• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Saturday, September 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

Human trafficking

by E. ELLIS
September 2, 2015
63
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

 

SpeakingInColorFor those who have faced the difficulties of human trafficking, which takes away ones dignity, self-esteem, and self-worth, we hear you. Her life was snatched of its innocence at a young age and instantly became a roadmap of detours and caution signs. She would eventually encounter men who would cheat on their relationships and leave their vows on someone else’s bedsheets.

Once upon a time she was approached by a wolf and naively told him that she was in need of assistance. She got distracted by his verbal charm and began walking the lonely plank away from purity towards him with her blindfolded thoughts. He made her feel comfortable in his presence, while giving her a false sense of security through his manipulation. The verbal encounter gave him time to better converse with her as he eventually deceived her with words used to lure her into his car.

“What big ears you have!”

“’All the better to hear you with, my child.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Traffickers, also known as pimps, entice young girls in various ways, such as love, obligation, addiction, physical force, and power to capture and enslave them. She soon learned with obedience to turn to her perpetrator for acceptance and advice, as any abused child would do, because this was what survival felt like. There are many tempters in the woods of life who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, and sweet, who pursue little girls — and women — unfortunately. It is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.

“What big eyes you have!”

“All the better to see you with, my dear.”

The realities of life on the streets — in homes, hotels, and cars — include physical and sexual violence, substance abuse, health problems, and humiliation. Her initial mistake was innocently chatting with the wolf, then giving him intimate details in response to his questions. Hungry and feasting for her, he understood what empowerment felt like, to snatch the young and victimize them.

“What large arms you have!”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“All the better to hug you with, my love.”

Her nightmarish fairytale continued and so did the years of being breastfed with the traffickers/pimps words that prostitution was her only economic way off the streets, even though he held all the money and her dreams. Skilled and cunning, he knew how to control her as he spoke the hustler’s lullaby. The effects of this life upon her physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing gave way to temptations of substance abuse, which she used to numb and cope with her fears and the violence.

“What big teeth you have!”

“All the better to eat you with, my darling.”

Sometimes circumstances in life teach us the meaning of ‘down’ before we can learn what ‘up’ feels like. The consequences of being trafficked included depression, anxiety, PTSD, dissociative disorders and suicide. Other long-term effects she experienced were a lowered self-esteem that resulted from a sense of being damaged, a sense of shame from feeling isolated and different, to experiencing nightmares.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“What big legs you have!”

“All the better to run with, my precious.”

Through the years I’ve practiced how to kneel on bended knee, raise my hands in prayer and bow my head while holding on to the assurance that my sister is alive and will walk on the wings of my words and return. I have never wanted the responsibility of writing her eulogy, witnessing her in crime scene chalk or having her lost to the streets forever.

I write for those who have been affected by this life and with the fabric of my emotions, after 28 years, I continue to patiently await my sister’s return.

E. Ellis is a freelance writer that lives in Minneapolis.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Gopher football fans cheer for unpaid ‘field hands’

Next Post

Right wing attack on birthright citizenship

E. ELLIS

You Might Also Like

Prosecutors charge Nevada man for the murder of Tupac Shakur
Arts & Culture

Prosecutors charge Nevada man for the murder of Tupac Shakur

Black Business Spotlight: Syndicate Music Group
Black Business Spotlight

Black Business Spotlight: Syndicate Music Group

Concerns mount over ‘extreme’ school board candidates in Minnesota
Local

Concerns mount over ‘extreme’ school board candidates in Minnesota

Don’t forget to check your blood pressure
Health & Wellness

Don’t forget to check your blood pressure

Wanted: Younger workforce ready to learn about climate jobs
Go Green

Wanted: Younger workforce ready to learn about climate jobs

Gopher tennis coach rebuilds a competitive team
Sports

Gopher tennis coach rebuilds a competitive team

Next Post
Trayvon Martin tragedy’s  lesson: ‘Everything has changed, yet nothing has changed’

Right wing attack on birthright citizenship

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Sep 12
September 12 @ 6:30 pm-December 18 @ 9:30 pm Recurring

Vic Volare Presents MUSIC FOR MARTINIS ft: Vic’s Fabulous Nightclub Academy

Sep 30
10:00 am-3:30 pm

Hands Across the Mississippi Walk for Peace and Justice

Oct 3
October 3 @ 8:30 am-October 4 @ 5:30 pm

Insects: Little Body, Big Impact | Nobel Conference 59 | Virtual or In-Person

Oct 4
6:00 pm-8:00 pm

An Evening with Liz Cheney

View Calendar
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Read our latest e-Edition!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: