Singapore to U.S.: "I Am Rubber You Are Glue..."

Okay, maybe "I am rubber, you are glue" isn't exactly what Singapore said in response to it’s downgrade to the Tier 2 Watch List in the U.S.'s 2010 Trafficking in Human Persons Report, but it probably just wasn't familiar with the old playground saying.

The report found that while Singapore took some new steps to combat trafficking, it didn't show much hard evidence that the steps were working. People, notably women and girls, are still being trafficked in and out of the city-state. Singapore took major offense to the downgrade and called the report more of a "political ritual than an objective study," asking how the U.S. can rank itself Tier 1 when it hasn’t been able to stem the “flood of illegal workers” trafficked over its own borders.

Singapore makes a good point, actually. This is the first year in the TIP report's 10-year history that the U.S. has ranked itself at all. We have a long way to go to eliminate human trafficking here and I've often wondered why the U.S. has seen fit to grade everyone but itself.

The Singaporen foreign ministry added, "The US should perhaps examine its own record more carefully before presuming to pronounce on other countries. Then its reports may be more credible." BAM! In your face, U.S.A.! Check yourself before you wreck yourself!

Or maybe all countries should just spend less time worrying about their image and more time taking care of the people within their borders, especially people forced to work as labor and sex slaves. Isn't that what every after school special ever tried to teach us? Don't worry what other people think of you?

Let's face it, no one likes their dirty laundry aired in public, especially in a country where dirty laundry in public could result in a Rattan canning. Singapore actually reacted the same way to the 2004 TIP report when it was put on Tier 2. But the U.S. is definitely image-conscious too -- self-proclaimed bully-defeater and king of the mountain.

No country is perfect at preventing trafficking or aiding trafficking victims. The U.S. has big problems on this front that need to be addressed. So does Singapore. So does every other country in the world. Spending time focusing on appearance and report cards doesn't solve the problem. Sure it gets us talking, but actions speak louder than words. (Another after school special lesson!)

Maybe Thailand, who also got downgraded in the 2010 TIP report, could teach us all another lesson. Thailand foreign ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said, “We believe that the report did not give due recognition to Thailand’s efforts to address the trafficking problem... Be that as it may, we will continue with our efforts to prevent and suppress the trafficking problem.”

Translation: work harder. We all need to work harder. Instead of "I am rubber, you are glue," how about sharing our juice boxes on front lines of the human trafficking fight and working together?

Photo credit: Daquella Manera