BLOG: Why Aren't You Angry?

30 July is United Nations World Day against Human Trafficking. This day was established to raise awareness of the great abundance of human trafficking victims, and to promote and protect their rights.

This is not the only day that has been designated to this cause

In 2011 President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation, designating each January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The anniversary of this proclamation has become known as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. That day was January 11th

The main difference between these two is that one is an international day, and the other is purely American.

As July 30th came and went, I was appalled at the silence of the members of UN. On all my (very international) social media, I saw only Americains posting, and even then, very few. If you google July 30th, you get NOTHING in regards to human trafficking. I get sports announcements and other irrelevant news. Why is this day not trending!? On top of it all, people of influence and power, such as celebrities and politicians were very quiet (despite a few).

Lets not let that happen again. PUT THESE DATES IN YOUR CALENDARS!

I attended a Protest this July 30th organized by my cousin and activist Lauren Young. It was truly powerful and unifying. I was impressed by the amount of passers by who honked, asked for photos, gave us thumbs up, and showed other signs of solidarity. But may I also say, I was appalled by the amount of laughter cast towards us by young men driving by in their cars... I can count on two hands the cars full of twenty something, white, most likely college males who looked at our signs about trafficking in pornhub, and laughed out loud. If this doesn't give you a good idea about the mindset of an arguably very influence people group in America, I don't know what will. PEOPLE! Educate and call out your brothers who speak out of line and make light of the very dark reality of slavery. Ignorance is the enemy.

Below is a poem of sorts that I wrote (very quickly) after I left the protest. I was so overwhelmed by the experience, I had to put something in words. Using my love of writing to try and capture what I saw feels like the best way to show you all how important this issue is.

The photos were captured by Justin young.

*statistics were gathered from sources I will put in my next post.

I hope you enjoy it!

Every 30 seconds a person is sold “Slavery is done” is a lie you’ve been told So why are you silent? Why won’t you be BOLD?

Sex trafficking targets kids aged 12 to 14 These are kids who have no ability to dream This industry is far greater than it seems

Do you know who makes the clothes you wear? The porn you watch? The coffee you drink? Stop and think about what you consume, what you support and the things you assume.

This is not just a foreign issue, it’s happening right here Over 50,000 people are trafficked in the US each year. And most cases go completely unseen. There are more living in fear. Why aren’t you opening your ears?

Child and teen porn are trending online Does this make you uncomfortable? The responsibility is yours and it is mine. We give the demand that feeds the supply Have you normalized explicate content in your lives?

There are more slaves today than EVER before It’s time to speak for those who can’t. It’s time for WAR

This is truth, the evidenced reality This is not some made up conspiracy Why aren’t you screaming, why aren’t you angry?

Is it because it’s a truth you don’t want to see? Is it because deep down you know we are all guilty?