Topic : 11/17 The Search for Natalee and Amy

Fairplay: 

  

I support the boycott, while at the same time feeling sorry for people like you that are being hurt by it.  The people that have have been most hurt thought is Natalee, her family and her friends.  I think with a high degree of confidence that Natalee is alive and possible the sex trade and another scenario that I am investigating.  I can say though with confidence Natalee did not disappear of her own free will nor is her family involved. 

  

Now here is my question.  Are you proud of the way in which the Aruba government has handled this investigation?  Are you proud of the way Dompig and Janssen have treated Natalee's family?  What do you suggest the family do to bring pressure to the government of Aruba? 

  

I think a good place to start would be for the people of Aruba not to protest Beth or the media, but to protest the Aruba government.  Demand the FBI, Holland and others from outside of Aruba take over the investigation.  Aruba's government brought this on and only the can end it; although the damage will last for a long time now.   

  

  

My heart goes out to the families of both girls profiled on the Dr. Phil show. It would every parent's worst nightmare if this happened to their child. How can we as a society stop this human sex trade industry? And what can one do to help?

Thanks for going even further and posting the list of the missing in Aruba! I know that I posted the link  (as did you!) but there are always those who say there is no other missing people, and given proof or a link, they'll still dispute it!  Maybe they'll read it here, because most likely, if they don't want to believe it does happen in Aruba, they won't click on the link!    Thanks again!

 I am in total agreement with you!! 

  

I think a good place to start would be for the people of Aruba not to protest Beth or the media, but to protest the Aruba government.  Demand the FBI, Holland and others from outside of Aruba take over the investigation.  Aruba's government brought this on and only the can end it; although the damage will last for a long time now.  

  

I posted the same basic feelings in another post. I know here (US) when most people feel that an investigation isn't going the way it should, or there seems to be corruption, the first place people go is the media to bring awareness to the problem. Then rallies and demonstrations are held to bring even more attention. I'm not aware of any such thing going on in Aruba. Has there been such an out cry?   Maybe if Aruban citizens would demand that this case be solved (since it so "rare" according to some) so they have peace of mind that their authorities can do what they are paid for, and that if their children were to turn up missing, their case would be solved.  In the beginning Beth and the rest of the family worked along side of the Aruban officials there. They voiced concern and questions (would anyone else if they thought something was being overlooked?) only to see nothing being done. Many times they pleaded and implored them, only for the same result, nothing.     The FBI has been in Aruba since the start of the investigation as observers. They have recently been granted some authority in the case but not nearly what they should have considering it is an American girl that they are searching for. I wonder if an Aruban teen was to go missing in Mountain Brook, AL (Natalee's home town which is a small community. population 20,747,   12.2 square miles) and that child's parents thought that the investigation wasn't going the way it should, and the Mountain Brook police and the FBI wasn't doing all it should, would they sit by and say nothing? Wouldn't the citizens of Aruba be outraged?  For those that think Aruba is so perfect, and there isn't any crime, look at the statistics of Mountain Brook, guess the same could be said there also. It can happen anywhere! And the fact is ssomething did happen to Natalee in Aruba! 

  

September, 2005 THIS MONTH YTD 2005 YTD 2004   Cases Arrests Clear Cases Arrests Clear Cases Arrests Clear MURDER       1 1 1       RAPE       1           ROBBERY 1     1     6 2 4 AGGRAVATED ASSAULT       3 1 4 2   1 BURGLARY/RESIDENT 1   2 23 1 12 17   5 BURGLARY/BUSINESS 2   2 6   2 8   1 BURGLARY/ATTEMPT 1     3   1     2 THEFT 25 6 14 200 18 101 247 45 134 AUTO        8   3 8 2 8 ASSAULTS (OTHER)       7   2 3 2 2 THEFT BY FORGERY     3 13 1 9 20 5 6 THEFT - NWNI

  

    1           THEFT/EMBEZZLEMENT 1   2 16   11 10     B.R.C.S.P 1 1 1 5 5 7 4 8 6 CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 6   2 55 3 22 50 1 7 WEAPONS CHARGES       5 3 3 8 8 8 SEX   OFFENSES             1   1 DRUGS 8 9 8 73 76 73 86 89 82 FAMILY VIOLENCE   10 2 2 68 13 20 51 8 17 TOTAL: 56 18 36 469 122 271 521 170 284 ACCIDENTS 74 635 622      A   WITH INJURIES 8 48 59      A    WITH FATALITIES 0 0 0 CALLS FOR SERVICE 2471 29,560 29,528 HOUSE WATCHES 74 1,972 3,257  

  

http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=6406&department=BLI&categoryid=dotcommentary 

Ending Modern-Day Slavery
Some Solutions to Sex Trafficking     9/23/2004
By Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D. 

