The A21 Campaign - Natalia's Story

"If slavery isn't wrong… Nothing is wrong." Abraham Lincoln
Throughout centuries, there has been a fight for freedom
A fight that many of us thought we had won
Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last
Yet today 27 million people are still enslaved
1.4 million of those enslaved are sex slaves
It was shocking for me to find out that right now in the twenty first century there are more people trapped in slavery than ever before
One has to wonder, how is this happening?
Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime today
Generating $32 billion per year. $32,000,000,000.00
We see these statistics like twenty seven million slaves but the truth is numbers are numbing,
they are dehumanizing and desensitizing and it becomes so easy to ignore suffering when it remains nameless and faceless.
In fact it’s so easy to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem if it seems so large that none of us can make a difference.
But if you can break that number down so that it represents one human being, one life, one story, than that changes everything.
One story that profoundly impacted me was Natalia's.
She went to a coffee shop to meet up with a guy that her friends introduced her to.
She was so excited to be going on a date, she remembered laughing and talking with him thinking they were having a great time.
What she didn't realize was that when she went to the bathroom her drugged her coffee, causing her to pass out.
He then threw her in trunk of the car as if she was nothing more than a piece of baggage.
When he arrived at the Greek border he simply paid of the security guards and entered the country freely.
When she awoke she was in a different country chained to a bed.
She was raped and beaten repeatedly.
Two weeks later, Natalia was sold as a sex slave
800,000 women and girls are trafficked across international borders. Every year.
Natalia was just one.
And sadly,
Only 1% of victims are ever rescued
While only 1 in 100, 000 traffickers are ever convicted.
We simply cannot allow this to keep happening.
Human trafficking is our modern day holocaust.
We can't turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to the cry of millions who need our help today.
Freedom is the right of every human being, and is a cause we must all fight for.
The whole reason we started The A21 Campaign was to rescue, restore and rebuild these broken lives .
Natalia found hope when she was rescued and brought to one of the A21 safehouses .
She received
Full medical care
Including
Stitches for her open wounds
She was tested for sexually transmitted diseasesnPositive Negative
We provide girls like Natalia with life skills, job training and help them to take ownership of their lives.
Ultimately restoring their dignity, giving them freedom hope and a brand new chance at life.
A21 lawyers helped to see Natalia's trafficker sentenced to fifteen and a half years in prison and given a 108,000 Euro fine
Justice
When we don't allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the statistics,
then you and I together can bring justice and freedom to those in need
We have such an incredible opportunity to make a difference in our world today
This is our time. This is our moment. We need to act now.
Join us. Become a partner and help fight this injustice
Join the movement. Please visit theA21campaign.org
P.S. While you were watching this video,
8 girls were trafficked across international borders