our modern titanic- human trafficking

In the movie Titanic (the one with Kate & Leo), at the last scene, the Titanic has fallen into the ocean and several hundred people are screaming and swimming around where the boat once was. Nearby there were 20 boats, but none of them helped the people that were in the water. The people in the boats were afraid that if they went back to help the people in the water, they would be swamped and they would die as well.

I realized today that I would not have gone back for the people either. I don’t want to die. Going to help a large mass amount of people would only lead to certain death. I really wish that I was the type of person who would go back to the people and risk their own life to save some lives but that is not me, at least, not when it seems pretty certain that I will die in the process. I’m not that brave.

This has all come about in my mind as I become more aware of the human trafficking issue in Vancouver, Washington. The teen girls caught up in human trafficking are just like those swimming around after the Titanic sank. They are doomed and everyone knows their fate. I am like the passengers in the small boats. I am safe from drowning or freezing in the water and I don’t want to go help them because I know that if I do, I could easily lose my life.

In the Portland/Vancouver metro area there are 3-4 new cases of underage prostitution each week. If we had someplace to put the girls, law enforcement estimates they could pick up over 80 girls tomorrow to help them start the healing process. Minors engaged in any type of prostitution are not considered criminals but victims of human trafficking. Portland/Vancouver is a hot spot for this because of the two cities next to each other that are in different state jurisdiction. The traffickers only have to cross the bridge (either way) with the girls to frustrate and confuse the police.   

What’s really disturbing with these girls is how closely their souls seem to be tied to their pimps. Even if we can find them (which is difficult) and even if we can tear them away from their jobs as prostitutes (in which they do not want to leave) and even if we can unite them with a loving family (nearly impossible), research estimates it takes 2 full years of constant working (and forcing) the girls to heal them. After those two years, many of them will still return to their pimps. 

I don't know what to do about this and there isn't much that one can do, but I've just been thinking about it so that is why I blogged about it.