Children pay the highest price for the evils of the world.

It happens to hundreds of thousands of children in the United States and to millions of children throughout the world. As with any illegal activity, accurate information and data that convey the true scale of the problem are hard to measure accurately. One thing we know with absolute certainty: everything is stolen from them. Their development, their rights to an education, to health, and to grow up in a protected and safe environment free from abuse and exploitation .... all of it, gone.

Traffickers in the United States use terribly coercive methods to recruit their victims. Yes, most trafficking victims in the United States are American youth. They will do, say or spend almost anything to bring young people into their "stable" of prostitutes. They go to these extreme measures simply because the business is so profitable.

In any case, the children under their control become slaves. This may sound like a problem that exists only in distant countries suffering from poverty, warfare and political chaos. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because child trafficking - the commercial sexual exploitation of children - happens in every community in America, including yours.

However, there is success for those who are fighting to save these children. Here are a few of their stories as they appear in Ahava Kids Founder and Director, Raymond Bechard’s Global Blog.

"Life Is Good!"
These are the first three words of a beautiful hand-written letter we received from a young woman just today. I called and asked her if I could share some of the things she wrote with you and she said, "Yes! You have to! I want people to know what happens to us out there."

Her story as a trafficking victim in America begins very quickly. Her escape and rehabilitation into a life that is "good," safe, happy and full of bright horizons, will continue for years.

In 2007 "Mary" met a man who promised her "so much money you'll be driving a Mercedees in a few weeks." He told her she would be treated like a princess, like a "little Barbie doll," complete with a new wardrobe and exciting parties. He told her she wouldn't have to worry about money anymore . . . she only had to let him take some pictures of her and do exactly what he told her to do.

She was reluctant, but with no where else to turn, she agreed. She had experienced a lot of trouble in her life and this man was offering a way out. The photos were taken immediately. Then, just a few minutes later, her posting went up on Craigslist - a place where men find sex for sale. The phone started ringing right away . . . and Mary had her first "date."

Four hours. It was four hours from the time she met the pimp until she had sex for money with her first "John." Four hours that would send her down a road of abuse, violence, humiliation, drug abuse and unimaginable degredation.

Then she was arrested. That's when some very caring law enforcement professionals called Ahava Kids. We met Mary a few hours later, took her into safety, got her new clothes, brought her to the doctor, and asked her what she wanted to do with her life. "I'm not sure yet. I just want to sit still for a little while." So, that's what we let her do.

A few days later, we located an excellent program for her rehabilitation and care. It was from there that she wrote the letter which came today...."I feel like I have a lot more self-esteem, courage, and hope. Everyday is a good day! I just want to take this time to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. Your support, love, and all the laughter we've shared has made such a difference in my life. I love you guys and miss you!"

Yes, "life is good" for Mary now. But what haunts me the most is how she ends her letter . . . "You know, there are so many girls and guys still out there just like me. What are we going to do?"

She Has No Place To Go . . .
After being held for months in an apartment against her will. After being turned out as a prostitute, forced to make $1500 a day. After being threatened, addicted to drugs, and abused. After all that, she was finally able to contact the police and make her way out. The police called us immediately and we met "Cal" in a Diner at about 11:00 o'clock one night a few days ago.

She was terrified. Terrified of strangers. Terrified of the pimp from whom she had escaped. Terrified to face tomorrow. Her fears were justified. While one of our female Intervention Specialists sat talking quietly with Cal on one side of the empty diner, I sat with three detectives in a booth along the opposite wall. The three of them explained to me what they already knew about Cal's story.

She had been coerced by a man she thought she knew. He had taken her to his apartment and bought her nice things. He made promises. He treated her very well...for the first few weeks. Then, he told her it was time to go to work. If she refused, he said, he would kill her family.

So she went to work.

He sold her online, in strip clubs and in the back rooms of bars. He sold her any way and every way he could. And he made a lot of money. All the while keeping her high, and never letting her leave his sight. Then, one day, he left her alone in a hotel room just long enough for her to make a phone call. That was the beginning of her escape.

But now, there is no place for her to go. And that is what terrifies her the most. The man who held her captive, her pimp, is constantly looking for her. He wants her to go back to work and he knows she can be dangerous to him in Court.

As the detectives finished telling me Cal's story, I asked, "Now what?" They simply said, "We thought you could tell us what to do." As I looked over the to the corner booth where the young girl was talking to our staff member, another detective asked, "Is your safe house ready yet?" The pit in my stomach got heavier and turned over a few times. "No, not yet," I said. "But, we'll figure something out."

