Global Human Trafficking Now a $32 Billion Industry

According to the head of one of France’s most prominent asylum seeker support organisations, the global network of human traffickers which aid migrants across borders into Europe and elsewhere constitute a $32 billion (£25bn) industry.

“it is absolutely necessary to crack these various networks that thrive on the misery and credulity of a certain number of people and it is to be hoped that the victims will be protected,” Pierre Henry, director general of the asylum seeker support association Terre d’Asile, said.

“Exploitation today includes, in addition to sexual exploitation, labour, forced services, slavery, servitude and even organ harvesting. The thing to keep in mind is that it is very lucrative,” Henry added, France info reports.

An investigation by German media revealed that security guards at asylum centres were also forcing young, often underage, migrants into prostitution as well.

Perhaps the most disturbing report involving people traffickers came in 2016 when the mobile phone of the notorious migrant trafficking kingpin Medhanie Yehdego Mered showed not only that organ harvesting was occurring but also that traffickers may have been engaging in cannibalism, as well.

San Diego’s Museum of Man has been normalizing Cannibalism as a mere cultural choice...

In this thoughtful (and gore-free) one-of-a-kind exhibit, you’ll discover that cannibals aren’t who you think they are. They’re warriors from many cultures, European kings and queens, American and European sailors, American colonists, accident survivors, the sick, and more.

The San Diego Union-Tribune gave Cannibals high praise:

“Get past the ick factor. Stifle the barbecue jokes. Cannibals: Myth & Reality is a poignant and beautiful experience, the type that you hope to get at a museum. It deftly guides you from one emotional place to another, revealing connections across time and cultures, until you reach a point of deeper understanding. Through history, art, films, interactive displays and games, visitors confront what seems, at first, to be an unthinkable choice. By the end, you might realize that it’s far more nuanced and complicated.”

INSIDE THE EXHIBIT
“One of the things we really wanted to do with this exhibit is to ask visitors to step into the shoes of people who were faced with real, difficult decisions and to make people think. Given the same circumstances, would they make the same choices? Can I empathize with that person? Do I understand what happened?”

—Dr. Emily Anderson, exhibit curator, in an interview with KPBS TV.

Hear the emotional first-hand account of the Uruguayan rugby players who, trapped high in the Andes Mountains, resorted to cannibalism to survive.
Learn why European explorers falsely used the label of “cannibal” to enslave and control people around the world.
Step into the apothecary shop to find out how the human body has been used as medicine.
Now online! Play the “Donner Trail” web game based on the Donner Party. Will you live or die?
While stranded at sea, decide who among you will be eaten so that the others may live. Maybe you’ll be the one who draws the short straw!
Decide if you already do things that make you a cannibal, too.
Special charges apply for this unique exhibit. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Buy Cannibals Tickets
Student groups will find the group self-guide useful in preparing for, experiencing, and learning from the exhibit.

Thank you to our sponsors:

The Loughridge Family, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program, and Balboa Park Online Collaborative.

Please note Cannibals: Myth & Reality is not included in Residents Free Days.

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