Don’t Fumble the Ball When Resolving Your Conflict

         In less than a week, Miami will proudly host the Super Bowl LIV.  Despite how exciting it is that the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will be fighting for a win, that is not the only fight that Miami will have that weekend.  

Unfortunately, Miami Dade claims the number 1 spot in Florida for human trafficking and the third in the state of Florida. 

         Did you know that sex traffickers target vulnerable children, particularly those that have been sexually exploited, those that are runaways and those in foster care?

         Did you know that 40% of all victims are minors?

         Did you know that 60% of adult victims are only 18 to 23 years of age?

         Did you know that there are documented cases of 12-year olds being sold up to twenty times a day?

         Did you know that next to drug dealing, human trafficking is the most lucrative high profit, low risk enterprise that exists?

         Did you know that $150,000 to $200,000 is made on each child each year on human trafficking?

         It is these staggering statistics that have summoned thousands of community members to stand up for these victims and call an end to human trafficking in our own backyard.  The Women’s Fund, along with the State Attorney’s office, among many others have held various meetings and town halls to raise awareness as to the prevalence of modern-day slavery.  Miami has come a long way, but we have a long way to go to score our “touchdown.”

         A call to action has been initiated for months now to stop the predators that are certainly thinking of ways to lure our children.  It is important to remember that victims come from all walks of life and can look like anyone.  

         Miami is hoping to have more heroes such as Kevin Avila, the Uber driver, who saved a 16-year-old from a human trafficking ring a few years back in California.  It is for this reason, that Uber, Lyft and taxi drivers have also been called to keep their eyes and ears open for anything that may seem out of the ordinary.

         Hotels all along the famous Miami Beach strip have received trainings to recognize the signs of human trafficking.   Even the public is being asked to download an app called  TraffickCam, a fairly new app, which urges vacationers to upload pictures of their hotel rooms. The goal is to create a database of hotel rooms to match up against photos that pimps post online.

Tattoos are known to be a sign of human trafficking.  Some tattoos will even portray stars to show if the victim is a high earner or not. Other signs of human trafficking are poor physical or mental health, lack of control over your own life and harsh working conditions. Merchants and even the public have been educated to not only recognize the signs of human trafficking but also to recognize what is not necessarily human trafficking.  People have been educated to identify that it is not necessarily Liam Neeson dashing in to save his daughter in a scene from the movie “Taken.”

MAZE Resolutions P.A. stands with Miami to combat this modern-day slavery that must be stopped. Remember SEE IT!  SNAP IT!  SEND IT!  305 FIX STOP

By: Mari Sampedro-Iglesia