Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Healing Begins. My name is Pastor Gail Kroc.
Today I got Eli Mariah Say Hi, Ellie Hi, Hey.
Today we have a very interesting topic. We're going to
talk about human trafficking. So you want to share where
you work and what you do and kind of the
(00:27):
heartbeat that you have to rescue survivors from human trafficking.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Absolutely, so, I work for Rescue Her. We are a
nonprofit located in the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas,
and we exist to empower survivors of sex trafficking to
live in freedom. So we serve adult women eighteen and
over and we have three different kind of departments that
we do. We do crisis response, so that looks like
a hotline that anyone survivors, law enforcement, hospitals can call
(00:56):
to get services. And then after that assessment, a survivor
can choose if she wants to join our empower program.
So that's like a long term recovery program where we
walk her through what that recovery looks like. And then
we also raise awareness, so we do speaking and podcasts
and different things like this to help people understand more
about what sex trafficking actually looks like in the us today, you.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Basically have three areas you're working on. One is the hotline,
which must to be very interesting. You must get some
pretty What is it like to work that hotline?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, so our advocates do that. So it's just right
now it's a Monday through Friday nine to five, but
we're working toward moving it to twenty four to seven,
which is so needed. And anyone can call that hotline
and they'll just share what they're looking for. So a
survivor might say, Hey, I'm out a McDonald's right now,
and I don't know where to go and I need
some help, and so our advocate will do an intake
(01:53):
where she determines whether that's trafficking or homelessness or something else,
and then if it's trafficking, she'll meet with her at
the public location and then we'll go from there and
then that survivor decides what she wants to do next.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Now, how long has Rescue Her been around? How long
have you guys been in existence?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Great question. We've been around, I believe since two thousand
and nine. It's been but it's been different over the years.
So we initially began our founder Josie Kraghan founded Rescue
Her in order to do something in order to make
a difference, and she was just one person didn't know
anything about trafficking, and so she started by selling coffee
(02:35):
and T shirts and magnets and different things in order
to raise money to help other nonprofits. And then she
realized that she could start her own nonprofit, and so
they actually went over to India for a couple of
years to do work there, and then due to the
visa issues in different things, they got kicked out and
were sent back.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
To the US.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And she realized, there's trafficking happening here in my own hometown.
So then she started up Rescue Her here. So we've
been operating here for quite a few years and growing.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
How long have you worked for Rescue Here.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
I am coming up on my fifth year with Rescue
Her and I started as admin and have moved into
a couple of different positions.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
What is your official position right now?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yes, so I'm the director of Community and Donor Relations,
So I work with yeah, with our donor community do
a lot of thing.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
I can give you a job that's a really good
that's a really great job there. How are you liking
that it's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I'm so grateful to be able to do this
work and to help people who need it.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, the other thing I was thinking you mentioned about,
I love your mission. We exist to empower survivors of
sex trafficking to live in freedom because I'm going to
tell you they probably deal with a lot of fear
everywhere they turn.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Fear as a big deal.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
When we have worked with kids and young people that
have been trafficked by the gangs up in Costa Rica
with the gang warfare and stuff, these kids live in
a lot of fear. And then we also work with
girls twelve to seventeen years old that have been trafficked
but have been rescued.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
I mean the type of rescue I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
They drop in with the police and all that, and
they snag them right out of a place and take
them away, and then they drop them in this rehab.
Oh my, they're bouncing off the wall when they come in.
I mean, and they've been introduced to a lot of
bad stuff when they were trafficked.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
You probably run into that too, right, Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Even though we serve women who are eighteen and older,
the average age of you know, first trafficking is. I
believe it's twelve to fourteen, and so by the time
that they come to us, they potentially have been trafficked
for a while. And a lot of those survivors in
our program were trafficked by family members from childhood, and
so that's called familial trafficking, and unfortunately it's very common
(04:54):
and growing where you know, a mother or a father
or an uncle or a brother discovers the they can
make money or get out of their own poverty by
trafficking that girl, their sibling or child, and so unfortunately,
by the time they come to us, it's often something
that they've just lived their whole lives in that trauma.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I ran into that in san Ja de Costa Rica.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
We were working with Muddy Lilliana and the prostitutes. Well
we don't call them that, We call them ladies that
work in prostitution. You say, what's the difference we all
label them because two years ago I was there and
she brought in her ministries called rehab and she brought
twenty four women off the street because this was our
(05:37):
second time in rehabit and they all wanted to talk
to us. When I asked how many wanted prayer they
all raise their hands, So I like to ask them
a question, However, how in the world did you get
into this line of work? And many of the girls said, well,
my dad sold me. My dad sold me into this
line of work. I would like to get out, but
I was sold in by my father.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I'm like, whoa what.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Dad sells his daughter and gets her trafficked in the prostitution.
