I don’t want January to end without talking about something that is important to me and that I believe needs to be held in everyone’s mind and hearts.
January is designated as Human Trafficking Prevention month.
I spent my entire career in counseling working with women and children victims of physical and sexual violence. Additionally, my own grandfather as a child was an indentured servant working under horrendous conditions for many years. So I openly admit, this issue is clearly a personal priority. Still, the fact that such conditions exist present moral and ethical challenges that can’t go unaddressed. But like all fundamental issues that require massive change, this cannot be the focus of an isolated few, it needs the focus of many.
It is, of course, not a problem we can give a moment or a month’s attention to and be one and done. This is an ongoing issue that requires our attention, our dedicated commitment, and our action.
Obviously nobody reading my blog needs a lecture from me. But I do want to offer you a few statistics to think about and then encourage you to take ten minutes of your day and watch a video.
- Over 40+ MILLION people are caught in forced labor, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude and forced marriage worldwide. (information source)
- Human trafficking generates $150 BILLION profit annually (information source)
I encourage you to watch this video which offers both information and ideas of how to combat the issue.
For more information, here are additional site you may wish to check out.
- Polaris Project is a U.S. based organization, and I’m touched by their choice of name. The use of the Polaris (the North Star) to help slaves navigate their way to freedom has been referenced in many narratives and songs, including information offered by Harriet Tubman.
Many years ago I wrote a vision for the future and one of the things I’m still holding is that we will live to see a time when gratitude, beauty, grace, kindness, and inspired action are everyday currencies and all beings know they are greatly loved and infinitely supported. I believe we have a long way to go, but we all have our part to play.
Thank you for highlighting this; I think that it’s so heinous that many of us don’t want to think about it, thus it doesn’t get the attention it deserves, nor the action to stop it.
I think you’re right Margaret. And while it can sometimes feel slightly ridiculous to have months or days designated as observations of different things, it’s always my hope that enough people both discover issues new to them and decide to focus their attention and action on them.
I just read last month that our Ventura County Sheriffs’ Dept will be working with a local nonprofit, Interface Children and Family Services. Both the VCSD and Interface received combined $1million + grants from the Dept of Justice last year. The funds will be used in training, investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases, as well as providing safe shelter and family reconnections for victims. Ventura County tends to be a ‘corridor’ for human trafficking, I think due to the proximity of both the 101 and 5 highways, and the expansive rural areas.
I’m glad more light is being shed on this.
xoxo
This is very positive news Pattie – I’m glad to hear it.
Hari OM
It is an issue in every country and none of us can be complacent – often we are unwittingly involved, simply by the purchase of clothing that will have been produced in sweatshops, or food picked by what is effectively slave labour. The worst of all, here too, is the physical exploitation mentioned in your point number one.
I share your vision of a more open and equal society with noble values. It exists now, just not universally… YAM xx
I agree with you on both points Yamini. We need to be mindful of all the ways we’re often unconsciously complicit and change our behaviors. And I also believe there are those among us living with noble values and it truly makes a difference. We need to do our best always to tip that percentage over into the majority.
With the dreaded Brexit happening here tomorrow and we’re on the only land border between UK and Europe it is a certainty that the nasties in our society will be looking for even more opportunities to exploit people. We were all so shocked to know that the people behind the deaths of 37 Vietnamese in a lorry in England during last summer had come from our little corner of the world.
My friends and I have started to report odd behaviour- at car washes and nail bars and mussel pickers along the shore, shivering, unable to speak English and with a man waiting for them in a flashy car.
I too want your vision of the world to be true Deborah- when enough of us do, hopefully things will change.
I’ve been thinking of the impact Brexit will have on your beautiful country Fil, and it saddens me to think that this is yet another heartbreak to deal with. Kudos to you and your friends for your diligence in watching for and reporting suspicious behavior of potential abuse.
May our visions of a kinder and more equitable world expand exponentially until it is held irrevocably and becomes our true reality.
Thank you Deborah, for bringing this to our attention in your blog. I am more than willing to have a ‘lecture’ from you on this issue. Although it’s the last day of January today, I would like to be aware of and be aware of ways of preventing human trafficking for the rest of the year as well.
I am sorry to read your family had to deal with this in your close family.
As mentioned in the comment of Fil here, the human trafficking that is going on at our land/sea borders here in Holland and on the coasts of Belgium and France is something that should be addressed -always. It’s a matter of our government, all our governments, within or outside of Europe!
Thanks for the spark of hope you give us, your blog readers. I will play my part!
The connections I have to people across the world like you Karin delights me. I love knowing there are bright lights and big hearts planted in various places across our beautiful Earth.
Today I was thinking about the Metta prayer “May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature. May all beings be free.” I think holding that forefront in our collective consciousness would make quick work of ending trafficking and exploitation. And I hope soon it will be true.
I also disseminate information about trafficking in my publication, and we’ve had a speaker come to share information, a lot of which many people are unaware. Of course, being where I live and where you are also, we’re in big hub areas. Thistle Farms is an organization I support: http://www.thistlefarms.org.
Thank you for sharing the link to Thistle Farms Carol. While I think it’s important to have enforced policy around the issue, I also believe we need to support those enterprises supporting the survivors of abuse.
Hi Deborah – yes … we do tend to wander away from the subject – I’m aware … but definitely don’t do enough to find out more or do something about it. I notice there are signs on the noticeboards and toilet doors re home-slavery … so it’s prevalent. I want to visit the Migration Museum in London … and do what I can down here to help others .. but have never got involved … it’s always on my mind though … and if I see something odd – I should obviously notify a relevant person. Thanks for highlighting this subject – Hilary
“None of us is free until we all are free” seems like it should be one of our driving forces of human society, and it’s heart-breaking we have such a great deal of work to implement it on so many fronts. But awareness is always the first step, and I’m hopeful with increased awareness comes increased focus and change.
The Migration Museum sounds like a fascinating place and I do hope you’ll post about it when you visit.