Today we started our day off with nearly four and a half hours of educational presentations. These presentations focused on human trafficking in the state of Florida. Representatives from the agencies we are working with this week came in to give an overview of their mission and how they are active regarding the topic. Every speaker was eye-opening, and for the first time, many of us were exposed to the reality of human trafficking on our own soil.
My favorite speaker, Natasha, works for an agency called Redefining Refuge. She works to take in victims of sexual human trafficking up to 18 years. She was FIERCE. She has a safe-house that no common person has the address to and houses up to 4 girls at a time. The girls she takes in have gone through experiences none of us will encounter in a lifetime. She spoke of a call she had received to take in a young girl that had been sexually trafficked and addicted to crack cocaine since the age of 9... she was now 16. She has had girls try to run away, be extremely uncooperative and not even understand that they were victims in a traumatic experience. They don't have many memories of their childhood besides the trafficking lifestyle they had become accustomed to. Furthermore, she is active in law enforcement advocating for the safety of these young girls and all victims. The link to this agency is below.
http://www.redefiningrefuge.org/
We heard a few stories from survivors of human sex trafficking today as well. I could sit and try to recreate the emotions that ran through all of us as they were speaking, but I know it wouldn't compare. I was moved to tears (a task not easily accomplished) by witnessing the new and transformed women speaking in front of me, and imaging the troubled, broken women they once were.
Deputy Jeffery, the County Sheriff, shed light on the labor human trafficking, an side that is not as well known. He spoke about how Mexicans are transported over to the states to work, such as pick tomatoes in a Florida garden. There would be 9-10 of them living in a small trailer, working 4am-4pm 6 days a week and making $1.00 a day. The owners would force them into staying for long periods of time by corrosion, saying they owed him a few thousand dollars and they had to stay until it was worked off. Deputy Jeffery said this labor trafficking is currently happening a few miles down the road from the Gannon Ruskin Campus we are staying at. I remember hearing him say that and thinking, "This is an entirely new form of slavery."
After the heavy topics of the morning, we took a nice sunny lunch break and reflected as a group. All of us were very moved, but also motivated to learn and make a difference in the agencies this week.
THEN we took an afternoon expedition to the white and wonderful beaches of Siesta Keys (s/o Rachel's fam). They have the best sand ever.
Well, time to rest up and prepare for some service work! I'll talk to you tomorrow :)
Much love,
Kat
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