What is choice?
One problem outlined in Motions afflicting those effected by contemporary slavery is the question of choice. Slavery is said to be an absence of choice, however in this modern version many people are brought into subjugation through rock-and-hard-place choices that, while shitty, remain choices. Each of these three images contains an example of how choices can be taken or manipulated by oppressors in circumstances of trafficking. The first two, the Cigarette Man, and Marriage Guilt, directly ask the question of what choice truly is. While the reader can not truly know what happened, the page presents it as though Djamel is aware and seemingly a participant in his own trafficking as it states that he "hides" as an active verb(Smith, Luers, Dean). People question how some of these forms of "slavery" could be considered such due to these circumstances. According to The Blue Campaign "Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act"(Oxforshire). The image Marriage demonstrates how such thoughts can be harmful to victims. By asking "Didn't the sham marriage seem wrong to you?"(Smith, Luers, Dean) the speaker takes on an accusatory tone that likely augments any self guilt felt by the receiver of the speech. Fear of such reactions is what keeps many victims from speaking out against countless crimes. When wondering how one has ended up in such a rough situation, it is not hard for victims to internalize the blame for any choices made that might have lead to their mistreatment. The authors make this quite clear through the third image, An Unsavory Deal, which presents the ways in which traffickers mislead and manipulate to gain trust. While naivety is not an excuse for blame, it is something that unfortunately makes for an easier target, especially if someone is already down on their luck.