Right then, when you realize that, you're like, okay, Wow,
that's crazy. And so in rehab, there's a it's in
a really bad part of town, and then there's a wall,
and Maddy said, put your hand on this wall, and
(06:22):
then she goes, you know what's on.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
The other side of this wall? I go what? She
goes a brothel?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And if you go out with Maddy, you literally have
to we wear a bulletproof vest because she goes in
to those places and takes women right out of there
with the police and rescues them. So it's a whole
nother level of crazy. I'm dangerous, very dangerous, And so
I admire the work you're doing. I have a question
(06:49):
for you. No, Like, we're a healing ministry, so we
take people through the healing of trauma, and I work
with human traffic survivors too, and I work with another
organization in the Thumb of Michigan that referrals or refers
ladies here for healing over zoom and stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Tell me a little more about the healing process you
put the ladies through.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, so a lot of it at first looks like stability,
just getting them on their feet, getting an apartment, you know,
getting their kids in school. Because for any of us,
if we're you know, going through trauma, if our lives
are upset, if everything's chaos, we can't start to heal
because we're in survival mode. We're in you know, fight
or flight. And so that first key piece is stability.
(07:35):
And then once we have that you know, stability started,
then it looks like helping her start to get a
budget and again take care of basic needs, help her,
you know, get a food stamp program, something whatever it
is to further that stability. And then we move into
something like counseling or different programs that might help depending
(07:57):
on what she's going through. So survivor in our program
might choose to live on our own in an apartment,
where she might choose to go through a specific recovery
program for survivors of trafficking, so that could look like
it or individual counseling. And we are a faith based organization.
We love the Lord, but we don't decide that for
(08:18):
that survivor. So we offer services, We offer Bible studies,
things like that, and if she wants to do that
and participate, then we're more than happy to do that
with her.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I was amazed when I work with girls i'd have
been trafficked between twelve and seventeen years old. Everything they're
introduced to, like drugs, alcohol, sex, all this kind of stuff.
I remember talking to one girl and she said to me,
it hurts when I walk. All must be your feet.
(08:47):
It hurts when I walk. And well, she was about
to tell me I was not prepared for and I'm
not even going to say it, but you know what happened.
We prayed for her and we got contacted by the
rehab two weeks later confirmed healing of the human patholoma.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Virus WHOA that was introduced by her father.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
So we often get when we I'm one of two
teams in the United States, say in the world that
gets to.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Go into this rehab.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Our team is one of two, and we often say
when we leave, it makes us so upset that these
girls at this young age get because you know, you
look at thinking about your own kid, right, Yeah, it's
really hard. And I've seen the depths of crying and
tears and trauma and kids balling their eyes out. It's
just gets really intense when you spend two days in
(09:45):
the rehab and that's all you do is work with
them to the that trauma. But that's why we get
invited back. And but do so in your healing process
for them? Do you does your organization have teams that
work with some of the spiritual healing of hurting events
(10:05):
they've been through.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, absolutely, Depending on whether that survivor chooses that then yes.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Like if they want it, then they can get that
through you guys. Really critical. I think is really great
that you guys, And you know, when I first met
you through your book, I was like, Oh, Ellie, then
at the aust she does human trafficking. Okay, we got
something in common. And so have you yourself been evolved
helping girls through the healing process?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Not me, because that's what our advocates do so and
I'm on the other side of things more admin side,
but I definitely hear a lot of the stories and
I love hearing that. And I actually wanted to circle
back around, and we were talking about before with poverty.
You know, poverty is one of the leading factors that
leads into trafficking, and so trafficking is a supply and
(10:56):
demand issue, and so if we didn't have a demand
for trafficking, there would be no supply and it would end.
But unfortunately there's a demand. And part of what's driving
that demand is the realization for traffickers that they can
make a lot of.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Money in this way.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah, and so if they're in poverty, like physical poverty
or emotional poverty, then they're trying to find a way
out of that, and so then they're going to, yeah,
go into traffic someone. And so I think it's just
really important if we want to end trafficking that we
understand that supply and demand part.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
So and to go along with that, my friend in
Costa Rica is building a fortress in the mountains because
when you take these girls away and you get to
help them, they come after them. So you got to
have a fortress and it's got to be protected. So
her goal is to take them out of the poverty,
(11:48):
right that you're talking about, and then putting them in
a place, secret place in the mountains where they can
get healing, education, back on their feet and then can
be put out.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
So I worked a little bit with Operation Rescue. Are
you familiar with that?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So I worked with them in Saint Salvador two years ago.
