In America we hear the words “sex trafficking” and think that it is this horrible thing that happens in other countries. While it is more evident in other countries, I think it is important to remember that it does in fact happen in America. That is not what this blog is about though, this blog is about what I have seen thus far on the race. In my experiences with the Asian countries I have been to, we can blatantly see sex trafficking. It is heartbreaking to realize that while we can see prostitution/sex trafficking on the streets we are walking through, there is little that we can really do in the moment.
With permission from my host’s wife in Vietnam, she helped me write this blog about a young girl she was able to take part in helping recover after being kidnapped.
There was a young girl, 13 years old, who was poor but living a normal life with her mother and young brother. The mother loved her children deeply. She was illiterate but did her best to provide by working long hours in a factory. The girl, let’s call her Hope, also loved her mother and recognized her hard work and sacrifice. She was obedient and always informed her mother of where she was and who she was with.
One day, the girl’s friends asked her to go with them to a karaoke bar to sing and have fun. With her mother’s permission, she left…but shockingly, did not come home that night.
By evening, the mother was extremely worried. She knew her daughter would not act like this and knew something major had happened. She went to the karaoke bar to ask if her daughter was there or if anyone had seen her leave. The response was, “How would we know? She’s your daughter. You must be a bad mother, you don’t even know where she is.” The mother hardly slept that night.
The next day she went to the police to report her daughter missing. She had the same kind of response. Now the mother was frantic, not knowing what to do. She went back to the karaoke bar and demanded they tell her where her daughter was or who had taken her. They told her she was “crazy,” and told her to go away and leave them alone.
The mom was so heart sick, she didn’t have the emotional or mental energy to go to work the next day. Or the next, or the next. Soon, she lost her job. Next, she had to sell her home because she had no money for food and to continue care for the brother. Jobless and homeless, the mother kept seeking answers.
Listening to the radio one day, she heard about a hot line in another city. Not knowing anything else to do, she called to get advice. This organization helped her greatly. They suggested going back to the police, then the radio station, and the newspaper – telling her story everywhere in every way she could. They told her to go back every single day to the karaoke bar, and ask, and complain and start to tell customers this business was not a safe place because her own daughter had disappeared. They also informed her of an organization called Hope Unending in her province that could help her as well.
The mother did everything exactly as suggested. After several weeks, it was discovered that the karaoke bar owners DID know what happened. They finally told the perpetrators that this lady WAS crazy and was causing them big problems for their business, so they asked them to bring the girl back. The traffickers assumed the impoverished, illiterate mother would just be happy to have her daughter back and would go away. But never underestimate the love of a mother! Long story short – the mother then knew the identity of the perpetrators. With the help of Hope Unending and a local government department for support, the mother took each of the three men involved to court.
The horrible story then came out. On that day, at the karaoke bar, Hope was with her friends and some guys started talking to them. They offered to buy Hope a drink, which she appreciated. However, she had no idea they put drugs into her drink. When she was not able to talk or think clearly, two men led her to their motorcycle, put her in between them and drove her to another province far away.
As Hope recovered from the drugs, she realized she was somewhere far away though she did not know exactly where. She was locked up, physically abused, was beaten and threatened on a daily basis. She was told they knew her family and if she ever escaped or told anyone about them, they would kill them. The terrorized girl believed them. Daily she was drugged. Her childhood was stolen from her in unspeakable ways. Although she was only gone 7 weeks, in that short time, her life was hugely impacted. She experienced trauma that NO girl should EVER have to experience!!
When Hope was back with her mother, clearly she was changed and needed help that her mother did not know how to give. In contact with our host’s wife, the mother requested assistance. The girl came into the recovery and training center where she had both group and individual counseling. She learned English, sewing, art, and jewelry-making. She had regular sports activities and soon began to respond in a very positive way. After several months, she was able to return home to her mother.
Luckily, Hope received help and has now resumed her life. Impacted, yes, but not destroyed. Unfortunately, the majority of the girls that are taken don’t have stories that end this way. A lot of girls are never rescued. A lot of families never get to see their daughter or sister again. Sex trafficking is literally everywhere you turn in these parts of the world. You can walk down streets and pass hair salons and massage parlors that are hubs for this business. The host’s wife and a few other organizations we know, are working hard to stop this level of trauma and evil.
One thing that I’ve had to come to grips with, is that these men that take these girls and do these horrendous things to these innocent beings, are also loved and pursued by the same God that loves and pursues me. It’s something that’s really hard to wrap my mind around and I can’t fully understand it but I know that I have to ask God to help me love those men as well because they too, need Jesus just as much as anybody else. Do they deserve His love? No. But, do I even deserve His love? No and it’s not my place to say who does or doesn’t deserve to know Jesus. We serve a God that nothing we do could change how much he loves us. He wants his children to come to him and know him and the love, hope, mercy, and grace that he has to offer them.
-Leah
