Raymond Bechard's Global Blog

"Life is good!"

2008-07-18T14:30:00.002-04:00

These are the first three words of a beautiful hand-written letter we received from a young woman just today. I called and asked her if I could share some of the things she wrote with you and she said, "Yes! You have to! I want people to know what happens to us out there."

Her story as a trafficking victim in America begins very quickly. Her escape and rehabilitation into a life that is "good," safe, happy and full of bright horizons, will continue for years.

In 2007 "Mary" met a man who promised her "so much money you'll be driving a Mercedees in a few weeks." He told her she would be treated like a princess, like a "little Barbie doll," complete with a new wardrobe and exciting parties. He told her she wouldn't have to worry about money anymore . . . she only had to let him take some pictures of her and do exactly what he told her to do.

She was reluctant, but with no where else to turn, she agreed. She had experienced a lot of trouble in her life and this man was offering a way out. The photos were taken immediately. Then, just a few minutes later, her posting went up on Craigslist - a place where men find sex for sale. The phone started ringing right away . . . and Mary had her first "date."

Four hours. It was four hours from the time she met the pimp until she had sex for money with her first "John." Four hours that would send her down a road of abuse, violence, humiliation, drug abuse and unimaginable degredation.

Then she was arrested. That's when some very caring law enforcement professionals called Ahava Kids. We met Mary a few hours later, took her into safety, got her new clothes, brought her to the doctor, and asked her what she wanted to do with her life. "I'm not sure yet. I just want to sit still for a little while." So, that's what we let her do.

A few days later, we located an excellent program for her rehabilitation and care. It was from there that she wrote the letter which came today...."I feel like I have a lot more self-esteem, courage, and hope. Everyday is a good day! I just want to take this time to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. Your support, love, and all the laughter we've shared has made such a difference in my life. I love you guys and miss you!"

Yes, "life is good" for Mary now. But what haunts me the most is how she ends her letter . . . "You know, there are so many girls and guys still out there just like me. What are we going to do?"

Grand Theft Auto IV - Enslaved in Liberty City

2008-05-28T22:27:00.001-04:00

Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV), the latest version of the mega-hit video game from Rockstar Games, does more than allow players to enter a virtual underworld filled with the darkest of human evils, it motivates players to become an active participant in those evils, thereby diminishing their deadly consequences in the real world.

Among the wide array of violent criminal activities, the typical GTA IV player, mostly young males for whom the game is specifically designed and to whom it is specifically marketed, scores points by killing prostitutes and exotic dancers for simple entertainment.

However, the game’s depravity does not end with multiple murders of young women. There is slavery here; slavery in which the player becomes the slave owner, master and killer.

It works like this. Players of GTA IV are immersed into their virtual life as the character, “Niko,” who, despite the enormity of giddy reviews from virtually all the news media, is a human trafficker. As defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), human trafficking – or modern-day slavery – exists when one person uses “force, fraud or coercion,” to engage another person in a “commercial sex act.” Of course, this means that most of the people to whom we refer as pimps are, by law, human traffickers. It also means that most prostitution in the United States is in fact human trafficking.

A common misconception in America, even among law enforcement, is that prostitution is a “victimless crime” which provides income for young women who have made prostitution their chosen profession. This is a deadly lie. These young women make no money, have no say in what they do, must meet daily quotas or face beatings, and are held captive by the manipulative and violent practices of those who control them and sell their bodies to paying customers. And since the average age of females entering prostitution in the United States is 14, many are minors. These are not prostitutes. These are trafficking victims. These are slaves.

GTA IV embraces the slavery of human trafficking as a sport, bringing further legitimacy to the already glorified world of pimps and prostitutes.

Where is the danger in all this? It is everywhere and on several levels. But, mostly the danger hides in the casual acceptance of and aspiration to new levels of violent injustice. In the same way children learn to speak their native language, by being immersed in it, the total immersion of the GTA IV player into this virtual life of crimes against humanity open the way for their acceptance in real life. They see human trafficking/slavery and murder as normal, even benefitting by it.

Unfortunately, The New York Times dismissive attitude toward Grand Theft Auto is typical of the public’s reaction. There, on May 4, 2008, Dave Itzkoff writes that GTA IV is a “consequence-free confinement,” and that, “For a native New Yorker, the game is both comfortingly routine and eerily disorienting; you find yourself playing because it is a limitless escape.”

The escape to which he refers is one from the laws of society into a world where sociopathic behavior is rewarded and praised.

Grand Theft Auto IV has been lauded for its brilliantly realistic portrayal of its setting, “Liberty City,” a paper-thinly veiled version of 21^st century New York City. What few owners of the game realize, each of whom has paid $60 for the privilege of owning GTA IV, is just how accurate the game truly is. This is a very accurate depiction of human trafficking in America today. The real torture to which American trafficking victims are exposed on a daily basis mirrors the repeated crimes played out millions of times every day by willing participants – players of Grand Theft Auto IV. So, while many young Americans never witness these crimes in real life, they are now committing them in virtual reality.

Of course, the fault does not rest solely on GTA IV. For if our human nature found it abhorrent to become even make-believe perpetrators of slavery, torture and murder, then the game would never sell, never be played and never spawn sequels. Nor would human trafficking be an issue in the United States and around the world – throughout which there are more slaves today than at any point in human history.

Contrary to our better angels, GTA IV made $310 million on its launch day of April 29, 2008 and $500 million during its first week. With “success” like that, one cannot help but wonder what Grand Theft Auto X will be like.

Violence Against Women - Grand Theft Auto IV - A Necessary Response

2008-04-29T19:38:00.001-04:00

As you may know, the latest version of the very popular video game, Grand Theft Auto (GTA IV), was released today. GTA IV is by far the most graphic and violent version of the game, especially in its portrayal of ultra-violence against women. Compilations of these violent acts, several against prostitutes, are already posted on gaming sites and YouTube.* Having just seen these video clips, I am writing to you in order to build a unified response of outrage.

Very simply, the producers of Grand Theft Auto IV, New York based Rockstar Games, are using the violent death of innocent women as entertainment. Keep in mind, the portrayal of these acts is not passive as they would be in a theatrical movie. The game player is not a spectator, but an interactive participant. The player does the killing. Since the game is new and many details of the storyline and point scoring are not yet known, the total number of violent acts against women, prostitutes and exotic dancers contained in the game is not yet known. However, each act is blatant and extremely disturbing. This demands our response.

