Human Trafficking Essay | Teen Ink

Human Trafficking Essay

April 11, 2011
By marcelarodas7 BRONZE, Antigua Guatemala, Other
marcelarodas7 BRONZE, Antigua Guatemala, Other
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Slavery was abolished 150 years ago right? While it is true that slavery is illegal almost everywhere on earth, the FACT is that there are more slaves today that there ever were. -Robert Allan
 
I cannot speak from experience, and that is something I can only be thankful for. I cannot show you, for it is not in my power to do so. All I can do is speak in behalf of those incapable of speaking for themselves. They behold the true memories, the scars and the bruises, the beaten and abused bodies, but they cannot speak our language, they can no longer communicate because what I am trying to tell is truly unspeakable. I never believed in heaven nor hell, until the very day I realized where I was standing. I speak of hell, having always stood in heaven. I try to describe hell to those around me, but it is inconceivable, for we have spent our entire existence in heaven. I write this to understand, knowing neither I, nor the reader will ever understand.
 
My mother worked with various organizations, she taught me all about her work. At first I did not understand, I first I did not realize. I did not know what sex was, and much less the meaning of rape. As a kid, all I had to go with, was the idea that these girls, boys, and women, lost it all and never saw it again, and that I would always run that risk too, just like everyone else around me. As I grew older, I began to understand the seriousness of my mothers work, and the real horrors I never imagined possible. I questioned her, wanted to know all I could remember, never to forget its importance. I read books, watched movies, but what hit closest to home were the stories I heard my mother tell.
 
An alcoholic mother sold her four year old into the sex trade, she disappeared for a couple of years until she was finally rescued. Her mother did not care for her, barely noticed she was gone. A girl, kidnapped, prostituted and rescued, was then prostituted once more by her own parents. They claimed to deserve a little something after all the money they had invested in feeding and caring for her. A mother in the Nicaraguan border prostituting her nine year old until the age of eleven for less than fifty US cents a pop, and a pair of small boys sold into the sex trade for six US dollars. Some parents believe going into the sex trade is like going into the army, so they give away their children or sell them to strangers, some girls are tricked into it, they're told they would be perfect models or could earn money for their family as maids in the city. This is not restricted to third would countries, that is a myth. The sex trade is one of the three major businesses in the world, along with guns and drugs. It is as strong in Europe and the Unite States as it is in places like Nepal or India. Are people so uninformed about this, or do they just not care?
 
Most people don't know the meaning of the term Human Trafficking, or The Sex Trade. There are those that devote their time and money into environmental causes “going green,” they call it, those who do so for animal rights, those seeking the end of poverty, we see them all in the media, our T.V.'s and our radios, our news and our music. But who ever heard of sponsoring a victim of human trafficking, that broken and helpless young girl, she does not know about caring for the environment, or the dangers research animals go through, but no one even knows she exists and those who have the power to help are not informed on the subject. Who ever heard of volunteering at victim centers, to help little girls like her, little boys, and women of all ages. Who ever heard of the worst, volunteering to go into these brothels, as clients or as victims. Yes, there are women who do this, they give up all they have, and willfully put themselves through endless torture, because the thought of such hell ever existing on this earth is unbearable to them. And I wonder, why is it not as unbearable to the rest of us? These volunteers, these organizations and causes, we never see them on the T.V., we don't hear about the in the radio or the news, and we don't hear about it in our music. That is the reason why, this sheltered society we live in continues to turn its back on the 27 million victims that have lost the very first of their human rights, freedom.


The author's comments:
My mothers work regarding human trafficking has awakened within me a strong sense of perseverance on this matter.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 1 comment.


cathrine12 said...
on Jan. 14 2014 at 8:41 am
hi. good afternoon. i just want to ask permission from you, if its okay to use your article as one of my references because we're tackling about issues. I like your article and i find it substantive. i hope i could get positive response. thank ou.