Students participate in 27-hour stand against human trafficking
Rhiar Kanouse worries Americans are sometimes too focused on issues happening in their state that they forget other prevelent problems are an issue.
The Hemlock sophomore is participating in a 27-hour stand for the roughly 27 million people enslaved around the world.
The stand, located at the Fabiano Botanical Gardens, began at 10 a.m and was organized by Students Against Slavery.
"It’s often talked about like a thing of the past, even though it's happening in here too. Having this is a good way to raise awareness that it's still an issue,” Kanouse said.
Michigan ranked second for human trafficking sex trade in 2015. Students Against Slavery treasurer, Gobles sophomore Jessica Axe, said she was shocked to discover it was a common occurrence in the U.S.
The advocates plan on taking shifts during the 27 hours the stand takes place.
“It’s one of those crimes that happens in the dark. A lot of the people targeted are poor or natural disaster refugees or girls who have run away,” Axe said. “A lot of the victims are people who don’t have someone who notices when they go missing. It’s people not everyone notices when they disappear.”
Rahab’s Rope products varying from jewelry to journals made by girls rescued from sex slavery are also being sold.
The organization hires people who have been trafficked to make the products to help them get back on their feet and provide them with the care they may need.
“It’s one of those crimes that happens in the dark. A lot of the people targeted are poor or natural disaster refugees or girls who have run away,” Axe said. “A lot of the victims are people who don’t have someone who notices when they go missing. It’s people not everyone notices when they disappear.”
Axe said it’s common for rescued girls and women to fall back into trafficking because of their lack of resources once they escape the trade.
“A lot on social media says they don’t need feminism for some reasons and the problem I see with that is you may have all the rights you want, but not everyone has the same rights as you," Woodhaven sophomore Madison Rodrigez-Eberth said. "I think this is a way to approach that not everyone is as privileged as you may be and there’s improvements that need to happen.”
