It’s time to fight human trafficking

The Korean women couldn’t have been too comfortable, squeezed close together on the floor of the RV. It must have been hard for the women to breathe in such a claustrophobic space.

Last weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the RV on U.S. Highway 95 near Bonners Ferry. When they opened its doors, they discovered 13 Korean women being smuggled into Idaho. Two men – one Korean and the other Korean-Canadian – were arrested and charged with transporting illegal aliens within the United States.

If this smuggling operation had not been uncovered, the women might have faced the fate of the estimated 17,500 people who are “trafficked” into the United States each year from poorer countries. Some of them are forced into labor they do under duress. But most of the women and children are used here like sexual Kleenex. They become prostitutes or strip-club performers or easy prey for pedophiles.

Trafficking is finally garnering needed attention here. The Washington state Trafficking Task Force published a comprehensive report in June 2004 that outlined the scope of the problem and offered some solutions. And Idaho legislators recently formed an interim committee to study the problem in their state, including the selling of “baby” brides from Mexico to Idaho men.

Community and faith-based groups in both states are also raising awareness. Roman Catholic sisters from many different orders have joined to educate citizens about this human-rights atrocity. Shared Hope International, based in Vancouver, Wash., provides education, rescue and shelter services for those caught up in the trafficking nightmare.

The United States needs to be a leader in this, because our country has the means and the reach. And the United States sometimes has the reputation globally as a country that devours an unfair share of Earth’s natural resources. People are the most important resource.

Ultimately, trafficking will be prevented when individuals who know what is going on intervene. These individuals will not be afraid to speak up when they are suspicious. They will not be hesitant to take appropriate action. The Korean women were discovered because Canadian officials tipped off U.S. Border Patrol officials in Idaho. They acted on the tip.

But others in the community can be gatekeepers, too. Sisters of the Holy Names, for instance, are visiting Inland Northwest travel agents to alert them about overseas travel planned for the exploitation of women and children. Other gatekeepers include emergency room personnel and the staff at centers where English language skills are taught to newcomers.

Women, men and children from other countries move to the United States for freedom, opportunity and for better lives for their children and grandchildren. Trafficking works against all these values. Modern-day slavery has arrived at our borders. We all need to be on the lookout for it.