Let’s Make a Traffic Jam!

By: American Decency Staff

By: Steve Huston

“I’d like to see a traffic jam,” said no driver ever. Well, I’d like to see a “traffick” jam, a time and place where human trafficking has come to a complete stop.  It’s time we became informed and our laws reformed about this modern day slavery.

With 12.3 million people enslaved in 161 different countries, 100,000 to 300,000 slaves in the United States alone, slavery needs to be abolished once again. More than one million children have been bought, stolen, or coerced into this dark and little recognized trade of despair.

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. This exploitation often takes the form of various sex acts but also includes forced labor in homes, businesses or farms, and sometimes organ harvesting.

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises and is now a $32 billion global industry.  There are more people in slavery today than there were at the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It’s become the third largest crime industry and for every 800 of these slave traders only one of them is convicted worldwide.

The victims of human trafficking are just that—human. They are boys and girls; they are men and women who are no longer in control of their own lives.  For every hundred of these powerless slaves that step onto the “auction block” only one will be rescued.  Can you imagine?  Ninety-nine out of every one hundred continue to be tortured and forced to do unspeakable acts; they are often forced to work under deplorable conditions with little or no pay.

These people have souls just like you and I. They were created just like you and I.  If they’re cut, they bleed just like you and I. Do you realize the average lifespan for those who are just like you, but captured and forced to do things you would shudder at, is only seven years? These people have mothers and fathers who love and miss them.  They have families that are looking for them and praying for their safe return.

What can we do about this desecration of human dignity, this bondage of human freedom?

The first step in defeating this nightmare is to pray.  There is power in prayer; pray for the victims, the traders, the users, the Johns and all involved. Pray that God will move men to Him.

The next step is to become better informed. Not only should we inform ourselves, but we ought to inform others as well.  Granted, it’s not a pleasant conversation topic; but nonetheless, it’s an important one.

In upcoming articles we’ll share more information; but in the meantime, there are many good sources of information you can check out for yourself.  Here are a few to get you started:

www.warinternational.org  (Women At Risk International) This is an organization based out of Wyoming, Michigan.  On this site you’ll find news articles, stories of rescued slaves, photos, video information, ways in which you can become involved and many other interesting programs which help those enslaved around the world.

www.traffick911.com  This website also gives good information about human trafficking, including red flags to look for to help you better identify a person who may be enslaved. There are also several PSA (public service announcements) videos made by athletes, Christian artists, and those who have been affected by the slave trade.

www.cedarsfoundation.com   Here you’ll find articles on many different issues, including human trafficking. You’ll also find a link to a “Preventing Abuse Conference” page where its main focus is protection from “Human Trafficking/Abduction of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation.”

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