Mexico – Human Trafficking Hotspot

Last Wednesday I went down to visit an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. As I was talking to the director and some of the staff, they began to share about the realities of human trafficking and child sex slavery that takes place down in Mexico. I knew that trafficking was a reality in Mexico but was it as prevalent as they made it out to be? Here’s what I found out: 

• “International organizations fighting child sex tourism say Mexico is one of the leading hotspots of child sexual exploitation, along with Thailand, Cambodia, India, and Brazil.” (source)
• The child pornography and commercial sexual exploitation industry enjoys total impunity in Mexico according to a report by the Mexico City Human Rights Commission. (source)
• According to the government, more than 20,000 Mexican children are victims of sex trafficking every year, especially in tourist and border areas. (source)
• Smuggling/trafficking a 13 year old girls into the States is worth more than one pound of cocaine. (source)
• Mexican Drug Cartels are furiously moving towards Human Trafficking as a way of sustaining their business. (source)
• Check out this CNN report:  video

The reality is that those are just facts and we can easily distance our reality from facts. The reality of Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery in Mexico does not become real until you see the faces of those who were victims or potential victims. 

Siempre Kids is the orphanage that I visited on Wednesday. They’re doing amazing working in not only rescuing kids from slavery situations, they are also working closely with the Mexican government and American government to ensure the protection of the kids in Mexico.

Eric Dent (Senior Pastor of Central Community Christian Fellowship and Director/Founder of Siempre Kids) has quickly become one of my heroes. As he was holding one of the newly acquired infants who has down syndrome, he looked up and said, “this is my mission for the rest of my life. Rescuing kids from the atrocities of the world.” 

Eric pastors a church in Riverside, California whose mission is to raise funds, bring awareness and give resources towards that one orphanage in Mexico. The church makes at least 1 trip down to the orphanage a week to drop of resources, visit the kids, find out any needs, and get updates from the onsite staff. Most churches are about themselves and their ministry, but this church is truly about the people that are close to God’s heart… The orphans.

Tags: Human Trafficking, Mexico, orphans, Siempre Kids