For ti år siden havde jeg svær periode. Så jeg besluttede mig for at opsøge en terapeut. Jeg gik hos hende et par måneder, da hun en dag så på mig og sagde: "Hvem tog sig af dig, indtil du var 3?" Det var et sært spørgsmål. Jeg sagde: "Mine forældre." Og hun sagde: "Det tror jeg ikke - - hvis det var sandt - - ville vi have at gøre med noget, der er meget mere kompliceret."
About 10 years ago, I went through a little bit of a hard time. So I decided to go see a therapist. I had been seeing her for a few months, when she looked at me one day and said, "Who actually raised you until you were three?" Seemed like a weird question. I said, "My parents." And she said, "I don't think that's actually the case; because if it were, we'd be dealing with things that are far more complicated than just this."
Det lød som en joke, men jeg vidste, hun var seriøs. For da jeg først begyndte at gå hos hende - - forsøgte jeg at være hende den sjove. Og jeg lavede grin med alt, men hun gennemskue mig. Og når jeg kom med en vits, så hun på mig og sagde: "Det er faktisk rigtig sørgeligt." (Latter) Det er forfærdeligt.
It sounded like the setup to a joke, but I knew she was serious. Because when I first started seeing her, I was trying to be the funniest person in the room. And I would try and crack these jokes, but she caught on to me really quickly, and whenever I tried to make a joke, she would look at me and say, "That is actually really sad." (Laughter) It's terrible.
Så jeg tog det seriøst, og jeg spurgte mine forældre, - - hvem der havde taget sig af mig, indtil jeg var 3 år. Og til min overraskelse sagde de, - - at det primært var et fjernt medlem af familien. Jeg havde kaldt hende min tante.
So I knew I had to be serious, and I asked my parents who had actually raised me until I was three? And to my surprise, they said my primary caregiver had been a distant relative of the family. I had called her my auntie.
Jeg husker min tante meget tydeligt. Det føltes, som var hun en del af mit liv, da jeg var meget ældre. Jeg husker det tykke, glatte hår. Og hvordan det faldt over mig som et gardin, - - når hun ville løfte mig. Jeg husker hendes blide Thai-accent. Måden, jeg ville holde fast i hende, - - selv når hun bare ville på toilet, - - eller spise noget. Jeg elskede hende med sådan en vildskab, et barn nogen gange kan have, - - før hun forstår, at kærlighed også betyder at kunne give slip.
I remember my auntie so clearly, it felt like she had been part of my life when I was much older. I remember the thick, straight hair, and how it would come around me like a curtain when she bent to pick me up; her soft, southern Thai accent; the way I would cling to her, even if she just wanted to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. I loved her, but [with] the ferocity that a child has sometimes before she understands that love also requires letting go.
Men mit stærkeste minde om min tante, - - er også en af de første minder, jeg har i livet. Jeg husker, hun blev slået af et andet medlem af min familie. Jeg husker at skrige hysterisk, fordi jeg ville stoppe det, - - som jeg gjorde, hver gang, det skete - - for mindre ting, som når hun ville ud med vennerne - - eller når hun kom for sent. Jeg blev så hysterisk over dette, - - at hun med tiden bare begyndte at blive banket bag lukkede døre.
But my clearest and sharpest memory of my auntie, is also one of my first memories of life at all. I remember her being beaten and slapped by another member of my family. I remember screaming hysterically and wanting it to stop, as I did every single time it happened, for things as minor as wanting to go out with her friends, or being a little late. I became so hysterical over her treatment, that eventually, she was just beaten behind closed doors.
Tingene blev så slemt for hende, at hun endte med at stikke af. Som voksen fandt jeg ud af - - at hun kun var 19, da hun blev hentet over fra Thailand - - til USA for at tage sig af mig på et turist visum. Hun arbejdede længe i Illinois, - - før hun til sidst rejste tilbage til Thailand, - - hvor jeg igen løb ind i hende, under en politisk forsamling i Bangkok. Jeg klamrede mig til hende igen, som da jeg var barn, - - og jeg gav slip og lovede at ringe. Men det gjorde jeg aldrig. Jeg var bange for at fortælle hende, alt det, hun betød for mig - - at jeg havde hende at takke for den person, jeg er i dag. Og ordene "undskyld" virkede som en bagatel, - - i forhold til al den skyld, vrede og skam jeg følte - - over alt det, hun var gået igennem for at have taget sig af mig så længe. Jeg tænkte, at fortalte jeg hende alt det, ville jeg aldrig holde op med at græde. For hun reddede mig. Og jeg havde ikke reddet hende.