Right now, GTA IV is being sold at all major retailers, including Walmart and Target, for about $60. Industry analysts predict first week sales will exceed 6 million units, or $360 million in sales.

Our collective response against GTA IV should be immediate. While extremely difficult to watch, it is important to see the graphic nature of this violence for yourself. That is why I have provided links to the game's compilations on our website - AhavaKids.org. I welcome your thoughts and ideas on what response we should make. Also, please forward this message to all those who may be interested.

Thank you for your time and dedication,
Raymond Bechard
Founder & President
Ahava Kids
Ray@AhavaKids.org

* I want to warn you that the links provided on our website are to the compilations of GTA IV that have been posted online. They are extremely graphic and not for anyone under the age of 17. (Rockstar Games, have placed an "M" label on the package designating that the game is meant only for "Mature" players.) However, I am providing them so we may all speak on this topic from a common perspective.

LET'S FACE IT

2008-04-16T11:34:00.001-04:00

This is not a normal feeling for me. In fact, it took me a few minutes to figure out what it is.

Two people from the US State Department are driving me across Baghdad. We’re on our way to a meeting to determine the locations of orphanages in Iraq. The men in the car with me know I am in Iraq investigating child trafficking. I told them everything about why I am here, the problem of child trafficking around the world - and in the United States - and the mission of Ahava Kids.

Then something very strange happened – that odd feeling I couldn’t identify. Finally, it came to me. I felt comfortable talking about it all and they were comfortable hearing it.

Usually, when I tell people about Ahava Kids and what we do (rescuing and caring for victims of child trafficking) my explanation is followed by awkward silence or a few phrases like, “That must be rewarding,” or “I saw a movie about that once.” Then the conversation quickly goes onto something else – anything else.

I understand the reaction. It’s hard to hear and think about child trafficking. That’s why I called my book about the subject, Unspeakable. So now, I am very accustomed to keeping what I say limited to only a few basics. It makes the conversation more comfortable for them, and for me.

But, knowing the realities of what is happening to children on the streets of the world – including every community in the United States – and not being able to share it to the degree it deserves…Well, it’s more than frustrating. It isolates you.

So, it’s strange that I had to come to Iraq in order to find many people who are willing to hear about child trafficking and do something about it. Like only a few very devoted people back home – you know who you are - I tell them what I do and they don’t turn away or look uncomfortable. They want to help. That’s why countless doors of opportunity have been opened during my time here. These are professionals who care. They don’t avoid the war going on in the streets because they are surrounded by it and see it every day.

As soon as the two men in the car hear everything I have to tell them, they turn the vehicle around and begin taking me on a tour of Baghdad. “There’s a brothel over here by this bridge,” one of the men says. “Don’t take any pictures of it. It’s too dangerous over there, but we’ll drive by it.” These are the kind of people I have been looking for - people who have the courage to face child trafficking head-on.

It’s hard to show people in America that the war for children in the United States is just as deadly. Yes, it’s harder to see and easier to avoid, but it is real and we are surrounded by it as well. Here in Iraq, no one has the luxury of ignoring the war that is going on around them.

I am more comfortable here because these Americans understand that the battle for our children is being fought on the streets of Baghdad and Boston, Follujah and Philadelphia, Mosul and Mobile. For them, there is no difference. For them, there is no hiding from the realities and dangers that face children across the globe.

Raymond Bechard
April 2, 2008
Baghdad, Iraq

THESE COULD BE OUR KIDS

2008-04-16T11:33:00.000-04:00

If I am not on or in a US Military installation here in Iraq, then I am escorted by US Military Personnel. Each time I travel somewhere – anywhere – away from the facility controlled by the Army, at least one American soldier is with me.

And each time, the escort – dressed in full protective gear and heavily armed with an automatic rifle and 9mm pistol – asks me why I came to Iraq. I tell them I am here to investigate child trafficking. As I mentioned previously in this bog, their response is the same. They consistently offer whatever help Ahava Kids needs in our mission here. And they mean it.

The young man escorting/guarding to me now exemplifies the convictions of American Soldiers. In a time of confusion, doubt, and horizons filled with uncertainty– these men and women stand firmly on their dedication and virtue. They are filled with heart and soul. They are the good news.

When I began Ahava Kids five years ago, it was our intention to help and support the front line people protecting children from exploitation anywhere and everywhere in the world. Typically, these are small groups operating in the shadows, on the streets and in places few of us would dare go. So, we set out to work in partnership with these “little armies” to bolster their efforts to save kids from whatever evil they face. It didn’t matter who they were, as long as we had one thing in common: the goal of protecting the lives of children who are in danger.

I never imagined that our strongest ally in this fight would be the US Military. Certainly, no “little army.” However, once I began to interact closely with those who serve in its ranks, I realized a new hope for the children we are trying to reach.

That’s why I am not surprised that one soldier, just completing his third tour of duty with the 101st Airborne - the “Screaming Eagles,” is eager to get back to the US and join us when we conduct street intervention there.

That’s why I am not surprised that another soldier is compiling a list of all the orphanages in Iraq for Ahava Kids. At present, no such list exists.

And that’s why I am not surprised by the deeply emotional response of the soldier escorting me today. After I explained Ahava Kids and our work against child trafficking, he said, “We see kids in trouble here all the time. They’re in so much danger – so many kinds of danger. You know? And most of us have kids back home. But, these kids here - these could be our kids.”

Children are the victims of war in so many ways. These soldiers see the injustice perpetrated against young people on a regular basis – and they do everything they can to protect them. For these military professionals, there is no question about why they are in Iraq. They are fighting for something – something it takes very little time to see once you are here . . .

Right now, I am writing this in a dusty tent which has about ten online computers set up for use by military personnel and others, like myself, working with the military. The computers are placed on old folding tables and we are all packed together in close quarters, sitting next to each other on flimsy folding chairs. Typically there is a person at each computer, peering through electronic portals to their lives back home. Except for the tapping of the keyboards, the room is silent. This is a rare moment of privacy and no one violates its sanctity.

Next to me sits one soldier wearing an armored vest. His unit’s patch is displayed on his shoulder. His M-16 rifle along with his helmet, are placed carefully by his side.

I don’t notice his first sniffle. But after two or three, I realize it’s not the constant dust in the air that’s causing a leaky nose. I lean back to stretch and steal a flashing glance at his screen. Children. Photos of two children among the blooming flowers of spring back home.

I lean forward and continue typing. He exits the computer next to me, gathers up his gear and heads out quickly; his head down.

