Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in that action.
—Mother Teresa
The problem of human trafficking can seem as overwhelming as it is grim. But there are those who are working to change this situation, some in paid positions and some volunteering their time and even their own money. Each one brings something incredibly valuable to this fight. In this last chapter, I want to share some stories of hope and courage, stories of those who have chosen to transform small ideas to actions that are making a big difference.
Protecting Communities against Slavery
In November 2008, during my trip to India, I learned that some villages that had been completely enslaved prior to the intervention of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) had not only been freed, but had actually been effectively protected against future trafficking.
In this village-by-village antislavery operation, first schools are formed and children are educated. Then antislavery activists begin to work with the women in the community, followed by the men. Once the women and men are on board—with a new understanding about what slavery is and that citizens have rights, and possibly even recognizing they had been enslaved—the villagers begin to come together as a community. They have meetings to discuss slavery, as well as what to do if the traffickers come and how to protect one another from trafficking.
At some point, the village becomes immune to human trafficking. The community awareness and determination to keep slavery out makes it undesirable for traffickers, especially since the chance of them succeeding in their criminal activities in the midst of all the awareness is low and they face the possibility of prosecution. So, as one local declared, “The traffickers don’t come here anymore.” We can with confidence label that village slave-proofed.
We can wage a similar campaign here in America. When the level of awareness becomes so high that entire communities stand together against trafficking, that is the beginning of being slave-proofed. At that point, safety and services are provided to help those who have been trafficked and to prevent others from being trafficked. Law enforcement and prosecutors successfully prosecute traffickers to the full extent of the law. When these things happen, it makes that place undesirable for traffickers, so they leave the region to go where trafficking is more profitable. I like to say, at that point, those communities have made it hard to be a trafficker. In everything I do, I want to make it hard to be a trafficker!
We have begun that process in the community where I live, and the entire area is starting to become aware. Once people realize that slavery exists here in the United States and that it’s in our communities, I find that people want to be on board. They want to help fight slavery. Tips about possible trafficking activities begin to flow in. Law enforcement officers follow up on those reports, once they too become more aware, and work to stop this crime.
Change like this, however, does not happen overnight. There have been times when I have worked successfully with an entire agency for years, only to have the leadership change and the new leadership be busy with other priorities besides anti-trafficking efforts. It takes time, patience, consistent work, and the ability to bite your tongue when someone doesn’t accept your message. Sometimes when a door closes, it takes time and many efforts to coax that door open again. This is a battle where we often take two steps forward and one or two steps back. The point is that we must keep trying because the lives of children and others in our communities depend on it.
It is a very uncomfortable self-assessment as we begin to understand our part in this—how we unknowingly participate or react when we see human trafficking. It’s more comfortable to try to keep that “slavery dust” from getting on us instead of getting involved, says Lou de Baca, US Ambassador-at-Large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.1 But if we all link arms, putting aside different political or religious beliefs, and join together in the shared hope of stopping modern slavery in our lifetime, we can win this immensely important fight.
Many people are doing tremendous things. In law enforcement, one of those stars is Keith Bickford.
Keith is a big guy with a big heart. He’s a Multnomah County deputy sheriff and a deputized Special US Marshal charged with investigating and bringing justice to cases of human trafficking throughout the state of Oregon. He’s also the founder and leader of Oregonians against Trafficking Humans, the same organization for which I lead the Central Oregon contingency.
However, there’s more to the man than his credentials. Some people do their jobs and do them well. Bickford certainly does his best to bring justice to human traffickers to the fullest extent of the law. But he goes beyond that. He cares so deeply about stopping human trafficking that it’s as though his heart beats to do the work. He does everything within his power and within the law to rescue victims and sees to it that they receive services to which they’re entitled.
When I asked Keith about his greatest victories, he pointed to a case where a victim was freed from the horrific farm labor slavery in which he was trapped. He received the surgeries, follow-up medical care, and counseling he needed to recover from the damage his captors had inflicted on him. The perpetrators, however, were never charged or convicted. “To me, that doesn’t seem like a very big win,” Bickford says. “But every time I see the victim, he thanks me for saving his life, so I guess that’s okay. I’ll take it.”2
Bickford not only helps human trafficking victims directly, he helps them by sharing his expertise with other agencies. When I was contacted to help our first trafficking victim in Bend, Oregon, we contacted Bickford. He gave us numbers to call for services to help her, tips about pitfalls we might encounter in the process, and the correct connections for law enforcement and legal counsel. In short, he patiently and carefully walked us through every step along the way. Each day when I called, he inquired about how the victim was doing. Even though he had never met her, he obviously cared about her as a person.
