When many people think of trafficking, the only thing that comes to their mind is the sexual exploitation of young women. While this is one form of human trafficking, it is far from the only form that is seen in the world. The graphic journal Borderlands, by Dan Archer, shows many different ways that humans are sold, and that it is very typically for labor as well. It contains true stories of people of all sexualities and races being tricked and exploited. I used to think that it was much harder for people who are stronger or smarter to be trafficked, but Archer included statistics that say otherwise. For example, “50% of those who get trafficked from Ukraine have been in higher education.” This shows that anyone can be targeted and used.
Not only can those who are smart be trafficked, the strongest of men can be as well. The story “Rublevka” is the only one in the journal that shows this happen to a man. The man was simply offered a job at a big construction site. Of all of the workers, he was the biggest so he thought that he would be able to take care of himself. He gets there and is immediately put to work. When he asks for pay they just say that it comes on completion, but readers know that completion will never come. This struck me because for weeks he was working as a slave and didn’t even understand that was the case or how he had gotten into that situation.
The image of the dacha is the only image that takes up an entire page in the entire journal. I also noticed that it was printed on inside of both the front and back covers. I feel that this is because this was an important image for Archer as well. It shows how easy it is for someone to be put into slavery and how trapped they are once in open sight. These mansions are in rich neighborhoods, but behind the scenes, the blood of the poor is building them. I feel that this panel showing slaves working on and building the dacha embodies this form of human trafficking and can shows that anyone can be put into this situation.