Reviews for History of the Great Civil War, 1642-1649: 1644-1647

The average rating for History of the Great Civil War, 1642-1649: 1644-1647 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-12-06 00:00:00 Kendall Niggemyer We all know that human trafficking exists. It is one of those inconvenient truths we brush under the carpet, as we go on with our mostly comfortable lives - until we read a book like this, which exposes the abject misery of millions of human beings that our so-called "free" world is built on. In eight chapters, Siddharth Kara covers the business of human trafficking, mostly for sex, in the following regions: 1. South Asia (India, Nepal and Bangladesh - spotlight on India and Nepal) 2. Western Europe (spotlight on Italy) 3. The former Soviet Union (spotlight on Moldova) 4. The Balkans (spotlight on Albania) 5. Thailand and Burma 6. The United States What sets this book apart from others on the subject is the author's merciless analysis of the root cause of trafficking - economics. In the first and last chapter, he takes apart the business in purely economic terms and exposes the huge profit margin in the business - because the sex slave can be used again and again, needs no maintenance, and can be discarded once the useful life is over. There are many more where that came from. In 2015, there were approximately 1.59 million victims of sex trafficking in the world, generating annual profits for their exploiters of roughly $52 billion. These are conservative estimates that nevertheless demonstrate the broad scale of the phenomenon and the immense profits enjoyed by the exploiters. The global weighted average net profit margin of a sex-trafficking business has dropped slightly from 69.5 percent in 2006 to 67.8 percent in 2015, but it is still the most profitable illicit enterprise on the planet. While Nepali, Bangladeshi and Indian village girls being trafficked to the big cities is old hat, the travails of the former communist countries started with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the name of "economic restructuring", the IMF imposed a brutal free market regime on these hapless countries as a condition for giving them loans: the aim was not restructuring, of course, but destroying them and putting them at the mercy of the multinationals (we are seeing the next episode that drama now, where the Arab world is being bombed and flattened to "make it safe for democracy"). A population who found themselves impoverished one fine morning, had no choice other than to sell themselves. India: Breaking the spirits of slaves begins during transportation and continues once the slave is sold. More torture, rape, and humiliation await slaves as their owners do everything possible to ensure they will service clients submissively and never try to escape. In Falkland Road in Mumbai, a former sex slave turned working prostitute named Mallaika told me that sex slaves were tortured and murdered every day. She told me that minors were mercilessly abused when they first arrived and that they were given opium so they would have sex with clients. If they misbehaved, arms were broken. If they tried to escape, they might have their throats cut in front of other slaves, who were subsequently required to clean up the slaughter as a visceral lesson in the fate that awaited them should they try to escape. *** Minors are starved and beaten when they first arrive. The gharwali gives them opium so they will have sex. If they do not behave, the malik makes the radio high and beats them until they go unconscious. Just a few days back a minor came from my village and was sold by her parents for twenty thousand rupees [$444]. She refused to have sex, so the malik broke her arm. *** Nepal: When I asked the women of Sindhupalchok why the men treated them as they did, I invariably received the same two answers: “This is our culture.” “Men want women as slaves.” *** Italy: Julia was seventeen and pregnant. She had arrived in Rome from Romania at the age of fourteen. Standing next to her, Alyssia was the same age and born in the same town. They had traveled together with the help of a man who had promised work in a restaurant. Instead, they spent the last three years as street prostitutes in Rome. Their “protector” (pimp) was never far away. He kept them locked in an apartment during the day and brought them to the streets at night. If his girls did not secure twenty clients per night, he would not let them eat. Such “protection” dumbfounded me. *** Nigeria: Before this grueling journey begins, the woman must first undergo specific juju rites, in which the woman’s pubic hair, nails, and menstrual blood are collected and placed before a traditional shrine. During the ritual, the woman is made to swear an oath to repay her debt, never to report to the police, and never to discuss the nature of her trip with anyone. Failure to uphold this oath results in grave misfortune for the woman and her family. These rituals create a powerful hold over the victim, so much so that almost no Nigerian trafficking victims ever attempt to es- cape sex slavery before repaying their debts. Unlike the East European street prostitutes I saw in Rome, no protectors kept a watchful eye on the Nigerians. When Nigerian victims are rescued and asked to discuss their ordeals, some enter into trances or suffer fits. Testifying in court is out of the question. Nigerian sex slaves live in constant fear, convinced that they and their families are in imminent danger due to the juju rites. *** Albania The Albanians murder the most. When we find Albanian trafficking victims, they beg us not to arrest them because they fear death for their families. This is how the Albanians keep the women from testifying. If a victim is arrested, her family is killed. If she does not have a family, her friends are killed. If she does not have friends, her neighbors are killed. It does not matter, they find someone to kill. *** Moldova That night, Uri sold us to a German man. He raped us in the hotel with five other men. They made us have sex with many men that night. The Germans made me work like this for sixteen months. I was kept locked in a hotel room with three other girls. One client who came was a lawyer. He was named Farooq, and he offered to buy me from the German. The German sold me for four thousand euros. Farooq kept me locked with chains in a room in his home, and he forced me to have sex with men who visited. If I complained, he would cut me with a knife. I can keep on quoting. The common threads to all these horrendous stories are: crippling poverty; a society which sees vulnerable people, especially women, as perishable goods to use and throw (often sanctioned by local cultural norms); corrupt government systems (border officials, policemen and judges); traffickers and slave-owners who are finely co-ordinated; and a largely ignorant and uncaring world. To tackle this, the author suggests the following steps: 1. Make it unprofitable for the slave-owner by making the economic risk of running a racket prohibitive, by increasing fines and damages to crippling levels. Nowadays, they are so trivial as to be laughable (except in the USA). 2. Create international task-forces to tackle the problem. This will reduce the effect of apathy and corruption at local levels. 3. Make sure that the cases are fast-tracked so that justice is swift. 4. Protect the victims from social stigma. Most of them, once caught, remain in the racket because they can't reintegrate with society. Even though the suggestions are laudable, one must realise that with the current market-place world, where everything is for sale, they are difficult to implement. Kara agrees. He gives some practical suggestions as to what we ordinary mortals can do. 1. Raise awareness. (That's what I am doing now, by sharing this review. I urge all who read my review to read this book, and put up your own reviews.) 2. Provide financial support to anti-trafficking NGOs. 3. Set up community vigilance committees. 4. Write letters to national lawmakers. 5. Use the power of social media. It will be an uphill task - after all, prostitution is termed mankind's oldest profession. But if we all chip in, little by little, we can eradicate this horrendous evil.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-10 00:00:00 matt hutton Like the truth, this book has a good and a bad. First, the bad. This was the worst book I have ever read. I have never felt so sickened, so appalled, so filled with rage as I was when I first read this book. I couldn't make it through 5 pages at a time of a chapter without stopping to breathe and let my blood cool. This book exposes the most disgusting, despicable aspects of the human condition. It explains the business, economics, and nittygritty of human trafficking. His next book is more focused on human slavery in terms of slave labor, where this was an explanation of the global sex trade. This book made me realize that to call human beings animals is a great disgrace to the rest of the animal species, who don't exploit their young and defenseless to the rest of their species, and who don't make a profit on the exploitation of their own young. The stories he shares of former slaves will make you sick with anger and sadness. That said, this was one of the best books I have read. Siddharth Kara is honest, and his writing is based in data and research, not sensationalism, which I greatly admire. I think that he deserves great reward for the work he has done, and what use to which he has put his brilliant mind, and the risks he took to get first hand impressions of brothels in the most dangerous parts of the globe. I think everyone who can should read this book, then take it with them to lobby or effect change some other way.