Human Trafficking

Recently my friends and I were talking about human trafficking, especially of young girls. Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, where people are bought and sold for the purpose of forced labor or sexual exploitation. We were all upset about this abominable situation and wondered how this sort of thing can continue to happen in this day and age. Mostly we had heard about human trafficking being a problem in third world countries. One of my friends said: “You would think these communities would be ashamed and outraged by this practice and would do something about it!”

Desperate people who live in poorer countries do not have the luxury of indignation. They might need to focus all their energy to protect their own children from danger and violence. My friends and I are in a different situation. We are middle-class, U.S. citizens, who are able to fend for ourselves and take care of our families. We have a voice, we have rights, and thus we have power. We have the luxury of righteous indignation.

“In the U.S., human trafficking tends to occur around international travel-hubs with large immigrant populations, notably California and Texas. The U.S. Justice Department estimates that 17,500 people are trafficked into the country every year, but the true figure could be higher, because of the large numbers of undocumented immigrants. About 300,000 children are believed to be currently at risk from sexual exploitation.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_the_United_States)

Human trafficking hot spots in the U.S. include—strip clubs, brothels, nail salons, massage parlors, truck stops, meat packing plants, agricultural centers, and domestic service operations. Transportation of sex slaves spikes during popular events such as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. 

So how come there isn’t more of a moral outrage about human trafficking within our own country? Why are our churches not sending volunteers to these hubs of activity-- big cities, festivals, sporting events, truck stops, meat-packing plants, and agricultural centers using migrant workers? We have more power and influence to actually change things here in this country. We speak the language, we have rights, we have power, and we have the luxury of moral indignation.