This is a strange war. Soldiers who are thousands of miles, and many months away from home can see and hear their children in real-time; a first for any war. But, they not only see their children whenever they can get to a computer, they also see them in the faces of children on the streets of Baghdad, Basra, Mosul and hundreds of other towns across Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world.

Let there be no doubt. They are fighting for something. They are fighting for the lives of those who are crushed by intolerance, violence and abuse. It is not a matter of politics, policy or protocol. It is simply a matter of life and death.

Like the man said, “these could be our kids.”

Raymond Bechard
Iraq
April 7, 2008

NOW I KNOW

2008-04-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

I am lying face down in a pile of luggage. It is one o’clock in the morning, so I am not only surrounded by dusty travel gear, but by endless darkness as well. I hear the explosions of nearby mortar rounds. My body armor – vest and helmet – are not with me. It’s just me, these bags and the night.

Click Here to see Ray Bechard's Blackhawk Helicopter flight over Baghdad.
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And I’m thinking about what a young girl told me just a few weeks ago.

“Have you ever had anyone try to kill you?” she asked me. “At first, it doesn’t seem real. But then, you realize it could happen anytime. That changes you.” Yes, it does.

The girl telling me this was an American victim of trafficking in the United States. She had run away from the people who were selling her on the streets, forcing her to use her body to make money. She had run away and now they were trying to kill her to make an example of her – so that the other girls they sell wouldn’t run away.

“It must be an awful thing to know that someone wants you dead,” I say. She tells me, “You never stop wondering if that person is still trying to get you. It stays with you.”

I try to show her that I understand. But she has been to a place where I had never been. She had been in the line of fire with a target on her back.

The memory of her voice is interrupted by recording of another. Hearing recorded announcements at airports is part of the normal routine of flying. But, this is no routine announcement. And this is no routine airport.

This is Baghdad Airport. Yes, there is a commercial terminal here, so occasional scheduled flights arrive and depart, but very few. A helicopter flight over the terminal at midday reveals only one small airliner parked at otherwise empty gates. Yet, this remains one of the busiest airports in the world.

In fact, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, aircraft and passengers come and go by the tens of thousands. The activity never stops – ever, because this is among the largest military airbases in the world and an essential location in conducting Operation Iraqi Freedom. It is also a target for insurgents who fire mortars and rockets at the base routinely.

Right now, they are firing them at those of us who are waiting for a flight on a cargo plane. The plane is taking me to a meeting with some very dedicated people who are helping us investigate child trafficking here in Iraq. I walked out to the tarmac to load my bags onto a pallet which will be stowed in the back of the plane. That’s when the sirens started...and then the announcement. “Incoming. Incoming. Take cover immediately. Incoming.”

You don’t have to tell me twice. Completely exposed on the tarmac, I am nowhere near the steel reinforced concrete bunkers which are located all over the airport. So, I dive into the luggage. Now, I hear the rounds exploding nearby. They are aiming at us, at me.

I think of the young girl as I remain motionless . . . and wait.

Yes, it is an awful thing to know that someone wants you dead. The next time I see the girl who tried to explain that to me, I will look her in the eye and say, “Now I know.”

Raymond Bechard
Iraq
April 9, 2008

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

2008-04-16T11:27:00.000-04:00

Before I left for Iraq, many people in the United States asked me, “What do you want to accomplish?” or “What can you possibly do there?”

Answering those questions is the reason I came. Now, the answers are beginning to reveal themselves . . . as are many other questions.

According to the US State Department’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report, “Iraq is a source and destination country for men and women trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Children are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation; criminal gangs may have targeted young boys and staff of private orphanages and may have trafficked young girls for forced prostitution within Iraq and abroad. Iraqi women are trafficked to Syria, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.”

While in Iraq, I have been in contact with the extraordinarily dedicated State Department officials who work tirelessly for human rights and child advocacy here. However, the political, legal, and economic chaos of Iraq cannot be understated. It is very difficult for these remarkable professionals to determine the current state of affairs.

Of course, we would all like to see the Iraqi government do as much as possible to combat child trafficking. However, according to the State Department Report, “the ongoing insurgency and terrorism severely handicapped the government's ability to combat trafficking…. Furthermore, the government could not offer protection services to victims of trafficking, and it reported no efforts to prevent trafficking.”

I am in total agreement with the US State Department that, “The (Iraqi) government should also provide victims of trafficking with protection services, and should ensure that they are not detained, punished, or discriminated against as criminals.” And that, “Iraq should train its law enforcement and judicial officers, and should take measures to curb the complicity of public officials in the trafficking of Iraqi women.”

Yes, the Iraqi government is new and currently overwhelmed with insurmountable problems; national security being the highest priority. However, isn’t the protection of children within the realm of national security? That is why child trafficking should be a much greater concern and focus for all the stake holders in Iraq’s future.

How bad is trafficking in Iraq? The Iraqi government does not operate shelters for trafficking victims, nor does it offer legal, medical, or psychological services. Iraq has no system for identifying young victims of trafficking among women arrested for prostitution. That’s why trafficking victims are sometimes put in prison. The Iraqi government does not give assistance to Iraqi victims who are brought back from other countries. Some of these were even punished.

Quite simply, Iraq does not take measures to prevent trafficking even though reports of trafficking are growing rapidly. The government does not sponsor any anti-trafficking campaigns or education.

An event like this will not only shed light on the hidden world of trafficking in Iraq and surrounding nations, but provide education and training to law enforcement, military and government personnel who share our belief that children deserve to be free and safe.

For now, I return to the United States to continue the process of opening Safe Houses for Child Trafficking victims in America. But, it won’t be long before I find myself back in Iraq.

Raymond Bechard
Iraq
April 11, 2008

Trucks and Tanks...

2008-04-08T11:25:00.003-04:00

"There's a tough little girl who lives on the streets around here," the woman tells me. "I've been here in Baghdad for four years. After that much time you see what's going on with people. And this kid has a lot of street smarts. But now, she's just trying to survive."

Just trying to survive.

The woman speaking with me is an American who works in an official, and classified, position at the U.S. Embassy here in Baghdad. It takes a special kind of person to work here for four years. Special, dedicated, and like most people who choose to be here - a little crazy. But, in a good way.

"I want to help this girl because she's so special. In fact, a lot of people around here know about her . . . and they're really afraid for her. But, we haven't seen her for a while." the look on her face is the same look I see on the faes of law enforcement we work with in the United States - the ones who know about desperate young kids who must fight to stay alive every day. Concern, anger, compassion.