You see, being rescued from a trafficker, a modern-day slave handler of the worst kind, is only the first step to freedom. Cal and hundreds of thousands of young people just like her across the United States will not know true freedom until they can escape from the awful and intentional fear that has been forced into them.

The only way to release them from the chains of fear is to get them somewhere safe, somewhere they can feel at home, where no one is trying to get to them. That's why the Ahava Kids Safe House is such a priority.

As I tried to think of options for Cal, the detective finished by saying, "Well, I hope you guys open your safe house soon. We're going to have a lot more girls like Cal coming your way." Rescued, but not free. Escaped, but still in prison. We can get them out, but getting them out is not enough. We must give them sanctuary to flee from fear and rebuild their lives.

_______________________________

You Can’t Have Her . . .
Some years, Thanksgiving doesn't really work. Some years, the day doesn't provide the reflection or depth it promises. It falls short. It's not Thanksgiving's fault. It's ours.

It's our fault that we don't build Thanksgiving into every day of the year. Thanksgiving is and always has been about deliverance. Being delivered from trouble, repression, sickness, danger and all other evils, has motivated us to give thanks on this one day. Yet, we rarely stop to thank God for the deliverance we have been given ever day of our lives. We shouldn't expect Thanksgiving to make up for all that unexpressed gratitude. That's why Thanksgiving doesn't really work some years.

Except this year.

This year, Thanksgiving worked. This year a group of people answered the call when a young girl was in trouble. She was held captive by pimps and drug dealers. She called for help when a UPS man came to the wrong door. She escaped with the help of a SWAT team. And she went with Ahava Kids when we got the call.

She was delivered and today she is safe. Today she does not have to worry that someone is trying to kill her or sell her. She is safe because when Ahava Kids asked people for help, they came to the Thanksgiving table and saved her life.

So, to the people who answered that call, Thank you. This year, I give thanks to you on Thanksgiving

And to the people who enslaved her. To the people who imprisoned her mind, her spirit, her soul and her body, I will only say this......

You Can't Have Her.

_______________________________

Where Is The Baby?
I went out on patrol recently with the New York Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force. NYPD has 30,000 officers, and six of them deal with trafficking. We are working with them because they have nowhere to place young people when they are taken in for prostitution. By law, anyone 17 and under in prostitution is not a criminal, but a victim, so they can't put them in jail. Consequently, they call us for placement 24/7/365. That's one of our biggest challenges, but we have an even bigger challenge.

At about 1:00 a.m. I was sitting in the back seat of an unmarked car as we drove around Hunts Point in The Bronx. This is a notorious section for prostitution. I noticed a young girl walking slowly down and abandoned street. I told the office driving that we needed to double back and see what she was doing. Just as we turned the corner to make our return, I saw the lights of an eighteen-wheeler flash across the street from where the girl was walking. By the time we returned she was gone, but I told the detective, "She's in that truck." As I said that the truck started to pull away. We followed it as it slowly drove a few blocks, then turned, then turned again, driving without any one direction or purpose ... and that's not something truck drivers do in New York. Finally, he pulled over and turned off his lights. We all got out and approached the cab of the truck. The detectives knocked on the doors and opened them. The driver came out first, then the girl. She had been negotiating with him as they were driving slowly around. You don't need the details of what she was doing for the $40 he paid her. The important parts are these:

• She told us her name which I can't tell you here. Let's call her "Nan."
• Nan gave us an address where she said she is staying. We have been checking regularly with no success.
• She also told us she had to work all day and night, every day and night, because she is supporting three men where she is staying. They all have drug addictions and so does she. Nane is supporting four drug habits as a prostitute.
• Though she looks older, she is probably no older than18, and says she has been on the streets for five years. This makes sense since the average age of females entering prostitution in the US is 13.
• Okay, here's the hard part. According to Nan, and from her still protruding belly and naval, we have no reason not to believe her, she gave birth only seven days prior to finding her in the truck. She said that after giving birth, she was out working the streets two days later.
• We are doing everything we can to find the baby. It's a boy. She is not telling the truth as to what happened to the child after she gave birth in the hospital. We can't find the boy and neither can the police. The difficulty is that unwanted children are often sold here.
• Nan refused to come with us or accept any help. (It was freezing that night and she had only flip-flops on her feet.)
• We will keep searching for the Nan and try to determine the fate of her baby. Check back here for updates.