Wednesday, June 30 at 5 p.m. PST, 8 p.m. EST
Blog talk radio interview with Jon Hansen

Wednesday, July 28 at 11 a.m. PST, 1 p.m. EST
Interview with Cheryl Benton and Debbie Zip
I will discuss Death by Supermarket and my upcoming book Survival Guide.

Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. PST, 4:30 p.m. EST
Radio interview with David Steinman
David is an environmentalist, consumer advocate, and author. I will discuss Death by Supermarket and my upcoming book Survival Guide.

Om Shanti,
Your girlfriend in health,

In Karma Meredith Fitzgerald clings to the Bhagavad Gita (the Hindu bible) as it is one of the only possessions she ends up with. She struggles to understand what has happened to her and examines the meaning of karma trying to decipher its true definition from the holy book. The over arching message of Karma is that sex slaves are not to blame and that society must stop condemning them and instead act righteously toward them with compassion and help.

I read this article about the new subway in New Delhi with great interest as I rode the trains for months all over India in 1968-69. Back then they were British made early 19th century steam locomotives. India was crowded and chaotic and poor back then, but my subsequent trips really drove home the message that India was going to crash and burn if something wasn’t done to at least move people around more efficiently.

The reason I like this article is because it talks about the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s managing director, 77-year old Elattuvalapil Sreedharan who handed out the Bhagavad Gita to his managing directors as a “management text.” In it, Lord Krishna, who is disguised as a chariot driver, convinces Arjuna, a brave but demoralized king that he “must do his duty against all odds, and fight even what seems to be an unwinnable war.”

Having seen the arguably unwinnable war of chaos in India and to read that they have a pristine subway now that runs at a profit, it seems that Mr. Sreedharan’s management style has won that unwinnable war.

In our own lives, we may not face something as heinous as my character Meredith does in Karma, but we have our own perceived unwinnable wars. And so the idea of approaching our lives with a management mentality—what can we do to do our duty (good/compassion/acceptance/perseverance) against all odds?

One thing we can do—and it’s free—is to have compassion toward those people in the world who are suffering at the hands of sex traffickers beginning with not condemning the street walkers in our own cities. Feeling compassion in your hearts is free, and it’s a great start in doing your duty toward your fellow human beings.

Om Shanti,
Your girlfriend in health,

Karma

The youngest attendee was the nine-year old author, Emma, who is pictured here as I shook her hand.  Tomorrow night is another event at the Morson Collection in Boston. You can listen to the two radio interviews I gave last night and this morning here.

Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A PROCLAMATION

The United States was founded on the principle that all people are born with an unalienable right to freedom — an ideal that has driven the engine of American progress throughout our history. As a Nation, we have known moments of great darkness and greater light; and dim years of chattel slavery illuminated and brought to an end by President Lincoln’s actions and a painful Civil War. Yet even today, the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists. Millions of people worldwide are held in compelled service, as well as thousands within the United States. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we acknowledge that forms of slavery still exist in the modern era, and we recommit ourselves to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade.

As we continue our fight to deliver on the promise of freedom, we commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation, which became effective on January 1, 1863, and the 13th Amendment, which was sent to the States for ratification on February 1, 1865. Throughout the month of January, we highlight the many fronts in the ongoing battle for civil rights — including the efforts of our Federal agencies; State, local, and tribal law enforcement partners; international partners; nonprofit social service providers; private industry and nongovernmental organizations around the world who are working to end human trafficking.

The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children. Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom. Victims can be abused in their own countries, or find themselves far from home and vulnerable. Whether they are trapped in forced sexual or labor exploitation, human trafficking victims cannot walk away, but are held in service through force, threats, and fear. All too often suffering from horrible physical and sexual abuse, it is hard for them to imagine that there might be a place of refuge.

We must join together as a Nation and global community to provide that safe haven by protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence.

Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2010 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of National Freedom Day on February 1. I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the vital role we can play in ending modern slavery, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

It’s heartening that our government is acknowledging this problem and bringing attention to it. It’s a good start.

Now that I am out speaking about Karma and listening to readers, one question people ask me is, “How can I help?”