And I've met the leaders of Operation Rescue, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
And they actually place some of these women in other countries, right,
they do. I met, I met the leader of that.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
He's amazing, right, And I don't think I think this
is one subject that a lot of Americans are not
really up on, are familiar, or maybe they don't want
to admit that it happens here.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Absolutely, And actually I think that's a good point, because
trafficking in other countries, like you're talking about, can often
look very different than trafficking here. And so they're right,
they're building a fortress. They need to keep those girls
away from the traffickers one hundred percent. Here in the US,
trafficking often is more relationship based, and so it'll look
like something like what we call a pamper Romeo boyfriend
(12:57):
who gets to know Let's say that girl that survivor
which trafficking victims can be male or female, but in
this scenario, it's a female. He gets to know her,
He just you know, convinces her that he loves her,
and then over time, you know, he can blackmail her
or kind of Stockholm syndrome her into doing what he wants.
(13:20):
And so unfortunately that that combination of familial trafficking and
childhood sexual abuse and then those relationships, right that childhood
abuse creates vulnerabilities, and those vulnerabilities then can lead us,
you know, into situations that are unsafe or unhealthy.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Did you know the I ninety four quarter of Michigan
is very dangerous. Let me explain. If you're in a
parking lot, young women have to be very careful because
they can get kidnapped right out of parking lots and
put in a van and you never see him again.
So here in Michigan we have the I ninety four corridors,
We have the highway going to Detroit or Chicago, which
(13:58):
is a big trafficking area for traffic. A lot of
people don't want to admit that exists, but sure I
have seen people get stocked in those parking lots, so
you have to really super becare And that that leads
me to another point that you talk about as awareness.
Is there anything you want to say around awareness?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah, the number one. So it's interesting that you're talking
about that too with like kidnapping, because I think the
number one thing that we don't understand is that relationship
based factor. Is that so much trafficking here is relationship based.
So we think about the kidnapping, you know, part of it,
which absolutely happens, but it's very small versus getting in
(14:39):
those relationships where traffickers are targeting people. And so I
think it's important to be aware that to be able
to understand what's happening in relationships, you know, to understand
the red flags of trafficking and the different things that
go into that. And so if you're listening and you
want more resources on that, visit rescue her dot org.
We've got resources for you to learn the red flags,
(15:01):
to learn the different things so that you can be
aware of that.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Well, I think, Ellie, I think that's really really great
because say again, how they can get your information?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Give them your website, would you and all that?
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yeah, rescue her dot org or you can follow us
on social media.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Rescue Her, Yeah, very important to be Awareness is really critical,
along with all the other components we're talking about, because
these kids get when they get snatched, it's fast.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
But the family.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
With the grooming, I think they call it grooming, don't they,
Where someone is being groomed to be trafficked, and there
is a ton of cash in that.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
And when I know that Maddy has.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
A price on her head, they actually got a price
on her for her work. And in two thousand and
nine she received from Hillary Clinton the Human Trafficking Award
of a Heroine And I call her that too. She's
pretty feisty. So the work I think that you're doing
is invaluable. Maybe maybe someone will either listen or watch
(16:06):
this along the way in your traffic. What would you
say to them if someone's watching and they happen to
stumble on this and they're being trafficked right now?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, absolutely, definitely reach out for help. There are people
who want to help, So you can visit Rescue Her
dot org or you know, there's a number of other organizations.
You can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline and they're
amazing and you can actually call them or use their
online chat feature and they'll offer help. But I would
(16:37):
definitely say take the first step, because sometimes getting out
of something like that can be really scary because it's unknown.
