As I sit with sunny senior and co-president of BC R.E.A.C.T., Brittany Madni, her passion for life is obvious. As the lunchtime lines spill into the seating area, she erupts in infectious excitement as each friend passes by our table. This passion for her fellow humanity is contagious as she explains the origin of her involvement with BC R.E.A.C.T. So what does this very poignant acronym and organization stand for? R.E.A.C.T. stands for “Rallying Efforts Against Contemporary Trafficking.” Madni has been involved with R.E.A.C.T. since her sophomore year. She and her roommate, Cathleen Augusto, who is now co-president along with Madni, signed up for the listserv on Student Activity Day and showed up to their first meeting two years ago. Madni remembers she and Augusto being “terrified walking in, and super intimidated,” but Hanna Johnson, the president at the time, made them feel at home. The pair had no experience or vast knowledge about the issues, but were eager to learn and get involved. They then worked their way up in the ranks just as the club’s visible presence on campus increased.
Fast forward to the present and BC R.E.A.C.T. is now an official organization, registered through SPO. So what exactly do they do? BC R.E.A.C.T.’s foremost objective is to promote awareness. Madni has come to learn that “Human trafficking is a problem that is very prevalent. Everyone thinks that slavery died in 1864… it didn’t. It is still alive and well!” What is most frightening is that can take place in our own environment. Kevin Bales, an expert on modern slavery, came up with an estimate of 27 million people who are presently slaves. That is more people enslaved at the time of this interview than the number of slaves accounted for during 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade combined. What makes contemporary trafficking so dangerous is that its victims are concealed in plain sight–they are walking among us. Human trafficking is not confined to any country; it’s transcontinental, international, global.
People may dismiss it as an “over there” issue, yet the reality is taking place in our own backyard. Two years ago, while some of us were students going about our day on campus, a forced prostitution ring was being broken up on Commonwealth Avenue. More than 20 girls were found in unspeakable conditions, some bound in chains and handcuffs, stripped of their independence, their humanity. As BC students, we are men and women for others, and we can do something to combat contemporary trafficking. First, we can educate ourselves through reading articles like this one! Here are some quick myths and facts about contemporary human trafficking.
Myth 1: It is all about sex!
False. Human trafficking is not all about sex. It’s about control. It’s a way to exert power over another human being and exploit them for profit.
Myth 2: Human trafficking doesn’t happen here.
False. It does happen here. In fact, it happens more so in Boston than any other American location because it is a major port city. So, next time you are admiring the quaintness of the harbor, remember seafood is being imported right next to slaves!
Myth 3: Human trafficking only impacting foreign girls and women.
False. It is affecting American women and American men, too.
Myth 4: Victims of human trafficking are beyond our help.
False. We need to help students know it is happening. If you see something suspicious, REPORT IT! That one tip could save another 20 people, like those on Comm. Ave. Victims are people who need empowerment.
Myth 5: Modern slavery is a result of a few “bad apples.”
False. The fact that human trafficking exists and is profitable says something about our society and the intricate system of selling and trading slaves.
Myth 6: All those ensnared in the web of human trafficking and the sex trade have given their consent.
False. Many are physically, psychologically, or emotionally coerced into consenting. Many girls are runaways, kidnapped off the streets, or victims of fake “modeling” scams. Many of the girls are also under the age of 18 and thus legally are not consenting adults.
Myth 7: The hooker, prostitute, or call girl is making money from her clients.
False. Often when a girl is purchased, she has to pay back the price she cost the pimp. She is “in debt” to her owner, and as a way to control the girl, the pimp, madame, or brothel owner holds the debt over the girl. The elusive freedom promised once her debt is paid off is the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps the girl under the control of her owner.
Myth 8: The slave can stop anytime he or she wants.
False. Escaping or being freed is very rare. Most girls are re-trafficked, meaning they are sold from one owner to the next. Many are physically restrained or drugged. Many are also psychologically restrained by abuse, feeling that escape is not an option. Many that are able to escape would only return to their families as “damaged goods” and would not be accepted back into their families or societies. Many also die from murder, abuse, malnourishment, or from an STD, HIV or AIDS infection.
Myth 9: Human trafficking is just sex trafficking.
False. There are two broad categories: forced labor and sex trafficking (which BC R.E.A.C.T. focuses on).
Myth 10: I can’t do anything about it.
False. You can. Stop by a R.E.A.C.T. meeting; they meet every Tuesday at 8pm on the second floor of Maloney Hall (past the UGBC offices, look for signs). New general members are welcome! If anyone has any questions, they can contact R.E.A.C.T. directly at react.bc@gmail.com or on Facebook. You can also support causes like the Polaris Project, which work to combat human trafficking.
Participate in the R.E.A.C.T. clothing drive, which will help clothe former victims of human trafficking. And most importantly, promote awareness, educate yourself, write letters to your representatives letting them know this is an issue YOU care about, and don’t trivialize the issues by making jokes about hookers, prostitutes, sex slaves or allow others to detract from the horrors of this institution. Even educating your guy friends who joke about picking up a hooker is a way you can make an impact here on campus.
Be sure to look out for a BIG, I mean, HUGE announcement about an event in the Spring!
Photo Sources:
shawndellstjohn.theworldrace.org
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boston-College-REACT/117126808350710