Policy Over Pancakes

 

           Human trafficking. It’s safe to say that you’ve heard about human trafficking before. Every once in a while, the media releases a story about a sex trafficking ring that was busted by local law enforcement officials. Months or years later, we see a conviction of the individuals who perpetuated that crime – the traffickers. This is good news, or at least it is supposed to be. If the traffickers have been arrested and prosecuted, then the issue of human trafficking has been solved, right? 

 

Not really. 

 

Human trafficking victims are rarely spoken about in the media. For obvious reasons, victim privacy and security need to be protected. But what happens to these victims after their traffickers are arrested? Are law enforcement officials even aware that they have been victimized in the first place? In most cases, law enforcement is not aware. 

 

Why?

 

Because law enforcement officials lack the training necessary to accurately identify victims of human trafficking. This lack of victim identification training makes it difficult for victims of human trafficking to access the support services that they need to reenter society. So, victims become invisible, and their stories rarely come to the attention of our popular media. I want to bring one of those stories to your attention today.

 

A young girl, let’s call her Maria, was visited by an American woman in her hometown in Mexico. Maria had been looking for work opportunities for a while. When the white American woman came by her home offering a comfortable job as a maid in Texas, she could not refuse. The American woman promised Maria good money, a bed, and opportunities to build eventual residency status in the United States. Maria took the job and traveled to Texas with the unknown American woman.

 

At first, the American was kind, offering Maria warm food and new clothing for her cleaning job. Things were going well. Then, the American woman locked Maria in a small shed in her backyard, chaining her to a post in the ground. The American woman threatened Maria with death and harm to her family were she to disobey her. In the following weeks, Maria was consistently abused, threatened, starved, and tortured in manners that are too gruesome to describe here. She was never compensated for the work she completed on the American woman’s behalf. Eventually, a neighbor spotted her in the yard and called the police for help. 

 

Maria is one of 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas alone. Her story reflects the unbearable reality of many residents of Texas who are forced to work or have sex for little to no pay. It is up to us, the general public, to identify these victims of human trafficking. If law enforcement cannot do it, then the public must step in to help. 

 

What can you do to help?

• Learn to identify the signs of human trafficking; victims may:
  • Appear malnourished
  • Avoid eye contact or other forms of social interaction
  • Be accompanied by older males 
  • Lack identification documents
  • Be living at their place of employment

 

If we learn to educate ourselves, we can bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public and ultimately provide law enforcement with the necessary resources to train and build up their capacity to accurately identify victims of human trafficking. 

 

On January 6^th, 2021, a crowd of people, mostly supporting Donald Trump, congregated at the US Capitol after a political rally in front of the White House. Police officers were immediately overwhelmed as they were forced to converge on the Citadel of Democracy as protests broke the barriers surrounding the complex. Although most people peacefully exercised their right to protest an allegedly illegitimate election, a small group of so-called patriots forcefully entered the Capitol building to disrupt the certification of electoral votes that was presided by Vice President Pence. They smashed windows, attacked police officers with fire extinguishers and bear spray, forced congress members and staffers to barricade themselves, and recorded the first intrusion of the Capitol since the Civil War. Some of the intruders threatened the lives of senior government officials like Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence, while others appeared to have planned the intrusion, as indicated by their body armor, gas masks, and zip ties.

Fast-forward to hearings with FBI Director Christopher Wray, I was astonished that the United States did not have a domestic terrorism list or framework for punishing violent domestic extremism in the United States. The Capitol Intrusion was the largest and most consequential event for law enforcement officers but a slew of terrorist acts occurred throughout 2020 that should have prompted lawmakers to renovate domestic terror statutes. These events include targeted killings of police officers and arson on government buildings from the far-right and far-left. As the premier law enforcement agency that is apolitical, I agree with the FBI’s assessment that some of the January 6^th protests were domestic terrorists; I appreciated Director Wray’s nuance that divided those present at the Capitol into three groups, or a triangle; the vast majority of Americans who were peacefully protesting, some who became violent and entered the Capitol building as a result of becoming riled up in emotion, and those who planned and intended to violently challenge a cornerstone of our democracy, which by the way, was declared legitimate by multiple US courts. This minority of people who justified their actions for democracy prompted me to try and solve the problem of weak domestic terrorism laws while preserving constitutional liberties.