But there are so many people out there right now
who want to help, and you want to make a
difference and support these survivors. And we have so many
success stories, and our partner organizations have so many success
stories of women who have gotten out of that darkness
(16:58):
and that trauma really healed and begun incredible, amazing new lives.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
When I was in when I was in Saint Salvador
with Madi Liliana at the human trafficking conference he held
and I was one of their speakers. It was interesting
to see everybody that was involved, from psychologists, the doctors,
to the people doing the rescuing, to the pastors. To
add this is a big organization around the world that's
(17:27):
working on this. It's so dangerous, but also it's really
awesome to hear the miracles that God did for them
to rescue people, even from helping a lady get new
teeth or putting someone in another country or and then
they put up how many people they have, actually, how
many people they have rescued and so you've heard of
(17:50):
them having your operation rescue. Yes, yes, And so I
spent four days with them and with four or five
days with them in San Salvador, and it was just
very interesting. Even the government of San Salvador gave us
a vip escort to the hotel. It must have been
(18:11):
because of the danger involved. They snatched us right out
of the jetway and one guy looked at me like,
who are you?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
He's got my picture? Come with me. But you know,
you think, what can I do? What can people do? Elie?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yeah, great question. There are so many things that people
can do. Number One, if you love to give financially,
these nonprofits like ours always need it because you know,
we're grant and donor funded, so you can always donate
Rescue her dot org slash give. But also one of
the other things if that's not for you, is to
use the skills that you have. And so we have
(18:51):
an amazing donor who knows how to make crochet items
and she'll go and set up a booth at different
craft fairs and she'll sell those items and then she'll
donate that money. We need volunteers all the time to
help with events. And different things that we're doing. So
there are just so many ways that people can get
involved with the skill sets that you have. So I
(19:12):
would encourage you to reach out to the groups that
are in your area and ask how you can help
go through their volunteer orientation, you know, find out the
different things that you can do with the skill set
that you have.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
So one question for you, Ali, I'm just getting to
know you. What was it that caused you to step
in and get involved.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, it's a great question. So we talked about this
a little in the other episode. But my when I
was in a senior in college, I started learning about
the pornography industry. And my family has always been very
justice striven, and so I learned in I was writing
a research paper and I learned that pornography is deeply
(19:54):
connected to human trafficking. And one of those things is
that human trafficking is essentially by pornography because pornography creates
you know, we could get into this for hours, but
pornography creates a demand and a desire in our hearts
to purchase sex and to do these things. And there's
a lot that happens, and the bringing with dopamine and
there's plenty there, but I started learning about those connections.
(20:17):
And then around the same time, my dad actually started
his own anti trafficking nonprofit where similar to you, actually
he goes into other countries they rescue kids and families
out of brothels and brick factories and really crazy stuff.
And his is called the Children's Rescue Initiative and they
do incredible work. And so I ended up working for
(20:37):
him for a few years doing admin for him. Really
loved that work, and then moved from my hometown to
Texas and got my job with Rescue her.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Well, we have a couple more minutes left, So what
I'd like you to do, Eli is lift up are
prayer for ladies that have been rescued, for healing and
anyone's thinking about getting out.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Can you do that?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Absolutely? Yeah? I love you and God, I just thank
you so much for your hand of protection Lord over
women who are still in the who are still being trafficked. Lord,
if there's anyone listening to this who just felt a
light bulb, go on, Lord, I thank you for providing
them with next steps, Lord for covering them with your protection,
(21:19):
and for the women who have gotten out of that,
Lord who are in recovery programs who are healing. I
just thank you for meeting them there, Father, for continued healing.
That trafficking grieves your heart, and I thank you Lord
that you have so much hope and so much restoration
and store for them. So yeah, God, we love you,
and I just thank you that you are the God
of miracles and that you have so much hope in
(21:42):
Jesus same Amen.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Help them once again, how they can your website, how
they can get help, how they can get information.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I think it's good to mention that two or three times, or.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah, yeah, you can connect with us at rescue her
dot org or on social media at rest to keep
her or call her hotline which is on our website.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
That's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
So look, if you're listening to us and you're a
young lady that maybe you were trafficked and now you
need healing, get a hold of Rescue her dot org.
Get some help, don't You're amazing. And that's the thing
I would want women to know that have been traffic
that they are amazing. They're important, and they are valuable.
(22:25):
And there's a lot of fear when you're trying to
escape and you're trying to get out of that. There's
a lot of fear that someone might find you again,
get a hold of you again. There's a lot of
fear and all that. So Lord, I just pray against
the spirit of fear that would want to enslay people,
hold people from going to get help. I ask for
(22:46):
your peace and your angels to go out and free
up the people that have been trapped and bring them
back into your life, give them the courage to step
forward and get.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
The help they need. In Jesus' name.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Well, get about a minute laugh, we're winding up. Any
last thoughts from you.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Thank you for having us today. I really appreciate this.
And you know, an anytime that we can get the
word out about what we do, I think is really important.
And again, if you're listening to this, I just encourage you,
if this is something that burns in your heart that
you're interested in, to get educated and learn more and
do you know, play the part that you can in
this fight against trafficking, because we need all the help
(23:27):
we can get.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
For healing begins, and I pray that the Lord will
bless you and keep you and cause us face to
jine upon you and give you peace. I also pray
for everyone that's been trafficked that they would find healing,
and for those that are still trapped, that God would
free them from the snares of being traffic. Thank you
(23:51):
Lord for being with us in Jesus' name, ammen.
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Welcome to Healing Begins. My name is Pastor Gail Kroc.
Today I got Eli Mariah Say Hi, Ellie Hi, Hey.
