Fighting against human trafficking has become a burning passion for me.
Unearthing the sordid underbelly of these criminal enterprises in Albania and the UK, all while desperately searching for Angelica, left me utterly shaken. I had no inkling that trafficking is the paramount issue haunting our world today.
Trafficking thrives in the shadows, shrouded in silence. It’s a grim secret nobody wants to confront, not even the survivors themselves, gripped by fear. The full extent of this tragedy remains largely veiled.
Yet, there is one aspect of this endeavor that I deeply respect former President Trump for. From the onset of his term, he recognized that trafficking is an immense crisis, perhaps kindled by Ivanka Trump’s depiction of it as “an ugly stain on civilization.”
Since 2017, President Trump signed two executive orders and six bills targeting human trafficking:
- Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017: This act amended existing legislation and established penalties for promoting or facilitating sex trafficking online.
- Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017: This act raised the statute of limitations on human trafficking offenses to 10 years.
- Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017: This act amended several laws, authorized funds, and various federal agencies to combat human trafficking.
- Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act: This act coordinated Department of Homeland Security efforts against human trafficking.
- SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2018: This Health and Human Services program trained healthcare providers in recognizing and providing care to potential victims of human trafficking.
- Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act: This act coordinated human trafficking prevention efforts across the Department of Transportation.
- No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act: This act directed the Department of Transportation to disqualify a person from operating a commercial vehicle for life if their vehicle was used to traffic humans.
- Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017: This act reauthorized the Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund through 2023 and established additional anti-human trafficking measures across federal agencies.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that President George W. Bush signed H.R. 972, the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act of 2005, which enabled the tracking of paedophiles and traffickers who left the US and facilitated their prosecution.
Despite these efforts, there is consensus that more needs to be done, as human trafficking remains a significant and pervasive issue, casting a shadow over society.
Why is trafficking such a good business?
Human trafficking is a profitable criminal enterprise due to several factors that distinguish it from other illicit activities, such as the sale of drugs and guns. These factors include:
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Recurring Revenue: Unlike the one-time sale of drugs or guns, human trafficking can yield a continuous income stream. Victims, particularly women and children, can be exploited repeatedly, often multiple times per day, day after day, month after month, and year after year. This ongoing exploitation generates substantial profits for traffickers.
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High Demand: There is a significant and persistent demand for trafficking victims, especially in the context of sexual exploitation. This demand fuels the trafficking industry, as it provides a consistent market for traffickers to exploit.
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Vulnerability of Victims: Traffickers prey on vulnerable individuals, including those in dire economic situations, runaways, refugees, and those lacking social support structures. These victims are less likely to seek help or escape their traffickers, making them more profitable for the criminals involved.
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Low Risk: Human trafficking is often a low-risk criminal activity. In some cases, weak law enforcement, corruption, and a lack of awareness can allow traffickers to operate with impunity. Victims may also fear reporting their situation due to threats, coercion, or social stigma.
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Diverse Recruitment Methods: Traffickers employ various methods to recruit victims, such as luring through deception, kidnapping, using dating sites and social media, fake job offers, and exploiting homeless or orphaned children. These tactics make it easier for traffickers to find and exploit potential victims.
It is important to note that human trafficking encompasses various forms, including labor exploitation, forced marriages, sexual exploitation, and organ trafficking. While estimates suggest millions of individuals are victims of human trafficking globally, precise numbers are difficult to ascertain due to the clandestine and covert nature of the trade.
Efforts are being made by international organizations, governments, and NGOs to combat human trafficking and raise awareness about this issue. Nonetheless, it remains a significant challenge in addressing modern-day slavery and exploitation.
Human trafficking thrives because it preys upon the most vulnerable among us, exploiting their innocence and desperation in the cruelest of ways.
In a world where the sale of guns and drugs has its limits, where transactions happen once and are done, women and children are treated as commodities, sold not just once, but repeatedly – ten times a day, day after day, month after month, and year after year. It’s a heartbreaking reality that stains our humanity.
