Joe Pitts, December 20, 2006

It’s difficult for most people to make sense of history’s worst human atrocities. When we try, we’re left asking questions that don’t seem to have any good answers.

How could Adolf Hitler’s hate-fueled ideology spread so widely in Nazi Germany that the gas chambers of Auschwitz became a reality? How was Joseph Stalin ever permitted to starve and murder millions of his own people? How did Pol Pot get away with Cambodia’s killing fields?

There are no easy answers to such questions. In hindsight, it always seems so painfully clear that voices of reason and sanity should have done more to stop these evils before they grew so horribly out of hand.

This is a lesson we should take very seriously today. Though circumstances are ever-changing, our modern times have evils and atrocities of their own. Some, like the genocide occurring in Sudan, receive significant publicity, and rightfully so.

But there is a lesser-known evil afoot in the world today: the plague of modern day human trafficking. Though it often takes place in the shadows and outside the average person’s view, it is no less deserving of our efforts to stop it.

Human trafficking takes different forms: An eastern European girl kidnapped and forced into sexual servitude. An African boy taken from his family and forced to perform grueling physical labor with no pay and horrid living conditions. The variations of this sordid practice are limited only by traffickers’ perverse imaginations.

These atrocities are happening every day in countries around the world, including the United States. For many who find themselves forced into such circumstances, it ends up costing them their lives. Those that don’t end up dead face a daily existence drained of basic dignity, respect, and hope.

The people responsible for this evil like to operate behind the scenes, often in the seedy underside of societies around the globe. Because of this, many people are unaware human trafficking even goes on, or how awful it really is. But there are things people can do to help combat this modern day form of slavery.

For starters, it’s crucial that people take the time to educate themselves on the seriousness of this issue. There are many resources available online. I’ve compiled a list of useful links on my own website that can help people learn more. The list can be found at www.house.gov/pitts/trafficking.htm.

Once educated on the different forms human trafficking takes, concerned citizens are better able to keep a watchful eye in their own communities to help recognize potential victims and perpetrators.

The U.S. Department of Justice has resources and programs available for local law enforcement to help combat the plague of trafficking. Anyone concerned about the existence of traffickers or their victims in their own community should not hesitate to contact local authorities.

There is also a great need to reach out to trafficking victims who have been able to escape this modern form of human slavery. Most people who are able to get out are significantly scarred from their experience. They are wounded mentally, emotionally, relationally, and physically. Because of this, there is always a need for compassionate individuals to serve in the shelters and organizations that reach out to these victims.

When fully understood, it is clear that human trafficking is a modern day evil on par with some of the world’s worst atrocities. Sensible and compassionate people must work together to put an end to this horrid practice. By doing so, we can prevent future generations from looking back and wondering why we didn’t do more.

Congressman Joe Pitts, a Republican, represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, which includes Lancaster County and parts of Chester County and Berks County.