Bickford doesn’t just devote his energies to fighting trafficking one perpetrator—or one victim—at a time. He also trains and engages law enforcement and community agencies, and he has done a tremendous amount of work to help make the dream of more shelter beds for underage sex-trafficking victims available. I’ve often said that Bickford’s biggest risk is that his heart is as big as all outdoors. He is a man whose life is like a rock dropping in the water, with all the ripples representing many saved lives and many new forces engaged in the fight against human trafficking.
But we can’t rely on just law enforcement, government, social services, and large nonprofits. Shortly after I began doing anti–human trafficking work, my friend Sherry, who lives in a city six hours away, contacted me. She had just read my book and was deeply saddened to learn about the extent of human trafficking here in our country. She was aghast at her newfound knowledge. “If I was so unaware that this is happening everywhere, then so are many other Americans.” As she began making suggestions to raise awareness, I asked her if she would be willing to help by doing that in my organization, In Our Backyard. Sherry didn’t feel like she had the knowledge to contribute as much as she would like, but she had a willing heart. She has an especially tender heart and didn’t feel that she could work on the front lines as I do, but she would do what she could to support my work.
I had known Sherry for thirty years at that point and knew she was smart and had deep character and that if she committed to something, she would do it well. I also knew she had excellent professional experience, having recently retired as a vice president program and project manager of a large bank. I knew that even from six hours away, she could effectively do administrative work.
She accepted the challenge, and that was five years ago. Today, she is an invaluable asset to my work. I often think I couldn’t do all the things I do without her. Not only is she doing executive-level administration, but she is a confidante, a sounding board, and someone who does organizational tasks for me that are far beyond my capabilities. Sherry has never had to experience the front lines, but she makes a big difference on those front lines across the nation as she works on her computer and phone at home. Sherry is also one of my heroes.
In the end, it’s up to us as individuals to challenge this heinous crime taking place in our backyards. We can each invest our talents and life circumstances to join the fight. While the work can be difficult at times, when we see progress and life-saving opportunities, it is worth every late night and every challenging moment. I often say, “If it was my child who was out there, I’d want others doing everything they could to help her.” Every victim or potential victim is someone’s daughter, son, brother, sister, friend, or loved one. They deserve our help.
We have made great progress. Before the year 2000, human trafficking wasn’t even a crime in the United States. These crimes were prosecuted under other statutes, such as forced prostitution or indentured servitude. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 has been updated multiple times, and state laws are constantly improving.
When I first began studying and doing human trafficking work in 2006, if I mentioned the words “human trafficking,” the majority of people did not even understand the meaning of that term. Today, Americans have woken up to not only know what human trafficking is, but to the reality that human trafficking is not just something that happens in other countries. People know it happens here and are beginning to do something about it.
Evidence of this comes from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which reports that between 2008 and 2012 calls to the hotline increased 259 percent. Between 2007 and 2012 they responded to 5,932 cases of sex trafficking and 2,027 cases of labor trafficking.3
Thousands of anti–human trafficking organizations have been formed across America. Even in small jurisdictions, most law enforcement and prosecutors have a designated person whose caseload includes human trafficking cases. Midsize to large cities generally have multiple salaried positions designated for anti–human trafficking work.
Prevention is a huge part of this work. Having spent time with many survivors, I always come away saying that I would much rather have prevented the trafficking and torture from ever happening in the first place than seeing what victims have to go through to find healing and peace.
We have made progress, and if you have been working to raise awareness, you are a part of that progress. Many have been rescued from lives of pain and torture, and many more prevented from ever falling into this horrible atrocity.
The question I am most often asked is, “What can I do to help stop trafficking?” Although I have written numerous ideas in this book, I would like to answer that question with one final, remarkable story.
Lyn Thompson4, the mother of four beautiful grown daughters, had a passion for justice. In 2007 she and her daughters learned about modern slavery by reading a book titled Not for Sale. They are a family who puts actions behind their outrage, so Lyn, her four daughters, and another friend had a conference call, stretching across the nation in different states to determine, “What shall we do?”
Sometimes we must come up with audacious goals to get things done. By the end of their call, they had certainly done that. Kylla Lanier, one of Thompson’s daughters, told me, “We decided that our mission would be to end human exploitation worldwide.” Seriously.
Their next step was to turn their good intentions into concrete action. Two of the women cofounded an anti–human trafficking coalition in Oklahoma, and another put together a human trafficking awareness conference in Denver involving many of the major anti-trafficking nonprofits.
It was during one of those breakout sessions at that October 2008 conference that Kylla heard something that seemed large but doable. The trainer, Phil Gazley, said he was trying to organize gas station workers and attendants to be aware of trafficking and to know how to be part of the solution.