Things got so bad for her that eventually she ran away. As an adult, I learned later that she had been just 19 when she was brought over from Thailand to the States to care for me, on a tourist visa. She wound up working in Illinois for a time, before eventually returning to Thailand, which is where I ran into her again, at a political rally in Bangkok. I clung to her again, as I had when I was a child, and I let go, and then I promised that I would call. I never did, though. Because I was afraid if I said everything that she meant to me -- that I owed perhaps the best parts of who I became to her care, and that the words "I'm sorry" were like a thimble to bail out all the guilt and shame and rage I felt over everything she had endured to care for me for as long as she had -- I thought if I said those words to her, I would never stop crying again. Because she had saved me. And I had not saved her.
Jeg er journalist og har skrevet om og forsket i menneskehandel, - - over de sidste otte år, eller deromkring. Men jeg har aldrig blandet denne personlige historie sammen - - med mit professionelle liv, indtil for nyligt. Jeg tror faktisk denne adskillelse symboliserer - - det meste af vores forståelse for menneskehandel. For menneskehandel er langt mere udbredt, kompleks og tættere på, - - end de fleste af os ved.
I'm a journalist, and I've been writing and researching human trafficking for the past eight years or so, and even so, I never put together this personal story with my professional life until pretty recently. I think this profound disconnect actually symbolizes most of our understanding about human trafficking. Because human trafficking is far more prevalent, complex and close to home than most of us realize.
Jeg har været i fængsler og bordeller, - - og har interviewet hundredevis af ofre, politifolk og NGO-folk. Og når jeg tænker på, hvad vi har gjort ved menneskehandel, - - er jeg enormt skuffet. Delvis fordi, vi end ikke taler om problemet på korrekt vis. Når jeg siger "menneskehandel", - - tænker de fleste af os nok ikke på sådan nogen som min tante. Du forestiller dig nok en ung pige eller kvinde, - - der er blevet brutalt tvunget ind i prostitution af en voldelig alfons. Det er sande lidelser, og en sand historie. Det gør mig dog vred, - - af mange flere årsager, end bare situationen.
I spent time in jails and brothels, interviewed hundreds of survivors and law enforcement, NGO workers. And when I think about what we've done about human trafficking, I am hugely disappointed. Partly because we don't even talk about the problem right at all. When I say "human trafficking," most of you probably don't think about someone like my auntie. You probably think about a young girl or woman, who's been brutally forced into prostitution by a violent pimp. That is real suffering, and that is a real story. That story makes me angry for far more than just the reality of that situation, though.
Som journalist går jeg op i, hvordan vi relaterer til hinanden gennem sprog. Den måde vi fortæller en historie på, med alle de blodige, voldelige detaljer. De slibrige detaljer. Det, jeg kalder: "Se hendes ar"-journalistik. Vi bruger den historie til at fortælle os selv - - at menneskehandel er en slem mand, der gør slemme ting mod en uskyldig pige. Den historie lader os slippe for let - - og fjerner den samfundsmæssige kontekst, vi måske kan anklage, - - for strukturelle uligheder, eller fattigdom, - - eller barriererne for migration. Vi lader os selv tro, - - at menneskehandel kun handler om tvungen prostitution. Men virkeligheden er, - - at menneskehandel er en del af vores hverdagsliv.
As a journalist, I really care about how we relate to each other through language, and the way we tell that story, with all the gory, violent detail, the salacious aspects -- I call that "look at her scars" journalism. We use that story to convince ourselves that human trafficking is a bad man doing a bad thing to an innocent girl. That story lets us off the hook. It takes away all the societal context that we might be indicted for, for the structural inequality, or the poverty, or the barriers to migration. We let ourselves think that human trafficking is only about forced prostitution, when in reality, human trafficking is embedded in our everyday lives.
