Does Relentless rescue people out of slavery?
No, technically, we do not rescue people, but that is not to say that we aren’t involved in the process of liberation. We are, and very much so.
A couple weeks ago I saw 12 boys (males aged between 14-25 years old) at a clinic I held at a drop-in center for exploited boys. They said they hadn’t seen that many boys stop by in months!
Wait…You said boys. Teenagers. I did indeed. But they are kids. Minors. Don’t they need to be rescued? You just let them go back to their trafficked life?
Well, sort of. But let’s set a few things straight about these loaded questions. It is worth discussing here the spectrum of slavery and human trafficking. Slavery includes, but is not limited to human trafficking. Human trafficking is a form of slavery, but there is a lot of exploitation going on that I want to see eradicated that does not fall within the definition of human trafficking. There is a lot of conflation of what is trafficking and what constitutes rescue.
First, I’m all for rescuing 6 year old children from brothels, brick kilns, factories, and militias. Just get them out. I’m not debating the rescue of very young children from slavery. It should be done albeit done with the utmost care.
What may come to mind when people think of rescue are: undercover agents, police, “raid”, girls, bars, sleazy
men, etc. Rescues may or may not happen this way, but they do involve many hours of work and careful cooperation across several disciplines and they do not happen very often. Some will paint broad strokes when calling something “human trafficking”, including prostitution or smuggling. True, many in prostitution are trafficked, but that does not make every person who prostitutes him or herself a trafficked person. On the other hand, others (many governments, for example), will define trafficking in persons very narrowly in order to absolve them of as much responsibility as possible in caring for victims within their borders.
What some organizations call a “rescue” actually involves the consent of the rescue before they can act. Although quite a lot of work goes into helping to extricate someone from this situation, it may not be that anything can be done until the person decides they want out. This seems counter-intuitive that a trafficked person enslaved to a trafficker, would not immediately jump at the opportunity to leave but it is true. Slavery today involves much more insidious ways of captivity than chains and weapons. A recent medical article elucidates this well (FYI, you probably won’t be able to access the entire piece unless you have access to this journal).
Moreover, some rescues actually seem more akin to a kidnapping – as in when police make a raid to make themselves look good or to capture exploited people to ensure their testimony in a court case. It is not done in a way that honors that person, and sometimes they are treated like criminals in the process. This would be a form of “re-traumatization”. In their minds they are emancipated and making their choice of life. That is not to say that they like their life, but sometimes get so far entrenched in lies about themselves and the world that they can’t see another way out. It is their reality, even though it is based on information that is skewed through a twisted filter, but it is reality for them nonetheless. To completely wrench them from this reality would seem like kidnapping to them. Besides, they’ve often heard it before: “I’m here to help. Keep you safe. Give you a nice place to live…” yeah, right mister. Maybe they buy it, but they know where that’s going…
Relentless doesn’t actually participate in “rescues” per se, but we are involved in the process of freeing slaves! Through our health care outreach efforts, whether in health and wellness workshops or clinics, we are collaborating with those organizations who are poised to help those who want to leave the minute they say so. Relentless is able to reach in and touch people in ways that offer hope and say, “we care” and, “we can help you”.
I’ve seen young women grow harder and harder. I met one young Thai woman, I’ll call her “J”, when she had been working in the bar for only 3-4 weeks. She was dressed in t-shirt and shorts. With an athletic build and a fresh face, she was quite popular and her pimp exploited that. But with Prae and I in the clinic, she was torn and tormented. She hated what she was doing and had to go with so many men a night. Yet, she was obliged to provide for her family in East Thailand.
Fill in the blank: sick family member, poverty for whatever reason, or just wanting a better life. (I’m not judging – but this post is not about push factors). When I saw J again a couple months later she had on more makeup and a slinky black dress. She was still a mess, as she could not keep her guard up around us in that clinic. She kept telling me she was “OK” when clearly she was not and I told her she didn’t have to be “OK” in that room. She was still yearning for freedom, yet she had died a little inside. There is a free life for her if she wants it. We can talk and walk with her as much as we can, but in the end she has to trust us and make that step. The longer she waits, the harder it gets.
However, I’ve seen others grow softer over the months of seeing them. I recently saw “Y” again in clinic. Y is a 15 year old kid who lives on the street. He’s got a big gauge and DIY tats all over himself. He was still squirrely, yet calmer, more responsive. Prae told me that she wished I could have seen his face when I examined him, when I put my stethoscope on his chest – he had a precious, comfortable, “warm fuzzy” look on his face that she said was so sweet.
To be clear, I’m not just about giving “warm fuzzy” feelings. We are not merely offering them a Band-Aid in lieu of real help. Providing health care services and workshops is a way to reach into their world to let them know that they are loved and that there is a way out. There are people and organizations ready and willing to help them and Relentless provides a way to facilitate that. They are indeed enslaved, but flat out “rescue” isn’t necessarily the answer. People are leaving as a direct result of these clinics.
The point is not to enable them to continue in “the life” indefinitely, but I am trying to keep them alive and as health as possible in their present circumstance. I’m trying to give them a reason to leave and trying to tell them they are worth more than their current life. Yes, I hate that predators use and abuse them. Yes, I hate the societal and cultural violence that allows, and even encourages, such slavery of its people. I can’t take on the whole system, but I can do at least this much in providing health, hope, and a way out.
Take home point 1: Someone’s slavery doesn’t start when they find themselves kidnapped, or selling sex for someone else, or even for their own survival.
Take home point 2: Someone’s slavery doesn’t end when they are rescued.
Take home point 3: Health care professionals have a very tangible role in abolition!
There are a couple more articles that address the problem of “rescue” that are well worth your time to read! One is published by the Human Trafficking Center and the other by the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Recent Comments