THE TRUTH - THERE ARE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO ARE SLAVES - WHO ARE SEEN AS SUBHUMAN, LIKE TRASH ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
x It is estimated that 20.9 to 45 million people are currently enslaved world-wide.
x In 2018, 51.6% of human trafficking cases active in the US were sex trafficking of children.
x Approximately 71% of those trafficked are women and girls.
x Human trafficking produces an estimated 150.2 billion dollars of revenue every year, more than the total international trade in arms (worth 100 billion).
x The National human trafficking hotline received more calls from the state of California than any other state, followed by Texas, and Florida during 2018.
Every time I sat down to write something about human trafficking I got stuck, I felt like I couldn’t write what I actually thought. So I decided to be real instead of acceptable or eloquent, at the risk of being ridiculed or judged a fake. And to be perfectly honest and transparent, sometimes I feel so sick when I think about this world. We can be so selfish and self absorbed sometimes all we see is ourselves, our interests, and what will fulfill us and us alone. We ask “how does this inconvenience me?” or “does this give me pleasure” rather than “how can I help others, even when there is a risk of making myself uncomfortable?” And if I’m being really honest, maybe I despise this world and our culture because I despise it in myself. I am guilty of all of these. Coming from humble beginnings, how could I forget the weight of poverty, and how could I forget how I have been blessed? If I know even a fraction of pain that these people experience, how could I look away and let my heart become cold? I would be lying if I said I did not feel truly embarrassed, having the pretense of “caring”, while having the knowledge of this massive injustice, yet doing nothing and being silent. Indifference is a terrible disease. The truth - There are millions of people in this world who are slaves - who are seen as subhuman, like trash on the side of the road. Sometimes these people are prostitutes, they are almost always impoverished, they may be addicted to drugs, immigrants, sometimes homeless, factory workers, or those working in lowly positions. They are vulnerable women, children, and men, often who don’t speak the common language of the country they are in, held captive most commonly for labor or sex. They often live in inhumane conditions, with the threat of harm to their loved ones and to themselves. And even families sell their own into slavery. For a long time I could not reconcile the grief and guilt I felt when I heard these stories. Have you ever walked past a person so broken they seem to no longer even exist in their own mind as a human? That is such a deep suffering, to feel beyond the reach of love and acceptance. This is the reality of people who are trafficked, people who are homeless. Broken. I simply cannot be silent because I assume my voice means little, or that I do not have much to give. I cannot let the fear of being judged by others who might laugh at my idealism, or being labeled a hypocrite, stop me from doing something, anything, anymore. Women and children are the majority of those sold for labor or sex, and it is utterly repulsive and heartbreaking that nefarious acts such as these continue to exist today. And the truth is that it should repulse you too. If that guilt and grief hits you like it hits me, isn’t this the call to act? The world is in dire need of people who are willing to make a scene, willing to stand up and stand out to injustice, to say the uncomfortable, unglamorous, and unpopular things that must be said and acted upon. This world needs more people to care - and to care for one another. Please take time to educate yourself at the very least, or support your local organizations that provide resources, care, and funds to those trafficked and rehabilitated. You have the ability to be the change you want in the world, and to shine a light in dark places.