."!Sisters!of!Providence,!Mother!Joseph!Province!-!Renton,!Washington!-!Home!-.! Sisters!of!Providence,!n.d.!Web.!09!Apr.!2014. "Slavery:!A!Global!Investigation."!Top!Documentary!Films!RSS.!N.p.,!n.d.!Web.!09! Apr.!2014.