Later, as she met with her family and others who were involved in their new endeavor, Lyn told about growing up as the daughter of motel owners in El Paso, Texas. She remembered many of their clients were truckers whom Lyn remembered as nice guys. “If you got the truckers looking out for victims and trained them on the signs of potential trafficking and empowered them with a response, that would be a big help.” That idea is what launched what is now often referred to as TAT—Truckers Against Trafficking.
Although they initially knew no one in the trucking business, didn’t know the lingo, and didn’t really know the industry, they searched until they found someone who could help them navigate this new territory. They spent the next season learning about the trucking industry, learning more about human trafficking, and getting their mission statement out there about how they wanted to help.
Funding is a major issue for nearly every nonprofit, but they each saved their money and contributed to the work as they could to help the success of their new nonprofit. After all, if they were going to end human exploitation, it would cost everyone, and they were willing to start with their own pocketbooks. They began looking for opportunities to educate the trucking industry about human trafficking and about how each trucker could be a part of the solution to stop trafficking and find help for victims.
Not only did it cost these courageous and committed founders money to start this organization, but it also cost a tremendous amount of time, including lost sleep and giving up other things they used to enjoy. When I asked about the costs, Kylla, who is now TAT’s deputy director, noted, “It even costs you a little bit of your heart.” She explained that if people get stuck in sympathy they can crash and burn. But if that sympathy is converted to empathy, which moves a person’s pain, anger, sadness, and rage into action at the injustice of it all, then it can truly help stop trafficking. “You can read something or watch something and do nothing, but you’ve got to move it to the next stage and do something.”
After partnering with the anti-trafficking organization iEmpathize, which combats human trafficking through arts and media, TAT’s training video was produced. The video opened many doors for TAT within the trucking industry as industry executives and truckers alike were moved to action after watching it.
When executives of the national travel plaza chain TA/Petro watched the video, they immediately initiated TAT training for thousands of their employees. They have continued to partner with TAT in the fight against human trafficking by sending their general managers to TAT’s coalition-building conferences, which bring together law enforcement and members of the trucking industry for a half day of training to further close loopholes to traffickers.
Likewise, the Ryder trucking company implemented TAT training for all twenty-four thousand of their employees. They also promote TAT at their events and use their influence within the trucking industry to raise awareness and encourage other businesses to train their employees and contribute to TAT’s cause.
Kendis Paris, TAT’s executive director, notes, “Human trafficking happens at every level of society. You see it in a myriad of venues and industries. It is notable how the trucking industry has refused to turn a blind eye to this crime, and has taken a strong stand against it.”
And the proof of the trucking industry’s embracing of TAT’s mission is evident in the number of calls to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline. In 2007 when the NHTRC began, they received three calls from truckers. In 2013, they received over three hundred calls from truckers. In 2014 the number has continued to grow. Nicole Moler, director of the NHTRC, said,
Truckers are now one of the most motivated and well-organized industry groups working on this issue, and their reports have led to countless arrests and recoveries of victims across the country. TAT has been instrumental in creating a community of activists who are speaking out against human trafficking and directly impacting the lives of victims. TAT is a leader in the fight against human trafficking, and we regularly cite their work as an example for other industries to follow. I have no doubt that their work has and will continue to transform our ability to fight human trafficking, and we are proud to partner with them in their efforts to eliminate human trafficking and modern-day slavery.5
One such success story comes from TAT’s first Harriet Tubman Award recipient, Tracy Mullins. Tracy is a general manager of the Petro Stopping Center in Spokane, Washington. She is a Spokane resident and a fourteen-year veteran of the transportation industry. She credits the TAT training required of all employees/managers of TravelCenters of America with playing a pivotal role in her awareness of “something that could be wrong.”
In relating the incident that earned her the award, Tracy recounted that she was walking into a restaurant near her travel plaza to talk to the manager. She noticed two young girls sitting with an older man. “Not that the situation was odd,” she said, “but the man looked as if something could be wrong. I positioned myself close enough to the table to hear the young girls ask for a ride to Seattle. At this point, the images of all the young girls from the training video were going through my mind.” She approached the table and asked the girls if everything was okay. “One of the girls told me the man was her uncle. The man seemed very uncomfortable and removed himself from the situation. The young girls then asked other drivers for a ride.”
Tracy realized there was a problem and notified law enforcement. The girls turned out to be runaways from a neighboring state with only five dollars between them. She stated, “This is a very special award for me, because, as a mother, I know we helped two young girls not become a statistic that day.”
There were challenges, as there are with any endeavor at any level of society, but TAT has stuck to their mission to educate, equip, empower, and mobilize the trucking industry to recognize the signs of human trafficking and combat it. TAT’s social media platform has been a great conduit for honest conversations and dialogue on more controversial issues surrounding the anti-trafficking message.
