You think I must be happy
I just might be pretending
You see me crying
You think my boyfriend dumped me or I had an argument with my family
I could be crying for help
You see me laughing
You probably think Im having a good day
I could be laughing to hide the pain and fear
You try to look me in the eye
I avoid your stares
You try talking to me
I just shrug and continue to ignore you
You probably think Im being rude
When deep down inside
I want you to notice,
Realize and look farther beyond
My demeanor to know
I am a victim of human trafficking
And Im crying out for help with my Eyes
~ By Shenika Morian
The Sad Facts:
600,000 – 800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year
An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year.
The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for being trafficked into the sex industry.
An estimated 2.5 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion dollar commercial sex industry.
There are 56,000 U.S. produced websites that sell child pornography, and 1/5 of the images are of minors.
Investigators and researchers estimate the average predator in the U.S. can make more than $200,000 a year off one young girl.
Children as young as 6 are forced to perform sex acts.
Victims are raped, beaten, starved, burnt and drugged into submission.
Most times protection is not used and resulting pregnancies are required to be aborted.
Those Statistics Horrify Me!
I am NOT OK with that!
As you can imagine, even after escaping, or being saved out of sex slavery, the effects and scars of the horrid, traumatic, experience will last for a LONG time!
These girls need know they are LOVED, They need to be told and retold how much the’re WORTH! They need to laugh again.. They need someone to assure them, to encourage them, to tell them they can do it, to be their cheerleader, to go with them, to walk hand in hand as they fight to stand strong.