Today we have a very interesting topic. We're going to
talk about human trafficking. So you want to share where
you work and what you do and kind of the
(00:27):
heartbeat that you have to rescue survivors from human trafficking.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Absolutely, so, I work for Rescue Her. We are a
nonprofit located in the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas,
and we exist to empower survivors of sex trafficking to
live in freedom. So we serve adult women eighteen and
over and we have three different kind of departments that
we do. We do crisis response, so that looks like
a hotline that anyone survivors, law enforcement, hospitals can call
(00:56):
to get services. And then after that assessment, a survivor
can choose if she wants to join our empower program.
So that's like a long term recovery program where we
walk her through what that recovery looks like. And then
we also raise awareness, so we do speaking and podcasts
and different things like this to help people understand more
about what sex trafficking actually looks like in the us today, you.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Basically have three areas you're working on. One is the hotline,
which must to be very interesting. You must get some
pretty What is it like to work that hotline?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, so our advocates do that. So it's just right
now it's a Monday through Friday nine to five, but
we're working toward moving it to twenty four to seven,
which is so needed. And anyone can call that hotline
and they'll just share what they're looking for. So a
survivor might say, Hey, I'm out a McDonald's right now,
and I don't know where to go and I need
some help, and so our advocate will do an intake
(01:53):
where she determines whether that's trafficking or homelessness or something else,
and then if it's trafficking, she'll meet with her at
the public location and then we'll go from there and
then that survivor decides what she wants to do next.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Now, how long has Rescue Her been around? How long
have you guys been in existence?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Great question. We've been around, I believe since two thousand
and nine. It's been but it's been different over the years.
So we initially began our founder Josie Kraghan founded Rescue
Her in order to do something in order to make
a difference, and she was just one person didn't know
anything about trafficking, and so she started by selling coffee
(02:35):
and T shirts and magnets and different things in order
to raise money to help other nonprofits. And then she
realized that she could start her own nonprofit, and so
they actually went over to India for a couple of
years to do work there, and then due to the
visa issues in different things, they got kicked out and
were sent back.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
To the US.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
And she realized, there's trafficking happening here in my own hometown.
So then she started up Rescue Her here. So we've
been operating here for quite a few years and growing.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
How long have you worked for Rescue Here.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
I am coming up on my fifth year with Rescue
Her and I started as admin and have moved into
a couple of different positions.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
What is your official position right now?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yes, so I'm the director of Community and Donor Relations,
So I work with yeah, with our donor community do
a lot of thing.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
I can give you a job that's a really good
that's a really great job there. How are you liking
that it's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, I'm so grateful to be able to do this
work and to help people who need it.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Well, the other thing I was thinking you mentioned about,
I love your mission. We exist to empower survivors of
sex trafficking to live in freedom because I'm going to
tell you they probably deal with a lot of fear
everywhere they turn.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Fear as a big deal.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
When we have worked with kids and young people that
have been trafficked by the gangs up in Costa Rica
with the gang warfare and stuff, these kids live in
a lot of fear. And then we also work with
girls twelve to seventeen years old that have been trafficked
but have been rescued.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
I mean the type of rescue I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
They drop in with the police and all that, and
they snag them right out of a place and take
them away, and then they drop them in this rehab.
Oh my, they're bouncing off the wall when they come in.
I mean, and they've been introduced to a lot of
bad stuff when they were trafficked.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
You probably run into that too, right, Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Even though we serve women who are eighteen and older,
the average age of you know, first trafficking is. I
believe it's twelve to fourteen, and so by the time
that they come to us, they potentially have been trafficked
for a while. And a lot of those survivors in
our program were trafficked by family members from childhood, and
so that's called familial trafficking, and unfortunately it's very common
(04:54):
and growing where you know, a mother or a father
or an uncle or a brother discovers the they can
make money or get out of their own poverty by
trafficking that girl, their sibling or child, and so unfortunately,
by the time they come to us, it's often something
that they've just lived their whole lives in that trauma.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I ran into that in san Ja de Costa Rica.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
We were working with Muddy Lilliana and the prostitutes. Well
we don't call them that, We call them ladies that
work in prostitution. You say, what's the difference we all
label them because two years ago I was there and
she brought in her ministries called rehab and she brought
twenty four women off the street because this was our
(05:37):
second time in rehabit and they all wanted to talk
to us. When I asked how many wanted prayer they
all raise their hands, So I like to ask them
a question, However, how in the world did you get
into this line of work? And many of the girls said, well,
my dad sold me. My dad sold me into this
line of work. I would like to get out, but
I was sold in by my father.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I'm like, whoa what.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Dad sells his daughter and gets her trafficked in the prostitution.
