Just
last month, the AJC (Atlanta Journal Constitution) printed an article about men
that were paying $600 to have sex with a 12-year-old girl. The girl’s mother
had hired a man to babysit while she was at work, but instead, the man sold the
young girl. He “fed” her drugs and alcohol before raping her and then sold her
to other men. The man was arrested and sentenced more than 17 years for
trafficking. The article also stated that nearly 400 girls are “sexually
pollinated” in the state of GA each month.
Like
many issues in our world today, we seem to believe the misconception that sex
trafficking is a problem limited to other countries, not affecting our own. For
the United States, this could not be further from the truth.
Foreign,
poverty-stricken woman are tricked into following men (and women) for promises
of a better future, jobs, or an education, but they quickly discover the
deception once they step foot on American soil, lose possession of everything,
and are sold into a brothel.
According
to Not For Sale, an anti-slavery
organization, human trafficking rings are far more abundant than we have been
led to believe. Less than 15 minutes from my previous home, and only blocks
away from a Norcross police station, a sex trafficking brothel has thrived for
many years.
In
2008, a 36-year-old man was accused of trafficking at least 10 victims into the
Norcross area. The young girls were tricked into leaving their families in
Mexico and were in turn beat and forced into a life of prostitution.
Four
of the women that survived were under the age of 18. The men pretended to have
a romantic interest in the girls, thereby gaining their trust until the women
saw the brutal truth. According to U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, the women were
sold to customers at a rate of $25, and often serviced more than 40 customers
per night.
“One
victim testified that when she refused to engage in prostitution, Cortes-Meza
threw an iron at her head, then denied her medical care. Other victims said
Cortes-Meza hit them with his fists, belts and sticks and dragged them around
by their hair.”
In
a trial against the ringleader and his accomplices, the survivors courageously
testified against the defendants and played a key role in bringing them to
justice. The ringleader, Cortez-Meza, earned 40 years in prison and $292,000 in
restitution charges. He will be 76 when he is released from prison. Ironically,
one of his partners is an elderly man from Cartersville, Ga. At the age of 71,
Edison Tort was sentenced only 5 years in prison, with a 3 year supervised
release, and a $57,000 fine.
So my question is: why don’t people know about
this?
Was
this article hidden in a small portion of the paper, overshadowed by the latest
sports scores or weather reports? In the midst of our busy lives, do we really
take the time to consider that people all around the world are still bound to
slavery, waiting for someone to rescue them?
As
I drift off to sleep, I am surrounded by the sweetest sounds of laughter and
joy. I think of these beautiful little girls and where they might be if they
had not been delivered.
My
intentions are not to make a blow to anyone’s conscience, or to even convict
someone of not doing enough. Sometimes I simply need to remind myself: what am
I living for? Who am I living for? Do I really ask the Lord to use me each and
every day, wherever I may be? Whether sitting behind a desk, in a cubicle, or
out on the mission field, any one of us may be called to rescue the life of
another.
Heroism
is not defined by the appearance of the “costume”, the amount of bravery shown,
or even the extremity of the mission, but rather by one’s heart and willingness
to follow the voice of the Lord.
“…if you spend
yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then
your light will rise in the darkness, and your light will become like the
noonday. The Lord will guide you always…”
Isaiah 58:10-11
