Ordinary People are Extraordinary

I just finished watching two movies about human trafficking. One thing that I learned is that immoral behavior and money where both entwined is the main driving force of this madness.

The first movie is called Trafficked, I would describe this movie as a post-event account by human trafficking survivor where it depict how easy organized crime work their way out to abuse these innocent victim. However, this is a very 'light' version of the real-life event of human trafficking.

The second movie, however, bring me back to my usual behaviour. Drawing out my opinion and waking me up again to my real intention of living. This movie is called 'The Whistleblower'. Let me tell you about the story, the movie is actually based on a real-life account of an ordinary woman, the woman is called Kathryn Bolkovac. Before engaging as the UN apointed officer, she was just an ordinary police officer in Nebraska, US. Due to family problem, she was determined to take the job in Bosnia to make more money so she can live closer with her daughter. She started her job as a mere international police officer to monitor the post-war Bosnia. However, one event lead to another. Such event was when she encountered a domestic violence case which at first was dismissed by fellow officers because of their 'realistic' view. However, Kathy was determined to help the victim and help further the case in which the victim won the case. Moreover, she caught the attention of a Human Rights Commissioner and was offered to head a department of gender affairs. 

After keep on going with her new job, she discovered a victim of human trafficking and was suspicious of what actually happened behind the curtain. She began her investigation only to discover that there is actually an organized human trafficking that involved government officials, UN peacekeepers, and mercenaries. Kathryn discovered that most victims are Bosnian women and abroad countries such as Ukraine. These victims were forced to sexual exploitation where they were forced into prostitution. These sex exploitation were actually facilitated by the UN peacekeeper officials and other officials. Moreover, she became closed with a victim and that victim can be the only evidence to testify against the organized crime. However, Kathy was working against the odd. Everything was against her, even UN and her own country. Morever, while trying to work her way to help the victims, she was shut down by her superior in the office and was forced to resign. With the help of people she trusted, she worked her way to United Kingdom where her employer company based on. Kathy became the whistleblower in which exposing the real organized crime in Bosnia. However, the reality is just not something we can rely on.

In real life however, after exposing these organized crime, those criminals involved in the human trafficking were only sent home, without being charged as criminals. This however happened due to the immunity laws that we have in International Law. As far as I know, there is actually no justice in this world. I don't even know what is justice anymore. Since I was a kid, I never trust law enforcement. This heavily based on how justice system in my country, Indonesia. It is absurd how once there was a case in which a poor old woman had to steal her neighbour's mangoes from the farm and she was convicted for stealing had to serve in jail. On the other hand, my country Indonesia, is famed for corruption it is actually ranked as high as number four in the world for the most corrupt country. However, nothing could be done that. It is as normal as reality to know how easy law enforcement officials in my country to get bribed in the most easy way to let off those corrupt people. Moreover, I will say in Indonesia we are actually living together with the corrupt people peacefully. I just don't know how and why but it is just that way. Seeing how the poor old woman jailed for stealing mangoes, corrupt officials in my country are leaving in a paradise forgetting behind the reason they took office.

So, let's begin by saying that there will never be a perfect system, there will always be a leak, and that system became the enabler to an evil conduct its sinister behaviour.

It's the people who turn a blind eye when faced with injustice is actually we should be careful more. Like I already wrote in another essay about Guildfor bombing, there is nothing we can trust in this world. Not even such organization what we called United Nations, let alone believing your own government. 

I once heard that 'Man makes war, Women makes home', it is absolutely true. However, the deeper I see into real life, it is absolutely absurd to use gender to make a judgement. After watching 'The Whistleblower', there was this woman who worked for UN in which she was absolutely a succesful careerwoman, however, she was involved as the enabler to that organized crime behind the curtain. What disturb me the most is how in the television she was just your typical politician, she was just telling something people want to hear, leaving behind truth and fact. To be exact, she was just Hillary Clinton in UN office. On the other hand, Kathryn Boldovac was nothing to that, she doesn't say anything like or aiming at 'making world a better place' or 'work for a better future'. She simply doing what a simple human with humanity to do. 

The driving force of this event is actually money and lust. It is really simple, it works both ways. Money led to having more lust and on the opposite, lust led for having more money. 

One more thing that is also important to this movie is that it made me realized how fragile it is to be a woman. The depiction of sexual violence in this movie was outraged and pardon my languange but men is actually the evil to women.

United Nations was created was only for one purpose, that is for security. It had only one job and it had failed doing it. To put some details, the real company that employ Kathryn is DynCorp International. It is a service agency that was contracted by UN to represent it in the post-war Bosnia. What actually disturbed me the most is how now DynCorp is actually can get away with this scandal easily and even trusted to engage in post-war Iraq and post-war Afghanistan by contracted with US. Those people who should have been accountable were protected by so-called diplomatic impunity which is just a small part of legal traditions. One irrational reason that I learned from the inability of law enforcement to put justice into this is because they are afraid of losing money. Just that, their defence, whether it is UN, Private companies, or others who shut their eyes to this crime was only afraid of losing money. These powerful people can never be trusted with humanity. There is a reason why conducting bussiness is never away from conducting sinister behaviour. Moral can never side by side with doing bussiness.

However, can't we see in our real eyes and rational mind that what they are doing actually wrong? it doesn't matter which term are we using to describe it. Whether it is illegal or legal, it is crystal clear that it was wrong. Totally wrong, this legal system has been used by evil people to enable their sinister conduct. I don't even know what is Justice anymore.

If we can't trust UN, who should we trust now? US? UK? RUSSIA?

Everything start with yourself, if you see injustice, take action. Don't be like other people who are afraid of doing what is different to what I call 'society'. I have my personal account to this event. I refer to my Human Rights presentation.

What I know is that the real violence in Bolkovac's story was the violence done to Justice.

As Rachel Weisz said, "It is the ordinary people who makes something extraordinary."

January 27th, 2018