Many time I post things about human trafficking, whether on Facebook or Twitter, and sometimes I forget that people still don't even know what human trafficking really is. So I'm going to try my best to explain what it is and why I believe we should stop it.
Human trafficking is the selling or coercion of other people through sex, labor, and organ harvesting. The Polaris Project, a leading anti-human trafficking organization, describes it as " a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others." How does human trafficking exist in our world today? Think about it this way, we consume, consume, and consume many different things every day... well people have to make that stuff. The more and more we want things for cheap labor and a cheaper price the higher labor trafficking increases. Sex trafficking is in a way the same, where there is a demand there is going to be a "product". The thing is human trafficking affects EVERYONE. If you think you are not affected by human trafficking, then you are unaware of the world around you (not sorry it's true).
Now here is how I found out about human trafficking and why I decided to do something.
In December of 2011 I was sitting at home over Christmas break watching television like any other normal day. I was flipping through the channels when I came across the OWN network (don't judge) and was intrigued by the title Hidden America. This episode was all about human trafficking in the United States and highlighted it mainly in Washington D.C. I remember watching this 12 year old girl prance around on the streets prostituting herself out while her pimp followed her closely with his car. I couldn't believe this was really happening, I mean she was only 12! I just started crying because my heart was literally breaking into pieces over this little girl who was dolled up to look twenty in thin straps of clothing having nothing childish about her. My mom came home and I remember describing the show and asking her if she had any idea this was happening either, and of course she didn't know. It just floored me that this was happening in my own backyard and the public wasn't being informed. Then a couple weeks later I was talking to my mentor on the way to Passion Conference 2012, telling her about human trafficking and how I thought God was telling me to do something. I starting dreaming then. Come to find out Passion's main focus that year and years to come was human trafficking! In a stadium filled with thousands of other people God spoke to me personally. No longer could I live a disillusioned life pretending that this evil did not exist in the world.
My goal was, and still is, to make a difference in at least one life. I do believe that the world can change and that human trafficking can be abolished. I also believe it takes one person at a time to make a difference. I hope that talking constantly about this evil that people will be more and more informed in wanting to join and make a difference as well.
The organization I intern with, Richmond Justice Initiative, put out a great list of the facts involving human trafficking:
So today as you are enjoying the blessings of life, don't forget to pray. Pray for our future as a people to be FULLY and COMPLETELY free from bondage. Because these people affected by human trafficking are you and me. We should not live in ignorance and should stand up against the injustices of the world. Be the CHANGE, be the INSPIRATION, be the PEOPLE who will stand, be the VOICE of those who can't speak for themselves, be the HOPE they need to see, and be the LOVE they desire to feel.
Love always,
Insightful Mel
Resources:
Richmond Justice Initiative: http://richmondjusticeinitiative.com/
Polaris Project: http://www.polarisproject.org/
Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
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