MY DAY: “NOBODY LOOKED FOR ME” – PART ONE
January is Human Trafficking Month, and Texas holds a prominent position in the national lineup, which is very close to the top.
Our interpretation of humans , primarily children, who are held in slavery worldwide is not a complete one. Human Trafficking occurs in your backyardr, across the street from you and in many, many neighborhood. Who knows, your street could have a person being held against their will, and you have seen her or him.
I met a group of young African American women at Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s Christmas Party, who were survivors of human trafficking. As the story unfolded, I was not totally surprised, but I was alarmed, because I am familiar with Turner Courts Projects in South Dallas. My utter instinct was ‘this could not happen in South Dallas’, which was a sign of a naïve individual. Human Trafficking is everywhere and practiced by all cultures and religions.
After talking to Tonya Stafford for about five minutes, she said something that stuck with me to this date. She simply said “nobody looked for me”. She was reported missing, but nobody looked for her.
Her thorough investigation of her case is amazing and she is amazingly direct, polite and sincere. Talking with a victim is extremely humbling, let me assure you.
Tonya Stafford was thirteen(13)years, April 8, 1988, when a family member sold her to an African American man. This was a drug related transaction. She had one child at the time. She was reported missing to the police department, but remained with her “slave master”right in South Dallas for over a decade.
Look for part two next week about Human Trafficking, the rest of the story and how you can cure this disease in our lifetime.
