When I decided I wanted to pursue a story on human trafficking, I'll admit I didn’t know much about it. I saw a blurb written in an email that was sent to me by the Gage Foundation in Fayetteville. It read there would be a talk on human trafficking at the United Church of Fayetteville. I continued to scan the rest of the email, but my eyes kept going back to that one small paragraph, of which I had to scroll up to get.
Why is this topic important to Fayetteville? How does it effect people who live in suburbia?
I met with Elisa Morales from Vera House a couple weeks later. After spending just 10 minutes with her, I could sense her deep commitment to the cause; her drive to help these people living such devastating lives. I realized this topic is not about us. It’s about the victims who live through this hell. They’re fellow human beings; our brothers, our sisters. The question became simple: What can we as a community do to help?
As I listened to Elisa, my heart began to ache.
Human trafficking can happen anywhere – it even occurs here in Syracuse. The invisible people are right here, she said. They walk amongst us. They’re at our parks, they go to our malls. These victims are not trampled spirits, she told me. They’re broken spirits. The psychological abuse that comes with being a victim of trafficking is huge.
Unbearable. Statistics say that most victims of human trafficking commit suicide within two years of becoming enslaved.
Human trafficking occurs mainly with women and children, girls and boys. Inconceivably, Elisa said whenever there’s a natural disaster in the world, trafficking thrives. Think close to home: Hurricane Katrina, 9/11. Think distant: the 2008 cyclone that devastated Myanmar, the Dec. 26 2004 Sumatran tsunami. Traffickers watch what’s going on around the world, she said. They pose as someone who’s there to help, especially toward children: “I found your mother,” “Let me take you to your family.” The next thing you know, they’re trafficked; forced to do anything from hard labor to sexual services and everything in between.
To understand these words and situations that Elisa was describing to me, I felt it necessary to rent “Trade” with Kevin Kline. Everything she described now made sense. My own imagination couldn’t have taken me to the places flashed on the big screen. I had to see it to understand it. To feel it. To despise it.
Fortunately, federal and state laws are being enacted to help these people survive and escape. The make it easier for people who want to come forward. If they are willing to cooperate with law enforcement, they can hold the people who are doing this to them, accountable. There is a referral process they need to go through, but once they are deemed qualified, they can get the help they need. It’s a process, like anything else, and takes time. But eventually it leads to hope. Once victims of human trafficking learn there’s help out there, more and more may find the strength to seek it. That’s Elisa’s hope. That’s my hope.
If there’s anything you want to do to help, Elisa says talk to your legislator – they need to know this is happening right here where we live and we want to do something about it. Call them or write a letter. If this column moves, you please, do something for these people.
Also, there’s another, much easier way to help that we all can do: smile. A smile actually prompted one victim to get help and now she’s free, no longer a slave.
This girl, who was 18 years old at the time, had been walking in the mall when a stranger maintained eye contact with her and smiled. This girl had been a slave since she was 8 years old. She told Elisa it was the first time in her life she felt human. One smile. That’s all it took. You just never know the impact you're going to have on someone you don’t even know.
If you’re interested in learning more about this troubling topic, the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, the Fayetteville Free Library and Vera House will be sponsoring a series of events in March to further the community’s awareness of human trafficking.
From 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday March 2, there will be a book discussion and dialogue on “Sold” by Patricia McCormick. Participants are requested to read the book in order to take part in the discussion. Copies can be obtained through the Gage Foundation (637-9511), your local library or a bookstore.
From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday March 9, there will be a film viewing of “Trade,” and from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday March 16, a panel discussion on human trafficking in Central New York will be held between local experts and activists from Vera House, Hiscock Legal Aid Society, Farmworker Legal Services, Students Opposing Slavery and other organizations.
All three events are free, open to the public and will be held at the Fayetteville Free Library.
For more information, contact the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation at 637-9511 or at foundation@matildajoslyngage.org.
