A couple years ago, three young men in a clean suit knocked on my door. Though bit annoyed as it was a distraction from finishing my homework, their speech certainly warmed my heart. These young men said that they were from inner city schools in Georgia and trying to go to college by collecting donations from the neighborhoods. They also said that I could either contribute some money for them or buy a subscription to a magazine which would help out inner city kids like themselves. But, little did I know then that these three young men might have been forced into door to door sales by their traffickers after being tripped of their identifications as runaways or missing children.
Door to Door Sales; the new growing trends of human trafficking
This morning, one local news report in Palm Beach, Florida, reported that the residents are experiencing the same incidents of children or young people selling magazines subscription. One local advocate says that it is a story that she is very well aware of and familiar with. According to the advocate, if the young people are not selling enough subscriptions, they are subject to punishment like physical abuse or starvation. One female victim, according to the report, was locked into a car for three days because she failed to meet her daily quota. The advocate also said that most of these young men and women are runaways or missing children. What's more, many of theses victims do not return from the tour. Instead, they are either sold to sex industry or even overseas, according to the advocate.
Take Action
The advocate therefore encourages the residents to ask these victims what and where they are about or how long they are going to be in town. Also, the advocate encourages the residents to contact law enforcement or outreach programs.
Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888.
Human trafficking takes on many ugly forms. The abuse and exploitation of teens and young adults in the traveling door-to-door sales of magazine subscriptions is completely unregulated and out of control. Many of these kids are raped or murdered or killed in horrific van accidents.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Phil Ellenbecker
Director
Dedicated Memorial Parents Group
www.travelingsalescrews.info
www.dedicatedmemorial.org
Wow I think this happened to me while I was staying with friends in Clearwater Beach, FL in Jan 2010. It was about 9pm on a Friday night and a gentleman came to the door. I was staying in a residential area (actually Hulk Hogan lived across the way & so did another Miami CSI star) We called the police because we thought the individual might have been running a scam or trying to rob the houses.. This is horrible. I have done a lot of human trafficking awareness work before but this never hit so close.
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