“Got to be a warrior, in my head, in my heart...Got to be a warrior, find the strength, in these scars. It’s time to turn around; it’s time to fight for what I believe…”
There are many individuals, groups who are fighting as warriors to stop unbelievable and heartbreaking tragedies in many different categories of the world. One of these is human trafficking; “the tricking or luring of people away from their homeland to work under exploitative conditions elsewhere.” Imagine trusting someone and them betraying the trust…suddenly being thrown into a place where unspeakable actions are being taken out against you. Eventually you may even start to feel it’s your fault. Wondering why this happened to you and seeing no means of escaping it. Sometimes individuals are not taken away anyway, being used at home or within their own country. Not feeling true love, having the warmth and the incredible gift of freedom; wondering if they may ever get out. The heroes that speak up, fight back, and work their hardest to help anybody going through these terrible fates are extraordinary. The victims who are warriors and fight back and work hard to get out, to remain strong and hopeful; my hat is off to you. Never taking for granted unconditional love, the warmth of a good home, and the feeling of freedom…that is what can be learned from these victims. Not only learning from them, but trying to be vigilant in helping them is one way to show appreciation for all you have.
According to The U.S. State Department, there are roughly 12.3 million adults and children who suffer in forced labor or forced prostitution around the world. This number is astounding, but hopefully by either donating, volunteering, and keeping your own eyes/ears open we can bring this starting statistic to a much lower number. No one deserves to be treated with disrespect, to not feel safe and loved…to have freedom. I may sound like a broken record, and maybe I am, but if we sit and do nothing we are almost just as bad. The saying, “to the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.” Truly is the idea of a person (author unknown) who knew how the smallest gesture can create a very big impact (even if it’s just for one individual). We must start somewhere, and a solution can eventually be reached, we first must try.
So if you would like to be a warrior and help there are many organizations that you can use and get involved in: Love 146.org, sctnow.org, notforsalecampaign.org/, and endhumantrafficking.org/ are just to name a few. There are many out there, all you have to do is look. I know not everyone can donate, but even bringing to light this excruciatingly saddening topic is a step in the right direction. Together we can reach the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
-K
What a wonderful post! Thank you for being the first "Love Warrior" and breaking the ice.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I remember in school being told that the bystander was just as bad as the bully if they simply let the act occur. It's an idea put into our heads at an early age. I feel like we're living in a world of bystanders who simply let trafficking occur because they are ignorant on how they can help end it. What scares me is that there are more slaves now than ever in history and yet we pride ourselves on promoting freedom and equality... it's lies.
By becoming a warrior or as Rob Morris at Love146 termed "a love extremist", we can stop being bystanders. We can stop the "bullies" who take advantage of one's vulnerability for prosperity. It's such a simple concept that we learn as children that we seem to forget in our adult lives.
Thanks again for your awesome post! I hope we can - in our lifetime - reach the light at the end of the dark tunnel of human slavery.
Thank you for this beautiful post, K. All of us, do have a hand in things that happen around us. Each of us has a responsibility to our ourselves, our families, our countries -- our world. We are responsible for one another.
ReplyDeleteFor us who are free, freedom comes with a responsibilty and as a way of paying forward for this blessing of freedom (that which only few enjoy), we can always choose to defend the oppressed.
The choice is always ours to do something.
And yes, great things start from small beginnings.