My Experience as a Labor Trafficking Survivor
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
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
[Music]
you