Monday, September 8, 2014

Dug Shelby Across America For Human Trafficking Awareness

In an article entitled Dug Shelby will pedal bamboo recumbent bicycle from Paso to New York by

Meagan Friberg of  the Paso Robles Daily News, Shelby becomes yet another person to join the ever growing list of modern day abolitionists fighting to free modern day slaves. 
Dug Shelby
Dug Shelby Freedom Fighter!
                           
The articles states that the issue of human trafficking became a cause for Shelby while on photography assignment in India (2008), he witnessed firsthand women and children being forced into sexual slavery in the Dubai red light district. 
Again from the article, Shelby says, “I saw 10 and 11 year old girls working the red light district,” he said, “and I witnessed women and children who were being rehabilitated through the organization I was working with. I have two sisters and three nieces and it really hit home for me; these are someone’s daughters.”
Like Congress woman Linda Smith founder of Shared Hope International who also witnessed the brutal exploitation and sexual slavery of women and children when she traveled into the heart of the brothel district in Mumbai, India in 1998 just 10 years earlier, Shelby was unable to forget the faces of the people he had seen with his own eyes. Now he is riding his bike across America, completely ALONE, to raise awareness of human and sex trafficking. Slaves are alone everyday.    
ALONE
                                                                                                  
 Human trafficking is slavery. It can be for labor or sex. Either way people are the commodity and are a re-usable resource. It is growing rapidly. It is not just in Dubai and Mumbai, India. It does not effect any specific group of people. It doesn't care what economical background you are from or the color of your skin. It only cares that you are vulnerable and that you are available. 
I hope you will look for Dug Shelby as he travels from Paso Robles, California to New York starting on September 16th, 2014. According to the article, this extraordinary 44-year old man has already hiked 2,000 miles along the Pacific Crest from Mexico to Canada to raise awareness of human trafficking in 2011. 
This abolitionists says THANK YOU DUG! I will be watching and praying. Thank you Paso Robles Daily News and Meagan Friberg for the excellent and timely article. 
****Much of this article and the picture were taken from Meagan's article. In stating this I am attempting to give her all the credit due her.**** I'm so glad I found it so I could help raise awareness about Dug Shelby's trip and his efforts. 
Dear readers, please read Meagan's article and check out the Shared Hope site. Support Dug here.

Monday, September 1, 2014

The Lucrative Economics of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, including both labor and sex trafficking, generates residual income for traffickers. The growing and thriving illegal drug industries natural response to sex trafficking was to add it their multiple streams of revenue. Gangs, drug lords and cartels thrive selling drugs and guns. 

Narco gangs like the Zetas — a criminal army founded by defectors from the Mexican military — have diversified their portfolio to include kidnapping, extortion, theft of crude oil, gun running and lucrative human-trafficking networks. It’s impossible to know the exact value of Mexico’s human-trafficking trade, though the U.N. estimates the global industry to be worth $32 billion a year. (Taken from article:  The Mexican Drug Cartels’ Other Business: Sex Trafficking)

People are in business to make money.  Some make it by selling drugs and it works.

Drug bust money mountain.
Guns and ammo from a bust.
          

Let's face it though. Sell a drug. Gone. Sell a gun. Gone. Sell a body. Sell it again. Again. Again. Again. Residual income. It's perfect. They are making money hand over fist. As long as we believe we aren't effected or that we can do nothing; they win!

In reality WE ALL PAY!!!!!

        

So, what is the solution? Preventing. Restoring. Bring Justice. Shared Hope International has worked everyday since their founder, Congresswoman Linda Smith traveled into the heart of the brothel district in Mumbai, India in 1998. There she witnessed the brutal exploitation and sexual slavery of women and children.  She established Shared Hope International to rescue and restore women and children enslaved in sex trafficking. As SHI grew, it became painfully obvious that the United States of America was also a cesspool of the sick and horrific industry of human and sex trafficking. Shared Hope found that it wasn't just women brought here to America or the girls who are kidnapped while on vacation in Europe (see the movie Taken...sad truth in that one). Our girls (AVERAGE!!!!! AGE 12, and growing lower), were being taken right off our safe American streets. Not just the poor and disadvantaged, but rich kids too. Suddenly the pain is on our soil. Families just like those across the globe losing their child. Most are never recovered.
What if your daughter disappeared?!
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
There are some obvious obstacles. If there are buyers there will be sellers. Prevention is huge. While we work on prevention we need to rescue and restore victims. We need to fight for tougher laws. Laws that stick!!!!

In closing, make yourself aware. Get educated. Spread the word! Together and only together we can work to end this nightmare. To end human trafficking we must fight for their freedom. Modern day slavery is alive and thriving, men, women, and children (both boys and girls) are trapped. We are their hope and by the grace of God we will free them!