Det her er, hvad jeg mener: Tvunget prostitution udgør 22 % af al menneskehandel. 10 % er statspålagt tvangsarbejde. Men hele 68% er til at producere de varer - - og sørge for de services, de fleste af os er afhængige af - - på områder som landbrug, plejearbejde og byggeri. Altså mad, pleje og husly. Og disse meget vigtige arbejdere - - er også blandt verdens mest underbetale og udnyttede. Menneskehandel er brug af magt, bedrageri eller tvang - - til at pålægge et menneske arbejde. Og det findes i bomuldsmarker, coltanminer, - - og selv på bilvaske i Norge og England. Det findes på USAs militærbaser i Irak og Afghanistan.
Let me show you what I mean. Forced prostitution accounts for 22 percent of human trafficking. Ten percent is in state- imposed forced labor. but a whopping 68 percent is for the purpose of creating the goods and delivering the services that most of us rely on every day, in sectors like agricultural work, domestic work and construction. That is food and care and shelter. And somehow, these most essential workers are also among the world's most underpaid and exploited today. Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to compel another person's labor. And it's found in cotton fields, and coltan mines, and even car washes in Norway and England. It's found in U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Det findes i Thailands fiskeindustri. Det land er blevet den største eksportør af rejer i hele verden. Men hvad er mon forholdene - - bag alle disse billige rejer? Militæret i Thailand blevet taget i at sælge arbejdere fra Burma og Cambodja - til fiskerkuttere. Skibene sejlede ud, mændene blev sat til at arbejde - - og de blev smidt ombord, hvis de begik den fejl at blive syge - - eller hvis de protesterede. De fisk blev brugt som rejefoder. Rejerne blev så solgt til fire store globale detailhandlere: - Costco, Tesco, Walmart og Carrefour.
It's found in Thailand's fishing industry. That country has become the largest exporter of shrimp in the world. But what are the circumstances behind all that cheap and plentiful shrimp? Thai military were caught selling Burmese and Cambodian migrants onto fishing boats. Those fishing boats were taken out, the men put to work, and they were thrown overboard if they made the mistake of falling sick, or trying to resist their treatment. Those fish were then used to feed shrimp, The shrimp were then sold to four major global retailers: Costco, Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour.
Menneskehandel findes også i et mindre omfang. Og på steder, du ikke ville regne med. Menneskehandlere har tvunget unge til at køre isbiler, - - eller til at synge i drengekor. Menneskehandel blev endda afsløret hos en frisør i New Jersey.
Human trafficking is found on a smaller scale than just that, and in places you would never even imagine. Traffickers have forced young people to drive ice cream trucks, or to sing in touring boys' choirs. Trafficking has even been found in a hair braiding salon in New Jersey.
I det tilfælde var planlægningen utrolig. Menneskehandlerne fandt unge familier fra Ghana og Togo, - - og de fortalte dem, at: "jeres datter vil få - - en fin uddannelse i USA." De opsporede så vindere af green-card lotteriet, - - og de sagde til dem: "Vi vil hjælpe dig. Vi køber en flybillet til dig. Vi betaler dine udgifter. Du skal blot tage denne unge pige med dig - - og sige, hun er din søster eller kone." Når alle så ankom til New Jersey, blev de unger piger taget med, - - og sat til at arbejde 14 timer om dagen - - syv dage om ugen, i fem år. De tjente næsten 4 millioner dollars til deres menneskehandlere.
The scheme in that case was incredible. The traffickers found young families who were from Ghana and Togo, and they told these families that "your daughters are going to get a fine education in the United States." They then located winners of the green card lottery, and they told them, "We'll help you out. We'll get you a plane ticket. We'll pay your fees. All you have to do is take this young girl with you, say that she's your sister or your spouse. Once everyone arrived in New Jersey, the young girls were taken away, and put to work for 14-hour days, seven days a week, for five years. They made their traffickers nearly four million dollars.
