"When armed men arrive in Mexico's remote villages, mothers hide their daughters - especially the pretty ones. Jennifer Clement hears the distressing stories of girls and women stolen by drug cartels to be trafficked for sex."I am excited and at the same time heavy hearted as I began to plunge head first into Sex Trafficking materials and studies once again. This coming month for me will be immersed in this subject. My daughter, Destiny and I will be traveling to Cambodia to see what Cambodia is doing in the prevention and rescue efforts for their women and children. I am also preparing a presentation in partnership with Northwest Family Services for middle school and high school kids to be presented in Arizona Public Schools. Right now I am waiting on my kid's school district to find space in their calendar for me to begin a few classes educating their middle school students.
As I look over materials and begin to look at new promotional videos, I came across this article and it broke my heart and I can not shake it from my thoughts:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/08/mexico-young-women-sex-trade-drug-gangs
"When a girl is Robada - which literally means stolen - she is taken off the street on her way to school, leaving the movies or even stolen out of her own house. No ransom is asked for Her body is all the criminals want. The drug cartels know they can sell a bag of drugs only once, but they can prostitute a young woman many times in a single day."
The article tells of poorer communities in Mexico that have to hide their daughters in holes in the ground to protect them from Mexican Drug Cartels. It also speaks of cutting girls hair and making them look like boys just to protect their 10, 11, 12, 13+ year old daughters from Drug Lords who swoop into villages with machine guns and grab girls like sacks of flour and then they are never seen again. The above picture is of a mother who's daughter pictured in the background was taken at a young age. This is happening today in our world and in our states and country. In April my foster daughter, Julie, is going on a mission trip only miles from the Mexican border. In March my nieces are heading down to Mexico. Mexico borders us and their children are being stolen as well as ours in our big cities across America.
This article hits extremely close to home because we are only two hours from the Mexican border and "our town" of Stanfield, is mainly Mexican families. I am told to pack a gun (by border patrol) at my own house due to the violent drug lords who roam the area (That is an entirely different blog for another day). I know that the girls in my community are vulnerable and so I am beginning to the process of networking, collecting materials, and formulating what is needed to train, parents, staff, and kids in trafficking.
"Hopelessness about a problem is a bigger problem than the problem."This is not a hopeless situation! There is always Hope! Hope in the power of prayer and an amazing Creator who cares deeply! Hope in educating and giving awareness that protects children from vulnerable situations. Hope in people asking God what they can I do in this fight against this modern day slavery.
"There are no hopeless circumstances, but only hopeless people. Once people get true Hope the circumstance cannot stay the same!"
