We have only begun to scratch the surface in the fight against human trafficking. If there were only one soul still being trafficked, our fight against this atrocity would continue, but the ugly truth is that there are millions. We have much more work remaining.
This book is a resource to help regular citizens understand what human trafficking is, how to recognize it, and what to do if they see it. Human trafficking exists in every state and nearly every city. If you look hard enough, you’ll even find it in our nation’s small towns and in the countryside. In short, it’s in our backyard. And we can all help stop this atrocity.
I live in a beautiful rural area. Our region consists of small, sleepy western towns, cities, and farming communities, with some of the seemingly safest streets in the country. Tourism abounds here, with 315 days of sunshine a year, wide-open spaces, rivers, lakes, mountains, and air that smells so good it should be bottled. Not surprisingly, this area attracts conventions and other gatherings, as well as wealthy (some very wealthy) individuals looking for upscale and resort living. If human trafficking can happen in my hometown, it can and does happen anywhere. No community is immune.
I began to study human trafficking while working on my master’s degree in 2005. The stories I uncovered were the most tragic I had ever known. “What can I do?” I asked. The answer that came surprised me: “Write a book about human trafficking.”
I had never written a book before—my gifts seemed to be in teaching, training, networking, motivating, and caring deeply about individuals. Doing those things came easily to me. By contrast, writing this book was very difficult. I felt I was being asked to do something not impossible but well out of my comfort zone.
My hope is that this book will help save some child, some young woman, some young man, as it encourages all of us to love as we would want to be loved in this fight against human trafficking and beyond. I’ve written stories I’ve seen and heard, stories that have broken my heart and, I suspect, will break yours as well.
It certainly broke my heart when I learned about what was happening in other places around the globe. But when I understood what was happening here in America, in this country where I live and which I dearly love, I knew this is where I was called to make a difference. I have lived my entire life here and never realized until 2006 that slavery still exists on US soil. I had to do something.
What do I have to offer the victims and survivors of modern slavery? While I’m often described as an expert on this subject, I am still learning every day. My best teachers, and the ones I respect beyond words, are those who have survived and are surviving this atrocity.
None of us can be all things to all people. I wouldn’t last long kicking down brothel doors and grabbing pimps by the back of the neck with a “Listen here, young man!” But most of us can tell people about human trafficking, sit with a victim and listen to him or her, guide victims to services to help in their recovery, work to improve legislation, call the authorities when we see something that looks suspiciously like human trafficking, and network with anti-trafficking organizations and agencies. By doing these things, we can take a stand and might even save lives in our own community.
This book is not intended to be an all-inclusive look at modern slavery in the United States, but rather a sampling to inspire you to uncover more truths about this outrage for yourself. Although I mention the work of many organizations, I have intentionally not endorsed specific anti-trafficking organizations. Instead, once you realize how pervasive this tragedy of human trafficking is, I encourage you to get behind one or more of the many anti-trafficking groups, especially in your own backyard, and support it as a volunteer or by financial donations.
I must admit I hesitated to share some reports of victims’ experiences that are so horrific I feared you might be tempted to doubt them. But to give you the full scope of what’s really happening in our country, I have included a number of them anyway. Unfortunately, the truth is sometimes worse than what you might imagine.