Monday, May 5, 2014

Atlanta sex trafficking, Armenian genocide, and you.



20 voices the Turkish government could not silence

I live near Atlanta, Georgia. Certain problems that exist in this community are unspeakably horrible. There are sex trafficking victims and a high rate of crime that is rampant specifically in downtown Atlanta. I feel it is important to be aware of politics not just locally, but universally because in the long run it is bound to affect everyone. I wish for people to learn beyond school and college because learning is honestly about yourself. If you choose to understand what is going on in the world around you and how it affects you and how you can change it, then I feel that is much more beneficial for future generations. Speaking about this issue in my community about sex trafficking, most people do not know what is happening. Yet we have some volunteer services who educate people about the situation such as Innocence Atlanta. 

The people who participate in sex trafficking are our brothers, fathers, and coworkers. They are teachers, pastors, politicians, and artists. According to the Innocence Atlanta website, "Vulnerable individuals are coerced into sex slavery in trafficking rings throughout the Atlanta area and are forced on a daily basis to perform sexual acts. The harsh truth remains that every two minutes a child is sold as a sex slave. At young ages, children are victimized and exploited, sold into prostitution at the hands of ruthless pimps and traffickers." I feel it is important to to spread the word so more can be done to end this problem.
Before we look at the politics of foreign nations such as Syria and Afghanistan we should look in our own backyards as well. Not to say that these political issues do not involve us because they do. However, there are certain issues of today that could be simply resolved if people were not distorted by their own selfish ideologies. The stories which deserve to be shared are the ones from the people who struggle each and every day. 

The people who suffer from social anxiety, discrimination due to race, sexual orientation, and culture. People who are abused by their family members. The ones who are bullied in school. The underdogs.The stories that teach others the value and meaning of life. There is a specific story of a woman named Berjouhe Tutuian. People always assume things like genocide could never happen to them. 
That's what the survivors of genocide say as well. She was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. After the Ottoman empire sent Tutuian's family a letter that they will be deported to a much safer region due to the war, her life was never the same again. She remembers starving constantly. Because she was too young to understand what was happening Tutuian remembers the events as less threatening than they actually were. Her father was forced to join the Turkish army and was killed sometime in 1915. Unfortunately, there are worse stories than Tutuian's and they are similar to Holocaust stories.
I believe that listening to others speak about their philosophies, experiences, and skills are productive for yourself. As technology is increasing and improving, I hope to learn about how it is going to affect society in the future, positively and negatively. I am most passionate about contemporary political issues that are happening our world today and what we can do about those issues other than just spread the news. I enjoy writing about political issues that most people do not really like to discuss such as same-sex marriage, sex trafficking, pedophilia, and rape. Once again, I also like discussing how technology is improving medicines and surgical equipment, but also limiting us by making us lazy and destroying our natural hunter-gatherer lifestyle. It's fascinating to see how far society has grown just in terms of technology. 
People who talk to others without staring  at their computer or cell phone screens are what’s improving society. This leads to actually having engaging, intellectual conversations with others who share similar interests. Maybe one day, I’ll get maybe someone share my thoughts with and I look forwards to reading theirs.  

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