The news of the three women rescued in Cleveland has been plastered over the internet this week. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, let me warn you that is tragic and sickening. It is not an easy story to forget, and I repeat it here not because we need another example of the extreme depravity of man, but because I want to share a viewpoint that has been missing from the extensive media coverage.
A man heard a woman yelling for help from behind the locked door of his neighbor's home. Thinking that there was a domestic dispute, he tried to help her break through the door. The police were called and immediately came to free the woman, her six-year-old daughter, and two other women locked in upstairs bedrooms. The three women were revealed to be local girls who had been missing for a decade. The same middle-aged man kidnapped them one at a time as teenagers, chained them in his basement, brutalized them, and kept them prisoners in his house for nine, ten, and eleven years. It is believed that he acted alone and was the only person who knew of their captivity. His family and neighbors have expressed extreme shock, dismay, and disgust not only for his incomprehensible actions but also for their ignorance. The women and the girl (fathered by the captor) were initially taken to a hospital and have since been reunited with their families.
This story is gruesome, and the pain and torment of these women has been graphically described (though not detailed) by the media. I found myself uncharacteristically following the story because I noticed two terms curiously absent from the coverage: "slavery" and "human trafficking". No article mentioned what immediately came to my mind: This man enslaved these women. Why isn't the media talking about this as an example of slavery? Because it was not forced prostitution in a massage parlor or twenty-hour days in a sweatshop? Because it's too grim of a word--worse than rape and imprisonment and beating and brutalization? Even our justice system is currently silent on this crucial aspect of the crimes. The perpetrator is facing four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. He may also face charges of murder for the multiple miscarriages he forced on at least one of the women. Yet, he is not facing charges for enslavement.
The neighbor who heard the first woman pleading for help told camera crews: "You know something ain't right when a pretty, white girl runs into a black man's arms." Less than two hundred years ago in the American South, a white man could have enslaved three black women under the same conditions as the three women from Cleveland without fear of repercussion. There would have been no secrecy necessary. This slave owner would have boldly described his "slaves." Why can't we?
My disappointment with the lack of mentioning "slavery" or "human trafficking" is not due to my fondness for semantics. It's not the term that is important. What's vitally important is that we recognize the gravity of this man's crime: he imprisoned other human beings and violently robbed them of their human rights. He denied them freedom in every respect. We need to recognize and verbalize the "unspeakable" crime for what it is so that we can stand against the atrocity of human trafficking that happens to thousands upon thousands of people in the United States and around the world. We need to be willing at the very least to admit the horror of modern day slavery, to speak of it when we see it. We need to move on from admission to description, until the depth of what we hear and know moves us to action.
This current story is sadly not a rare crime considering the scope of human trafficking. However, it is indeed unusual because there was only one perpetrator involved and the women were rescued! Generally, in both labor and sex trafficking there is an organized, determined, smart, insidious group of perpetrators kidnapping and enslaving other human beings who remain slaves for the rest of their lives. If the slaves birth children, the children are slaves too. Labor slaves sleep perhaps five hours a night. Children and women who are sex slaves have to service dozens of clients a week, if not a day. Their lives aren't like "Moulin Rouge"; sex slavery is essentially rape for sale. Unfortunately, these stories are the norm for trafficking. Slavery still exists. What are you going to do about it?
Here are some starting points:
- Pray!
- For freedom and restoration for the captives
- For the perpetrators to be caught and punished
- For wisdom, resources, and stamina for abolitionists
- For strengthened legislation in support of the victims
- Report any suspicious behavior to the Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888 or text BeFree (233733).
- Support a nonprofit working in prevention, rescue, or restoration (aftercare). Give money. Sign up for their emails.
- Contact your elected officials to let them know this is an issue that concerns you.
- Buy fair trade and direct trade products (or go thrifting!--my favorite).
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