Is it safe?

I am often asked the question how I can do this with such inherent danger? I have been working in the field of human trafficking for 10 years. I have in all that time kept the victims we serve, my team, my family and myself from being hurt. 

The next question is usually, "have you had threats?" Yes I have – not many but a few. I often say that they were not serious threats, only some frustrated individuals who were mad that we had taken their “property.”  I do respect the level of danger that criminals like this pose, however, I am not going to be deterred by it any more than I was deterred from flying after 9/11. I refuse to let bullies/criminals guide my actions due to fear. I think this is what they want, expect and hope for. It allows them to operate openly. When we are at our best we are gone before they even knew we were there. I am often underestimated which helps us to move like a chameleon in our efforts. We blend in and disappear quickly. 

For me the real question is, "aren’t the victims scared, or in danger?" 

If we are scared what's the climate of fear for the victims? I will never be comfortable knowing that I could help and made a choice not to - I am sure that will never be me. I'm not saying everyone must make that choice, but it's the one I choose. 

For me and my team fear is not as uncomfortable as apathy or inaction. Those are the things that I truly fear. For my team, danger may be present, we respect that, but fear is not a deterrent, excuse or barrier, in fact, it drives us harder, makes us better. We have a healthy respect for fear and use it wisely.

I often find that people who beat scared minors and women are actually not as tough as they think. 

When the victim is not alone, and has a team protecting her, the false bubble those thugs created suddenly dissolves. They are not going to go away, however, they are not as powerful as they portrayed themselves to be. They are often control freaks and their very identity is challenged if one of the victims successfully escapes. This may cause them to continue to stalk and seek out the victim for years. These are times when the victims are in danger constantly and when our help becomes even more important. 

 I often say it's the thing we are not prepared for, or expecting, that may get us, it may even be a trusted person or organization. 

One example: When we were conducting an attempt to rescue a young boy approached my security team at the motel we were operating out of asking if they wanted an Xbox. This was a very dangerous situation, in fact more dangerous that any I have been in recently, and my instinct was that this was a child used for crime, like a child soldier, he looked harmless but his eyes told me otherwise. We left without incident, however, this was a time when fear was reasonable. There is not a good answer for a situation like this and yet it is so common. 

We were involved in another case involving US citizens, the family has become divided and one of the family members actually assaulted the victim’s mother. These are not the kind of people with violence in their make up, but their situation is so horrible because their loved one has been trafficked, the family is divided. Again, not an attack that would be expected, but dangerous and hurtful. 

All this to say it is still probably more dangerous to fly, drive, or stand outside in a rainstorm than to help victims of trafficking. 

We get better with every case and learn more about what to watch out for every time we attempt a rescue. To date we have succeeded and the victims' lives and safety are improved by our work.