One of the few survivors and first hand accounts of human trafficking is Lacey who at 13 was sold by her parents into the trafficking business of California. Her parents, who are "abusive drug addicts", sold Lacey as a sex slave, a situation far too common for my liking. Conditions living with men were harsh, and if she "didn't meet her $500 a day quota, she'd be severely beaten." She'd also get "death threats from [her] pimp all the time" which served as another daily hazard in her life. Lacey, although going through as much as she did, should consider herself lucky. After staying in the prostitution business for a relatively short time, she was rescued by "Dream Center", an organization set to help trafficking victims in the Los Angeles area. However, statistically speaking, 99% of victims will never be rescued. Dream Center hits the streets weekly in search of possible trafficking offenders, but can't possibly save the 10,000 women in Los Angeles' underground brothel.
I found this source to be extremely useful and reliable when looking at my goals. With our mission being an attempt to drastically decrease the number of human traffickers each year, this anecdote serves to show how truly horrific this crime is and how relatively unnoticed it is as well. The first step towards reform is always awareness and education, and there's no better way of informing than first hand accounts especially one written in a point of view so relevant to the younger generation. Being 13 years old and living in an area so close to home (LA) makes this experience so much more powerful to the youth which is why I find this source to be so useful. Lacey's story is also reliable as it's a retelling of her life. There is no real bias since she is the only one who can really know what happened, so there isn't really another point of view. For me, this source is excellent as it provides an eye opening view into the world of human trafficking and how it directly influences the victim. However, for the purpose of the original website (Dream Center), Lacey's story is there to illustrate how doing a tiny favor can change a life so dramatically.
That purpose transcends into our goal which is to make people want to strive for a change. By offering little donations to non-profit organizations like Dream Center, people can realize that we can change a person once forced into harsh, illegal labor into a working member of society. Reading Lacey's story made me realize that this was eventual goal:transforming traffickers into workers. This article hence offered a completely different view of how this topic could be helped which has heavily swayed my beliefs. Lacey and her story will serve as an example of what the everyday person can do to stop human trafficking and hopefully reading a story like this will convince more people into using their power to change.
I found this source to be extremely useful and reliable when looking at my goals. With our mission being an attempt to drastically decrease the number of human traffickers each year, this anecdote serves to show how truly horrific this crime is and how relatively unnoticed it is as well. The first step towards reform is always awareness and education, and there's no better way of informing than first hand accounts especially one written in a point of view so relevant to the younger generation. Being 13 years old and living in an area so close to home (LA) makes this experience so much more powerful to the youth which is why I find this source to be so useful. Lacey's story is also reliable as it's a retelling of her life. There is no real bias since she is the only one who can really know what happened, so there isn't really another point of view. For me, this source is excellent as it provides an eye opening view into the world of human trafficking and how it directly influences the victim. However, for the purpose of the original website (Dream Center), Lacey's story is there to illustrate how doing a tiny favor can change a life so dramatically.
That purpose transcends into our goal which is to make people want to strive for a change. By offering little donations to non-profit organizations like Dream Center, people can realize that we can change a person once forced into harsh, illegal labor into a working member of society. Reading Lacey's story made me realize that this was eventual goal:transforming traffickers into workers. This article hence offered a completely different view of how this topic could be helped which has heavily swayed my beliefs. Lacey and her story will serve as an example of what the everyday person can do to stop human trafficking and hopefully reading a story like this will convince more people into using their power to change.