Dette er et kæmpe problem. Og hvad har vi gjort ved det? Vi har mest gjort brug af retssystemet. Men husk, de fleste ofre er fattige og marginaliserede. De er immigranter med en anden hudfarve. Nogle gange sælger de sex. Og for denne del af befolkningen, - - er retssystemet nærmere en del af problemet, - - end af løsningen. I undersøgelser fra Bangladesh til USA, - - kom det frem at 20 til 60 % af de udspurgte sexarbejdere - - har været udsat for voldtægt eller vold af politiet bare inden for det sidste år. Prostituerede, inklusiv ofre for menneskehandel, - - får ofte flere prostitutionsdomme. En straffeattest gør det meget vanskeligt - - at komme ud af fattigdom, og forlade mishandling og prostitution, - - selv hvis personen ønsker det. Arbejdere uden for sexbranchen... Hvis de prøver at gøre modstand, risikerer de udvisning. I mange sager, jeg har set, har arbejdsgivere ikke problemer med, - - at bruge politiet som trussel mod udvisning - - hvis deres handlede arbejdere strejker. Hvis arbejdere stikker af, - - risikerer de at blive en del af en stor mængde papirløse arbejdere, - - som underlægges politiet og systemets manier, hvis de fanges.
This is a huge problem. So what have we done about it? We've mostly turned to the criminal justice system. But keep in mind, most victims of human trafficking are poor and marginalized. They're migrants, people of color. Sometimes they're in the sex trade. And for populations like these, the criminal justice system is too often part of the problem, rather than the solution. In study after study, in countries ranging from Bangladesh to the United States, between 20 and 60 percent of the people in the sex trade who were surveyed said that they had been raped or assaulted by the police in the past year alone. People in prostitution, including people who have been trafficked into it, regularly receive multiple convictions for prostitution. Having that criminal record makes it so much more difficult to leave poverty, leave abuse, or leave prostitution, if that person so desires. Workers outside of the sex sector -- if they try and resist their treatment, they risk deportation. In case after case I've studied, employers have no problem calling on law enforcement to try and threaten or deport their striking trafficked workers. If those workers run away, they risk becoming part of the great mass of undocumented workers who are also subject to the whims of law enforcement if they're caught.
Systemet skal identificere ofre og retsforfølge menneskehandlerne. Men ud af omtrent 21 millioner ofre for menneskehandel i hele verden, - - er mindre end 50,000 mennesker blevet hjulpet og identificeret. Det er som at sammenligne - - verdensbefolkningen med befolkningen i LA. Proportionalt set. Med hensyn til retsforfølgelser: Ud af de ca. 5700 domme i 2013 - - var under 500 for handel og udnyttelse af arbejdskraft. Udnyttelse af arbejdskraft - - udgør 68 % af al menneskehandel, - - men færre end 10 % af alle domfældelser.
Law enforcement is supposed to identify victims and prosecute traffickers. But out of an estimated 21 million victims of human trafficking in the world, they have helped and identified fewer than 50,000 people. That's like comparing the population of the world to the population of Los Angeles, proportionally speaking. As for convictions, out of an estimated 5,700 convictions in 2013, fewer than 500 were for labor trafficking. Keep in mind that labor trafficking accounts for 68 percent of all trafficking, but fewer than 10 percent of the convictions.
En ekspert sagde, at menneskehandel sker, hvor behov møder grådighed. Dette vil jeg gerne tilføje noget til. Menneskehandel finder sted i brancher, hvor arbejdere er uden beskyttelse, - - og hvor de ikke har ret til at organisere sig. Menneskehandel finder ikke sted i et tomrum. Det finder sted i systematisk forringede arbejdsmiljøer. Du tænker måske, - - at hun taler om mislykkede lande, krigsplagede lande, eller... Faktisk taler jeg om USA. Lad mig give jer et eksempel:
I've heard one expert say that trafficking happens where need meets greed. I'd like to add one more element to that. Trafficking happens in sectors where workers are excluded from protections, and denied the right to organize. Trafficking doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens in systematically degraded work environments. You might be thinking, oh, she's talking about failed states, or war-torn states, or -- I'm actually talking about the United States. Let me tell you what that looks like.