But, ther are other similarities. Many others.

In the United States we are seeing an increase in young girls working as prostitutes in truck stops throughout the country, including Connecticut.

The are forced by their pimps to meet nightly quotas - a minimum amount of money that belongs entirely to the pimp when she is done servicing truck drivers. The quotas range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per night. If the girls don't bring back enough money, they are beaten up, or they are starved, or they don't get the hit of the drugs they need to satisfy their addiction. Pimps traffic young girls only to make money. And it doesn't matter what it takes, they must make money no matter what it takes. No excuses.

So they walk though the parking lots, waiting for the driver to flash their lights - the signal that they want to pay a girl for sex. The girls go from truck to truck, climbing inside, trying to meet their quota. To them, they have no choice. They are trapped.

The police who see them are no longer surprised to find 12, 13, 14 year old girls working the truck stops of America. And the woman I am speaking to now in Baghdad is not surprised what she sees here. "I've watched this girl beg for money. She's asked ME for money. But then, when there is no one left to beg." She pauses, her eyes looking down. "I've watched her go to the Iraqi security guards, the ones whose tanks are parked along the side of the road. She'll ask them if they want to buy some gum from her. When they say 'no'...she aks if they want sex from her. So, she goes from tank to tank.

I ask the woman how old the girl is. She shakes her head. "You know, with these kids, you can't really tell. They've been on the streets so long. They don't have the faces of children anymore - even though they're very young." Then she answers me. And I'm not ready to hear what she says."She's no younger than nine. But, no older than eleven."

"The worst part is," she continues, "is that no girl that age knows all that much about sex, or what to do to a man. Someone had to show her. Someone is telling her to go and make money any way she can . . . and it's probably her family."

Yes, the girl may be someone's daughter or sister. But, it doesn't matter. They are forced to make money. And like the truck stop girls in America, it doesn't matter how. To them, they have no choice. They are trapped.

The woman promises to keep looking for the girl and contact me if she finds her again. I pray there is something we can do to save her.

But, as I write this - and as you read this - she and thousands like her are still out there, going from truck to truck, tank to tank, just trying to survive.

Raymond Bechard

Baghdad, Iraq

April 6, 2008

The Road to Saidnaya

2008-04-04T09:12:00.003-04:00

“Sometimes I go a couple of months without seeing a kid. You forget what children look like.”

This is what one American Soldier tells me as we discuss the chaos of everyday living in Iraq. “But, our assignments change and then we’re in direct contact with more people. Then you finally see a kid and you realize how long it’s been since you’ve seen that kind of smile.”

I tell him why I am here in Iraq, to begin investigating child trafficking. I tell him about Ahava Kids and the work we do in the United States to rescue and care for young victims of trafficking. He is silent for a long time. His next words were spoken more to himself than to me, “I have two daughters back home.”

The soldier is helping me to find an orphanage here in Baghdad. I learned of the place through an NBC reporter who had done a story on young girls whose parents have been killed in the war. I want to follow up on these girls and see what has become of them. Unfortunately, in Iraqi society, orphans are often considered “damaged.” They are labeled with a horrible, lifelong stigma with very little opportunity to live a decent life. In the past, many became prostitutes when they turned 18.

Today, they are not waiting that long.

Just look at neighboring Syria. Orphans are just one reason why so many young Iraqi girls are ending up in Syrian night clubs selling themselves. Iraq’s neighbor to the west is now home to about 1.2 million Iraqi refugees, according to the United Nations. Some refugees, young teenage girls, are tricked or forced into prostitution. But, many are just desperate to survive. A recent UN report found that many Iraqi girls experiencing “severe need” become prostitutes; some secretly and some with the knowledge or even at the provocation of their family. One relief worker I met in Baghdad told me, “thousands of Iraqi prostitutes are working in Syria now.”

I tell all this to the soldier as we continue looking for the orphanage. Driving in Baghdad has its own risks. He is alert, professional and always “on task.” But he, like so many other American Service Men and Women with whom I share this story, is stunned by the realities of underage prostitution – both here in the Middle East, in the United States and around the world.

Not everyone wants to hear the full story, but he does. So I tell him about an ancient road in Syria which leads to a convent in Saidnaya. Christians and Muslims travel this road every day, seeking miracles attributed to the remarkable portrait of the Virgin Mary at the convent. Hundreds of miraculous healings are claimed to have occurred there. But at night, the stories change – and so does the road to Saidnaya. Because the Maraba section of the road is now known for the easy availability of young Iraqi prostitutes.

The soldier and I keep looking for the orphanage and the young girls there. We talk about how great it would be if we were able to find them and look after them in some way – so they don’t end up on the road to Saidnaya.

Raymond Bechard
April 4, 2008
Baghdad, Iraq

Hunted No More...

2008-04-03T11:56:00.006-04:00

April 2, 2008

During the height of Saddam Hussein’s power in Iraq, his sons, Uday and Qusay, decided to construct a place where their father could quickly and easily enjoy one of his favorite hobbies: hunting wild game. So, they forced a few families to give up their homes, demolished them, and built an enclosed, seven-acre hunting park complete with roaming “wild” game - all in the middle of downtown Baghdad.

Today I stood in the remains of Saddam’s convenient killing field. The young US Marine who escorted me there (I am told by his superiors not to give you his name for security reasons) explained its more recent history.“When the city was liberated there were still animals here, even a few big cats,” he said.

Then I remembered the story of US troops finding starving tigers abandoned by Saddam’s staff upon fleeing the city in 2003. The animals were quickly rescued and restored to good health.

“Now, we’re going to help kids here,” the Marine tells me. He goes on to say that a small, but very dedicated group of American Military and State Department personnel are bringing new life to this once deadly place. New life in the form of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Yes, after a very rocky history, Scouting is alive and well in Iraq.

First established in 1921, Iraqi Scouting was ejected from the World Organization of Scouting Movement (WOSM) when the Nazis occupied Iraq at the beginning of World War II. Then, they were recertified into the WOSM in 1955 and enjoyed a more than 25 years of success.

Then came Saddam Hussein, and he had very different plans for his country’s Scouts. In 1998, after several years in power, Hussein converted Iraqi Scouts to Ashbal Saddam, “Saddam’s Lion Cubs,” his version of Hitler Youth.

Boy Scouts were being trained to become child soldiers.

