What We Don't Know, Won't Hurt Us

The original reason I decided to pursue human trafficking as the topic of my blog was because I felt like it was a relevant issue to research since a close friend of mine is about to delve into one of the greatest epicenters of human trafficking (Southeast Asia) on her upcoming mission trip. Nonetheless, as I continue to read blogs, reports, and statistics, I get teary-eyed at the thought of innocent humans being lied to and exploited against their will. 


The purpose of this post is to be a voice to the cold, hard facts of the situation. As I scrolled through stats given by the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, two facts caught my attention. One proved that over "95% of victims experienced physical or sexual violence" while being trafficked. The other statement made my mouth drop in disgust when it mentioned only 1 out of every 800 people trafficking others are ever convicted of the crime! Have we really been that blind to such an evil force?  Many of us are surprised at the fact that these modern-day slaves are imported to America, and it happens in every state and metropolitan center in the nation.


So the facts are laid out, but how do they even effect us? Americans are individualistic creatures. Many times we go about our daily lives until an issue directly influences us and causes us to take action. Sometimes we refuse to be empathetic to a cause we know nothing about but, picture this. Your sister or younger cousin etc. starts hanging out with an older man. You are livid and demand she stops this. She argues he is a nice guy that buys her things and gives her attention. He's even offered to help her pay for college upon her graduation in a year. The next day, she is missing. Months later...I'll let your imagination fill in the blank of the multiple possibilities. Seriously, play that scenario in your head. It's almost instinctive to become defensive for her at the very thought. 


 I feel almost hypocritical being so convicting in a blog when I haven't made a huge contribution to prevent these acts although I have hopefully sparked an interest in someone's heart. It's a start.


On an end note, I'm leaving a clip from a movie I mentioned before. I hope it helps you relate to the realities of this issue.