Steven Chang
RHE 330E
Davis
4/12/2011
Written Pathetic Appeal: Human Trafficking
Fourth customer tonight. Still a long night ahead, anywhere from six to ten more before she’s finished. Like a zombie, she climbs into the shower with the hope of washing away anything left behind, but it is a cathartic cleansing more than anything. A zombie is a good comparison – a mindless object, simply a body without its own thoughts – that is what she is. The youth and vitality of a 12-year-old girl is missing completely, and only a drained and broken husk remains.
As she steps out of the shower, she is again overwhelmed by the smell. The musky, moldy stench of the hotel room, tinged with the scents of lotions and perfumes and cigarette smoke wafting through the air. She resists the impulse to retch. Four months here, and still the smell catches her off guard every time.
The syringe is prepped on the nightstand, next to a few cotton balls and a bottle of cleaning alcohol. She hesitates, debating and resisting what she knows to be evil, but the damaged side of her wins. She doesn’t have the strength anymore to get through the night on her own. In the first couple of weeks, the memories of her past life were enough to take her away from the dimly-lit room and that overwhelming smell. The images of the beautiful sunset over the rice fields or the thought of dinner with her grandparents after a long day of work used to be enough, but not anymore. That was now a past life, and to get through the reality of misery she is in will require a more potent solution.
She swabs her arm gently with the cold alcohol, takes a deep breath, and feels the cold prick of the needle pierce her skin. The warm flood of bliss washes over her, and the fear, the disgust, the despair is all swept away with that penetrating warmness.
And finally, numbness. This is her temporary escape. She sits on the edge of the creaky mattress, embracing the emotional paralysis, as the next man walks through the door.
Fifth customer tonight. Still at least five more to come. Between the showers and the syringe, she will endure the rest of the long night, but for what? She is convinced: no one is coming to save her, this is now her permanent reality – she has long since given up on hope.
_______
There are 27 million slaves in the world today[1], more than at the time of the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th Century. Men, women, and children are stolen, deceived, and sold into unspeakable horrors all around the world. Forced prostitution in Thailand, wage slavery in India, and child labor in Colombia are some prevalent examples, but the list extends far beyond that.
The story of the young girl above is just one possible story out of millions. Hoping for a better life, the young girl is deceived into taking a “better job in the city,” and forced into prostitution with no hope of rescue. Every single day, unfortunate victims experience these injustices all around the world. Perhaps the most tragic elements of these stories is how these young and gullible children are tricked or kidnapped into a life of unimaginable suffering. What could have been a bright and happy future is now one of despair and hopelessness. The misconception is that these things only happen in developing countries like Thailand or India, but the influence of human trafficking reaches broadly, even to our own city limits. Just last year, a human trafficking and vice unit from the Austin Police Department shut down a brothel in north Austin where women were forced into prostitution against their will.[2] The threat of human trafficking is a closer reality than we would hope to believe.
According to the U.S. State Department, anywhere from 14,500 to more than 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year.[3] Worldwide, the U.N. estimates that the market value of the human trafficking industry surpasses $32 billion annually.[4] Human trafficking exists in some form or fashion on every one of the six major continents. The social problem of human trafficking is as much a reality to us today as civil rights in the 1960s or slavery in the 19th Century. Yet somehow, in the 21st Century, the atrocities of human trafficking are hidden from the view of the public.
The problem of human trafficking reaches broadly, affects its victims deeply, but is widely unknown. Many times, even when we do learn of these inhumane and heart-wrenching stories, we are outraged or disgusted, but we feel detached from the problem. What could a college student do about these problems an ocean away? It seems that these things aren’t related to our lives in any way at all. However, the U.S. State Department estimates that “200,000 American children are at high risk for trafficking into the sex industry each year.” We also know that “Texas has more calls into the national human trafficking hotline than any other state.[5]” How far would you go to save your sister, niece, or best friend from this tragic fate?
As college students in the U.S., we have the capability, the resources, and the power to fight towards ending human trafficking, even in our own lifetime. Here are a few first steps of what we can do:
1. Educate yourself: Research trafficking and find out how deeply and broadly it actually goes – www.notforsalecampaign.org, www.stopthetraffik.org, www.humantrafficking.com, www.antislavery.org
2. Educate others: Post this video about human trafficking to your facebook or youtube account – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZTN0TbsRYA
3. Take action: Support organizations like the International Justice Mission or World Vision that are devoted to ending human slavery, donate your time and money, and write to your Congressmen to support anti-trafficking laws.
We have the power and the resources to end slavery in the world. Dr. Kevin Bales, an expert on modern slavery and the President of Free the Slaves confirms this: “We could eradicate slavery. The laws are in place. The multi-nationals, the world trade organizations, the United Nations, they could end slavery, but they're not going to do it until and unless we demand it.”[6] Our efforts have the ability to save lives. The responsibility lies with each one of us. Will we be known as the generation that took action and ended modern slavery? Or will our passivity be our legacy to future generations, that we let this deep social injustice run rampant?
_______
It is almost dawn. She is broken and beaten, a shell of a person after 12 men have had their way with her. She can barely move, but reaches towards the nightstand and the only thing that can comfort her now – the needle. But before she can immerse herself in the numbness, suddenly, the sounds of a door crashing down in the hallway reach her. The voices of men yelling and of women screaming pierce through the quiet morning of the city.
Adrenaline floods her body. Confusion and anticipation overtake her, and the smallest tinge of hope enters into her mind! Could it be? But she steels herself. No reason to deceive herself, to get her hopes up for nothing.
The door opens. A police officer, gun raised, takes a look at her and motions behind him. An older woman comes through the door with a disarming smile. She doesn’t know what to think, but the woman embraces her, whispering assurances of her safety and her rescue. The woman picks her up and carries her out through the broken down entrance of the hotel. The first rays of sunlight peek over the horizon, warming the little girl’s face. For the first time in three months, she breathes in the freshness of the morning air. For the first time in three months, she has a hope and a future.
_______
No comments:
Post a Comment