Humans are interesting species. We live in a world where we praise individuality. We rally for the underdog, cheer when they win. In many cultures, we sacrifice for the “greater good.” As a society we are enamored by these two ideas, almost every film or news story proves this. However, in the process of securing stability, we often lose empathy because we see the world as our own playground and only our own personal gain matters. Our own gains are how we monitor success and many consider this progress.
While attending a recent local human trafficking conference, speaker Melissa Farley mentioned the correlation between environmental degradation and woman exploitation. She spoke on how disposability of the environment and women parallel each other. As I sat there and listened, I started to reflect on what I had learned through my studies in environmental policy. The more I thought it over, the more I understood.
Through my numerous environmental classes, the common story is that the slightest disturbance, whether it is to the air, water, soil, etc... causes a chain reaction which can lead to long lasting negative effects. This can be analyzed by the theory, tragedy of the commons. It is the concept where a group of individuals will act rationally with only their own self interest in mind. But each person acting rationally for their own gains causes the depletion of the common good, therefore, it's the "tragedy of the common”. The often quoted example of this was presented by Garrett Hardin in 1968, he explains the scenario of a group of herdsmen all grazing their animals on a common open pasture. Initially, they all see the benefits of this pasture. But each person wants to maximize their own gain so they slowly add one additional animal. Slowly but surely, the collective group has each added more to their herd which in turn lead to the exhaustion of the pasture.
This same phenomenon can be translated into the human trafficking world. Traffickers believe that in order to survive in life, they have to make certain choices. They bypass their initial subconscious thought of the horrors of what they are doing and proceed. They do not deter from their actions because of their selfish own interests. In the process, the tragedy becomes those victims and survivors. Bill Gates once brought concern to this issue when he stated " if you're not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you're not going to get too close to the top." By traffickers acting with only themselves in mind, they enable the depletion of women's potential. These very women that they are exploiting can be the answer to many world problems, such as poverty, the economy, and unemployment.
This self interest can actually also be seen ( in somewhat of the same light) in the case study of the Gray Wolves in the Yellowstone National Park. Western settlers would kill wolves to protect their cattle (again, with only their own interest in mind). Unknowingly, by killing the wolves, they were causing a downward spiral effect of the ecosystem. The elimination of the wolves caused an increase of the local elk, which caused overgrazing of local plants, which in turn affected the surrounding stream beds, soil, birds, and bugs. The Gray Wolves were a keystone species, a species that plays a significant role in keeping stability in that environment.
What if unknowingly to traffickers, those that they are exploiting are the keystone to society? We do not know that those being trafficked might be that integral part of the future.
Through the competitiveness of our society, we have become addicted to our own personal gains. Sometimes that means that this gain is accomplished through the violation of others. I am, however, not saying that we should not cherish ourselves and our own self worth. But we should be self conscious when our individuality becomes our only infatuation. Though all this sounds like a bleak future, we can do something. After the federal government realized what was occurring in Yellowstone, a plan was composed to protect the wolves. The results were miraculous. The restoration caused a return to a stable environment. We too can achieve a form of restoration in trafficking. We can do this through collaboration. Projects like Freedom Collaborative can be a step in the right direction. Will it solve the issue? No. But it sure is a good start.
