Human Trafficking: Susana Trimarco Makes A Difference

In 2002, Susana Trimarco’s daughter left for a doctor’s appointment. She never returned home. Marita Veron, Trimarco’s daughter, was 23 years old at the time and had her own little daughter, three year-old Micaela.

For ten years now Susana has searched for her daughter, and during that time she has learned much about the underground human trafficking system in Argentina, her native country.

Immediately following the disappearance of her daughter, Susana grew more and more frustrated by the lack of empathy she encountered by local officials, and it became obvious to her that she needed to take matters into her own hands.

She began her own search and eventually found a taxi driver who remembered taking Marita to a brothel where she was beaten and forced into prostitution. Unfortunately, the trail grew cold there, but that did not deter Susana. She and her husband disguised themselves as recruiters for prostitutes, and they made their way from brothel to brothel in search of their daughter, all the while gathering facts and evidence concerning the scope of human trafficking in Argentina.

That evidence included illegal participation in human trafficking by police, politicians, and gangsters.

Human trafficking is the number two illegal enterprise in the United States and the world, second only to the illegal drug trade.

161 countries have been identified as locations where human trafficking occurs.

It is estimated that 27 million people are sold as slaves in the human trafficking empire.

Human trafficking accounted for $32 billion in profit last year. $9.7 billion of that was in Asia; $15.5 billion was in industrialized nations.

100,000 women and children are victimized each year in the United States.

The average age of victims upon entering slavery is thirteen.

Despite not finding her daughter, Susana and her husband are responsible for the freeing of more than 900 women and girls.

Because of her actions, the State Department provided seed money for a foundation in Veron’s name; the foundation provides housing, medical care, and psychological aid to victims.

Argentina outlawed human trafficking in 2008, a direct response to the efforts and campaign of Trimarco. Since then, more than 3,000 victims have been freed.

The U.S. State Department awarded Trimarco with the “Women of Courage” Award, and she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez awarded Trimarco with the Human Rights Award for her efforts.

Still, her daughter has not been found.

Making a difference in this world does not require a huge organization and billions of dollars in funding. Making a difference only requires a willingness to get involved.

Right now, very likely in the city that you live, women and children are being sold into slavery. Do not believe for a second that it can’t happen in your town. The top five leading cities for human trafficking in the United States are Cleveland, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Sacramento, and Portland, Oregon. Children are lured out on dates, often by an older teen, and then they are “introduced” to friends of that older teen. Once that introduction is made, the child is taken and forced into prostitution.

The internet is a breeding ground for this scum, and the dollars that this illegal activity generates make this an activity that will not go away of its own accord. Most missing teens are considered runaways by local police departments; no crime has been witnessed and as such no police effort is made. The city of Portland, the second leading city in human trafficking in the United States, currently has two full-time police detectives handling thousands of reported instances of trafficking. Two detectives!

Recognizing the fact that police forces are under-staffed, and that their priorities are aligned with violent crimes that have been committed, we then must ask what can be done to stem the flow of slavery in this country and abroad.

Community awareness must increase. Parental awareness must increase. Activists must step forward, people like Susana Trimarco, who are willing to get involved and make a difference.

There are those words again….make a difference!

The quest continues for Susana Trimarco and thousands of parents like her around the world. There is no easy solution in fighting this crime. The billions of dollars made in profit guarantee that this criminal enterprise will continue and most likely grow. The billions of perverted individuals willing to pay money for sexual exploitation will also likely grow in numbers.

It is so easy to toss up our hands and declare it to be too big a problem. It is so easy to be disgusted, and turn our heads, and declare it to be too ugly a problem. It is so easy to say that this is someone else’s problem and that it does not affect or concern us.

What is not easy is to get involved, and yet it is that involvement that can and will make a difference.

I urge you to go to the site of the Polaris Project, an advocacy group that combats human trafficking.

I urge you to get involved in your community and force civic leaders to take the necessary steps so that one of your neighbors does not fall victim to this crime.

I urge you to…..make a difference!

2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)