I believe the best way to help is to allow the agencies that are knowledgeable and equipped deal with the problems. They are connected politically and understand the boots on the ground tactics. Making donations to these organizations is crucial to their success. The following are three organizations that are making a difference.

• www.freetheslaves.net
• www.somaly.org
• prostitutionresearch.com
• unreasonableinstitute.org
• http://love146.org/

Check back for future blogs as I will continue to research and add to this list.

• Being beaten regularly
• Being raped by husband, or other family member
• Being raped by military person or stranger
• Being imprisoned and even put to death for being raped
• Sold into sexual slavery
• Having acid thrown in her face
• Being forced to incinerate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre
• Being forced to kill herself
• Being forced into marriage (even if she is a child)
• Being killed (“honor killings”)

The International Violence Against Women Act of 2008 was introduced in the 110th Congress, but never came to a vote before Congress adjourned. Amnesty International is continuing to work on advancing the I-VAWA in the 111th Congress. This Act would (mindbogglingly) amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. I suppose it’s better late than never.

You can read more about this Act on Amnesty International’s website.  And read what you can do to help stop the violence.

The story of this nineteen-year old Moldovan woman is typical of what is happening to girls trafficked from Eastern block countries, only she was very lucky to have escaped. Moldova is a landlocked country sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine. It’s extremely impoverished and is a hunting ground for sex traffickers. Many of these girls leave home tricked into thinking that they will be getting good jobs in the west so that they can support their children and families. Instead they end up in Italy, where picking up a streetwalker has become so affordable that Italian men are indulging and society has accepted the practice. In other words, people are ignoring the fact that the girls are working as slaves. They can’t run to the police because the police are their customers. The sex slavers threaten, and then follow through, with harming and even killing their family members if the girls try to escape.

Very few stories on sex trafficking focus on the men who buy women. In my opinion, men who buy trafficked girls should be given heavy jail sentences, including and especially the police.

In many countries of the world today people believe that if a man, infected with HIV/AIDS has sex with a virgin then he will be cured.  You can read about domestic violence activist, Betty Makoni, who suffered rape at six years old. The Zimbabwean is quoted as saying, “The youngest girl I ever came across was a day-old baby who was raped.”

Betty Makoni’s organization, the Girl-Child Network has over 700 girl’s clubs in Zimbabwe to help “transform victims into leaders.”

In sex trafficking situations, little girls are sold to HIV/AIDS infected men who rape them hoping for a cure. Afterwards the girl’s vaginas are sewn up by their owners—not by a doctor and without anesthesia . . . and they are resold. The sewing up of freshly torn flesh insures that the next rapist will have the satisfaction and reassurance of hearing the girl’s screams and seeing blood.

There are more than a few problems with this choice as I see it from my vantage point of a 59-year old woman.

First, there is no such thing as anonymity today. If a young woman chooses prostitution she will never outlive the stigma. It might seem cool now and possible to lead a double life. But the word “secret” is obsolete with the Internet and the globalization of everyone’s private matters.

Eventually these voluntary prostitutes will have both emotional scars and societal judgments. In my circle of friends, which is pretty wide, I can’t think of one successful man who would marry a former prostitute.

I did a lot of research into the plight of prostitutes for my novel Karma. Even though Karma is about forced prostitution (sex trafficking), the stigma of being a prostitute is the same for both those who are forced and those who volunteer. The word “prostitution” denotes the lowest rung of societal vermin.

Self blame and low self esteem are endemic to all who are forced into prostitution. Self-blame is one of the hallmark manifestations of post traumatic stress disorder, which all trafficked women suffer from. By delving into the true meaning of karma, the main character of my novel comes to understand that karma isn’t cause and effect like we think in the West. When something bad happens to you it affords an opportunity to contribute to the good karma of the world with your actions to make the world a better place. My character’s epiphany represents what I would like to see happen for all rescued victims of sex trafficking: the self compassion to accept that what happened to them not their fault that they are victims and valuable human beings who deserves happiness.

For those who voluntarily sell their most precious possession—their bodies—I also wish for self-forgiveness and self-compassion.

Moreover, I wish these girls would consider taking out a student loan, then working on developing a mission for their lives.