Opening my eyes

This week was about Human Trafficking. (Sexual exploitation, forced labor, child soldiers, organ trafficking, etc). I’ve learned so much about how/where it happens, how many are involved, how to investigate suspicious situations, etc. My heart is broken for this…there are no words to describe.

We took a trip downtown late last night to walk the streets and observe. Some of us talked to prostitutes, transvestites, taxi drivers, and locals to learn more about what happens 15 minutes away from us every night. Sex tourism is huge in Costa Rica, unfortunately.

I’m still unsure how to process some of what I saw. There’s an anger, a desperation to fight. There is also a sense of betrayal. That one surprises me. I’ve never been prostituted/trafficked/exploited like that. Why am I taking offense in such a personal way? I wanted to run up to those men and demand an explanation. How can you be so disgusting? Selfish? Blind to the repercussions this will bring? How can you treat a human being, somebody’s daughter, like a disposable object? But I’m reminded of God’s heart for them too. For the abusers, the participants of this monstrosity. He loves them like he loves me. I can’t understand how God still views them as his precious children. That’s hard for me to swallow. Because last night, all I saw was filth. I saw countless, COUNTLESS, white, middle aged men walk in and out of this hotel 20 feet away from me. On vacation, looking to have some fun, some instant gratification to fill their empty lives. How many are married, I wonder? Probably more than half. How many have daughters themselves? They’re far from home and this secret part of their lives is displayed in front of me to see. $100 for an hour, the taxi driver informed us. They can do whatever they want with the girls. Are some of the girls trafficked, we asked? Forced sexual exploitation? Oh yeah, he replied. Tons of them.

Perhaps the most unsettling part of the night happened with a few guys that came with us. They decided to investigate in a bit of a different way, a way that men would have an easier time doing. Pose as the consumer. At one of the bars, they asked around where they could find a place to have sex with children. Under 16, they requested. Sure, was the reply. There’s a place close by. $100 for an hour with as many kids as you’d like. Except it’s not safe to bring the kids to the bar, so we’ll bring you to them. Well, our guys weren’t prepared for this next step just yet, so they told the local that they didn’t have the money right then, but maybe tomorrow. They left with a card, a phone number, to get in touch with connections that would take them to the kids when they’re ready. I’m not sure what will happen with this, but I think they’re planning on finding out more information, a location, and getting the police involved.

Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, but human trafficking is not. How much easier though, for trafficking to exist in a place where prostitution is all over the streets. How do you know which of the girls are being trafficked, and which have chosen prostitution? And how much easier for a brothel to exist, with a room of little girls and boys down in the basement.

These things might seem far away, or only in the movies, or only in 3^rd world countries where there’s corruption. But the truth is that it’s happening everywhere. Some places in greater amounts, but it’s everywhere. Why does it exist? There’s a HUGE demand for it. More often than not, the demand comes from foreigners, westerners. My eyes were opened this week, in a way that begs for action. It’s one thing to briefly hear about this thing that exists, it’s another to hear the staggering statistics and that it’s happening in your very own city. And it’s an entirely different thing to see it with your own eyes. To investigate for one hour one night, and discover how easy it is to take part in this awful injustice.

There’s so much more I want to share. But for now, I just wanted to process some of my thoughts from what I experienced last night. I recommend watching Human Trafficking, a made for TV movie. It’s really interesting. Hard to watch, but interesting. It gives different situations of human trafficking in different countries, and how people often get trapped into it. Or type in Human Trafficking to google and see what comes up. There’s a lot of information out there. But get ready to learn some heavy stuff. I believe it’s our responsibility to do something. What’s my part, exactly? That’s my question today.