Taking a disastrous situation and making it worse – is that even possible?
Human traffickers prey on the most vulnerable human beings, often at the worst times of their lives. When feeling hopeless or lost, people don’t make the best decisions.
Being displaced from a war zone, while running for your life and the life of your children, is exactly the emotional situation that can be exploited by human traffickers.
Promises of a safe passage to another country; promises of food, shelter, and a safe place to hide; fake affection and fake understanding – they all are hard to resist to those in the midst of a crisis.
People fleeing for their lives have already taken great risks and hardships. Tales of people walking 30 miles and more; tales of surviving in cold, wintery rains and snows; tales of no sleep for 72 hours while trying to reach a safe place have been commonly heard during this first week of Putin’s invasion.
Refugees had to leave both their lives and livelihoods behind as they ran for their lives. Promises of good employment might seem too hard to pass up.
As terrible as all these things are, as emotionally wrenching as the experiences may be, many people can succumb to the persuasive stories of those traffickers who make a living on others’ misfortunes.
WHAT CAN BE DONE
Pray – pray often, pray fervently and know that the Lord hears your prayer.
Trust – trust that your prayers will be acted upon by the Lord, even if you can’t see the results you are asking for. Jesus needs you to believe that he will deliver what you ask for in His name. In Matthew 13:58 “And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”
Donate – there are dozens of humanitarian efforts underway. Charity Navigator has a list of 22 sites (as of 3/1/22) that are proven to be doing good work.
13 More articles you might find valuable:
Has your child’s school taken the first step?
10 Ways you can help end trafficking
Can you believe human zoos existed in this country?
What to tell your child before it’s too late
The worst thing your child won’t tell you
Make a friend – save a trafficking victim
Learning the facts about sexual violence – these stats are incredible
St. Josephine Bakhita – patron saint of recovering trafficking victims
Learn the dangerous language of human traffickers before your child does
Look beneath the surface – would you recognize someone being trafficked?
Three ways to protect kids online
WTH are these preteens thinking?