Once again, the WOSM expelled the Iraqi Scouts, citing the fact that Saddam had turned against all the traditional virtues, traditions and values of Scouting. And now, once again, the Iraqi Scouting program is working diligently to become recertified, and this time they have their very own campground in the heart of Baghdad – once known as Saddam Hussein’s private hunting park.

Thanks to a group known as the Green Zone Council (GZC), an organization founded in 2004 by Americans serving in Iraq, the new Iraqi Scouting Council is an official part of the Ministry of Education, counts more than 150,000 young members – boys and girls – and several thousand adult leaders in all 18 provinces. “We’re not building the Scouting program for them,”
states the Marine. “We’re helping them restore it in their own way.” Very true. Here boys are Boy Scouts and girls are Girl Guides – and they often participate in the same programs together.
As we leave the new campground, the Marine, a former Eagle Scout, shares his thoughts about the children devastated by war, corruption and chaos.

“While we’re here in Iraq, doing our individual jobs, we have opportunities to help in a lot of other ways.” He looks back at this enclave of hope, now filled with picnic tables and a growing number of activity equipment, including a challenges and team-building course. “We’re going to be here for a long time,” the young soldier says with absolute resolve. “It’s going to take at least a generation to give these kids a chance at the kind of life they deserve. Kids can be kids here and they can learn to stand up for themselves.”

It does not take politics to protect and defend the children of the world. It takes the courage and dedication of many people working together. It takes all of us doing everything we can to stand between children and whatever evils they may face. Whether it is in the streets of Connecticut or Baghdad, there are endless opportunities to rescue those who have been abandoned, abused and . . . and hunted.

The best place to start is where you are right now.

Raymond Bechard
Baghdad, Iraq
April 2, 2008

Messages from Iraq

2008-04-02T13:07:00.010-04:00

March 30, 2008

My father, Raymond Bechard, Sr., served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He was stationed in Saipan as a gunner in a B-29, flying several bombing missions over Japan. The enormity of the task given to his generation and the devotion and sacrifice they poured into its completion and victory cannot be overstated. One day, as my father and I were taking a walk while visiting my sister in Tennessee, he expressed his joy in the fact that his adult children now traveled the world so regularly; my brother as a pilot and I as the Founder of Ahava kids. "You guys have seen the whole world!" he said with pride and a little envy. Without realizing it, I stopped walking and stared at him. "Seen the world?" I said. "You guys saved it!"

I have often wondered what will become of us when the last of my father's great generation passes away. Will there be any character, strength, or honor left in the world? Will we remember what duty and loyalty are?

For the past several months I have been in close contact with today's generation of the US Military . . . and I no longer fear the disappearance of the virtues which make men and women great. These professionals are the smartest, most dedicated, focused and energized group of Americans I have ever encountered. They are far from home in a land that is harsh and a culture that is unfamiliar. Yet, they serve with unwavering courage while accepting extraordinary sacrifice. One example is the young Army Captain who is sitting next to me as I write this. The Captain's son was born 11weeks ago in Alabama, yet he has never met him. He hopes to return home soon so that he can finally hold the boy whose photo now sits here on a desk in an Army tent in Kuwait.

As for me, I look at these soldiers the same way I did when my father told stories of his war - I am awestruck. However, this time I am a witness.

From this base in Kuwait (which the Military does not allow me to name), I await transport into Iraq and my embed with the 1st Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry. This is an enormous operation with thousands of US troops either coming out of or going into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of them has their own reason to see their loved ones again, and yet they are here. And part of their assignment here and now is to guide me safely during my investigations into child trafficking in Iraq. When I tell the soldiers why I am here, their gaze - already hardened from witnessing too much war for too long - becomes even more intense. Then, like the young Captain next to me, they begin to tell me about their own children back home.

They are dedicated to this mission simply because they stand upon the same foundation as my father and the millions who served with him: Children deserve to be free.

Raymond Bechard

FOR THE CHILDREN

2008-03-03T08:05:00.001-05:00

We pray for the children
who sneak cookies before supper,
who sleep soundly in the backseat,
who can never find their shoes,
who dance like crazy to their favorite song.

We pray for the children
who will never run downstairs on Christmas morning,
who are born in places where we would never go,
who won’t get tickets to the circus or ever see a clown,
who are forced to make money for an X-rated world.

We pray for the children
who kiss our cheeks with chocolate smeared on their lips,
who rush to bring us handfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
who need to be driven to soccer games.

We pray for the children
who never get ice cream cones,
who won’t snuggle in bed while someone reads Dr. Seuss,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who will never ride their first bike with training wheels,

We pray for the children
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
who never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
whose smiles can make us cry.

We pray for the children
who don’t know where their mothers are,
who have no rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose souls are sold on websites.

We pray for the children
who know bad dreams are not real,
who only see rats in funny movies,
who believe all adults will protect and save them,
who don’t have to worry every time their bedroom door opens.

We pray for the children
who will eat anything because they have nothing,
who have never seen a doctor and never will,
who go hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
whose monsters are real.

The Choice is Yours

2008-02-24T08:47:00.002-05:00

In ancient Russia, at a time when many children did not survive infancy, it was customary to have a "mourning hut" at the outskirts of every village. Upon the death of her young child, a devastated mother would leave her home to live in the simple hut for a month of solitude and grief.

At the end of the month the other mothers from the village would come out to the hut....and set it on fire with the grieving mother still inside.

There and then, she had to decide whether to live or die. If the grief of loosing her child was too great, the mother would stay inside and allow death to take her as well. However, if she came out of the burning hut, this indicated that she was prepared to live out her life with grief as her companion.

Earlier generations understood that life was hard and sometimes cruel. So they prepared themselves and each other for what they knew was coming. We, on the other hand, expect life to be relatively pain-free. We can afford to distract ourselves from our own condition and we have become very skilled at turning away from the urgent needs of others. Mentally, spiritually and emotionally, we are unprepared for those inevitable moments when our lives are shattered. That may be why we are so much more prone to depression than earlier generations and why we depend so much more on the deliverance of drugs.

Just because you are shielded from much of the world's cruelty and injustice does not mean your heart will not some day be broken, if it hasn't been already. Nor does it mean that those whose lives you touch will not need your patience, guidance and compassion. Those days are coming.

For the grieving Russian mothers who chose to live, there was one last tradition they followed before returning to their lives back in the village. They rebuilt the mourning hut for the next mother who would need it.

We must use the our strengths to prepare for those days when we truly need to be strong. And we must use our own fortitude to help those whose lives desperately need someone to step in and save them. Right now, there are children being exploited who need your strength, your compassion, and your love. Yes, we all live with our own personal grief. But in the days ahead, don't allow yourself to look back and live with regret as well.