Modern-day slavery shrouds millions in its darkness, yet the true extent of this horror remains hidden from our view. The International Labour Organization estimates that 25 million people are trapped in labor exploitation, while 15.4 million endure forced marriages. And among them, 152 million innocent children are forced into labor, their childhoods stolen away.
Even more disturbing is the silence around sexual exploitation. Numbers are elusive, but it’s evident that women and children are sold like commodities, their bodies violated and their souls shattered. The trade extends to the unthinkable – organ trafficking, where prices can reach as high as $150,000. In the depths of this horror, China is suspected of harvesting organs from prisoners, targeting ethnic and religious minorities, leaving lives destroyed in their wake.
How are women and children lured?
The methods of luring victims are as varied as they are sinister. Young female travelers, full of dreams and aspirations, are lured by charming strangers into a nightmare they cannot escape. Children, the epitome of innocence, are snatched from their parents in crowded places, stolen away in a moment of distraction. The digital world, meant to connect us, becomes a hunting ground, where predators exploit dating sites and social media to win trust, sedate women, and deliver them to despicable ‘secure’ locations. Fake job offers dangle false hopes, leading people into traps they never suspected. Even the most vulnerable – homeless children – are not spared, disappearing into the abyss without a trace. Orphanages, institutions meant to protect the helpless, become part of this heinous trade. In poverty-stricken corners of the world, the trafficker could be anyone – a trusted uncle, a brother-in-law, a neighbor. The very people meant to offer protection become perpetrators, and women, too, can be found among those who betray their own kind.
This heartbreaking reality reminds us of the depths of human depravity, casting a shadow over our collective conscience. It’s a reminder that the fight against trafficking is not just a battle against criminals but a fight for the very soul of humanity.
Who are the traffickers?
The world of human traffickers is a dark and sinister realm, where various roles play out in a heart-wrenching and devastating human tragedy.
Among them, we find the “snatchers” – cunning and ruthless individuals who specialize in spotting vulnerable victims and skillfully luring them into the clutches of despair.
Then there are the “guards,” stationed in so-called ‘safe houses,’ but the irony of the term is lost as they are places of torment. Armed and merciless, they receive women and children, subjecting them to brutal beatings and horrifying acts of violation, aimed at nothing more than humiliation.
“Organizers” scheme and plot, orchestrating the heart-wrenching journeys of these innocent souls. They plan the routes, manipulate officials through bribes, and execute the sinister logistics of this twisted trade.
Sometimes, lurking in the shadows, is a top-level executive, orchestrating a well-organized, heinous business. It is at this pinnacle where much of the illicit wealth accumulates, built on the suffering of countless victims.
What makes this even more chilling is how close these malevolent actors can be. In impoverished nations, it could be your own flesh and blood, a trusted teacher, or even a neighbor. Women and children, lured or outright kidnapped, are forced into this nightmare. In places like Thailand, parents, driven by desperation, may even sell their own children to survive. The shocking truth is that 93% of sexually abused children know their perpetrators, with one-third of them being betrayed by their own family members. The darkness of human trafficking often resides closer than we’d ever dare to imagine.
Who are the customers?
The question of who the customers are is a haunting one, revealing a chilling reality that extends its sinister tendrils across society.
In the United States, the staggering figure of nearly 800,000 registered sex offenders casts a grim shadow over the land. It’s a somber truth that 3-5% of adult men in the U.S. harbor dark desires that lead them down the path of pedophilia. And while the numbers for women involved in such heinous acts were once believed to be lower, they have risen alarmingly, possibly nearing the same disturbing figures as men.
To truly grasp the enormity of this crisis, we must consider that there are approximately 130 million adult men and 130 million adult women in the United States. If, by the cruel hand of statistics, 4% of them are pedophiles or sexual molesters, we are left with a staggering 6.6 million individuals carrying this dreadful burden. Yet, the harsh reality is that only a fraction, around 800,000, ever face the consequences of their actions.
