Humanity One World - H.O.W. You Can Help Stop Human Trafficking

There's a wonderful movement going on in the HubPages community started by Bill Holland, a.k.a. Billybuc. It's called H.O.W. - Humanity One World. The purpose of this movement is to get writers to publish articles concerning the myriad of social problems that exist world wide, and to share these articles. After all, the power of the word is mighty, as is the power of networking. If I can publish an article that inspires even one person to take action to alleviate human suffering, it's a small victory for humanity. Multiply that by 100 people writing 1 article, each shared to 10 people – well, that's 1000 people. Multiply that again by another 100 - well, you get the point. And so the messages – and hopefully actions spurred by the messages - exponentially increase. That is the vision of Humanity One World.

There are so many problems in the world that one hardly knows where to begin – hunger, poverty, sickness, the abuse of human rights – all are atrocious, and need to be addressed. I've decided to address the issue of human trafficking because it's an issue that isn't talked about that often, even though it's one of the most horrible and cruel abuses of human rights imaginable. So many of the victims involved are the least able to defend themselves – our children. Human Trafficking is reported by the U.S. Department of Justice to be on the rise, with half of the victims being children. Robbed of their childhoods and their freedom, these children live a nightmare existence. Used as slaves, they are forced into prostitution, pornography, and involuntary labor. Here are some startling facts from Stop Child Trafficking Now

• Child trafficking is one of the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise, second only to drugs.
• There are over 1.2 million child victims a year (UNICEF)
• The average age that a victim of human trafficking enters the sex trade industry is 12 years old (U.S. Department of Justice)
• 300,000 U.S. children are at risk for sexual exploitation (U.S. Department of Justice)
• 600,000-800,000 people are bought and sold throughout the world annually. Out of these, 50% are children. Most of these victims are forced into commercial sex trade (U.S. Department of State 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report)

“O.K.”, you may say, “this is a heart breaking and horrible problem, but what can I do about it? How can I help?”. Well, I found that there are specific ways in which you can take action.

The first way that you can help is, of course, to be vigilant. If you see suspicious activity, report it. Know what the signs are, such as someone not being able to come and go freely, appearing malnourished, acting fearful, anxious and depressed. The Polaris Project has a full list of things to look for.

Here are some numbers to call if you want to report suspected activity:

• National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline - 888-373-7888
• STOP-IT twenty-four hour hotline at 877.606.3158
• National Center for Missing or Exploited Children - 1-800-THE-LOST

Perhaps you could donate your time as a volunteer or donate money to one of the many organizations that are involved in fighting this problem. Some organizations are concerned with increasing awareness, some with preventing the problem, some with rescuing victims, and some with prosecuting offenders, and many provide safe houses for victims to recover in. Here are a few that you can take a look at:

Prevention:

Born2Fly International

Prevention and Aftercare:

Love146

International Organizations that rescue:

International Justice Mission

Dalit Freedom Network

Crisis Aid

In the United States

Florida Coalition Against Human Traffiking

The Polly Klass Foundation

Project Exodus

Faith Based Organizations:

Ahava Kids

Dream Center

Here are the lyrics from Tom Petty's song “Lost Children”. My prayers go out to all of the lost children around the world.

Lord please watch over
All these lost children
Born to chase the hurricane
Please shines some light down
On those who wander
Filled with hunger and pain

Please raise the wind for
All those out sailing
On an ocean alone
Lord shine a light on
All these lost children
Far away from their home

Lord keep an eye on
All these lost children
Swept away in the wind
Please shine some light down
On all those travelin'
Lead them all home again