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A National Shame
By, Bradley A. Blakeman
Former Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush, 2001-2004
Human trafficking is a topic of little
discussion not only by the American
people and the American government, but also around the world. Human
trafficking is a horrendous industry where hundreds of thousands of young
children and women are being abducted and treated as “repeat commodities”
for activities such as forced prostitution, rape, child pornography, ritual
torture, slave soldiers, child labor, and organ trafficking. There are an
estimated 27 million slaves worldwide, 230 million children laborers, 16
million child prostitutes, and 800,000 are trafficked across international
boarders. The profits associated with this industry are growing every year
and globally it is estimated that human trafficking and enslavement have an
astonishing annual street value of over $34 billion dollars. Human
trafficking is a global problem that is in dire need of attention.
Many Americans believe that human trafficking only occurs in third world
countries; however, this is not the case. Human Trafficking is a local
problem that needs to be recognized not only by the American government, but
by the American people as well. It is because of this “illusion”, that
something such as human trafficking could only happen overseas, that our
government has failed to address the issue to its fullest abilities and that
the federal funding needed in order to stop this industry is insufficient.
It is reported that human trafficking affects over four million people per
year. Of these four million people, it is estimated that one million are
American children between the ages 11 and 17 who are victimized and
trafficked across state lines. Gangs throughout the United States including
New York, California, Virginia and many others are responsible for
kidnapping and enslaving young girls for purposes of prostitution. In
fact, Virginia is one of the fastest growing areas for organized crime and
gang affiliations in the nation.
Project Meridian Foundation is an organization of professionals from a wide
variety of backgrounds working towards one common goal: bringing human
trafficking to an end. Nathan Wilson, Founder/CEO of Project Meridian
Foundation has created this organization which has a two-fold mission.
Project Meridian Foundations first mission is to assist in the
identification, capture, and prosecution of human traffickers by cooperating
with international, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The
second mission of Project Meridian Foundation is to rehabilitate the
children and young women who are victims of human trafficking through
Operation Safe House.
Project Meridian Foundation, and CEO/Founder Nathan Wilson, is currently
raising funds for Operation Safe House. The goal is to open 3 Safe Houses
in the United States and one in Europe by 2014. At these secure Safe Houses
the children and young women will be given a place to live, clothes on their
back, and food in their stomachs. PMF will also provide medical and dental
visits; psychological counseling, if necessary; witness protection; English
as a second language courses; and job training for the international
victims. Operation Safe House is not only an amazing idea, but it gives
people hope that these girls and young women can one day live a normal life,
or at least as normal as one can be after going through such a tragic and
life altering event. It is Project Meridian Foundation’s hope that we can
raise the money to begin construction of the Safe Houses because the sooner
the House’s open up, the sooner we can work towards saving the lives of
these innocent children and women.
It is our duty and our right as American Citizens and as Human Beings to
join together to bring justice to these cruel people in our society who
fight against us and our children and young women. Project Meridian can not
only be a successful foundation, but it can help to change and better the
lives of victims of human trafficking and put the traffickers themselves
behind bars where they belong. It is time to fight for those who can’t
fight for themselves, for those who are so overpowered by fear that they are
stuck in this horrendous lifestyle, for those that are too afraid to call
out for help. It is time for the world to join together and bring these
people to justice and leave behind a safe world for our children,
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors to grow up in.