Right then, when you realize that, you're like, okay, Wow,
that's crazy. And so in rehab, there's a it's in
a really bad part of town, and then there's a wall,
and Maddy said, put your hand on this wall, and
(06:22):
then she goes, you know what's on.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
The other side of this wall? I go what? She
goes a brothel?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
And if you go out with Maddy, you literally have
to we wear a bulletproof vest because she goes in
to those places and takes women right out of there
with the police and rescues them. So it's a whole
nother level of crazy. I'm dangerous, very dangerous, And so
I admire the work you're doing. I have a question
(06:49):
for you. No, Like, we're a healing ministry, so we
take people through the healing of trauma, and I work
with human traffic survivors too, and I work with another
organization in the Thumb of Michigan that referrals or refers
ladies here for healing over zoom and stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Tell me a little more about the healing process you
put the ladies through.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, so a lot of it at first looks like stability,
just getting them on their feet, getting an apartment, you know,
getting their kids in school. Because for any of us,
if we're you know, going through trauma, if our lives
are upset, if everything's chaos, we can't start to heal
because we're in survival mode. We're in you know, fight
or flight. And so that first key piece is stability.
(07:35):
And then once we have that you know, stability started,
then it looks like helping her start to get a
budget and again take care of basic needs, help her,
you know, get a food stamp program, something whatever it
is to further that stability. And then we move into
something like counseling or different programs that might help depending
(07:57):
on what she's going through. So survivor in our program
might choose to live on our own in an apartment,
where she might choose to go through a specific recovery
program for survivors of trafficking, so that could look like
it or individual counseling. And we are a faith based organization.
We love the Lord, but we don't decide that for
(08:18):
that survivor. So we offer services, We offer Bible studies,
things like that, and if she wants to do that
and participate, then we're more than happy to do that
with her.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I was amazed when I work with girls i'd have
been trafficked between twelve and seventeen years old. Everything they're
introduced to, like drugs, alcohol, sex, all this kind of stuff.
I remember talking to one girl and she said to me,
it hurts when I walk. All must be your feet.
(08:47):
It hurts when I walk. And well, she was about
to tell me I was not prepared for and I'm
not even going to say it, but you know what happened.
We prayed for her and we got contacted by the
rehab two weeks later confirmed healing of the human patholoma.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Virus WHOA that was introduced by her father.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
So we often get when we I'm one of two
teams in the United States, say in the world that
gets to.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Go into this rehab.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Our team is one of two, and we often say
when we leave, it makes us so upset that these
girls at this young age get because you know, you
look at thinking about your own kid, right, Yeah, it's
really hard. And I've seen the depths of crying and
tears and trauma and kids balling their eyes out. It's
just gets really intense when you spend two days in
(09:45):
the rehab and that's all you do is work with
them to the that trauma. But that's why we get
invited back. And but do so in your healing process
for them? Do you does your organization have teams that
work with some of the spiritual healing of hurting events
(10:05):
they've been through.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, absolutely, Depending on whether that survivor chooses that then yes.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Like if they want it, then they can get that
through you guys. Really critical. I think is really great
that you guys, And you know, when I first met
you through your book, I was like, Oh, Ellie, then
at the aust she does human trafficking. Okay, we got
something in common. And so have you yourself been evolved
helping girls through the healing process?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Not me, because that's what our advocates do so and
I'm on the other side of things more admin side,
but I definitely hear a lot of the stories and
I love hearing that. And I actually wanted to circle
back around, and we were talking about before with poverty.
You know, poverty is one of the leading factors that
leads into trafficking, and so trafficking is a supply and
(10:56):
demand issue, and so if we didn't have a demand
for trafficking, there would be no supply and it would end.
But unfortunately there's a demand. And part of what's driving
that demand is the realization for traffickers that they can
make a lot of.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Money in this way.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah, and so if they're in poverty, like physical poverty
or emotional poverty, then they're trying to find a way
out of that, and so then they're going to, yeah,
go into traffic someone. And so I think it's just
really important if we want to end trafficking that we
understand that supply and demand part.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
So and to go along with that, my friend in
Costa Rica is building a fortress in the mountains because
when you take these girls away and you get to
help them, they come after them. So you got to
have a fortress and it's got to be protected. So
her goal is to take them out of the poverty,
(11:48):
right that you're talking about, and then putting them in
a place, secret place in the mountains where they can
get healing, education, back on their feet and then can
be put out.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
So I worked a little bit with Operation Rescue. Are
you familiar with that?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So I worked with them in Saint Salvador two years ago.
