By Dorothy Meindok
The Post Newspaper Veterans Consultant
If you see something, say something (and there are many ways to do it), anonymously as well as indirect ways to help. I saw this signage right there on the island! It broke my heart. It’s something I’d see in third world countries while traveling in the United States Navy…. So, I wondered how I could help and wanted to share with you some of the information I found to do that.
Do you ever take pictures of your hotel room on vacation? Did you know that by doing so you can help end human trafficking? Here’s how it works: you snap a regular pic of your room and upload it to the app TraffickCam where law enforcement and anti-trafficking professionals will add it to the database to help identify the places where enslaved men, women and children are forced to pose for “marketing” photos by their “owners.” It’s that simple.
Simple, but needed. According to the Texas Attorney General’s office website, sex trafficking arrests have grown over ten-fold since 2010 obviating not only greater awareness but a huge increase in human trafficking. Human trafficking is most widely known as forced prostitution for sexual acts but it extends beyond that into forced labor often associated with overt control over the victim’s life, restricting freedom by using threat, force, abuse of power dynamics, or position of vulnerability. Owners use tactics often unseen such as mental intimidation, financial abuse and other forms of oppression.
In the recent Epstein and Maxwell trials, one of the modes of operation involved targeting young females from trailer parks, recruiting a youth and lavishing gifts, designer label clothes, high-priced electronics and borrowed cars on that young person readily accepting the gifts and adhering to growing demands to keep their new, higher social status among the chain of consumerism that is often misidentified as “worth;” then, Epstein and Maxwell would take that victim and force them to recruit others in similar situations, turning the victims into unknowing predators.
You may be surprised to find out that what once appeared to be a plague reserved for other places, other communities, and other people’s children is right in our own neighborhoods and in our schools. In 2019 the Polaris Project found that of 22,326 trafficking victims and survivors identified through contacts with the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2019, at least 5,359 were under age 18. The veil lifted reveals that trafficking crosses into all socio-economic areas meaning that while the undocumented & poverty stricken are most at risk, middle class and upper-class victims/survivors are not exempt from hopeful “owners” and their henchmen opting to trick, recruit and enslave by actively pursuing anyone they can, regardless of age, gender or social status. It’s a racket filled by and ruled by nothing but money and in most cases, drugs are involved along the way.
Law enforcement, civilians, and prior military members like those led by retired Navy SEAL, Craig “Sawman” Sawyer of Veterans 4 Child Rescue (vets4childrescue.org) work to identify and arrest these predators and bring them to justice. If you haven’t had a chance to see his groundbreaking documentary explaining what his organization does, I’d recommend it. It’s called CONTRALAND. Despite where one sits politically, the facts of what is transpiring across our nation respecting trafficking remain and this documentary shines a glaring light upon it and acts as an important learning tool for everyone, because trafficking affects us all.
Here in Galveston County, the effort to end human slavery is supported by the nonprofit group Texas Gulf Coast Coalition Against Human Trafficking. They are located at 2228 Mechanic Street on the island providing education, awareness, and valuable resources. They can be reached at 281-203-4314.
There is also a nationwide hotline that can be used for reporting that can be reached by phone or text: Call: 1-888-373-7888 (TTY: 711) Text: 233733.
Additionally, as always, and thankfully, if you see something, you can always say something to our local law enforcement and first responders by informing Galveston County Sheriff’s Office: (409)766-2300, located at 601 54th Street, Galveston, TX, 77551 or call their Crime Tips Hotline: (866)248-8477.
No matter where you are you can seek resources and aid for yourself or others by dialing 911 and letting the dispatcher know what you are calling about.
Let’s help make sure our communities and especially our children are safe. If you see something, say something!
Dorothy Meindok is The Post Newspaper’s Veterans Consultant. Ms. Meindok served her nation in the United States Navy and is currently a practicing lawyer advocating for our nation’s veterans. Her column appears on Sundays.
