"She said I could earn money," and other stories from the Haiti/Dominican Republic Border

I was standing in line for food at a volunteer site one day when I struck up a conversation with a person who is now one of my good friends. Haitian, friendly, and tri-lingual, he began to talk with me about life in Haiti. I was particularly interested in his upbringing, and what had brought him to such a place to help and volunteer for his own country. I learned a lot of things about this man on that day, but the thing that stuck with me forever was his experience as a trafficked child.

Sugarcane, one of the island's expansive crops, is oftentimes a breeding ground for trafficked workers. Beautiful and tall, these crops line the border of the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, among other places. The windy roads that I have frequented between the two countries are beautiful, with sugarcane lining much of the roads.

Something that could give people jobs has turned into a place for modern-day slaves to live and work. It is a complicated, messy situation...like most things involving poverty.

My friend and I, chatting in the direct Haitian sunlight, entered into this challenging and overwhelming topic of trafficking. He told me of his grandmother, who wanted to be able to have some work, who brought him and his siblings across the border to work the sugar cane farms with her. He shared of a ride from his town outside of Port-Au-Prince into this capital city, and then smooshing himself and his family in an sweaty, stinky truck to sneak across the dusty border, unseen by border patrol.

Once they got through, he said, they were offered jobs picking the sugar cane for the Dominicans who owned these farms. He was 8 years old. Like most 8 year olds, he felt fear in his heart as he went into an unfamiliar territory and hunger in his belly, as his grandmother told him this was their only option.

He worked the fields for three months straight, he said. The farmer did not give them water, and would yell at them when they took bathroom breaks. He said that his grandmother told him it would be worth it in the end.

Instead, what happened to my friend is what happens to millions of people around the world. Border patrol was called and my friend and his family were kicked out of the country, as peniless as they arrived. While it might seem like the family brought this on themselves, this story is actually one of trafficking. It is a story that made a little boy face trauma like only a child slave can feel. Sold out by family, questioning everything, asking for help, finding no one.

It is complex, this system of having to be forced to sneak in through a country, plastered against another sweaty human like yourself...and the inevitable departure you have because of an imbalance of power. But, just because it is complex doesn't mean it is not worth digging into.

While most of the United States in deeply entrenched in a battle about #savingthechildren, there are people who are in deep slavery because of our need for basic items and services. Though it is more fun, less convicting, and more dramatic to blame others for the exploitation of people around the world (and in our own cities and states), there is not an overwhelming amount of evidence that points toward conspiracies as the main reason for trafficking. Instead, there is just a lack of opportunity and an imbalance of power.

Though I often find that I like quick solutions and easy, checklist answers, I have found that this world has way more complexities to it than I would have liked. My faith compels me to dig deeper instead of finding another cause. My beliefs cause me to pursue actual justice, which requires not only a bandaid fix but an understanding.

Here's the truth about this type of trafficking. It is driven by demand. Want to know why we still have sugar slaves in this world? Why children are being sold out by their grandparents, parents, and more? Because people want sugar. We want cheap sugar, at that.

Our purchasing power does way more than we know. While we are brainstorming what we can do about trafficking from a distance, many solutions are right here in front of us.

Buy products that promote fair-trade. Demand fair-trade. Use fair-trade. When you can, use your purchasing power to speak to the masses. This can help more than we know.

For my friend and for those like him, I am sorry. I am sad for broken relationships, sad for trafficking, and sad that my purchasing power has been a part in landing you as a trafficked child. But, you better believe I am going to start doing better.