CHARITY CORNER n SHAKERS & MOVERS
Human Trafficking is Not a Myth
By Blair Pippin
"D
oes anybody care?” she
wondered as she slipped
on her heels. Angie was ex-
hausted and alone, getting
ready to go out to meet another customer
at 2 am. She checked her makeup, looked
into her dark brown eyes in the mirror and
didn’t recognize the woman looking back
at her. She thought, “What happened to
the girl who loved Christmas?”
As Angie’s trafficker, Bobby, drove her to
another hotel, she prayed, “God, just get
me through this!” She took a deep breath,
composed herself, put on a smile, and
let another man pay to sexually abuse
her. When Bobby picked her up, he said,
“Where’s my Christmas cash?” Angela
gave him every penny.
Bobby took the money and said, “Merry
Christmas, you’ve got another date.” That
would make the 5th of the day. The abuse
of being raped for money time and time
again had taken its toll. Reeling on the
inside, she smiled and said, “Great!” She
knew if she said no, she would regret it.
She had seen what happens to girls who
refuse to obey, they often end up in the
ER or worse.
Before Angie’s parents died in the
car crash, there was a girl who loved
Christmas, who enjoyed icing cakes and
cookies and hanging lights on the tree.
That girl was long gone. She died in the
car along with her parents.
The new Angie had forgotten about joy
and peace. This Angie only knew survival.
While being tossed around from foster
home to foster home, she experienced
neglect and sexual abuse time and time
again. When Bobby came along when
she was 17 and promised to take her out
of that nightmare, she quickly fell for him
and they ran away together.
Angie didn’t realize that this was all a
romantic ploy to manipulate her into
doing whatever he wanted. Soon after she
left to go away with him, Bobby convinced
her to sell her body for sex. He said they
needed the money and it would just be
once to get them back on their feet. That
was six months—and hundreds of men—
ago. was your child or grandchild? What would
you do to help her?
She was tired of it but where could Angie
go? She didn’t have any money. She
couldn’t get a job without finishing high
school. Now that she was 18 and had
aged out of foster care she had no family
or social workers to turn to. Fear of the
unknown kept her trapped. She needed a
Christmas miracle. There is hope for Angie if we all resolve
to change our world. First, we must stop
encouraging a culture that exploits others.
Pornography and other suggestive ma-
terial objectifies people and trains us to
treat people only as objects for our own
gratification. This mindset fuels human
trafficking.
When Bobby pulled into the next hotel,
Angie put on a smile and went inside.
When the man opened the door, he
double-checked the price Bobby had
quoted. As soon as she confirmed, the
man pulled out his badge and said,
“You are under arrest.” “Some Christmas
miracle,” she thought. Second, we must educate ourselves
and those around us. Human trafficking
is not a myth and it does not only
happen in far-away lands. Learn more
about human trafficking by visiting
stophumantrafficking.com and following
organizations like Florida Abolitionist
(@FLAbolitionist) on social media. Share
what you learn with friends and young
people around you so we can prevent
more vulnerable people from being
exploited.
Angie was taken to the police station and
charged with prostitution. At first, she
didn’t want to tell anyone about Bobby.
It was a badge of honor to go to jail for
him. But then a social worker came in and
talked with her. She said she just wanted
to make sure that Angie was OK. Angie
thought, “No one has ever cared if I was
OK since my parents died.”
As they talked, Angie found herself telling
this woman everything. How Bobby
seemed like a great boyfriend at first but
forced her into prostitution. Angie was
afraid to open up but knew it was the right
thing to do. She hadn’t done anything
wrong. He tricked her and trapped her
in the lifestyle. Angie didn’t want to do it
anymore. She wanted out and maybe this
woman could help.
With the help of her new friend, Angie
made a New Year’s resolution to change
her life. She wouldn’t go back to Bobby
but would get help, get her GED, and
pursue her dream of being a teacher.
Stories like Angie’s are far too common.
Even during the holidays, people are
bought and sold for sex in every state
across our nation. Vulnerable people
are targeted by traffickers and are
manipulated into forced prostitution to be
sold to the highest bidder. What if Angie
Third, report suspicious activity you see
to the National Human Trafficking Hotline
888-3737-888. It is an anonymous call and
could save a life!
Last, support the cause. Give generously
to help those on the front lines continue
their work assisting victims and raising
awareness about the cause. Florida
Abolitionist relies completely on outside
donations to fund our work, join
us by donating on our website at
stophumantrafficking.com.
Resolve to stop human trafficking this
year! Stop exploitation, educate yourself,
report the crime, and support the cause.
Blair Pippin,
Prevention &
Creative Director
Florida Abolitionist
blair.pippin@
floridaabolitionist.org
www.stophumantrafficking.com
VOL 5, Issue 1
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