And I've met the leaders of Operation Rescue, Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
And they actually place some of these women in other countries, right,
they do. I met, I met the leader of that.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
He's amazing, right, And I don't think I think this
is one subject that a lot of Americans are not
really up on, are familiar, or maybe they don't want
to admit that it happens here.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Absolutely, And actually I think that's a good point, because
trafficking in other countries, like you're talking about, can often
look very different than trafficking here. And so they're right,
they're building a fortress. They need to keep those girls
away from the traffickers one hundred percent. Here in the US,
trafficking often is more relationship based, and so it'll look
like something like what we call a pamper Romeo boyfriend
(12:57):
who gets to know Let's say that girl that survivor
which trafficking victims can be male or female, but in
this scenario, it's a female. He gets to know her,
He just you know, convinces her that he loves her,
and then over time, you know, he can blackmail her
or kind of Stockholm syndrome her into doing what he wants.
(13:20):
And so unfortunately that that combination of familial trafficking and
childhood sexual abuse and then those relationships, right that childhood
abuse creates vulnerabilities, and those vulnerabilities then can lead us,
you know, into situations that are unsafe or unhealthy.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Did you know the I ninety four quarter of Michigan
is very dangerous. Let me explain. If you're in a
parking lot, young women have to be very careful because
they can get kidnapped right out of parking lots and
put in a van and you never see him again.
So here in Michigan we have the I ninety four corridors,
We have the highway going to Detroit or Chicago, which
(13:58):
is a big trafficking area for traffic. A lot of
people don't want to admit that exists, but sure I
have seen people get stocked in those parking lots, so
you have to really super becare And that that leads
me to another point that you talk about as awareness.
Is there anything you want to say around awareness?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Yeah, the number one. So it's interesting that you're talking
about that too with like kidnapping, because I think the
number one thing that we don't understand is that relationship
based factor. Is that so much trafficking here is relationship based.
So we think about the kidnapping, you know, part of it,
which absolutely happens, but it's very small versus getting in
(14:39):
those relationships where traffickers are targeting people. And so I
think it's important to be aware that to be able
to understand what's happening in relationships, you know, to understand
the red flags of trafficking and the different things that
go into that. And so if you're listening and you
want more resources on that, visit rescue her dot org.
We've got resources for you to learn the red flags,
(15:01):
to learn the different things so that you can be
aware of that.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Well, I think, Ellie, I think that's really really great
because say again, how they can get your information?
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Give them your website, would you and all that?
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yeah, rescue her dot org or you can follow us
on social media.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Rescue Her, Yeah, very important to be Awareness is really critical,
along with all the other components we're talking about, because
these kids get when they get snatched, it's fast.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
But the family.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
With the grooming, I think they call it grooming, don't they,
Where someone is being groomed to be trafficked, and there
is a ton of cash in that.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
And when I know that Maddy has.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
A price on her head, they actually got a price
on her for her work. And in two thousand and
nine she received from Hillary Clinton the Human Trafficking Award
of a Heroine And I call her that too. She's
pretty feisty. So the work I think that you're doing
is invaluable. Maybe maybe someone will either listen or watch
(16:06):
this along the way in your traffic. What would you
say to them if someone's watching and they happen to
stumble on this and they're being trafficked right now?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, absolutely, definitely reach out for help. There are people
who want to help, So you can visit Rescue Her
dot org or you know, there's a number of other organizations.
You can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline and they're
amazing and you can actually call them or use their
online chat feature and they'll offer help. But I would
(16:37):
definitely say take the first step, because sometimes getting out
of something like that can be really scary because it's unknown.
But there are so many people out there right now
who want to help, and you want to make a
difference and support these survivors. And we have so many
success stories, and our partner organizations have so many success
stories of women who have gotten out of that darkness
(16:58):
and that trauma really healed and begun incredible, amazing new lives.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
When I was in when I was in Saint Salvador
with Madi Liliana at the human trafficking conference he held
and I was one of their speakers. It was interesting
to see everybody that was involved, from psychologists, the doctors,
to the people doing the rescuing, to the pastors. To
add this is a big organization around the world that's
(17:27):
working on this. It's so dangerous, but also it's really
awesome to hear the miracles that God did for them
to rescue people, even from helping a lady get new
teeth or putting someone in another country or and then
they put up how many people they have, actually, how
many people they have rescued and so you've heard of
(17:50):
them having your operation rescue. Yes, yes, And so I
spent four days with them and with four or five
days with them in San Salvador, and it was just
very interesting. Even the government of San Salvador gave us
a vip escort to the hotel. It must have been
(18:11):
because of the danger involved. They snatched us right out
of the jetway and one guy looked at me like,
who are you?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
He's got my picture? Come with me. But you know,
you think, what can I do? What can people do? Elie?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yeah, great question. There are so many things that people
can do. Number One, if you love to give financially,
these nonprofits like ours always need it because you know,
we're grant and donor funded, so you can always donate
Rescue her dot org slash give. But also one of
the other things if that's not for you, is to
use the skills that you have. And so we have
(18:51):
an amazing donor who knows how to make crochet items
and she'll go and set up a booth at different
craft fairs and she'll sell those items and then she'll
donate that money. We need volunteers all the time to
help with events. And different things that we're doing. So
there are just so many ways that people can get
involved with the skill sets that you have. So I
(19:12):
would encourage you to reach out to the groups that
are in your area and ask how you can help
go through their volunteer orientation, you know, find out the
different things that you can do with the skill set
that you have.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
So one question for you, Ali, I'm just getting to
know you. What was it that caused you to step
in and get involved.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, it's a great question. So we talked about this
a little in the other episode. But my when I
was in a senior in college, I started learning about
the pornography industry. And my family has always been very
justice striven, and so I learned in I was writing
a research paper and I learned that pornography is deeply
(19:54):
connected to human trafficking. And one of those things is
that human trafficking is essentially by pornography because pornography creates
you know, we could get into this for hours, but
pornography creates a demand and a desire in our hearts
to purchase sex and to do these things. And there's
a lot that happens, and the bringing with dopamine and
there's plenty there, but I started learning about those connections.
