In cooperation with End It Movement, we're spending Wednesdays for the next month shining a light on slavery and human trafficking. Slavery is not OK, and our Racers around the world have had raw, firsthand experiences fighting it. Our first story comes from Adam Smith of the July 2012 H Squad. He watched a girl get sold in front of him in Moldova, and it changed him.
The rawest emotions I can imagine flow.
Adrenaline surges.
Fists tighten.
Hate comes next.
My heart feels like it just physically broke.
I swallow the lump that has begun to form in my throat.
My team and I were eating pizza at a local restaurant on our day off. I didn't know it at the time but my life was about to be changed forever by the next two minutes.
A guy walked up and started speaking to me in Ukrainian. I interrupted him and said, "English." He smiled, shook his head, and held up two fingers and a zero, pointing at the booth next to us.
I glanced over to see what he was pointing at. There was a woman, probably in her late teens, wearing a white dress. She was looking down at the table, but as I looked she glanced up and our eyes met.
I realized what was happening, and I was physically sick.
My first thought: Throw this guy through the plate glass window to my left and then stomp him out for the whole town to see. Solid option.
Second thought: Don't waste the time to throw him through the glass and just take care of business in the restaurant.
Third thought: What about the girl? What about this innocent child this guy is taking advantage of? What can I do?
When our eyes met the only word that came to mind was shame. It might as well have been painted on her face. She was so lost. I wish you could have seen her eyes. Her eyes would make you uncomfortable, and rightly so. Her eyes would break your heart and stir you to action.
As all these thoughts and others raced through my mind, I just stared into the man's eyes. It felt like five minutes went by. I just wanted to scream. He kept talking. I kept staring. It was like I was frozen in that booth. I'm guessing only 30-45 seconds actually passed. But before the weight of what just happened hit me, he waved the women in the booth over to him and they walked away.
That was the day trafficking grew a face.
That was the day I looked trafficking in the eyes
Trafficking is not a victimless crime.
That was someone's daughter.
What if the white dress was your daughter, cousin, sister, mom, aunt, friend?
You would destroy anything in your way to help her.
To show her she is not hopeless.
To help rid her of the shame she is carrying.
You would go anywhere, sell anything, do whatever it took.
But instead of doing something we pray prayers like "Lord give me the eyes to see the injustice around me."
In the most honoring, respectful way I can muster, please let me tell you that you don't need super discerning spiritual eyes to see injustice around the world – you just need eyes! We have had our eyes closed long enough.
200 Moldovan Lei for that girl.
24 US dollars.
A damn $20 bill.
I don't have words.
This isn't a story of redemption. There's no happy ending. This is the same story that happens thousands of times every single day all around the world. The girl in the white dress didn't meet Jesus. The guy in need of God's radical, unconditional love and grace didn't find it that day. I know Jesus loves that guy, but I don't. Maybe I'm just not there yet, and that's OK.
I think if you look deep enough into the eyes of the girl in the white dress you'll find Jesus staring back at you. Jesus loves to be in the dirty places. He always has and always will. Those are his friends. Let's join him before we lose sight of him all together.
*Photo by Jessica Gasperin
Take Action:
Encounters like the one Adam experienced can be paralyzing. Without proper training, it's hard to know what to do in the moment to help someone who is being trafficked. And scenes like the one above don't just happen overseas. They happen everyday in our own hometowns and backyards.
Thanks to the Polaris Project, now there's a way for all of us to blow the whistle when we think someone is being trafficked. Even if you're not an anti-trafficking expert, you can stop another person from being sold.
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a national, toll-free hotline, available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.
Anyone can call this number to report a tip of possible trafficking, connect with anti-trafficking services in your area, or request training, assistance, resources, and information to fight human trafficking.
So here it is. Save this number in your phone, and if you see something that isn't right, make the call.
