My Experience as a Labor Trafficking Survivor

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[Applause]

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ah

my parents joined a religious

organization

in the early 90s

they’ve given their time money and

ultimately their children to this

organization

in summer of 2002

my mother received a phone call from one

of the executive representatives

of the group the lady was calling

to inform my parents that it was the

will of god

that my brother and i began our

pilgrimage into manhood

and part of that meant moving

to the headquarters of the organization

located

in kansas city kansas so the following

evening

our bags were packed

and we were off to begin this new life

when we got there we were taken to meet

the strangers who would transport us

after giving our parents our hugs and

saying our goodbyes

we discovered that our arranged

transportation

was on the back of a 18-wheeler

semi-truck

we rode nearly 600 miles

on the back of a truck as if we were

packages being sent out for delivery

when we arrived to kansas we were taken

to the place

we would stay a small apartment

there were dozens of boys and men

packed like sardines

we were immediately put to work

dictated on how to dress

how to speak how to walk

what to eat and to disobey

meant severe punishment

slashes with a rod or paddle

days sometimes weeks of fasting

or worse beaten till

bones were broken face swollen

anything that would remind the other

kids what happens

when you disobey

i started out as a dishwasher

in back of the restaurant owned by the

traffickers

i will work countless hours a day

restlessly reporting in

at 8 am and not leaving sometimes

till 3 am the next morning

one time i showed up late for work

a habit i soon regret making

because almost immediately upon walking

through the doorway of the small diner

i found myself on the floor bleeding

after being hit in the mouth with a

yellow page phone book

attempting to stand to my feet the man

began to beat me on the back

until i passed out

acts of violence were not of rare

occasion at all

a good friend of mine named najib found

himself being questioned

by four men about something he should

not had done

almost immediately

without notice one of the men

threw a punch that brought naji to the

floor

the other three men eagerly followed up

with blows of their own

they concluded their beatdown section

by kicking him down a flight of about 13

stairs

to add insult to injury one of the guys

literally poured salt on najee’s wounds

i was just 12 years old

shocked saddened

and terrified of the possibility

of facing the same consequences as my

older friend

till this day i’m still unsure of what

naiji did wrong

but one thing was made clear to me

my well-being was no longer in my

parents hands

now i know what you’re probably thinking

elijah why didn’t you just pick up the

phone

and call your parents and tell them what

was going on

if the traffickers allowed me to use the

phone

the call was monitored by the executives

to be sure that not too much detail was

given as pertains to what was going on

and so the next nine years that followed

without my parents permission i was

taken

to new jersey georgia

maryland and places all around the

country that the trafficking

organization owned property

it began to seem like

every year i was being taken to one

place to the next

and everywhere i went the living

arrangements were the same as what i

experienced in kansas

finally the last place i worked before

escaping the group was harlem new york

while working in the traffickers new

york restaurant

i had received word that a friend of

mine

had died message

of her death began to spread like

wildfire

feeling bombarded by all the questions

surrounding the young teen’s death

the founder of the organization made

announcement of it

in a nutshell he said

that the young girl wanted to die

and she killed herself by becoming ill

it seemed that most people accepted that

explanation

but not me i knew better

how do you go from being well

to two months later being ashes and an

urn

not soon after i learned the truth

my friend pleaded that she did not feel

well

she begged to be taken to the hospital

they forced her to work through her

illness

until eventually her immune system shut

down

we were not allowed to seek professional

medical help that meant no annual

physicals

no dentist and no treatment for illness

in her case she was allowed to go

to the er

but by time they began treatment

it was too late

parents all around the country

joined this forced labor

human trafficking ring

disguised as a religious organization

willingly sending their children off

placing them

in an unfortunate situation

my childhood was ripped from me

when i finally got out it was a culture

shock to say the least

people would ask me about my upbringing

and my life and i would tell them things

that sound good to avoid talking about

what i went through

but it wasn’t until i embraced my truth

that i actually started to heal

and you know what i learned i am not

that unique

we all have things that we’ve been

through that has

caused us to dare ourselves

to be ourselves

fortunately

i have overcome most obstacles that have

stood in my way

good therapy developing friendships

education and work

related to survivors like myself makes

me thrive

by far my greatest assets

my family and friends

when i fall to moments of sadness

nightmares anxiety and confusion

it is them who lift me up

and although moments and years

of my life stolen could have wrecked me

i have gotten up stronger than ever

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you