We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. 

The first question many people ask when they hear about modern sex slavery and the evil of the sex-trafficking industry is: "What is being done? Somebody has to stop these atrocities!" I am always pleased to say that the United States has stepped up to the plate. I am even more pleased to add that I am on the frontlines of the battle and that our organization, Concerned Women for America (CWA), is firmly committed to the "abolition" effort. 

Millions of Americans are like I was almost a decade ago when I was asked to join a national task force to combat sex trafficking; at the time, I had no idea what sex trafficking meant! Since then, the problem has seared my heart. I have spoken about this issue across the country and through a variety of print and broadcast media in an effort to bring awareness, to help the victims and to end this evil. 

What is Trafficking? 

Before looking at the efforts to abolish modern-day slavery, we must answer the question, "What is trafficking?" 

Trafficking is modern-day slavery. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, defines it as: "The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms, of coercion, of abduction, of frauds, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation." 

Sex traffickers lure victims from their poverty-stricken homes with the promise of good jobs, but then force them into slave labor or prostitution. Others are sold by their parents or spouses looking for compensation. Once transported to the destination country, the victims are imprisoned, beaten, raped and convinced they have nowhere to flee. Their passports are confiscated; usually, they don't speak the language and have no idea where they are located. 

The United Nations estimates that human trafficking is a $9.5 billion industry, which is among the top three revenue sources for organized crime. 

The effects of trafficking reach beyond the victims' suffering. Trafficking undermines the social order of countries. It results in the breakdown of families, human dignity and public health. It also fuels organized crime and deprives countries of human capital. 

In 2003, I was an official United States delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where the major issue confronting that worldwide body was the increase in sexual trafficking of women and girls. There representatives from around the world confronted the fact that millions of women and children are forced into sex slavery by evil criminals who make billions of dollars every year by using human beings as slaves. Sex trafficking is worldwide in scope with nearly a million people - mostly women and children - kidnapped, coerced, cajoled, trapped, seduced into taking a chance with a stranger and going from a poor nation to a more developed one. The victims think that they will work as a waitress, model, actress, nanny or in some other respectable occupation. They end up being prostitutes - beaten and abused repeatedly until they are totally brainwashed and subservient. 

Current estimates say that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually. Up to 600,000 to 800,000 people are transported internationally and forced to work as slaves, and an estimated 2-4 million men, women and children are trafficked within countries. The majority of these victims are women and children. Women compose 80 percent of the victims and 50 percent are children; 70 percent of these women and children are used for sexual exploitation. 

Strategies for Abolishing Sex Slavery 

The United States is targeting all aspects of trafficking in an effort to end the trade in human beings. Various agencies within the U.S. government are working together to stop the supply, find and prosecute the traffickers, and end the demand for prostitutes, which feeds the whole sex-trafficking industry. 

(1) Stop the Supply - Awareness Campaigns 

To end the supply, programs are implemented that alert communities to the dangers of trafficking, improve educational opportunities, and educate targeted communities on their legal rights. Public attention drawn to the problem of modern-day slavery is the key to ending the demand of human traffickers. Programs are implemented to bring awareness to the problem, making it harder to conceal or ignore trafficking. 

(2) Find and Prosecute the Traffickers 

Local, state, national and international cooperation and coordination is forming in an effort to recruit volunteers to fight against slavery. Law enforcement programs identify and prohibit trafficking routes, forcefully prosecute traffickers and those who aid and abet them, and fight public corruption. CWA was at the forefront of enacting the anti-trafficking bills in Congress - bills like the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and the Domestic Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2004. 

Each year CWA helps to shape the State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report by offering suggestions for greater effectiveness in presenting the information and in helping to collect it. The TIP document now evaluates nations within three tiers, depending upon their compliance with the legislation and effectiveness in combating trafficking. The report presents profiles of heroes who help trafficking victims, protecting them or helping them to restore their lives after the abuse and horrific crimes against them. 

This year, the Department of Justice is making significant progress in both prosecuting criminals and protecting victims in the United States. 

(3) End the Demand for Prostitutes 

CWA also works to eliminate federal funding for organizations that claim to be working against human trafficking but then support the legalization of prostitution, a leading cause of trafficking. Now, no nation can get funding from the U.S. government if it promotes prostitution. The Bush administration has committed $50 million to support organizations that are rescuing women and children from exploitation, and giving them shelter and medical treatment and the hope of the new life. Criminals face up to 30 years in prison and countries face sanctions when they turn a blind eye to sex trafficking. Through the Protect Act of 2003, American pedophiles who prey on foreign children can be prosecuted in the United States. 