(20:17):
And then around the same time, my dad actually started
his own anti trafficking nonprofit where similar to you, actually
he goes into other countries they rescue kids and families
out of brothels and brick factories and really crazy stuff.
And his is called the Children's Rescue Initiative and they
do incredible work. And so I ended up working for
(20:37):
him for a few years doing admin for him. Really
loved that work, and then moved from my hometown to
Texas and got my job with Rescue her.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Well, we have a couple more minutes left, So what
I'd like you to do, Eli is lift up are
prayer for ladies that have been rescued, for healing and
anyone's thinking about getting out.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Can you do that?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Absolutely? Yeah? I love you and God, I just thank
you so much for your hand of protection Lord over
women who are still in the who are still being trafficked. Lord,
if there's anyone listening to this who just felt a
light bulb, go on, Lord, I thank you for providing
them with next steps, Lord for covering them with your protection,
(21:19):
and for the women who have gotten out of that,
Lord who are in recovery programs who are healing. I
just thank you for meeting them there, Father, for continued healing.
That trafficking grieves your heart, and I thank you Lord
that you have so much hope and so much restoration
and store for them. So yeah, God, we love you,
and I just thank you that you are the God
of miracles and that you have so much hope in
(21:42):
Jesus same Amen.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Help them once again, how they can your website, how
they can get help, how they can get information.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I think it's good to mention that two or three times, or.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah, yeah, you can connect with us at rescue her
dot org or on social media at rest to keep
her or call her hotline which is on our website.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
That's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
So look, if you're listening to us and you're a
young lady that maybe you were trafficked and now you
need healing, get a hold of Rescue her dot org.
Get some help, don't You're amazing. And that's the thing
I would want women to know that have been traffic
that they are amazing. They're important, and they are valuable.
(22:25):
And there's a lot of fear when you're trying to
escape and you're trying to get out of that. There's
a lot of fear that someone might find you again,
get a hold of you again. There's a lot of
fear and all that. So Lord, I just pray against
the spirit of fear that would want to enslay people,
hold people from going to get help. I ask for
(22:46):
your peace and your angels to go out and free
up the people that have been trapped and bring them
back into your life, give them the courage to step
forward and get.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
The help they need. In Jesus' name.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Well, get about a minute laugh, we're winding up. Any
last thoughts from you.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Thank you for having us today. I really appreciate this.
And you know, an anytime that we can get the
word out about what we do, I think is really important.
And again, if you're listening to this, I just encourage you,
if this is something that burns in your heart that
you're interested in, to get educated and learn more and
do you know, play the part that you can in
this fight against trafficking, because we need all the help
(23:27):
we can get.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
For healing begins, and I pray that the Lord will
bless you and keep you and cause us face to
jine upon you and give you peace. I also pray
for everyone that's been trafficked that they would find healing,
and for those that are still trapped, that God would
free them from the snares of being traffic. Thank you
(23:51):
Lord for being with us in Jesus' name, ammen.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Are you struggling with the emotional pain, anxiety, trauma, or
feeling stuck in life? As spiritual care consultants, we believe
that healing is possible because we've seen it happen every day.
We offer one on one spiritual care for both adults
and children at no cost, right in our office or
through secure zoom sessions. Whether you're facing grief, stress, depression,
(24:24):
or simply need someone to talk to, our trained consultants
are here to walk with you toward healing and hope.
We combine biblical wisdom, compassionate listening, and proven spiritual care
tools that will help bring clarity, peace and restoration. To
learn more, visit www dot SCC Healingbegins dot com and
(24:47):
if you have any questions orud like to reach out
to us, email us any time at share at Healingegins
Radio dot com. You're not alone. Healing Begins here,
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