$150 billion human trafficking industry flows through Birmingham

Kathy Jackson was a student when she went out with friends. “I really thought they were students at the college [I attended], but

they were not,” “They were finding out information about me—where I was from, who my mom is, who my dad is,

what they do for a living, typical questions. When you’re in college, you don’t have a reason to wonder why people would ask.”

Lack of critical thinking

“We were in this nice hotel, and they were saying we were going to lunch. It’ll be fun.’ I was reluctant again, but the free spirit in

me said

, ‘It’s nothing.’” Jackson said they went to a beautiful condo—where she was assaulted, raped, and repeatedly beaten.

Jackson was trafficked all over the world...……………………….

“There are only two continents I haven’t been on and only five states I haven’t been in for more than a day,” she said.

$150 Billion Industry

Human trafficking is a $150 billion industry. It is the second most profitable illegal activity in the world.

Human trafficking, often called modern-day slavery, involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or

commercial sex act. About 21 million people around the world are victims. Sex slavery is a big component of human trafficking,

contributing $100 billion of the $150 billion brought in by the illegal activity. Birmingham is a major hub in the Southeast for human

trafficking because two of the busiest interstates for trafficking intersect here.

. “Those people who think we’re a relatively small Southern city, don’t realize that Birmingham sits right on two of the most traveled

trafficking interstates.” I-20, due to its direct connection of 2 cities, is one of the main routes for traffickers. And I-65, I-59, and I-459 all interconnect with major ports and cities, making it a magnet for illegal trafficking activity.

The truck stops along the interstates are big hubs for sex trafficking as well. A typical model for trafficking, “The average age is 12

to 14 in relation to females. It’s usually a young girl who has come from an abusive, dysfunctional family setting, and she’s easily

lured into trafficking because of it. Sometimes she’s a runaway or a girl on the street. She is vulnerable. The trafficker will pose as

someone who will care for her. … And he will take care of her: he will buy her stuff and make her believe that he will never hurt her.”

Usually, after he has emotionally bound the girl to him, the trafficker, or “pimp,” makes her sell herself.

Drugs are often a factor with victims/ Many of the women rescued have been victims of child or sexual abuse or some type of domestic violence. Many are homeless, struggling with substance abuse, or dealing with mental-health concerns.

“There is still a mindset to view these girls as prostitutes, but these are people who are actually struggling,” Potter said.

One way to identify women who are possibly trafficked is by looking for any brandings, Potter said.

“Sometimes the pimp has his name branded or tattooed on the victim,” she said.

It Can Happen Anywhere

Denial

The big misconception about trafficking is that it’s somebody else’s kid, it will never happen where we live.

“[Some people think], ‘We’re safe. We live in Mountain Brook or Hoover, and it takes place only in poverty-stricken areas.’ .

“Everybody’s child is a potential trafficking victim, and it can happen quickly. If you go to the shopping area, you may see a

parent who wants to slip into a store, so he or she tells the kids to wait outside [of the store] or don’t run off, thinking that they

are safe. It takes literally seconds for someone to grab a kid and throw him or her into a truck. Within 24 hours, that child

could be on their way to South America.”

“When I grew up, the side of a milk carton would have a picture of a little girl 4 or 5 years old and the word ‘Missing.’ People would

think the child had wandered off, run away, or been kidnapped. What people didn’t realize was there was a chance those children

were taken, and now they’re 30 years old and have been sex slaves since they were 4 years old.”

What I am hearing now, on tv, in news articles, frpm police is this: kids are being grabbed from their parents arms right on the street.

With trafficking lines being narrowed there is less inventory,

https://abc3340.com/archive/human-trafficking-a-150-billion-dollar-industry

https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2017/02/150-billion-human-trafficking-industry-flows-through-birmingham/?fbclid=IwAR0botomZ0LSVg2G3wHUJGIUCna9Q6mG_2Td4HqC9FmpoUOlu6sG4kHyrdY