While the coronavirus has definitely created new challenges and conflicts, there are some problems we face as a society whether COVID-19 is here or not. One such problem is human trafficking.
Ottawa County is viewed as a safe place. But in reality, human trafficking happens even here in West Michigan like countless other communities across America.
To simply dismiss this tragic practice as someone else’s problem is dangerous. Just last month, there was an Oakland County man charged with prostituting nine victims of sex trafficking, a young woman was rescued in Genesee County after being trafficked by her boyfriend, and even during the anti-trafficking event at Teddy’s Transport, a speaker at the event notified that crowd that an infant that was taken in Grand Rapids was rightfully returned to its proper guardian.
These disgusting things aren’t just happening in some far-off country, they are happening here in West Michigan.
Fortunately, we are blessed to have strong voices for combating this issue such as State Rep. Mary Whiteford and Congressman Bill Huizenga. Both of these individuals recently spoke at events to help empower the community to fight against the atrocity that is human trafficking.
At the state level, Rep. Whiteford has championed a package of bills that will help survivors as well as combat human trafficking in Michigan. At the federal level, Congressman Huizenga has supported legislation to increase prosecution of traffickers while strengthening support programs for survivors. Additionally, through his work on the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Huizenga has worked to limit access to the banking system for smugglers and traffickers.
Understanding that our community isn’t immune to the ills of human trafficking is a message more people need to hear. Thank you to Helen Zeerip of Teddy’s Transport for hosting these empowering events to spread awareness of this crisis.
Abby Minnich
Zeeland
September 09, 2020 at 11:15AM
https://www.hollandsentinel.com/opinion/20200909/letter-donrsquot-forget-victims-of-human-trafficking
Letter: Don’t forget victims of human trafficking - HollandSentinel.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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