There are those of us who go on vacation, enjoy the sunshine and tranquility – and then there are those of us like me who go on a trip and return with an orthopedic boot souvenir! My fractured 5th metatarsal (think outside foot bone) journey began in Cambodia. However, the purpose of my journey to Cambodia began years before that.
My story begins 3 years ago with my first big stint abroad working as a speech therapist in Maputo, Mozambique. It was there at the Mozambique-South African border that I first encountered human trafficking. Due to my visa, each month I traveled to the border to get my passport stamped and typically traveled onward to pick up my snail mail that was delivered to a post box in a small town shopping complex. Thus was the ritual for 12 months. As efficiency wasn’t really a concept that existed in this frequently civil war torn country, the border process was a slow, very much people-observing process. I began to notice patterns at the border. Buses filled with Mozambican men traveling to Johannesburg, South Africa to work in the gold mines. “Government enforcers” who could easily be bribed to bypass the border hassle. Stray dogs. Trash. People balancing gardening tools, schoolbooks, cartons of eggs, passels of clothing, pots & pans, furniture, small children, anything on their head with the relative strength of an ant carrying a maple leaf.
Then there was the curious collection of girls and women being transported across the border. And as time passed, the more of the latter I saw. In time I learned that the reason for the age 34 life expectancy in Mozambique stemmed from what was being witnessed at the border. The men employed as miners crossed the border with income, but also with AIDs. And the women in the overcrowded single-gender buses were the victims of the “entertainment” industry – many coerced into sex slavery by their families or situational circumstances.
Then there was the curious collection of girls and women being transported across the border. And as time passed, the more of the latter I saw. In time I learned that the reason for the age 34 life expectancy in Mozambique stemmed from what was being witnessed at the border. The men employed as miners crossed the border with income, but also with AIDs. And the women in the overcrowded single-gender buses were the victims of the “entertainment” industry – many coerced into sex slavery by their families or situational circumstances.
When I returned home to the States and accepted a position with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, moving me to Cincinnati, Ohio, I discovered an organization that too had recently become a Cincinnati import – Transitions Global. A nonprofit organization that was combating what I had witnessed at the African border crossing – sex trafficking of young girls. While calling Cincinnati home, Transitions’ heart is in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where they have established a comprehensive aftercare program for girls between the ages of 13 and 19 years old who have been sexually trafficked, exploited or abused. Having a success rate near 80% of reintegrating girls into Cambodian society without being re-exploited, this aftercare program has demonstrated unprecedented success relative to “similar” programs.
Traveling with a team of nearly 20 people from the U.S. in January, I had the opportunity to engage in Transitions’ work. Ironically enough, the 2 of us from Cincinnati wound up with foot injuries – mine the first day exploring the ruins of Angkor Wat and the other woman bumped and broke her pinky toe the first night in her hotel room! Though the Cincinnati contingent was hobbled, we still had an absolutely fantastic trip! Who knew that Cambodians believe the more steps there are the closer they are to Buddha - yet the concept of elevators is a seemingly odd phenomenon. In the course of 2 weeks, I saw one elevator and it read “out of order.” (I still used it, and yes, to my knowledge it worked.)
The girls. Despite their history, they acted like any other teenage girls. Happy, sad, excited, screaming (“squealing” I have ascertained is a primary communicative function), giggling, and giggling, and giggling. Hello Kitty. Justin Beiber. Skinny jeans. Bedazzled purses and nails. Despite their inward bruising, seeing my rainbow-colored foot, they took to me like mother hens – clucking over who was going to get my pizza, grab my displaced crutches, paint my toenails shades of purple, persuade me to consume fried beetles, and help me navigate my ailing body up and down.
Early on I met “Molika.” Like my older sister and my twin sister, she was happiest while painting and drawing. Leading up to the trip, I had collected art supplies from my friends and family and it was so rewarding to see her eyes light up at the sight of oil pastels, her own sketchbook, and new colored pencils and paintbrushes. During a True Body Project activity, a program developed to empower the girls, I sat next to Molika as she drew a beautiful picture of a tree. A tree with stretching roots and many branches indicating how she felt – feeling strong but with room to grow. Another girl drew 2 trees – one big, one small – and expressed how before she came to Transitions she felt like the small tree – minimally noticed as if forgotten – but now she was the big tree – strong and loved.
Some have asked me – What did you hope to accomplish in such a short time? My best answer is – Just to be with the girls. To be with them and to show them that we love and care about them. The rest fell into place. One night we found ourselves teaching the girls sign language as a way of breaking through the language barrier. With one bilingual person to translate the meaning of the signs initially, we suddenly found ourselves with a similar vocabulary - discussing our feelings, dreams for what we want to be when we grow up, our favorite animals. Who knew I’d be using American Sign Language (and crutches) in Cambodia?!
Without a doubt, the trip to Cambodia reminded me of the disturbing and ongoing struggle with modern day slavery. Thinking of its omnipresent manifestation into our society from the sweatshop factory workers to the boy soldiers is heartbreaking and overwhelming. Yet seeing the nature of Transition’s work and similar organizations gives me hope. But the girls I met on the trip have given me the most hope. They have in many ways seen the darkest side of human nature, yet they have not given up; they continue to push on and persevere. They are truly survivors.
Close to home facts:
• It is estimated that there are between 12.5 and 27 million people currently enslaved in various forms of bondage.
• Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked worldwide every year.
• Currently, in the United States, the FBI and UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 300,000 American underage girls that are vulnerable to sex trafficking.
• The average age of girls who enter into street prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old.
• According to the United Nations, sex trafficking brings in an estimated $32 billion a year worldwide. In the U.S., sex trafficking brings in $9.5 billion annually.
• Nationwide, Toledo, Ohio is ranked #3 for child sex trafficking and slavery. By state, Ohio is ranked #5.
How to get involved:
Visit Transitions Global website to learn more about the organization, inquire about an Engagement trip, and/or Sponsor a girl (I'm sponsoring Molika!). Contact me if you have any questions or are interested in getting involved with what Transitions is doing here in Cincinnati!