I månedsvis undersøgte jeg en sag om menneskehandel. Global Horizons. Hundredevis af thailændere var indblandet. De blev placeret over hele USA for at arbejde på ananas- - - eller æbleplantager, og hvor som helst, arbejdskraften manglede. De blev lovet tre år med fast landbrugsarbejde. Så de tog en chance. De solgte land, deres kones smykker, - - så de kunne tjene nok til at betale ansættelsesgebyret hos Global Horizons Men så snart de var ankommet, - - blev deres pas konfiskeret. Nogle af mændene blev tæsket og truet med pistoler. De arbejdede så hårdt, at de besvimede i markerne. Sagen gjorde stor indflydelse på mig.
I spent many months researching a trafficking case called Global Horizons, involving hundreds of Thai farm workers. They were sent all over the States, to work in Hawaii pineapple plantations, and Washington apple orchards, and anywhere the work was needed. They were promised three years of solid agricultural work. So they made a calculated risk. They sold their land, they sold their wives' jewelry, to make thousands in recruitment fees for this company, Global Horizons. But once they were brought over, their passports were confiscated. Some of the men were beaten and held at gunpoint. They worked so hard they fainted in the fields. This case hit me so hard.
Da jeg vendte tilbage, - - var jeg ude for at handle ind, da jeg stivnede i supermarkedet. Jeg kom i tanke om de overdådige måltider, ofrene fra Global Horizon - - lavede til mig hver gang, jeg kom for at interviewe dem. De lavede en tallerken med perfekte, langstilkede jordbær, - - og da de rakte mig den, sagde de: - - "Er det ikke den slags jordbær, du ville spise med en elsket - i USA? Og smager de ikke bare så meget bedre - - når du kender de mennesker, der har plukket dem til dig?"
After I came back home, I was wandering through the grocery store, and I froze in the produce department. I was remembering the over-the-top meals the Global Horizons survivors would make for me every time I showed up to interview them. They finished one meal with this plate of perfect, long-stemmed strawberries, and as they handed them to me, they said, "Aren't these the kind of strawberries you eat with somebody special in the States? And don't they taste so much better when you know the people whose hands picked them for you?"
Som jeg stod i supermarkedet uger senere, gik det op for mig, at jeg ikke anede, - - hvem jeg skulle takke for alt dette, - - eller hvordan de blev behandlet. Som journalist begyndte jeg at grave i landbrugsindustrien. Og jeg fandt alt for mange marker, og for få arbejdsinspektører. Jeg fandt lag efter lag af plausibel benægtelse - - mellem landmænd, distributører, forarbejdningsvirksomheder, og så videre. Ofrene for Global Horizon var blevet hentet til USA - - med midlertidige gæste-arbejdstilladelser. Dette forbinder en persons retsstilling - - til deres arbejdsgiver - - og arbejderen mister retten til at organisere sig. Husk på, at intet af det, jeg beskriver om landbrugsindustrien - - eller midlertidige arbejdstilladelser, teknisk set er menneskehandel. Det er blot, hvad der opfattes som lovligt acceptabelt. Og jeg vil mene, dette er en grobund for udnyttelse. Og jeg var blind over for alt dette, indtil jeg prøvede at forstå det.
As I stood in that grocery store weeks later, I realized I had no idea of who to thank for this plenty, and no idea of how they were being treated. So, like the journalist I am, I started digging into the agricultural sector. And I found there are too many fields, and too few labor inspectors. I found multiple layers of plausible deniability between grower and distributor and processor, and God knows who else. The Global Horizons survivors had been brought to the States on a temporary guest worker program. That guest worker program ties a person's legal status to his or her employer, and denies that worker the right to organize. Mind you, none of what I am describing about this agricultural sector or the guest worker program is actually human trafficking. It is merely what we find legally tolerable. And I would argue this is fertile ground for exploitation. And all of this had been hidden to me, before I had tried to understand it.