At this very moment, you can make the difference between life and death. The choice is yours.

Rescued, but not Free.

2008-02-11T08:40:00.000-05:00

She had no place to go.

After being held for months in an apartment against her will. After being turned out as a prostitute, forced to make $1500 a day. After being threatened, addicted to drugs, and abused. After all that, she was finally able to contact the police and make her way out. The police called us immediately and we met "Cal" in a Diner at about 11:00 o'clock one night a few days ago.

She was terrified. Terrified of stangers. Terrified of the pimp from whom she had escaped. Terrified to face tomorrow. Her fears were justified. While one of our female Intervention Specialists sat talking quietly with Cal on one side of the empty diner, I sat with three detectives in a booth along the opposite wall. The three of them explained to me what they already knew about Cal's story.

She had been coerced by a man she thought she knew. He had taken her to his apartment and bought her nice things. He made promises. He treated her very well...for the first few weeks. Then, he told her it was time to go to work. If she refused, he said, he would kill her family.

So she went to work.

He sold her online, in strip clubs and in the back rooms of bars. He sold her any way and every way he could. And he made a lot of money. All the while keeping her high, and never letting her leave his sight. Then, one day, he left her alone in a hotel room just long enough for her to make a phone call. That was the beginning of her escape.

But now, there is no place for her to go. And that is what terrifies her the most. The man who held her captive, her pimp, is constantly looking for her. He wants her to go back to work and he knows she can be dangerous to him in Court.

As the detectives finished telling me Cal's story, I asked, "Now what?" They simply said, "We thought you could tell us what to do." As I looked over the to the corner booth where the young girl was talking to our staff member, another detective asked, "Is your safe house ready yet?"

The pit in my stomach got heavier and turned over a few times. "No, not yet," I said. "But, we'll figure something out."

You see, being rescued from a trafficker, a modern-day slave handler of the worst kind, is only the first step to freedom. Cal and hundreds of thousands of young people just like her across the United States will not know true freedom until they can escape from the awful and intentional fear that has been forced into them.

The only way to release them from the chains of fear is to get them somewhere safe, somewhere they can feel at home, where no one is trying to get to them. That's why the Ahava Kids Safe House is such a priority.

As I tried to think of options for Cal, the detective finished by saying, "Well, I hope you guys open your safe house soon. We're going to have a lot more girls like Cal coming your way."

Rescued, but not free. Escaped, but still in prison.

We can get them out, but getting them out is not enough. We must give them sanctuary to flee from fear and rebuild their lives.

Freedom is only the beginning of her story . . .

2008-01-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

There was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the enormous whale’s tail could kill a rescuer. Still the brave rescuers worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time. Eventually they were able to free her.

As soon as she became free, the divers say she began to swim in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them.

If only it were that easy for the young victims we pull out of the net. Last week, we were contacted by the police. They had a young girl who had escaped from a pimp who was holding her hostage in an apartment for four months. "Turning her out" to make $1500 a day, he coerced her into his life and then trapped her in prostitution. All that time he kept her quiet by threatening the lives of her family.

This is not a story from the city. It happened in a luxury apartment complex, in an affluent suburb, in the United States. And it's still happening.

Now that she's free, we have to take her the rest of the way to real freedom. She needs medical care, psychiatric care and treatment for horrible abuse. Her road to freedom will be along one, but even though she may not know it now, she is worth it.

Get in the fight - Not your typical internship

2008-01-16T15:17:00.000-05:00

We need creative thinking students to help us fight against the organized crime syndicates who propagate trafficking of young people in the United States. Working with our team of interns, our goals are to:

Build an efficient database for further awareness and action.
Locate appropriate care facilities for victims.
Assist in establishing Ahava Kids Safe Houses in Connecticut and Florida.
Build a more complete website including lobbying efforts, information for students, and law enforcement.
Bring Ahava Kids to a higher level of effectiveness and influence.

This is not a typical internship. We are looking for individuals who are intelligent, courageous and have the stamina to do this kind of work. Specifically, we are looking for individuals who are adept at:

Researching sites for safe houses and the availability of current care programs and facilities.
Determining the best programs for raising awareness in the media and online.
Determining the best methods for contacting elected and government officials for legal reform.
Designing effective database programs for outreach and activism.
Administration and facilitation of organizational growth.

If you are interested in becoming an Intern for Ahava Kids,
please take a closer look.

Ahava Kids, a United States, 501(c)3, Not-For-Profit human rights organization, exists to rescue and care for victims of child trafficking,enslavement and exploitation in the United States and throughout the world. Through direct intervention, Ahava Kids has developed the process of Rescue, Relocation and Rehabilitation. This is the most effective method of removing young people from the various dangers of trafficking while giving them the best chance at survival and a decent life. Using this process, Ahava Kids has assisted in saving over 3,000 young people around the world and in the United States since 2003.

In 2008 Ahava Kids will continue to expand its mission through our Urgent Care Program which will provide care and shelter for young victims of commercial sexual exploitation in New England and New York. This is a model program for national expansion currently being adopted as a partnership between law enforcement agencies and Ahava Kids. We are also establishing the Ahava Kids Model Safe-House. This is an emergency housing program, working in partnership with American law enforcement officials, which provides urgently needed safe-houses for at-risk victims of trafficking.

The establishment of these two programs will introduce a previously unknown solution to the urgent needs trafficking victims in America. No other program addresses their specific afflictions.

These programs will also ensure the expanded impact and effectiveness of Ahava Kids’ work, along with the continued growth of the organization over the next five three years.

If you are interested in becoming an Intern for Ahava Kids,
please take a closer look.

Where will they spend Christmas?

2007-12-12T08:38:00.000-05:00

Right now, everyone I speak with eventually gets around to the same question: "Where will you spend Christmas?"

I appreciate their care and concern. They want to make sure I have a place to go. They want to make sure I have a "warm and wonderful holiday," just like the Christmas Cards say.

I don't know where I'm going to be on Christmas, or the day before, or the day after. I'm not really thinking about it.

I'm thinking about two girls from Texas who were brought to New York City by a pimp who started selling them the minute they arrived there. After a few weeks, like almost all young people working the streets of all American cities, they were picked up by the police.

Once the dedicated police discovered their age, they called Ahava Kids. We immediately placed them in a safehouse, away from their pimp and away from the street. But, they got scared.