Before diving into my proposal, let me acknowledge the potential critiques. I understand there have been instances of government overreach from the Nixon Administration’s enemies list to the National Security Agency’s illegal wiretapping of US citizens after 9/11. I understand many libertarians’ concerns that if they give an inch, the government will take a mile. Civil liberties groups oppose any potential legislation that would potentially infringe on individual rights. These concerns are understandable and can be supported with historical examples. However much of these concerns attempt to idealistically preserve rights that might be gone if another January 6^th succeeds in overturning democratic principles in support of an ideology or candidate. And in an increasingly polarized nation where there is little compromise and where democracy is eroding across the world, giving up some rights preserves most other rights. Think about it, our rights have never been absolute. And keep in mind, many of the infringements people worry about occur sporadically and are not daily occurrences. As much as I’d love to propose punishments for those who choose to unlawfully use a domestic terrorism list, accountability just would not be possible. That’s where the American people come in; because the list and criteria are public, they can question the courts’ decisions and express their opinions non-violently. A public list will not compromise secret operations against violent domestic extremists while providing a level of accountability for the government. Now my proposal in three parts: 1) Create a domestic terrorist list that includes mostly individuals. This will prevent overextending the list in the government’s favor. 2) Criminalizing domestic terrorists. This will enable the country to use the stigma of terrorism to its advantage and deter people from making purely emotional decisions as we saw on January 6th. 3) Forming a government-wide framework to define domestic terrorism and empower law enforcement to prosecute domestic terrorists, like the minority in January 6^th, to the fullest extent of the law. This is so important to preserve our country’s democratic experiment and allow our children to enjoy the institutions we love…with a little compromise.

Lebanon is typically known as a middle-income country known for its well-educated and cosmopolitan population, but it’s now characterized as a rapidly failing state that necessitates emergency economic support and swift political reform. By supporting the petition of European allies to rebuild the Port of Beirut, which exploded in August 2020, economic activity in Lebanon can quickly resume while providing the West greater influence over the Eastern Mediterranean. 

 

The port is considered the gateway to the Middle East and ranks among the 10 most important ports in the Mediterranean. The country leading its reconstruction will control it and be the main beneficiary of its activities for the years to come. 

 

For nearly 18 months, Lebanon has been suffering from a harsh combination of an ongoing economic and financial crisis, failing to address the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and recovering from the human tragedy involved with the explosion. 

 

The lira has lost more than 90 percent of its value, more than 120,000 tons of food was lost to the Beirut explosion, and approximately 75 percent of Lebanese live in poverty. Daily life for the common Lebanese citizen, includes unstable access to life saving medicines, waiting in fuel lines that wrap around the city, and spending hours in darkness during frequent blackouts. The World Bank has called it one of the worst financial crises in centuries. 

 

The port has partially resumed its activities by receiving critical imports, however, rebuilding and modernizing the port would substantially stimulate much-needed trade and economic growth. French container shipping company group CMA-CGM is pursuing a plan to reconstruct damaged docks and warehouses while increasing the digitalization of port activities. Shortly after, German companies presented a separate plan to additionally focus on longer term real-estate development. The companies have expressed willingness to work collaboratively on the initiative, however, the plan can only move forward if Lebanon is able to resolve political deadlock hindering the government’s decisions. 

 

Both countries have stipulated that political reforms to the government cabinet and economic adjustments such as a central bank audit and an overhaul of the wasteful power sector must occur before the project begins. The project is projected to cost $5 billion to $15 billion, and said it could create as many as 50,000 jobs. 

 

During French President Emmanuel Macron’s second visit to Beirut, CMA-CGM’s head, the Lebanese-born Rodolphe Saade, was a part of his delegation. The company provided the Lebanese government a three-phase project to rebuild, expand and modernise the port. 

 

This public-private partnership will encourage sustainable, long term growth in the country by building infrastructure while minimizing potential for corruption that often taints aid programs. Since the explosion, rebuilding the port became a geopolitical competition with the Russians, the Chinese, the Turks, the French and the Germans expressing their interest in the project. Germany and France must stop internally competing for rights over the project and instead focus on their shared outcome of deterring Russian and Chinese influence in the region. 

 

Importantly, revitalizing the port is also a symbolically powerful project in a country that is in a crisis of hope. Witnessing physical progress in the city can potentially renew spirits and spur optimism in a dark and devastating period in the country’s history.