Jeg var ikke den eneste, der kæmpede med disse problemer. Pierre Omidyar, stifteren af eBay, - - er en af de største filantroper imod menneskehandel i verden. Og selv han endte tilfældigt med at investere næsten 10 millioner dollars - - i de ananasplantager, der angiveligt har de værste arbejdsforhold - - i dette tilfælde Global Horizons. Da vi opdagede det, var han og hans kone chokerede og rystede, - - og de endte med at skrive en leder i en avis - - der handlede om vores ansvar for at lære alt, vi kan, - - om de virksomheder, der står bag de produkter, vi støtter. Jeg er helt enig.
I wasn't the only person grappling with these issues. Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, is one of the biggest anti-trafficking philanthropists in the world. And even he wound up accidentally investing nearly 10 million dollars in the pineapple plantation cited as having the worst working conditions in that Global Horizons case. When he found out, he and his wife were shocked and horrified, and they wound up writing an op-ed for a newspaper, saying that it was up to all of us to learn everything we can about the labor and supply chains of the products that we support. I totally agree.
Hvad ville der ske, hvis vi alle besluttede os for - - ikke længere at støtte virksomheder - - der ikke eliminerer udnyttelse af deres arbejdskraft og forsyningskæder? Hvis vi kræver love på området? Hvis alle direktører besluttede sig for - - at gå igennem deres forretninger og sige: "ikke mere"? Hvis vi stoppede ansættelsesgebyrer for gæstearbejdere? Hvis gæstearbejdere havde ret til at organisere sig - - uden frygt for konsekvenser? Disse beslutninger ville blive hørt i hele verden. Det handler ikke bare om at købe fair-trade - - da ren samvittighed ikke kan købes for penge. Sådan fungerer det ikke. Dette er en beslutning om at forandre et dårligt system, - - som vi uvidende men villigt - - har ladet os selv tjene på og nyde godt af alt for længe.
What would happen if each one of us decided that we are no longer going to support companies if they don't eliminate exploitation from their labor and supply chains? If we demanded laws calling for the same? If all the CEOs out there decided that they were going to go through their businesses and say, "no more"? If we ended recruitment fees for migrant workers? If we decided that guest workers should have the right to organize without fear of retaliation? These would be decisions heard around the world. This isn't a matter of buying a fair-trade peach and calling it a day, buying a guilt-free zone with your money. That's not how it works. This is the decision to change a system that is broken, and that we have unwittingly but willingly allowed ourselves to profit from and benefit from for too long.
Vi dvæler ofte ved behandlingen af ofrene for menneskehandel. Men jeg har en anden oplevelse af dem. Gennem alle de år, jeg har talt med dem - - har de lært mig, at vi er stærkere, end vi tror. Vi kan komme igennem mere, end vi tror. Dette gælder især disse ofre. De var de mest ressourcestærke og robuste og ansvarlige - - i deres samfund. Det var den slags folk, man ville satse på. Du ville sige: Jeg sælger min ring, så jeg kan få chancen - - for at sende dig afsted mod en bedre fremtid. De var håbets budbringere.
We often dwell on human trafficking survivors' victimization. But that is not my experience of them. Over all the years that I've been talking to them, they have taught me that we are more than our worst days. Each one of us is more than what we have lived through. Especially trafficking survivors. These people were the most resourceful and resilient and responsible in their communities. They were the people that you would take a gamble on. You'd say, I'm gong to sell my rings, because I have the chance to send you off to a better future. They were the emissaries of hope.
Disse ofre har ikke brug for at blive frelst. De har brug for solidaritet, fordi de står bag - - en af tidens mest spændende bevægelser for social retfærdighed. Barnepiger og husholdersker har marcheret med deres familier - - og deres arbejdsgiveres familier - - og deres aktivisme skaffede os en international traktat - - om husarbejderes rettigheder. Sexhandlede nepalesiske kvinder - - samlede sig og besluttede - - at starte verdens første organisation for bekæmpelse af menneskehandel - - styret af ofrene for menneskehandel. De indiske handlede værftsarbejdere, - - brugt til genopbygningen efter Orkanen Katrina, - - blev truet med udvisning, men brød ud af deres arbejdslejre - - og marcherede fra New Orleans til Washington - - i protest mod udnyttelse af arbejdskraft. De startede organisationen National Guest Worker Alliance, - - og gennem denne organisation, har de hjulpet andre arbejdere, - - til at kaste lys over udnyttelsen og misbruget i forsyningskæder - - på Walmart- og Hershey-fabrikker. Og selvom Justitsministeriet afviste at tage deres sag, - - vandt en gruppe advokater den første række civile sager, - - nu i februar og fik 14 millioner til deres klienter.
