During the first week of NYCUP, my fellow Nomi Nomad, Lucy, and I focused much of our energies on writing a 24-page paper for our internship at Nomi Network. Because Nomi Network is a start-up non-profit that is still in search of a permanent location (hence the coining of our Nomi Nomad identities), much of the writing for the paper took place in Columbia’s Business School and Butler Libraries, various Cosi locations, a Marriott hotel, and wherever else we could snag some free wi-fi in Manhattan. The topic of the paper, which we co-wrote along with Nomi volunteer, Stephen Bauer, and Nomi Executive Director, Alissa Moore, was about technology and its intersections with the trafficking industry as well as the ways in which it has greatly enhanced anti-trafficking efforts. We submitted the final version to the editor of American Behaviorial Scientist, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal, for their special issue on Media and World Events.
Even though I was writing this paper in the very same environments that I write my other papers for school, the harsh realities of the topic and its implications distinguished the imminence of the subject from all my other graded papers. As I learned and wrote about the extent to which the internet can enable human trafficking, I thought about how much our generation is wired to these rapid technological advances. What may be convenient forms of communication for us could also serve as easy methods to perpetuate the crimes of traffickers. One example we used was that of Craigslist, and how the anonymity and widespread access it offers to its users are often exploited by traffickers who both recruit their victims and advertise their services through the online classifieds website.
While this paper exposed me to these atrocities, it also gave me the opportunity to learn more about the ways in which Nomi is truly riding on the waves of globalization to counter trafficking. Not only does Nomi’s unique business model create economic opportunities for trafficking victims by adding social value to the supply chain of today’s globalized production process, but it is also utilizing technological advances and the internet as a platform on which it can more deeply engage a wide audience. One of Nomi’s primary projects is to connect anti-trafficking NGOs with designers and private factories so that former trafficking victims who have received vocational skills can produce highly-marketable items for consumers in the US. Essentially, Nomi is trying to reshape the supply-side of production while promoting a more conscientious product demand.
As a Political Economy major at Barnard, it was really amazing to be able to apply what I’ve learned from my studies to really understand the sex trafficking industry as a form of organized crime largely driven by economics. My background in economics has also made me really appreciate the opportunity that I have this summer to learn from an organization that is on the cusp of all the changes in today’s global economy. After so many years of theoretical learning, it is so great to finally put both my knowledge and passion into practice.
--Hei-Yue
No comments:
Post a Comment