My "Face" for Human Trafficking

I was asked to share a story related to human trafficking.  Several years ago, I witnessed a young woman in the process of being kidnapped, and was unable to do anything to help her.

It's pretty intense, but I don't want her story to be forgotten.  Please leave a comment (or email me) if you want to share info about how human trafficking is being dealt with in your city.

These are the notes from the talk I prepared.

(Taken from www.tipshelp.com)

I think everyone has their own story about why they’re involved in this work.  Perhaps it’s a personal encounter with a trafficking victim, or a heart-rending story or documentary, or the terrifying statistics.  I was asked to share my story, as a reminder of why we’re doing this.

I’ve read the stories, and seen the data, and been to some talks about trafficking that goes on in different countries.  And you gasp, and you put your name down for the email list.  (And that’s important.  Public education and awareness is crucial in this effort.)  But what do you do?

What if trafficking hits close to home?  Maybe that will make a difference in how we respond.  But, maybe not.

In August, I moved to Sheung Shui, in the New Territories.  There are very few foreigners there—just Hong Kong residents and Chinese tourists. But occasionally, I see a very beautiful mainland Chinese or Korean or other Asian girl, who looks out of place here.  Some friends came by my place recently, and told me that my particular neighborhood is basically the center of prostitution for the New Territories area of Hong Kong.

I was shocked, and I honestly have felt a burden about this.  But, I don't see them on the street corners.  And I'm not interested in walking up into the places where they work.  So, even though it has hit close to home--it's on my street!--this isn't compelling enough for me to care enough to change things.  Because, I know that these places operate under legal loopholes.  And even when they do break the law, the local police refuse to acknowledge the problem.  Again...what do you do?

Something else had to happen to make this real for me.  Real enough to really care.  More than another story, I want to share with you my face for human trafficking.

(Taken from www.releaseglobal.org)

In 2005-06, I was living in Wenzhou, China, teaching English.  I lived there for nearly a year, and had a pretty positive experience of the area.  I felt safe, and sensed no danger walking anywhere, day or night.  Honestly, it's a rather nice, peaceful place.

Early in the spring of 2006, on a day off from work, I was going across the river to go downtown (I think to go to McDonald’s.)  I went to the ferry dock, paid for my ticket, and got on the speedboat ferry.

As I got in the boat, I heard yelling behind me.  A young woman, early to mid-twenties, was with two men.  They were half dragging, half carrying her to the speedboat.  She was yelling, and fighting, and trying to get away.  And everybody in the ferry and outside the ferry heard and saw everything that was happening.  And shortly after they walked onto the ferry, right beside me (the girl still fighting and screaming), the ferry took off.  I didn’t know enough Chinese to try to intervene or ask someone what was going on.  And the ferry crew members didn’t do anything.  I think they just told us to get off the deck and go inside and sit down.

I sat in the seat right in front of the two men.  This girl was still yelling, and being treated roughly by the men.  Nobody else was looking at them.  And I sat there, totally at a loss what to do. At this point, I still knew almost no Chinese.  So, I just stared at them, and asked (with one of the few Chinese phrases I knew), “你们在干什么？” (“What are you doing?!”) One man had his arm around her, with his hand over her mouth, and said that he was her boyfriend.  And I looked at the people sitting around me, and just said, “喂？你们好！喂？ Hey! Hello?! Please look here!”. I knew nobody wanted to help, and that what I was doing was annoying, and possibly dangerous. But I was desperate to point people's attention to the situation right behind their backs.  I figured that eventually, if I kept urging people to do something, somebody would have to do something. Right?

Nobody did anything.  Or said anything.  Or even looked.

Finally, while I was just sitting there, outraged at everyone's silence, the girl looked at me in the eyes.  Her face was less than two feet from mine, as she said, very loudly: “Help me! Call the police!!”

I tried to keep my cool, and took out my phone.  The kidnappers saw me dial “119”, which I thought was the generic emergency number.  In China, 119 is for the fire department.  The two men just laughed.  And the girl looked…I can’t describe it.  Nobody else cared enough to do anything.  And the one person who did care was ignorant about how to help.

We were in the boat for a full five minutes before arriving at the other side of the river.  As soon as we docked, the “boyfriend” pulled the girl out, and other passengers exited, while the stronger man stayed back, physically blocking me to keep me inside the boat.  He reached into his pocket, and it looked like he had some weapon.  Maybe it was a bluff, but maybe it was a gun or an electric prod.  There was no way to know.

I didn’t fight them.  And I didn’t see any police, or anybody else to ask for help.  But everybody saw the “boyfriend” carrying the screaming girl over his shoulder, as he walked through the crowd—all the way to the main street.  He hailed a taxi.  He put her into the taxi.  He waited for his accomplice to get in.  And the frightened cab driver drove away.

And I tried to figure out how to contact the police.  But, I didn’t see the taxi’s license plate number.  And, I thought that it was probably too late to do anything.  And that, they probably wouldn’t care, either.

(Taken from bawso.org.uk/home/Human-Trafficking)

Of course, I couldn’t do anything else that afternoon.  I just went back home, totally broken, and I wept.  And I re-played the scenario in my mind so many times…what could I have done differently, to make a difference, to stop these men from kidnapping this girl?  Should I have fought them? And why did no one do anything?  And I thought about why she was kidnapped…was she being trafficked as a mail-order bride, or a prostitute?  Would they maim her and turn her into a beggar?

And, I couldn’t get her face out of my memory.  Her big, horrified eyes, just 18 inches away, and her loud pleading: “Help me! Call the police!!”

(taken from a Public Service Announcement in Mexico and Central America, warning people of trafficking)

I don’t know why this happened to her. I know that it should not have happened.  And I can only hope and pray that she will be rescued, and that because of the loss she experienced, many others will be rescued.  And I know I don’t want to miss another opportunity to save innocent victims, just because I’m uninformed or unprepared.

So, if I ever need to remind myself why I’m engaging in the fight against human trafficking, for me, it’s easy.  I just remember her face, right in front of mine: her eyes, her pleading, and her screams.

As you engage in the fight against human trafficking, amidst all the legal research and discussion, don’t lose sight of the “face” of the people we want to rescue.