4 Ways You Can Help Stop Human Trafficking in Your Travels

3. Watch Others

Just as there are red flags in someone approaching you, they are also red flags you can spot in trafficked person’s behavior. The FBI has some great resources and the State Department has a list of warning signs for someone in slavery, but here are some things to watch for in travelers:

• Travel companions whose clothing doesn’t match (for instance, a man in a suit and a woman in second-hand shorts/t-shirt).
• Travelers who are not able to speak for themselves or prevented from answering questions.
• Children who are malnourished, disoriented, or don’t seem to have a relationship with their adult companion.
• Travelers who do not seem to speak English but have scripted answers to questions.
• Signs of physical abuse.
• Women who tell you about a promised career in dancing.
• Anyone not in possession of their own passport.

As I compose this list, my head supplies doubts.

Monika

“Maybe the foreign travelers learned those phrases because they’re traveling. Maybe the kids are just jet lagged and everything is normal.”

Yes, there are cases where circumstances can seem misleading. But our instinct is often to cling to these excuses and refuse to act.

After my sister identified a trafficked woman in our restaurant, she spent the better part of thirty minutes trying to convince her friend that what she had noticed was very suspicious. He had all the excuses needed to try and talk her concerns away, but it boiled down to this: “It can’t be human trafficking because we just encountered it. People in this part of the world don’t encounter trafficking.”

Be aware, be watchful, and be prepared to act. If everything’s fine and you misread the signs, it will clear up. But often, I think, we know. And it’s important to listen to that instinct.

Daniel Lobo