What’s even more chilling is that many of them blend seamlessly into the fabric of ‘normal’ society, hidden in plain sight. The chilling truth goes deeper, seeping into the very heart of our government. This is where the problem takes a monstrous turn, as they provide cover for one another, wielding their financial power to evade prosecution. They are ubiquitous, lurking in the shadows, casting a pall over every corner of our world.
Internet auctions
The internet auctions we encounter in the shadowy depths of the Deep Dark Web are a harrowing testament to the depths of human depravity.
Within these sinister digital marketplaces, the unimaginable becomes reality as women and children are offered up for sale. It’s a disturbing commerce, where the value of human lives is measured in dollars.
The price tags on these innocent souls are nothing short of soul-crushing, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. However, the most agonizing and revolting of all is the sale of virgins, where their purity is auctioned off for a staggering $500,000, as if innocence could be bought and sold like a mere commodity.
What follows is an even darker abyss – the trade in child molestation. Here, for $25,000, you can purchase a child aged from mere months to 13 years and do with them as you please. These young lives, tender and fragile, are reduced to objects of torment in this grim marketplace.
Worse yet, the horrors do not end there. In this digital abyss, unspeakable acts can be commissioned, from molestation to murder, all orchestrated by those with sick and twisted minds.
In the United States, the statistics paint a heart-wrenching picture of the widespread suffering inflicted upon our children. One in five girls and one in twenty boys fall prey to the agony of child sexual abuse. A devastating 28% of those aged between 14 and 17 endure sexual victimization. These facts are a stark reminder of the urgent need to confront and eradicate such monstrous evils.
Causes for trafficking
It’s in the depths of our humanity that we must confront our own shame, for there’s a long, arduous journey ahead for us as a species. To bring an end to the horrors of trafficking, we must first cast a critical gaze on the root of it all – the demand.
Poverty
In a just world, poverty wouldn’t drive desperate acts, but the truth is quite simple. If everyone had enough to thrive, if wealth were shared rather than hoarded, crime wouldn’t find fertile ground to take root. The painful reality is that the concentration of wealth into a few hands leaves countless with nothing, sowing the seeds of division. Money is a precious resource, not a limitless tree. Our monetary system isn’t benevolent; it’s a set of rules allowing some to legally strip others of their hard-earned wealth.
But eradicating poverty won’t by itself extinguish the darkness of pedophilia. It can not alone put an end to trafficking, but the roots of this sinister program run much deeper. As my sister Celestine would tell you, pedophilia is just one program etched into certain minds among millions of others. The most important truth is this: It can be reprogrammed. Pedophilia often stems from a tragic psychological inheritance, passed down from parents who were themselves victims of abuse.
People may argue that it can’t be cured, but I believe the crux of the issue is a willingness to change. Fear, fear of venturing into the unknown, is a formidable obstacle. It raises the age-old question, “Who am I if I am not the one I think I am?” Yet, the reality is this: Change is our constant companion. We evolve, day by day.
I know firsthand, having stared death in the eyes and walked away, that we can change. We aren’t born as predators; that’s a program etched into our young minds. And the beautiful truth is that it can be unlearned, just like any other skill or belief. We can change, we already do. Those who argue otherwise aren’t tethered to the ever-shifting reality of life. We transform, some slowly, others swiftly, but change is our essence. It’s time to confront our inner demons and become the architects of a better, brighter world.
Legal Prostitution
Yeah! You read that right!
Legal prostitution causes trafficking!!!!
You can say what the fuck you want about prostitution! I am basically not against it, BUT because prostitution is legal women get trafficked all over the world.
It is as simple as that!
No demand for hookers = no trafficking!
So, let’s teach men how to have honest and FREE relationships instead!
