See Something, Say Something

Date: 11th of March, 2022 

Goodday everyone! Don't you just love Fridays? Well, I do! Yesterday, I complained about the electricity issue and how it affected my work. Luckily, I was able to charge with my dad's powerbank and work on my phone. It was hard, I tell ya but I managed to make do. It is for this reason that I am not able to comment on a lot of articles as I would have loved but I still try.

Last night, my dad informed me that the repairs had been made and I was excited but we still didn't have any electricity. After asking around, we found out that the electricity of the whole estate had gone out. We slept in the discomfort of heat and darkness and we had to heat the food in the fridge to avoid spoilage. Power outages are normal and frequent and even more disappointing. Normally, power should have been restored by now but it hasn't. Now, the powerbank is dead, laptop is dead, phone will be dead in a few minutes and I have a video meeting in an hour. The whole situation is making me anxious but I'm still hopeful and I'm trying to keep calm.

While my plight may seem irritating, there are people out there who have had it worse. The people in Ukraine are more bothered about surving each day than to care about their jobs and whatnot. There are also people who have suffered the experience of trafficking everywhere around the world and this is my topic of discussion today.

Trafficking of any form is a common occurrence in many countries and in most cases, it does not involve an abduction of some sort. These things happen even in homes and sometimes, people do not realised that they are being trafficked. It may sound surprising but it is true especially for those who were trafficked as kids. They are groomed to believe that it is not bad and is what they should do. They are taught that if they do something, they will get something and with time, they will not know how to function outside of the arrangement they have become used to.

Some people dropped some advice to be able to help or spot a child trafficking situation and I will list some of them.

1. If you go to a motel/hotel and see a child, say hi to them and their reaction may just tell you if they are in danger or not. Sadly, this is easier to do if you are a lady. While it is not foolproof, you may just stumble on the truth. The child might be visibly shaking, they may expose an injury in an attempt to wave, they may burst into tears or even straight up ask you for help.

1. As a tattoo artist, if a guy keeps bringing girls (either one at a time or in groups) to your shop to get the same tattoo, that is a red flag. Some of these s*x trafficking pimps brand the girls they have working under them with a tattoo in other to mark them as their own.

1. If you find someone with missing shoes, accessories, identification with eyes darting around, it could be a sign that they are in danger and have just escaped a difficult situation. What you can do is to call the police or any governmental or non-governmental bodies that you know can help.

1. If a child calls you a familial title like mum, dad, uncle, aunty etc in public, there is a chance that it is a call for help and they are in danger. By playing along, you may be saving a life and deterring whatever creep they have encountered from approaching or giving them an opportunity to actually ask for help and tell you of their situation. This is not only applicable to children.

1. If you find a group of people where only one person talks and the rest look scared, dizzy or possibly drugged, overly covered possibly with shawls, large sunglasses, face caps etc., watch the body language of the rest of the group. Do they shiver or cringe or fold their arms like they're retreating into themselves? Are they trying to speak to you through their eyes? Do they keep looking around? Are they breathing heavily or do their breath hitch occasionally? etc. These could be a sign that they are in a dangerous situation or that something wrong is going on. This situation can be observed by attendants of any kind either receptionists, waiters, food servers etc.

Note that these signs are not foolproof and you should also be careful so as not to put yourself in any danger. You don't have to take matters into your hands but you can call the appropriate authorities, give detailed information about what you know down to the colour of clothes, smell of perfume, possible height description (eg, their head could touch the door frame). Saying something might help save a life.