Fear is the most powerful method of controlling these young people. Whoever recruited these two young girls knew that. They knew that if they infuse their minds with enough fear then they would always return, know matter what.

Living in safety, away from those who abused them and held them in slavery, they got scared . . . and they ran.

So, now we are looking for them. We are looking in New York and back in Texas. And I am left asking the same question . . .

Where will they spend Christmas?

You Can't Have Her

2007-11-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

Some years, Thanksgiving doesn't really work. Some years, the day doesn't provide the reflection or depth it promises. It falls short. It's not Thanksgiving's fault. It's ours.

It's our fault that we don't build Thanksgiving into every day of the year. Thanksgiving is and always has been about deliverance. Being delivered from trouble, repression, sickness, danger and all other evils, has motivated us to give thanks on this one day. Yet, we rarely stop to thank God for the deliverance we have been given ever day of our lives. We shouldn't expect Thanksgiving to make up for all that unexpressed gratitude. That's why Thanksgiving doesn't really work some years.

Except this year.

This year, Thanksgiving worked. This year a group of people answered the call when a young girl was in trouble. She was held captive by pimps and drug dealers. She called for help when a UPS man came to the wrong door. She escaped with the help of a SWAT team. And she went with Ahava Kids when we got the call.

She was delivered and today she is safe. Today she does not have to worry that someone is trying to kill her or sell her. She is safe because when Ahava Kids asked people for help, they came to the Thanksgiving table and saved her life.

So, to the people who answered that call, Thank you. This year, I give thanks to you on Thanksgiving

And to the people who enslaved her. To the people who imprisoned her mind, her spirit, her soul and her body, I will only say this......

You Can't Have Her.

Where is the baby?

2007-11-15T07:58:00.000-05:00

I went out on patrol last Thursday evening (November 7th) with the New York Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force. NYPD has 30,000 officers, and six of them deal with trafficking. Anyway, we are working with them because they have nowhere to place young people when they are taken in for prostitution. By law, anyone 17 and under in prostitution is not a criminal, but a victim, so they can't put them in jail. Consequently, they call us for placement 24/7/365. That's one of our biggest challenges, but we have an even bigger challenge.

At about 1:00 a.m. I was sitting in the back seat of an unmarked car as we drove around Hunts Point in The Bronx. This is a notorious section for prostitution. I noticed a young girl walking slowly down and abandoned street. I told the office driving that we needed to double back and see what she was doing. Just as we turned the corner to make our return, I saw the lights of an eighteen-wheeler flash across the street from where the girl was walking. By the time we returned she was gone, but I told the detective, "She's in that truck." As I said that the truck started to pull away. We followed it as it slowly drove a few blocks, then turned, then turned again, driving without any one direction or purpose ... and that's not something truck drivers do in New York. Finally, he pulled over and turned off his lights. We all got out and approached the cab of the truck. The detectives knocked on the doors and opened them. The driver came out first, then the girl. She had been negotiating with him as they were driving slowly around. You don't need the details of what she was doing for the $40 he paid her. The important parts are these:

She told us her name which I can't tell you here. Let's call her "Nan."
Nan gave us an address where she said she is staying. We have been checking regularly with no success.
She also told us she had to work all day and night, every day and night, because she is supporting three men where she is staying. They all have drug addictions and so does she. Nane is supporting four drug habits as a prostitute.
Though she looks older, she is probably no older than18, and says she has been on the streets for five years. This makes sense since the average age of females entering prostitution in the US is 13.
Okay, here's the hard part. As I said, this all happened on last Thursday evening (November 7th). According to Nan, and from her still protruding belly and naval, we have no reason not to believe her, she gave birth on October 31st. She said she was out working on the streets two days later.
We are doing everything we can to find the baby. It's a boy. She is not telling the truth as to what happened to the child after she gave birth in the hospital. We can't find the boy and neither can the police. The difficulty is that unwanted children are often sold here.
Nan refused to come with us or accept any help. (It was freezing that night and she had only flip-flops on her feet.)
We will keep searching for the Nan and try to determine the fate of her baby. Check back here for updates.

Everywhere in the world

2007-11-03T10:39:00.001-04:00

Every day I am asked where we find victims of Child Trafficking and how we encounter them. The answer is never the one people expect. The most common situation in which we find them is poverty. But, that is not the only cause of trafficking. Along with poverty, it occurs anywhere there is extreme political chaos or ongoing warfare. Whenever just one of these situations is occurring, poverty, political chaos or warfare, you will find trafficking of humans.

There have been many situations, but the one that sticks in my mind happened a few years ago. I can still see the girl. Perhaps I remember it so well because I wasn’t really working, just going out for pizza with some friends. We were driving through an industrial area, everyone talking and joking in the car, when I looked to the sidewalk. There was a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 walking along. She immediately made eye contact with me, since that is what she was supposed to do, and pulled up her skirt, revealing herself.

I asked my friend who was driving to pull over and stop. He did. She walked up to the car, smiling, and stopped about two meters away. My window was open. She looked at the four of us and said, “Having a party?” I told her we were just out for pizza. Then I asked her how old she was. That was a mistake. The smile disappeared. Trying to recover her trust, I asked her if she wanted to come with us for pizza. “With all four of you? That’s going to be expensive pizza.” She laughed, but she still didn’t trust us enough to get into the car. I was thinking that if we could talk to her, maybe feed her some decent food, she would begin to trust us a little. Then, we might be able to get her out.

Something went wrong. She got scared. I saw her look over the roof of the car; off into the distance. I don’t know what she saw, but she suddenly said, “I don’t think so. I gotta go.” Then, she looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you for trying.” Before I could think of how to respond, she turned and walked around the corner. She was gone.

I never saw her again.

I remember her because she was so young, like a little sister. She was like any girl you see at the mall or the coffee shop. She was every girl who is caught out there – lonely, scared and facing demons to horrible to imagine. I remember her because she was smart enough to see that we wanted to help. And I remember her because we weren’t in some far off, poverty stricken country. We were in New York City.

How it all works.

2007-10-29T08:47:00.000-04:00

I had a very clear and simple vision for Ahava Kids when I founded it. From the beginning, I wanted to keep it very focused on saving lives through intervention and by raising awareness. We keep the organization structured so that we will never be weighed down with bureaucracy, unnecessary expenses or conflicting priorities. I have seen so many great organizations lose their potential to help people because they were sidetracked or misdirected by a lack of focus and vision. They become top heavy and become inefficient.