Secretary of State Colin Powell said, "We intend to … combat the trafficking of persons around the globe through improved laws, regulation, monitoring, enforcement, and the protection of victims." President Bush called this problem "a special kind of evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable." He added, "We must show new energy in fighting back an old evil. Nearly two centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and more than a century after slavery was officially ended in its last strongholds, the trade in human beings for any purpose must not be allowed to thrive in our time." 

Unless we care for these precious women and children, no one will do something about their tragedy. Except for us, they will be abused until they are used up - and then they will be discarded - their lives destroyed and their futures hopeless. How can we offer them less than a full rescue - not just a way out, but a way of transcending the evil that has imprisoned them? 

  

http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=7014&department=BLI&categoryid=reports 

  

You say this is big business—why doesn’t it get as much attention as drug trafficking and what is the United States doing to prevent sex trafficking?  

  

This issue has gained increasing awareness under the Bush administration, which has established a State Department office to oversee efforts to combat trafficking worldwide, has increased efforts to prosecute traffickers in the United States, and has designated funding to eradicate sex trafficking. The administration has committed $50 million to support organizations that are rescuing women and children from exploitation, and giving them shelter and medical treatment and the hope of a new life.  

----------------------------------- 

Laws have been changed in the US to prosecute Americans traveling to other countries to engauge in sexual activities with children 

Congress enacted bills to fight trafficking, such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Domestic Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2004, and the Protect Act of 2003. CWA actively lobbied for all of these bills.
----------------------------------
According to Title 18, Section 2423, a federal statute in the US, it is a crime for any American citizen to travel abroad with the intent to sexually abuse children. Sentences can be up to 10 years of imprisonment plus fines of US$ 250,000 ("Bond set for man accused of Honduras juvenile-sex trips," Associated Press)
--------------------------
http://www.catwinternational.org/factbook/index.php
Analysis of human trafficking by country
-------------------------
From End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes-USA website
http://www.ecpatusa.org/pdf/background_ecpat_usa.pdf
The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: An Overview
(151 kB to download)
--------------------------------- 

 

judyblue22, I was so very surprised with this response from you! I usually agree with a lot you say, but that was way out there!  Granted, any military member from any country may engage in sex with a prostitute anywhere in the world.  But your facts and information is way off. First, the most common customers that use children for sex  in any country are from anywhere in the world. Mostly Europe, Canada and the US.  These  usually are in a circle with others that have information on different locales that have either legal or illegal prostitution of children. They travel to these place for that intent only.   The military informs the sailors and soldiers of such places and the diseases that are there. Granted, some may engage with a prostitute, but most don't.  If they do have sex, it is with women that think if they get with a American, they can come to the states and be taken care of.  In some ports of call, Australia and others, there are women throwing themselves on sailors hoping to get to the states.  Most men, if they want to engage in sex while out to sea, could (sad to say) get it for free, if they want, and some do.  To attack this man, and imply that he supports this depravity or that some of his shipmates do the same, is crazy.  Facts are lacking in some of these posts, and this is one of them.   

  

Although I understand what this man is trying to convey, I don't think it would be possible. First off, the Navy would never allow such "undercover" work to be done.  Second, the Navy heavily pushes the message for sailors not to go to such places.  Yes, it is men (and I'm sure some sick minded women) that keeps such things going, but to imply that the US Navy or any other military force is the main "king-pins" behind such thing is ludicrous at best! 

 Had not read your previous note. Have a good day!

 I am not from Aruba.  I currently live in Anguilla but am a Canadian.  So please do not misunderstand my concern in this matter as one of personal financial interest.

I think you are correct that the damage will be long lasting and am surprised that so many people condone this.  I do not  think anyone can possibly say who is hurt most... what we can all agree is that many are hurting, the majority of whom are innocent..

To answer your question, what do you do in USA to bring pressure to the Government there when somebody is missing, or when you believe the investigation to not going the way you would expect?  Whatever you do in similar circumstances in USA, should be done iapplied to Aruba tusing the diplomatic channels that are available.

 I doubt you would like it if a Canadian went missing in USA and  the Mounties came charging in to save the day.  You most likely would remind them that they do not have legal jurisdiction in a foreign country.  Although Natalee is a citizen of US, that does not give FBI the right to conduct an investigation in a foreign land  unless invited.  Holland and Interpol are involved.

IMy main point is that I do not see where all these bad feelings that are being stirred up against innocents of Aruba and against innocents of USA will in anyway benefit the missing girls or assist in a solution.

I've been to several places, but I don't think that would qualify me as a good judge?    Could you be more specific  on what she is such a good judge of?