“It has been really rewarding seeing the trucking industry’s depth of understanding develop on the issue of human trafficking. As so many truckers have stated on our Facebook page or through tweets, they don’t care what gender, race, age, or nationality a victim is; if they are a victim, they want them recovered and helped. It is thrilling to see drivers educating fellow drivers about the truths of prostitution, pornography, and how they intertwine with human trafficking,” Kylla shared.
She hears of truckers who once believed the women in prostitution were criminals, but now buy them a cup of coffee, give potential victims a TAT wallet card, and tell them there is hope. They treat them with compassion and respect, telling them there are “people who will care about you and help you out of this life if you ever want out.” Survivors have told TAT they wish such aware truckers had been out there when they were being trafficked and have pledged to help TAT in any way they can.
TAT’s founders suggest that people who want to assist in this fight against trafficking learn and keep learning so they have a complete analysis of the problem and can seek viable solutions. Along with that, people should look for opportunities to help an already existing nonprofit according to their own personality, skill set, and time. As one learns more about human trafficking, areas of tremendous need are uncovered, which then offers the opportunity to begin to step out into meeting those needs. TAT would love to see nationwide efforts to partner with the taxi, bus, train, and shipping industries. “If groups could take on one segment of the transportation industry, learn about it, and fully engage them in the fight against human trafficking, we could cripple many networks and modes of transportation that traffickers use to exploit their victims. We would love to see that happen,” Kylla said.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
In the end, it is about putting action behind the emotions and the talk. The trucking industry and TAT have done just that. TAT has begun to see changes in the trucking industry’s culture around the issue of trafficking and prostitution. What originally seemed like an audacious mission has made a huge difference. TAT and truckers are making it difficult to be a trafficker in places that traffickers once viewed as lucrative.
This wonderfully daring group of courageous and hardworking women has made a huge difference by making trafficking at truck stops much more difficult for perpetrators. Indeed, they are heroes in the anti-trafficking movement, and TAT’s work is a shining example of engaging an industry as a partner in this fight against human trafficking. Well done, TAT!
There are many things I like about TAT’s story. First, they didn’t lose sight of the prize they were seeking—justice. They all chipped in with money and hard work, both on the days they felt like it and on the days they didn’t, and they kept going. They weren’t afraid to dream big, and they kept marching forward even when the naysayers said it couldn’t or shouldn’t be done. They have linked arms with other abolitionist groups with similar hearts. But fundamentally, the thing I like about TAT’s story is that they were practical enough to find one industry, learn that industry, embrace that industry, and link arms with them to stop trafficking.
Since this is the last chapter in this book, I suspect you may be asking yourself what you personally can do to stop human trafficking. If you are up for something big, it will cost you time, money, sleep, and maybe more. (I know, the glamour in this idea just exited.) Might I suggest thinking of an industry you are familiar with that could make a difference in anti-trafficking? One idea might be beauty salons. Sex-trafficking victims are often “treated” to having their nails or hair done or are taken to tanning salons. Other industries might be hotels/motels, restaurants, shoe stores, convenience stores, and other retail businesses. For labor trafficking, one might target canneries, wineries, hotels/motels, housekeeping services, real estate or rental companies, plumbers, electricians, and mail or package carriers. While not all of these industries are trafficking humans, they may come in contact with other businesses or make business calls at homes where they might spot victims.
Truly, the list is endless. Ordinary citizens can find themselves in contact with victims of human trafficking anyplace a victim could be performing labor trafficking, such as restaurants, farming, or even in our neighborhoods. Sex-trafficked individuals are taken by their traffickers to hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and any number of places. Individuals or entire industries can be responsible for the saving of many lives, as the trucking industry has been and continues to be.
The fight to free about 27 million people living in slavery6—from nearly every nation and territory on earth—seems like a truly impossible task. Even the notion of freeing the hundreds of thousands of trafficked individuals in this country seems unattainable. But as you have read this book, you have seen that people are making a difference. I see part of our job as anti-trafficking activists as making it hard to be a trafficker. Together we can do this.
If awareness is raised and industries are united against trafficking; if children are aware and tell someone responsible when they are approached; if the nation becomes so aware that we designate dollars for services for runaways so they don’t feel their only option is to get help from a trafficker; if the nation becomes so aware that we designate dollars for professional and loving shelters for both minors and adult survivors; if we all speak up at every opportunity instead of turning a deaf ear—we can do this.
The old adage “How do you eat an elephant?” is true in this movement: One. Bite. At. A. Time. One compassionate phone call, one poster hung, one loving conversation at a time. We can stop human trafficking in our backyard in our lifetime.
For Discussion