When nightmares become dreams
Posted by Desirea Rodgers
I have a reoccurring nightmare. The place changes but the theme is always the same. There are a group of children who have been trafficked for sex. I run in and free some of them. I take the children to a safe place and immediately go back for the rest, only I can't save the rest. Something always happens. I yell, I scream, I fight but I'm never strong enough, I can never get them all out.
I am alone.
I had that nightmare again last night. But this morning I remembered a story from one of our projects and it changed everything.
There is a border between Cambodia and Thailand that is notorious for the trafficking of humans. I've been there. It doesn't look menacing or complicated like I had imagined. It looks like a wide dirt road with people passing one way or the other, with a few policemen standing about.
Love146 mobilized, co-trained and funded a coalition of 41 volunteers from non-profits working in Cambodia, along with15 volunteers from the community around this boarder, to work with the local police as border protection officers. I've met some of these border officers. They are vigilant in the protection of children taken across the border. They wear official vests so children and adults recognize them (but when I think of them, I picture them in super hero outfits).
One year ago, *Rithisak, a young boy was "rented" to a trafficker over the border for $6.38 per month. When the boarder officers investigated the situation, they immediately took Rithisak to a safe home. Today, one year later, Rithisak is a happy child who has received therapy, education and a home.
One of our founding tenets at Love146 is the belief that in order to see slavery end we must work together with organizations, people and communities to end it.
No one can do this alone.
In this work nightmares are a reality but these nightmares are forever changed because we are not alone. Through you, through community members, through other organizations, we will see change. We will see the dream of abolition become a reality.
with Love,
Desirea
