Human Trafficking
Every 30 seconds someone is human trafficked. In a small-populated village in
Ghana, lived a girl named Natalia who always dreamed of studying in America. Due to
finances, her dream was next to impossible! One day, an offer allowed her to glimpse and
almost touch her American dream! Both Natalia and her family were overjoyed. They let
their daughter travel to the U.S, seeing this as a way to improve her educational status.
Upon her arrival, she expected to find a warm welcome, instead she found herself,
trapped in the middle of a Human Trafficking ring. 30 seconds has passed and one person
has been trafficked.
During the first three months of 2017, the National Human Trafficking Hotline
reported a total of 2,000 calls related to this growing dilemma.
(https://humantraffickinghotline.org). Today, I will heighten the awareness of this
burgeoning trafficking predicament. We will discus three focal points: to begin, we must
set forth the perimeters of human trafficking. Then, we must identify groups who have
the greatest risk of falling victim to these schemes. In addition, we must devise a plan so
we can collectively end this world-wide epidemic. A little over one minute has now
passed, two people have now fallen victim to human trafficking.
According to HumanTraffickingSearch.org Human trafficking is a form of
modern-day slavery, in which human beings are controlled and exploited for profit.
Perpetrators use force, fraud, or coercion to manipulate and establish control over
individuals (http://humantraffickingsearch.org/what-is-human-trafficking/). In order for
someone to be considered a victim of trafficking, three players must occur- force, fraud
and coercion. The business of Human Trafficking has exploded to be a 150 billion dollar
industry annually. Trafficking reveals its self in many forms. Today we will focus on two.
Forced labor, a type of human trafficking, is defined by Antislavery.org, as being any
work or service which people are forced to do against their will, under threat of
punishment. Almost all slavery practices contain some element of forced labour
(https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/forced-labour/). A victim trafficked into
Forced Labor, has been forced, or coerced, into a line of work in both hidden and in plain
sight. Two minutes into this speech, and four more victims have fallen prey to human
trafficking. Trafficked persons appear in sweatshops, fields, brothels, massage parlors,
online escort services, on street corners, as child soldiers, or in private homes. According
to a male domestic worker in Saudi Arabia, The worst part was that there was no rest.
I slept for two hours a night. There was no going out and no days off. When the
bosses were out, the house was locked. I soon learned that if we refused to work, the
police would be brought in to make us work. Once I was slapped round the face for
not ironing my employer’s scarf properly (https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-
today/forced-labour/).
Sex Trafficking identifies as the exploitation of men, women and children in the
sex industry for profit by means of force, fraud and coercion. This industry thrives
because the demand continually increases. We are now three minutes into this speech,
and six people have been trafficked. In this controversial situation there is always a buyer,
who fuels the market with their money. They approach the trafficker, who exploits
victims to earn revenue from their buyer. Finally, there are categories of victims, both
males and females, who are bought and sold soley for profit. The traffickers catch their
victims by using social networks, clubs, bars, and schools. They lure their victims by
promises of protection, opportunity, adventure and most dangerously, love. These
represent only two of many forms of human trafficking.
After defining human trafficking and understanding the types involved, the next
task occurs: identifying the high-risk population. Anyone and everyone can fall victim to
this industry, however some are more likely than others depending on their situations.
Runaway or homeless teens represent a very high-risk population. According to human
trafficking hotline, A study in Chicago found that 56 percent of prostituted
women were initially runaway youth and similar numbers have been
identified for male populations (https://humantraffickinghotline.org/what-
human-trafficking/human-trafficking/victims). Now we are roughly four minutes
into this speech, and eight people have fallen prey to a trafficker. Runaway kids have
nowhere to go. Traffickers are aware of their weaknesses and feed off of their
vulnerabilities. The traffickers convince you that they care about you and will
protect you. They lure teenage girls by playing the boyfriend type, or even worse,
they become the father figure the girls are missing in their life. The traffickers, in
most cases, will give their victims drugs, in order for them to become fully
dependent on their trafficker, unable to stay away from their dealer. Remember, it is
possible for anyone to become a victim of human trafficking. We are five minutes
into this speech, and ten people have been trafficked. What can we do to end this?
How can we, collectively, end human trafficking once and for all? If you view
the statistics there is one outcome, you can’t. Correct, the statistics will lead you to
believe human trafficking always has and will exist. There is little we can do about it.
At least one person out there builds, their entire existence on belittling someone
else’s. At least one person out there, uses another human beings weakness, to their
own personal gain. There are human beings in this world who see people like
Natalia, a girl with hopes, dreams, aspirations, and they give just enough kindness to
show them they are worth something. They give enough attention to show them
they matter and they show them the doors to their dreams, only to slam it in their
faces. Crushing their hopes and dream. Blowing out the light that once flickered
inside them. Why do humans do this? How could a human being do this to another
human being? Because they can. They know they will not be stopped. What can we
do to end human trafficking? According to statistics there is nothing we can do to
end human trafficking. However, we have something the statistics do not. We have
God on our side, and I believe God has shown that nothing is impossible with Him on
your side. With God, we can end to human trafficking. One of the most beneficial
ways is pure awareness. At the beginning of today’s speech, I explained my goal
today was to heighten the awareness of this burgeoning trafficking predicament. If we
bring awareness and educate others on human trafficking, then maybe, just maybe
we can bring down the numbers of those being trafficked. There are multiple ways
you can share information about Human Trafficking. Joining a local organization is
the best way. I am apart of a non-profit organization, called Hands of Justice, and we
are teens fighting against human trafficking. Our whole goal in this organization is to
bring awareness to human trafficking. We partner with other local organizations and
have monthly outreach projects within the surrounding area of Houston Texas.
There are multiple Human Trafficking organizations out there. With a simple Google
search I am certain you can find one close to you. Awareness is key. Talk to your
children about Human trafficking. Talk to your parents about Human Trafficking.
Talk to your relatives, neighbors, friends, co-workers, talk to anyone. Just make sure
you are talking, and you don’t ever stop talking. The second we stop talking about
Human Trafficking and bringing awareness to this thriving industry, that is when the
industry wins. Lies are being spread about human trafficking, such as it does not
occur in the United States and it only targets women. If lies as these continue to fill
peoples minds we choose to not speak truth into the matter, then the industry wins.
Every second is detrimental, and every minute is life changing. If we use them
wisely, we can save people, like Natalia, and we can give back stolen lives. With this
speech being roughly nine minutes, statistically: nineteen people have been
trafficked. Nineteen human beings have been human trafficked just in the amount of
time I began todays speech. And, statistically speaking, twenty-one people will be
trafficked before I exit this room and twenty-three people will be trafficked before the
next person enters the room. Every second is detrimental, and every minute is life
changing. Let’s spend our time fighting for others and giving them back their stolen time,
before their time runs out. Thank you.
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