Boko Haram Kidnapped 276 Girls

                                                                                   
The kidnapping of close to 300 young girls has made the news. Everyone is weighing in on what should be done or not be done. Heads of governments make threats and promises. Parents weep and cry, for their children are in perilous danger. 

Boko Haram's arrogant and cocky proclamation to sell them is shocking to many. To many more, myself included, it is sick and twisted, but, it is not shocking. There are an estimated 27 million modern day slaves in the world. They work in fields, sweat shops, private homes, and in the sex industry. They are men and boys, women and girls.

According to Polaris Project there "is not one consistent face of trafficking victim.  Trafficked persons in the United States can be men or women, adults or children, foreign nationals or US citizens.  Some are well-educated, while others have no formal education.

While anyone can become a victim of trafficking, certain populations are especially vulnerable.  These may include: undocumented migrants; runaway and homeless youth; and oppressed, marginalized, and/or impoverished groups and individuals.  Traffickers specifically target individuals in these populations because they are vulnerable to recruitment tactics and methods of control.

Undocumented immigrants in the US are highly vulnerable due to a combination of factors, including: lack of legal status and protections, language barriers, limited employment options, poverty and immigration-related debts, and social isolation.  They are often victimized by traffickers from a similar ethnic or national background, on whom they may be dependent for employment or a means of support."

                                            

The spokesperson for Boko Haram spoke the truth when he said there is a market for selling young girls and it is a growing market. Aidan McQuade the Director of Anti-Slavery International said in his CNN interview when asked if selling these girls was even feasible, "I think it is feasible because it has been happening day in and day out for years..." (CNN video can be seen here.) 

It does not matter now for these girls, or their families, that this crime is on the rise or that it has been going on for years and years. What matters now for them, is the fight for survival. Those who are actively involved in working to end human trafficking will continue the fight. My hope is, that through this atrocity, more will wake up to the truth of modern day slavery and join freedom fighters everywhere by educating themselves, by praying, by donating their time and/or money to organizations in the fight to free slaves everywhere.