I am writing to you from a café in Huanchaco, Peru. I am right across the street from a beach. I am eating the most delicious pumpkin soup, and I am listening to music in English while on wifi with all the other people that come to Peru to experience the luxurious beaches and fantastic food. Today, I have the privilege of being a tourist.
But the sad fact is that this is not reality. Peru is not only a place with beautiful beaches and cool historic sites. There are people here living in so much pain and darkness. There are corrupt cops that extort money from you and gang-owned taxis that will kidnap you. There are wastelands and trash dumps and deserts.
This post is about this side of Peru.
A couple weeks ago, I had a conversation with my ministry hosts, and they told me about the sex trafficking problem in Peru. They told me that the gangs would go to the tribes in the jungles of Peru, where life is primitive and the people live in extreme poverty. A good looking gang member would go to a young Peruvian woman, and offer her 500 soles (about $150) to come to the city to work in a “restaurant.”
They are then trafficked into the brothels far away from their family and friends. If they refuse, they are either killed or dumped on the streets to fend for themselves. My ministry hosts hope to someday make a safe-house for these women in the jungle, which is very much in line with my heart for ministry. I hope to someday return to help them on this venture.
In the United States, we hear about sex trafficking a lot. There are so many ministries fighting this problem all over the world. However, in much of the world, shame keeps this evil in the shadows. It is often overlooked and ignored, just because it makes someone uncomfortable.
This weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to one of my English students in great detail about almost everything. We talked about the United States, it’s political system, and how safe I felt in my city. She viewed the United States as some sort of promised land, free from fear of being robbed in the street.
She then asked me about my mission, and I shared my heart for sex trafficking. She said, “Oh, but that’s only a problem in the United States. The rest of the World doesn’t have that problem.”
At first, I was surprised and even indignant at this remark. How can one be so ignorant?
But then I realized how common this thought process is. How often do we think that the only ones that have a problem are the ones that are talking about it?
How often do we hide our pain and our imperfections away just because they aren’t fun to look at.
Sex trafficking is real. It is a world problem. There are broken women all over the world being BOUGHT and sold into slavery for less than an expensive meal at a restaurant.
They have names. They have stories. They have dreams. They are priceless.
And yet, here they are wearing a price tag.
The first step to solving a problem is knowing that there is one. It’s time to step out of denial and do something about sex trafficking.
Because her story matters.