Having worked with so many large organizations in the past, I knew how to prevent all of those dangers with Ahava Kids. That is why we remain light on our feet and constantly prepared to face the next challenge.

Now, as the Director of Ahava Kids, it’s my job to make sure that every day we are doing everything we can reach as many children as possible and do whatever it takes to save them.

We go out in the field, and the people we work with and support literally live out in the field. We work with an expanding network of people all over the world, NGO’s, law enforcement, news media, government organizations, faith based groups, anyone who has information regarding children at risk of trafficking. We find these people all over the world. They speak different languages, come from different cultures and traditions, and operate from very different perspectives and faiths. Yet, they all want to help children. This is what builds a bond between them. Ahava Kids continues building that bond by locating them and creating organized networks of support so that they can learn how to best rescue and care for trafficking victims. You see, organized crime, or what is now referred to as Transnational Crime, is highly efficient and advanced in their operations. They work across ethnic and cultural differences because they all have the common goal of a high profit margin. Their motive is money. Ours is children’s lives. We must be even more advanced in our organizational structure and dedicated in our efforts to win this fight against the global thugs who see children as mere products in their warehouse.

Why Ahava Kids?

2007-10-27T03:27:00.000-04:00

The idea of working to rescue children from dangerous situations had been with me for a long time. However, I experienced an extraordinary moment of clarity in the days after the attacks of 9/11. I was working with a support group near Ground Zero in New York City. It was about two or three days after the World Trade Center collapsed. We were very close to the massive pile of rubble. The streets of New York were surreal then; quiet, even serene. You couldn’t walk more than a block without someone approaching you with photos in their hands. They would look at you with pleading eyes, eyes that would stop you in your tracks. They would each hand you a copy of the photo they were carrying and say something like, “This is a picture of my brother.” Or, “This is my friend, Rob.” And you would look at the picture carefully while they told you that the person in the photo was missing. “Have you seen anyone who looks like this?” “If you see them, can you call this number?”

Now, anyone that close to the remains of the Towers could plainly see that no one was going to come out of it. Just walking near it was dangerous. There would be no more survivors. Yet, that didn’t matter because this person with the photographs was desperate for hope, and you have to be very careful with people in that frame of mind. Sometimes, you have to lie.

I couldn’t look at them – into those pleading eyes - and tell them the truth; that whoever they loved is gone forever. So, I would take each photo that was given to me on the streets and look at every one of them carefully and slowly. “Yes, I’ll look around.” “Yes, if I see someone who looks like this I will call you right away.”

I hated lying like that, because there really was no hope. But most of all, I hated seeing that look in their eyes and feeling so helpless. No matter how hard I tried, there was nothing I could; nothing I tried would make a difference.

Then, several months later, I was in Haiti, working with a small orphanage. Several of the children there had HIV/AIDS. Many of them had been bought and sold for a variety of reasons, but all were lucky enough to have been rescued and brought to this simple sanctuary. I had already heard a great deal about child trafficking, having consulted with several organizations fighting injustice in many ways, but I had never been this close to victims.

One little girl sat on my lap while the nurse administered her medication. It consisted of an “AIDS Cocktail” of drugs that was mixed in a syrup which made it easier for her to swallow. The mixture was placed in a tube that pushed the drugs down into her throat very quickly. She shuddered a little bit once the medication made its way into her stomach. Then she looked up at me with those eyes, the same pleading eyes I had seen on the dusty streets of New York. Eyes that looked for an answer. Eyes that looked for hope.

This time I wasn’t going to lie. This time, I knew I could do something about it. I could make a difference. I told the little girl everything was going to be okay; that she was safe. From that one moment, I have dedicated every minute to keeping my promise to her.

From there, I began traveling all over the world to find the best ways to fight trafficking while getting to know the people who are truly doing whatever it takes to intervene and save children. I discovered that trafficking exists in every community everywhere in the world. But, I also found the hope I was looking for. Because wherever trafficking occurs, however dangerous the people are you are running these criminal organizations, there are good and courageous people willing to fight for the victims.

Why doesn't it stick?

2007-10-25T10:53:00.000-04:00

October 18, 2007

Child trafficking doesn't matter. Let's face it, to most people it doesn't. I have to face this truth every day. From blank stares, to avoidance, to outright denial - I get every possible reaction when I talk to people about the prevalence of children being exploited in every community around the world. They can easily hide from the truth because the truth is trying so hard to hide from them. Trafficking stays hidden because everyone involved wants to keep it that way. And the public is complicit in keeping it tucked away in the dark.

Yes, you here stories from time to time. Something on the news about children being abducted. A movie on Lifetime about Human Trafficking. An article about a boy soldier in Africa. But, nothing sticks. The entire issue gets left in the far corner of our awareness because its cultural relevance has not reached a critical mass. It hasn't hit home - figuratively or literally - in the way that other important global issues have. Global warming? Terrorism? Disease? Yes, all are relevant and hit the news every day. All have our attention because we are surrounded by information, or have been touched personally by the issue. Relevance to our culture does not occur until it reaches a certain level of relevance to individuals. I don't know what this critical mass of individual relevance is, but child trafficking certainly hasn't made it there, yet.

In Avon, Connecticut, US, there was a horribly dangerous intersection of two roads. People would complain about it, avoid the area or just hope for the best when they had to make their way through. For years the town and state officials in charge of the roads did nothing. There were far more important things to be done. Until four people were killed there one summer afternoon. Then the reality of the danger began to stick. Even though the truth of this ongoing danger was brought out into the light of day by the tragedy, it had been there all along.

What is going to make people look at the truth about child trafficking? These children are dying every day, but we don't have to drive past it. They are forced into hard labor to make many of the products we use, but we don't have to see the fields and factories. They are forced to do horrible things in front of cameras, but we don't go to those websites.

Perhaps if people knew that the average age of a female entering prostitution in the United States is 13. Or that most of them are simply runaways, recruited within hours of leaving home. Perhaps if they knew that most of them become addicted to drugs within days and that the addiction is forced upon them intentionally. Perhaps if most of them knew that the vast majority of these girls are from the suburbs, not the city; that they are moved around the country and traded among pimps; that hundreds of them are brought in to service major conventions and trade shows across America. Perhaps if they knew their sons are just as likely to become prostitutes as their daughters.

On the other hand, if they realized how much they could do to stop it; that they have the power to end slavery in the suburbs; that by doing nothing, more children will be lost to unspeakable evil.

Maybe then it would stick.