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True story. A young impoverished girl in eastern Europe left with some friends for a shot at a better life to be hairdressers in Greece. They soon found themselves with 60 other misled girls and women trafficked on a ship to be sex slaves. Stuffed like sardines into containers with only one oxygen bubble among them, 30 died on the journey to Turkey.
The survivors were then locked in a room for two weeks being repeatedly raped all day and night. Men came in shifts until they were completely broken down. The victims were then taken on a rubber dingy to Greece. Twenty of them drowned.
Fast forward...the young girl, one of very few to escape the nightmare of sex trafficking, recounted the story to Christine Caine, founder of The A21 Campaign. Another young woman across the room asked Christine why she had come. Christine answered that she was there to help rescue, restore, and rebuild the lives of victims of sex trafficking. The woman screamed in reply, Then why didn't you come sooner? There are thousands of us in hell, why didn't you come sooner?
Why not sooner? Why indeed? Why aren't all of us doing something about the millions of victims of child sex trafficking? We probably don't know much, if anything, about it. Nor do we know where to start. I'm overwhelmed myself. The good news is that you and I can help! Check out the links on the right of the page for ways you can help right now.
If it were my child that was being trafficked, I would drop everything to save him. I would leverage everyone and everything possible. Doesn't every child deserve the same? We cannot afford for sooner to become later.
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ReplyDeleteI really don't know what to say... I guess I need to become more aware. Sadly there are girls right here in our country that are treated in similar ways right under our noses and watchful eyes!
ReplyDeleteWow! Sad, sad. Thank you for the awareness, Kyle. Great Blog site. Can't wait to see more. And side note: though Lora is absolutely wonderful, I bet she'd say she "married out of HER league", too! :-)
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the August 12th. blog, Yes it is happening right here in the USA. Just ask Social Workers. It's sad and if you want to help, contact contact the Dept. of Social Services and I'm sure they can set you in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteThis is awsome! Kyle. Great Site. As usual " Keep up the good work"
Well, I just found a moment to read your blog and I find myself sitting here angry, sad, frustrated. I am frustrated that this is just one more way our children are being robbed of their childhood. I do not think I will ever understand how a human being can treat another human being as a disposable item. And children . . . that is beyond my comprehension. Their faces and stories haunt me. Thank you for listing the sites to become better educated and as a source to help in some tangible way.
ReplyDeleteI had also been quite disturbed in conversations with my friend from Pakistan. He tells me of the rural areas where parents are so desperate to give their children a better life. The members of the Muslim sect who recruit for the terrorists talk the parents into "selling" their children so they can "have an education and food". In reality they are taken in, brainwashed into thinking they will be a hero and go to heaven if they strap explosives to their bodies and enter buildings to self explode. They target 10-13 year olds. Once again, children robbed of their childhood.
With all those other situations in the world, here I sit with our own children being robbed of their childhood with the sexually charged media, unlimited time with video games, teenage girls being told what is wrong with their bodies, pre-school children being dressed like teenagers,hours of time being devoured by texting. We, as uncourageous adults, have allowed these predatory elements in our society to rob our children of their right to a childhood filled with innocence . . .days with time to dream of what they will become . . . and appreciating their bodies for the healthy state they are in instead of why they will not fit into a size 0.
I am now stepping off my "soap box" with a challenge to myself and any other adults who would like to regain their courage. I challenge you to re-gifting. Let us re-gift our children with pre-teen years filled with innocence, teen years filled with down time to dream of what they want out of life and unplugged ears so they can hear us tell them how much we love them and will help them fulfill their dreams.