Pursuing Hearts
Written by Stacy-Ann Smith M.A. Licensed Counsellor
“Am I going to be reminded of human trafficking every time I see you?” My friend joked as I spoke to him of a fundraiser I was doing to provide therapy for survivors of human trafficking. My heart sank as he poked mild fun and my stomach turned. What was a joke to him was the source of igniting flame for me. Few are aware and fewer still want to be inconvenienced by the pain of human trafficking. It’s a problem. It’s messy. But it’s not “affecting” me seems to be the mindset of too many. Human trafficking is a sick, sinister evil and a giant industry that is now the second fastest growing criminal entity surpassed only by drug trade. By definition, it is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring and receipt of persons through the coercion, force, or fraud for the purpose of exploitation.
This definition can make what is a debased activity seem clinical, but take a moment and think carefully about what that means. One day you are a free-spirited teenager, the next you are drugged and forced to service men for sex. One day you are on a plane, a bus, a car ride to an amazing new job opportunity, the next you are in a small room forced to work arduous hours for no pay. No creature comforts. No regard for your humanity. Human Trafficking is the dehumanizing of a person, reducing their value to nothing more than that of a commodity to be bought or sold. Men used for labor, women for sex, children as soldiers. In every case choice is snatched away and power is used to exploit and oppress. It feels far away and out of our minds, until someone posts a video of the atrocities in Libya, or a picture circulates of a pedophile caught by the police. The uproar weaves its ways through terabytes of data for a few weeks and then the fervor fizzles and fades away.
I remember attending a church to promote an awareness campaign against human trafficking. After the service, a woman stood a few inches away from me and said, “human trafficking isn’t happening here, it’s just bad girls who run off with their boyfriends.” I shook my head in disappointment but understood that without awareness this will continue to be the mindset of too many of our people. Until persons hear that in Jamaica we have actually prosecuted cases of foreign nationals being tricked into coming to our fair island for a job only to be worked as slaves for hours without much pay might they believe. Or that here in Jamaica a little girl was tricked to believing she was coming here for better education but instead was forced to work like a slave and eventually be used for sex might belief break through the blissful cloud of ignorance.
People need to hear that in Jamaica an 18 year old girl still breaks down when telling a story of her own mother selling her to their neighbors to pay rent or buy clothes. It is here. And it is a problem. Less than 1% of victims are ever rescued and though efforts have been vamped up, criminals find more creative ways to hide themselves in cracks of society using culture, ignorance and fear to keep their business. Selling people is simply financially more beneficial to criminals. One pimp explains that selling drugs is a one-time transaction whereas selling a woman for sex gives several
sales for a period of years.
In Latin America and the Caribbean 2 million persons are reportedly trafficked for forced labor, sex work, bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and organ harvesting, just a few of the forms of human trafficking. After reading an article on Sex Tourism and the thriving industry, I traveled to South East Asia to volunteer to do outreach to survivors. I met girls as young as 14 working in brothels, on the streets, in massage parlors and in bars. It was heart breaking putting faces to this evil. I remember driving past a brothel lined with women and there amongst them was a little girl holding her teddy bear. Having returned home and realizing that the issue wasn’t a problem in foreign lands only but that it plagued our society as well I decided to do more here.
It is because of this that Pursued International was formed. Redeeming what was broken and replacing it with a love that is consuming, faithful and one they cannot be separated from. Pursued International seeks to ignite compassion through awareness. Pursued International seeks to pursue freedom through outreach; pointing them to One who faithfully reaches out to them so He can restore. It is the desire of this ministry to reach out to persons seized against their will to let them know that the lover of their souls wants to rapture their hearts with His love. His desire is to engulf them with his overwhelming unconditional love and restore them. He wants to take their hearts from a desert wasteland to the flourishing Kingdom, giving them hearts transformed by the ravishing love of a sweet Savior. Pursued International’s goal is three-pronged. Awareness, Outreach, and Restoration. It’s our goal to partner with established organizations to help spread the word on victimology, the realities of human trafficking in Jamaica, how persons can help and to reach the persons who are trapped in this web and offer support and care.
For Pursued International, evangelism, prayer and worship will be an integral part of the mission as we take on the mandate to serve those whom others have considered the least but whom God considers priceless. This will be done by regular outreach to working girls in the street, ministering to their needs, providing a caring embrace and listening ear. Eventually it is our desire to be a part of the restorative process, providing survivors a chance to receive the healing and freedom of overcoming a life of pain and despair. If you want to be a part of this movement to counter the horrors of human trafficking please, contact Pursued International at pursued.international@gmail.com.
I think back to the lighthearted banter of my friend’s question about seeing me and being reminded of human trafficking and my response is: “ Yes. I hope that is the case every single time.” These lives matter and I will do what I can to make sure we stand up and pay attention.
Join Founder Of TheBeyondWoman Jacqueline as she presents a session on 5 Days to Turn Your Life Around – Secrets to living an extra-ordinary life.
In a world that does not foster authenticity but instead throws us a script on how to do life, many are meandering through life. The reason you are meandering is because you are made for more. There is something within that does not align to your current experiences which causes you to constantly search for this more. If you have no clue what that more entails how can you find it? And so we spend a good portion of our life hoping that life will become what we feel it to be on the inside of us.
This was me, maybe it is you
Would you like to hear how I found more?
