When writing pieces about Africa, my research and interviews kept surfacing similar stories, but from different sources and different regions of Sudan.
This is the typology:
Followers of one religion approach a family from another religion and say, “Give us that child and don’t report it to anyone. Tell others the child went to live elsewhere with relatives. Then the rest of your children will be safe.” Rather than lose all of their children, the family gives up the one.
So, I called the US Department of State to report the practice. Through multiple call transfers, I somehow got in contact with one of the writers for the annual Country Report on Human Rights Practices. I told the person the pattern I had found. He said he was not surprised by the stories. This began to open my eyes.
According to the Global Slavery Index, today there are 50 million people who are slaves. There are 400,000 people in the US who are in forced labor. Among these are up to 50,000 women and children forced into prostitution.
The Biden Administration’s policies have given drug cartels operational control of the southern border of the US. No one crosses the border without permission from a cartel. This has opened up a second profit stream for the cartels—human trafficking. Since 2020, more than 4 million have paid cartels to smuggle them into the US illegally. Illegal immigrants being trafficked across the US border wear wrist bands indicating how much money they still owe the cartel. The cartels demand the men work for them to pay off the debt. For many of the women and children, the cartels force them into prostitution.
These people now owe the cartels. The unsecured border has surely drawn tens of thousands of illegal immigrants into slavery. The US is the #1 destination in the world for trafficked children. This horrific situation has to be stopped.
What about you? Do you care about these people? What can you do? There are things:
1. See the new movie based on a true story, “The Sound of Freedom” to open your eyes. The movie has the potential to draw enormous attention to the child trafficking tragedy.
2. One reason people aren’t aware of how widespread child prostitution has become is because the horrors are unspeakable and the topic does not lend itself to polite conversation. Use the movie as a transition to talk about slavery today.
3. Pray for enslaved children and all governments to do what needs to be done to find and free them.
4. Look up non-profits that combat human trafficking. Find one that has a mission that resonates with you. Check Charity Navigator to find out ones that are legitimate. Give money and/or volunteer.
5. Below are some ways to recognize victims of Human Trafficking. When you have suspicions, report to law enforcement:
-They act submissive and fearful.
-They can’t speak to anyone alone.
-They show signs of physical abuse.
-They live with their employer.
-The employer holds their IDs.
-You observe too many people living in too small a space.
6. In the next elections don’t vote for anyone who doesn’t advocate for securing the US’s southern border and ending the cartels’ control of it.
References:
https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/cartels-making-13-billion-a-year-off-smuggling-migrants-through-border-nyt-report-says-mexio-immigrants-coyote-texas
https://www.state.gov.reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report
More writing at https://rethink1.substack.com
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