Well they cross over in many ways and today that's what I am going to share.
First let me set the scene for you, you are houseless. You haven’t had a decent meal in a month, haven’t showered in weeks, and the weather is starting to change for the worst. You then have this “nice” looking man come up to you, he asks your name, if you’re okay, and your favorite things. He starts to gain your trust and says “come with me”, “I’ll buy you food, you can have a shower, and stay with me for a couple of days.” Once this “nice” man has given you all the help he so willingly offered he then switches up. Tells you that you have to pay for those nice deeds he gave to you or there will be consequences. You have to start selling yourself or get killed. Pimps/Traffickers will go seeking workers on the street.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself “What exactly is human trafficking?” Well human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery where the victim is made to do forced, non-paid labor. This can be anything from nannying to preforming sexual acts. Victims are usually controlled and trafficked by their pimp, and they will end up with most of the money the victims receive.
Who can be trafficked? Anyone no matter age, gender, or ethnicity can fall victim to human trafficking. Traffickers are master manipulators, they are skilled at their work and know how to gain trust of their victims. Traffickers also go for individuals who have a lack of support and resources, which in a lot of cases can be homeless individuals. It can also be individuals of poverty, lack of mental help, and drug/substance abusers.
So what are the signs of human trafficking? The general signs of human trafficking are, sudden interest in an older man, new clothes and gifts, frequently going to stay the night, sudden change in style, new circle of friends, change in attitude, grades are dropping/work gets put on the back burner, unexplained injuries, and using two cell phones. Knowing these signs can help save someone's life.
As a community we can help prevent human trafficking by looking out for our family and friends, educating ourselves on the signs, knowing who to go to when we suspect trafficking, and spreading awareness in your community.
We can also do a lot as a community to help homeless individuals. We can do so by, Treating the individuals as people, being kind, setting up a list of shelters, handing out food, donating money, and donating clothes.
I now want to share a true story from the Blue Heart Campaign.
Peter and Kevin’s story
Peter (25) and Kevin (19), both citizens of a northern EU country, were homeless and unemployed when they were approached by Edgar. Edgar offered them a construction job,
including room and board. The idea of a job and a place to stay seemed heaven-sent, and
They quickly agreed. The wages were low but steady, and more than they could hope for in
their current situation. Edgar put Kevin and Peter up in an old caravan with two other men
and set them to work on construction jobs.
He paid them a bit of cash at the end of each day and brought them food as well. After a
short while he asked if they would like to go work in a couple of wealthy neighboring
countries where there were many construction jobs on offer. Kevin and Peter agreed, as did
the other men in the caravan, one of whom was a minor: Jim, a 17-year-old runaway. Kevin
and Jim did not have passports, but that did not matter; Edgar got them each a fake one and bought their tickets.
Things did not work out in the new countries the way the men had imagined. Again living in
cramped caravans, sometimes six of them together, their “wages” soon shrank to the point
where they were earning less in a day than they should have been earning per hour. They
were working long days – sometimes 12 to 14 hours – six days a week, laying asphalt and
doing stonework around private houses. Whenever they were not working, they had to go
door-to-door in residential neighborhoods, trying to drum up new business. Edgar shipped
them around so much that they had no idea where they were or even which country they
were in. He often treated them abusively, shouting at them, hitting them, and even striking
them with a spade. He warned that if they left they would be fetched back or beaten. Kevin
tried it anyway, once, but was quickly found by Edgar and hauled back to the building site.
He did not try again.
After three months, Edgar suddenly went back home, leaving the men behind. Kevin walked
all the way to his national embassy in the capital city and appealed for help. Jim also tried to
walk and was found by the police and handed over to child protection services. Peter made it to a port city and tried to buy a ticket home but was in such a confused condition he had to be helped by police; who opened an investigation into Edgar’s activities when they heard his story.
In the end, Edgar was convicted of human trafficking for purposes of forced labor. Though
all the men had consented to work for him and to go abroad, the court deemed that their
labor had been exploited and that they had been in reasonable fear of reprisal had they
tried to leave their jobs. The fact that they had little money, were dependent on Edgar for
room and board, had a limited ability to make themselves understood, no real idea ofthey were and, in two cases, false papers, all made any escape from their circumstances
much more difficult.
Edgar received a two-year prison sentence. The money he had made from the building jobs
was confiscated and he was requested to pay limited damages to Peter and Kevin worth
about 10 days’ wages. Kevin now lives under a form of police protection in his home country;
Peter stayed in the host country in a secret location and is now under a witness protection
regime.
I hope this post was able to open your eyes on human trafficking and how it ties into homelessness.
If you or anyone you know is being trafficked you can call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.
where.
Indira Hays
Human Trafficking Activist - Finding The Light
2x Personality Pageants Delegate
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