Recently during a conversation regarding human trafficking, someone made that statement. That statement resonated with me and it truly is why I fight for victims and survivors of human trafficking. This month of January, we have tried to bring awareness to human trafficking and how it looks in the neighborhoods we live in. Human trafficking exists everywhere, it often is right there in your view, hiding in plain sight, because we overlook obvious signs and symptoms. Why is that? The statement…”tragedy fuels a movement”, might be a reason! Is human trafficking a tragedy to you?
In the spring of 2020, the world witnessed the tragic death of George Floyd right before our eyes, and it shook our nation and the world to its core. That tragedy fueled passion. That tragedy fueled action. Why does it have to take tragedy to fuel us to do something? Are we so complacent and blind to the atrocities that surround us?
Personally, I want to do something before the tragedy! There are too many victims and survivors of human trafficking. Many of us don’t think of them as daughters or sons, we too often brush off the term human trafficking because it hasn’t personally affected our immediate family. What if that daughter or son, who has suffered at the hands of an abuser, violent exploitation, was your daughter? Was your son. Would that fuel your passion?
From our experience at Xquisite, victims and survivors we have served, began to be exploited at very early ages, some as young as three years old, some eight to ten years old. When you have experienced such severe trauma so young, your life becomes vulnerable to traffickers and abusers. That is a tragedy!
The thought of someone’s daughter or son being sold over and over, day after day because a human body is a resale-able commodity just for someone to profit exponentially, should fuel a movement! Everyday, there is exploitation happening all around you, would you know what to look for? Xquisite is committed to be that resource and a place for victims and survivors to find freedom. We are dedicated to empower their voice to be unstoppable and to place value and purpose within the strength that we see in each of them. The courage and confidence they were destined to be, can be realized when we walk alongside their journey to freedom.
What will it take for us as a society to be fueled to action against the atrocities of human trafficking? Do we have to wait for another tragic death for us to be moved? Does another victim need to suffer at the hands of a trafficker or abuser all alone until they die before we are moved?
We have brought awareness to human trafficking this month and across the nation and the world, we say it’s not ok and it should be stopped. We can wear blue, share stories and stats, pat ourselves on the back for being aware, but do we really have the passion to action and be a part of a movement that is bigger than ourselves? “Money talks” - traffickers make more money on the sale of our sons and daughters than the mega sports teams combined. The sale of drugs makes money but, drugs can only be sold once. A vulnerable youth or adult with a lifetime of violence can be sold until their bodies give out and they are discarded as trash. The sale of a human being, that money talks! The sale of a human being is a tragedy, can that fact alone cause you to a place of passionate action. Tragedy fuels a movement, with this knowledge can the tragedy of human trafficking fuel you? We should not rest or wait until someone dies for it to get our attention, because there are millions dying every day. Xquisite is committed to the movement and you can join our fight to end the tragedy, perhaps our passion can save a daughter or son, allowing a victim or survivor to no longer have to suffer in silence.
The tragedy is already happening, let’s fuel a movement to stop human trafficking.