Trafficked

Road trips mean rest stops.

I saw her at a rest stop.

She was standing in line, two spots ahead; flip flops and a blanket over her shoulder.  Her smacking jaw signaled the need for a toothbrush, floss and rinse.  Everyone gets a pass on something in the hair.  She had things in her hair.

She had two men in her space.  Neither stood behind or in front of her.  One stood at her right, the other at her left. Less paternity, more predation, she was guarded and closely flanked. 

"She must be cold," was my unuttered point of naivete.  Her escorts were appropriately dressed for the weather, but one of her flip flops was larger than the other.  She wore short sleeves and was using the blanket as a coat.  Within me, a bell tolled.

Think Pavlov.

Ivan Pavlov rang a bell before feeding dogs.  Conditioned by the bell, the dogs salivated, even in the absence of food.  Pavlovian training is known as classical conditioning.  He changed dogs by training them.  Blue Campaign is helping people by training them.

Blue Campaign is a national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases. Blue Campaign works closely with DHS Components to develop general awareness trainings, as well as specific educational resources to help reduce victimization within vulnerable populations. (reference)

Training helps people recognize the signs of human trafficking, and respond appropriately.  Seeing the poor state of the teenager in the rest stop rang my training bell.  Standing in plain sight was a possible victim of human trafficking.  Indicators include:

• Is the victim accompanied by another person who is controlling, provides the victim's information, or does all the communicating?
• Does the victim seem submissive or fearful, refuse to make eye contact, or seem afraid to speak in the presence of others?
• Is the victim inadequately dressed for the situation /work he or she does?
• Are there security measures designed to restrict victim movement?

I was trained to call 1-866-347-2423 within the US or 802-872-6199 internationally.  The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tip Line runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.  Tip Line staffers ask: 

WHO you saw.

WHAT you saw.

WHEN you saw it.

WHERE it occurred.

WHY it is suspicious.

"If you see something, say something," implored our anti-human trafficking trainer.

Another trainer told his students, "Just like it's important to respond automatically to a fire alarm, the best chance of winning...is to respond automatically.  That makes preparation and training a necessity.  There are fundamentals that must be learned in order to have a proper response to a deadly assault on you or one you are protecting.  Fright is not a proper response, but the only way to avoid being "dumb-and-numb" is through a conditioned response.  Preparation and training are required to elicit the only acceptable responses of flight or fight.  Again, conditioned responses are achieved only through proper preparation and training." 

Dawning awareness of possible human trafficking made me 'dumb-and-numb'.

Instead of following my training, I scanned the room for our teenage girl and pubescent boy.  My fatherhood chilled my compassion.  A few feet from an ill-treated teenager, I blew it.

By the time I saw, called and clutched our children, the 15-year old's entourage was gone.

I thought about her during the human trafficking training module of the International Conference of Police Chaplains.  As our trainer answered questions, I thought about my failure in the fast food line.  Taking regret to the Lord is a great comfort.

Scripture tells of a lady, trafficked, for great gain. 

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. ~ Acts 16:16-18

Paul's boldness and favorable outcomes are a balm on the boil of my blunder.  Seeing him and Silas, get it right, helps.  Knowing victory was won at the great name of Jesus is Good News.  

Only the Father knows the whole story about His ill-dressed, ungroomed child I saw at the rest stop.  Blog readers sponsored the training that triggered flashbacks.  I'm grateful they sent me but my attendance revealed, more excellently, my need for a Savior.

Regret is a mire from which I need succor.

To the utmost, Jesus saves.