Being from the twin cities and doing ministry in North Minneapolis, I was shocked when I saw the video about Sex Trafficking in North Minneapolis in class. I guess you can say I was naive, but I had no idea that there was sex trafficking going on in North Minneapolis. It is sad to me that it is happening right under my nose. I don't think I would have ever come to this knowledge if it weren't brought up in this class. Personally, it is news to me, and it is sad to know that the high school kids I work with over north are at risk for human trafficking. Now I think of the streets that I walk at night over north and what is happening right in front of my eyes. This course continues to make me look at things very differently than before, including my neighborhood and community. Not only am I in fear of the youth that I work with, but am in fear of my own safety, walking alone at night. I have never really been fearful of walking alone over north because to me, it's home. Learning this has made me re-evaluate places, particular buildings now, wondering what is happening inside of them, like we discussed in class. We also talked about why Minneapolis would be ranked number 13 for biggest hubs for human trafficking. The two highways downtown that runs through so many states is a central location for a lot of visitors and people leaving the state. I went to school downtown Minneapolis at DeLaSalle High School. I was and still am downtown very frequently, taking the bus and would not have guessed this is where some of the sex trafficking occurs. This awareness had prompted me to learn more about local centers for helping these women and children, specifically in North Minneapolis and possibly volunteer at one of them.
This was also new news to me. It is insane to know that the place we grew up in, the place we call home is home to sex trafficking and very frequent sex trafficking. I have never heard of anything like this happening anywhere in the US before this class, and knowing it is happening so close to girls our age or even younger is frightening!
I think sex trafficking is something that we subconsciously know it happening, but we sort of don't choose to acknowledge it. It's sort of like the thought of pretending everything is peachy keen about life. It's just something we dont think about a lot. However, by sort of pushing things like this to the back of out minds, we are not giving attention to those who need helps, such as those being trafficked. Great blog!
I appreciate the personal perspective you offer. You are one of many individuals who had no clue that sex trafficking is occurring right in their very own cities. In her photographic essay, Chernush wrote, “For most of us human trafficking is distant and foreign affair. The headlines, though tragic, do not seem to concern us.” I found that statement to be very accurate, and important as well. I think it's great that you were prompted to learn more about human trafficking, and what you can do to help. I think this needs to be the reaction of more people, and our goal to help create that reaction.