These survivors don't need saving. They need solidarity, because they're behind some of the most exciting social justice movements out there today. The nannies and housekeepers who marched with their families and their employers' families -- their activism got us an international treaty on domestic workers' rights. The Nepali women who were trafficked into the sex trade -- they came together, and they decided that they were going to make the world's first anti-trafficking organization actually headed and run by trafficking survivors themselves. These Indian shipyard workers were trafficked to do post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction. They were threatened with deportation, but they broke out of their work compound and they marched from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., to protest labor exploitation. They cofounded an organization called the National Guest Worker Alliance, and through this organization, they have wound up helping other workers bring to light exploitation and abuses in supply chains in Walmart and Hershey's factories. And although the Department of Justice declined to take their case, a team of civil rights lawyers won the first of a dozen civil suits this February, and got their clients 14 million dollars.
Disse ofre kæmper for de mennesker, de end ikke kender. De kæmper for andre arbejdere og for en retfærdig verden for os alle. Vi kan gøre det samme. Vi kan træffe en beslutning - - der fortæller os, hvem vi er, som mennesker og som samfund. At vores velstand ikke længere er velstand - - så længe den er forbundet med andres lidelser. At vores liv er uløseligt vævet sammen, - - og at vi har magten til at gøre en forskel.
These survivors are fighting for people they don't even know yet, other workers, and for the possibility of a just world for all of us. This is our chance to do the same. This is our chance to make the decision that tells us who we are, as a people and as a society; that our prosperity is no longer prosperity, as long as it is pinned to other people's pain; that our lives are inextricably woven together; and that we have the power to make a different choice.
Jeg var så nervøs for at dele min historie om min tante med jer. Før jeg startede denne process med TED og gik på scenen, - - havde jeg kun delt min historie med meget få. Som mange andre journalister - - er jeg mere interesseret i at kende jeres historier, - - end at dele meget, hvis noget, af min egen. Jeg har heller ikke fortaget baggrundstjek på dette. Udbedte dokumenter er ikke blevet udleveret, - - mange interviews er ikke blevet lavet, - - og jeg har heller ikke fundet min tante. Jeg kender ikke hendes historie og ved ikke, hvad der blev af hende. Den historie, jeg har fortalt jer, er rodet og ufærdig - - dog blot en afspejling af vores rodede og ufærdige situation, - - når det gælder menneskehandel. Vi er alle indblandede i dette problem. Men det betyder også, at vi alle er en del af løsningen. Svaret på en mere retfærdig verden er op til os at finde - - og det er vores historie at fortælle. Så lad os fortælle den, som vi skulle have gjort - - helt fra begyndelsen. Lad os fortælle historien sammen.
I was so reluctant to share my story of my auntie with you. Before I started this TED process and climbed up on this stage, I had told literally a handful of people about it, because, like many a journalist, I am far more interested in learning about your stories than sharing much, if anything, about my own. I also haven't done my journalistic due diligence on this. I haven't issued my mountains of document requests, and interviewed everyone and their mother, and I haven't found my auntie yet. I don't know her story of what happened, and of her life now. The story as I've told it to you is messy and unfinished. But I think it mirrors the messy and unfinished situation we're all in, when it comes to human trafficking. We are all implicated in this problem. But that means we are all also part of its solution. Figuring out how to build a more just world is our work to do, and our story to tell. So let us tell it the way we should have done, from the very beginning. Let us tell this story together.
Mange tak.
Thank you so much.
(Klapsalver)
(Applause)