by Lauren Kline, Junior, Northview High School
The United States of America: a spectacular land flowing with infinite possibilities and opportunities, a land of abundant riches and glory, a land where grand dreams reach the face of reality, and a land where freedom rings. But does freedom truly resonate through every dark airport in this nation? Slavery was outlawed years ago, right? Certainly no child in this magnificent country ever faces the horrors of forced labor, sexual exploitation, and mental, physical or sexual abuse. Wrong. Unfortunately, child slavery still exists in this nation. “Modern-day slavery is the second largest criminal industry in the world today,” according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Human beings this very day are bought and sold like mere items, many of them barely in their teens. On the streets of the land of the free once innocent little children are sold as sex slaves. Their precious and fragile little bodies receive the treatment of punching bags. They are forced to endure unspeakable torture. These poor children live in the world of trapped souls yearning with all that dwells in their little hearts that someone will notice the pain and the agony that appears transparent to the world. Too helpless to fight for their freedom, these powerless children depend on others to rescue them.
My friends and I heard about this situation, and its particular high rate in Atlanta, and in October of 2007, we founded an organization called PAST, which stands for People Against Slavery and Trafficking. Although as high school youth we do not have the capability to enter into the field and rescue the victims, we do have the ability to raise awareness and funds.
Once trafficked victims receive physical freedom, tremendous need for healing inhabits the souls of the abused. The trauma of constant physical and mental abuse leaves victims in desperate need of emotional support and therapy. Safe houses like those provided for domestically abused women present the essential key for the healing of trafficked persons. Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources to fund such healing shelters, the vast majority of rescued victims do not receive proper support. With the absence of this necessary assistance, these helpless souls depend on prostitution for means of survival, causing further victimization.
For this very reason organizations like PAST play a role in raising funds and conveying awareness to the public about the plight of these unfortunate victims. PAST targets the crisis of human trafficking in Atlanta. In a city gleaming with prosperity and entertainment dwells a vicious demon that robs children of their childhood and destroys their innocence. PAST wishes to achieve nothing less than driving out and destroying this insidious creature. Now is the time to put human trafficking where it belongs…in the past.
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