Pictures of the Glaciers and Iguazu Falls

Argentina's Glaciers

Argentina's Iguazu Falls

Argentina Interview: Santiago Cavanagh

Santiago Cavanagh

SCavanagh@Flagler.edu

Phone: (904) 819-6415

Santiago Cavanagh came to America his freshman year of college to pursue the opportunity to play collegiate golf. In Argentina you do not get the opportunity to play a sport and go to school at the same time, so America sounded like the perfect opportunity for him. He has played golf his whole life and decided he wanted to take his playing ability to the next level. He sent out his golf resume to schools all around the U.S. and finally decided he would attend Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee, where he received a full ride golf scholarship to play. Cavanagh’s impressions of America before he arrived were what he saw on TV. The different golf courses he watched the pros play on were what he thought he would get to come here and play on. Constantly watching big golf tournaments broadcasted around the world made him realize that America is the best country to play golf and improve your game. Cavanagh chose Tennessee because it reminded him a lot of where he is from in Argentina. The small quaint atmosphere is what attracted him.

After Santiago spent a couple years in America he realized how much he really loved it here. He states that the U.S. is a lot more organized than it is back in Argentina. It was also easier for him to build a career here without the help of his family. Cavanagh believes that the American dream is still possible and achievable for everyone. He states that he is living the dream here with his wife and two kids while he gets to coach the men’s and women’s golf teams at Flagler College. “I love this area,” he states. “If I didn’t like it here I would have already moved back to Argentina.”

Cavanagh wishes that Americans knew more about his native homeland. Argentina has two of seven natural wonders in the world. The famous Iguazu Falls is a beautiful waterfall that boarders Brazil and Argentina. It is a pretty sight to see and a very safe place to visit. Another amazing wonder that is worth visiting are the glaciers. The glaciers in south Argentina are the biggest ones in the world. There are approximately 170 just in Argentina alone. The glacier Perito Moreno is the only one that moves forward and continues to grow each year. This particular one is the largest in the world and millions of people visit it each year. When you go see these glaciers, ice falls down from the top and sounds like a bomb or gun shots when the huge ice pieces hit the water. You can also experience the blue whales in Argentina as well.

Cavanagh feels that Americans are not very informed about his native country Argentina. “Not a lot of Americans know much about what goes on outside the U.S.,” he states. “There should definitely be more world geography taught in schools at a young age all the way through the college level.” When arriving to Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee, Cavanagh took a world geography class his freshman year and said that he was tested on the capitals of states and countries around the world. “This was all stuff I learned back in Argentina when I was 13 years old,” he says. This goes to show that American schooling is focused a lot more on what is going on in America, while Argentina focuses on more worldly information. Kids in Argentina are very well educated about everything that goes on in the U.S.

Human trafficking is a big issue that is going on today in Argentina. Many young girls are brought from places like Brazil and Russia and sold for sex throughout Argentina. Most of these girls are convinced they are coming to be models or promised opportunities, when really they are only brought there to be exploited.

Myths About Human Trafficking

MYTH #1: Human trafficking is the forced transportation of people across borders.

Reality: Forced transportation in the absence of slavery-like labor or commercial sexual exploitation is usually considered the crime of kidnapping. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery through labor or commercial sexual exploitation, and does not require transportation to occur, though transportation may be involved.

MYTH #2: Trafficking victims are only foreign nationals.

Reality: Both the U.N. Protocol and U.S. federal law use definitions of trafficking in persons that do not require crossing of international or state borders. Many trafficked persons are victims of internal or domestic trafficking - trafficking within the borders of a single country, and are themselves nationals of that country.

MYTH #3: Poverty and inequality are the causes of human trafficking.

Reality: While poverty and inequality are important factors in making certain populations more vulnerable to being trafficked, they are not the primary cause of trafficking. Trafficking is a criminal industry driven by 1) the ability to make large profits due to high demand, and 2) negligible-to-low risk of prosecution. As long as demand is unchecked and the risks for traffickers are low, trafficking will exist regardless of other contributing factors.

Blaming poverty and inequality alone is not only inaccurate and disheartening, it tends to deflect blame from the key actors that perpetuate trafficking - the traffickers themselves and their customers.

MYTH #4: There's not much I can do about such a huge issue.

Reality: Together - we can make a huge difference! We were founded by regular community members like yourself, as were historic organizations like the Underground Railroad. Organizations like Polaris Project live and breathe based on the contributions and dedication of community members. Making a financial donation, a gift of time, goods, or services, or helping to raise awareness are some of the things collectively that help victims everyday. Please join us and be welcomed into the growing movement to combat slavery today!

Informational Video on Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking Movie: Taken

Synopsis: Seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father Bryan Mills. Bryan is a retired agent who left the Secret Service to be near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart. Kim manages to convince her reluctant father to allow her to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When the girls arrive in Paris they share a cab with a stranger named Peter, and Amanda lets it slip that they are alone in Paris. Using this information an Albanese gang of human traffickers kidnaps the girls. Kim barely has time to call her father and give him information. Her father gets to speak briefly to one of the kidnappers and he promises to kill the kidnappers if they do not let his daughter go free. The kidnapper wishes him "good luck," so Bryan Mills travels to Paris to search for his daughter and her friend. This movie shows how easy it is for someone (such as young girls) to fall subject to human trafficking.

The Affects of Trafficking

Human trafficking affects every country around the world, regardless of socio-economic status, history, or political structure. Human traffickers have exploited the many benefits of globalization, creating an international market for the trade of human beings, which has grown into the second largest criminal industry in the world. One of the most common images of human trafficking relates to victims who are trafficked across international borders. However, significant trafficking also occurs domestically, within a country's own borders, where victims may be residents or citizens. While the factors that lead to an individual's victimization are wide and diverse, an accurate understanding of the scope and prevalence of human trafficking in any country acknowledges victims of all forms of human trafficking both within and across a country's borders.

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is the modern day practice of slavery. It comprises the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, based on the recruitment, harboring, and transportation of people solely for the purpose of exploitation. Every year traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits at the expense of victimizing millions of people around the world. Victims of human trafficking are people forced into sexual exploitation.

Sex trafficking is one of the most lucrative sectors regarding the illegal trade in people, and involves any form of sexual exploitation in prostitution, pornography, bride trafficking, and the commercial sexual abuse of children. Under international law, any sexually exploited child is considered a trafficking victim, even if no force or coercion is present. 



An estimated 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked annually in the United States alone. The number of US citizens trafficked within the country is even higher. An estimated 200,000 American children are at high risk for trafficking into the sex industry each year. (According to The Polaris Project)

Governments around the world are only beginning to address this problem. The lack of awareness is what continues this exploitation around the world everyday. There are many sites you can go and donate to help fight this continuous sexual manipulation.