The depths they plunge

Trafficking has become such a sophisticated and manipulative force that it's very hard for women and girls to even know they are in danger. By the time they do, it's almost always too late. They're in and trapped with little hope of getting out. The thing that scares me is the fact that the people at the top of these organizations are everyday people like you and me. They are businessmen that are very wealthy and have a good standing in the public. Very few people know their real side or agenda and in fact when you go out to eat, for instance, you could be having dinner with or near any one of them without even knowing. That's how widespread and deep this issue goes. That's why this issue has become such a hard one to put an end to. Listen to these examples and see what I mean.

There are actually "employment agencies" in Mumbai and New Delhi that recruit girls that will end up being trafficked. These places are legal, legitimate bussinesses with licences, office's and many employees. How it works is a recruiter will go out and find say 10 girls. Three to four of them will be given good jobs that pay well and have all kinds of stuff lavished on them like clothes and jewelry. This is for the benefit of keeping up a front to make it look like the business is legitimate so that other girls will see this and want to join. What they don't see of course is what happens to the other six or seven girls that have somehow disappeared. Many are drugged to the point of being catatonic so they can't escape and then shipped to other parts of India or across borders to other countries. These girls are the ones the traffickers are making the real money off of and the profits they get for this far outweighs the money spent on the girls that were "lucky" enough to get the real jobs.

I recently heard a story of a village that had about 35 girls get recruited to be bar dancers. They were hired and treated very well and paid even better. After about 6 months of getting use to this lifestyle and all that comes with it they are told that business is bad and that they are going to have to be laid off. But wait, there's a catch. They then tell the girls that if they want to continue to make this kind of money and live this lifestyle and continue to support their family members back in the village, they can always perform some "services" for certain clients. Most agree because they have no other option and can't see themselves going back to the life they had before all this money came in. So they unknowingly get wrapped up in the sex industry and within an few weeks or a month they are so trapped they are in for good. Most disappear as they are drugged and then shipped to other parts of the world, far away from anyone they know and that could possibly help. 35 girls in one village. Gone. Never to be seen again. That's just the tip of the iceberg. When you multiply that by say 5 villages over the course of a few months then you can see how the money and profits start to pile up for the evildoers.

If these girls had another option to choose from they wouldn't get caught up in this nightmare. They need people to show them another path and that's where we come into play. Your support helps to prevent this atrocity from happening and also helps rescue girls that have already been pulled in.

It's all about economics. It's a cruel bottom line but it's the reality. So keep on spreading the word and educating as many people as you possibly can. As they say ...strength in numbers. The traffickers have learned this and use to their advantage.

It's time we do the same!