i missed the memo

60.59.58.57.56.55.54.53.52.51.50.
49.48.47.46.45.44.43.42.41.40.
39.38.37.36.35.34.33.32.31.30.
29.28.27.26.25.24.23.22.21.20.
19.18.17.16.15.14.13.12.11.10.
9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1. SOLD

It is estimated that two children are sold every minute. They are forced to live in brothels, and as the nights fall, so do their untouched bodies and the lively innocence that comes with being a child. They are continuously traded, from one perverse mind to another, and back to a so-called home where their biggest worry is not if they missed their favorite TV show, but instead, whether they are infected with HIV or not. Pain, abuse and shame are their closest allies, appearing to be a never-ending relationship.

Would you imagine, you're ten years old and you are sold by your own family to a trafficker, who then sells you to a brothel, in a place you probably don't even understand the language, and that night, and all the rest to come, you are to sexually service the perverse minds and bodies of those who pay the right price. I don't care how right the price is, in my book, this is rape.

I missed the memo when it became acceptable for our children and young girls to become commodities. I missed the growing trend of the high demand for five year old babies that can give "yum-yums".... yes, that's exactly what you think it is, and yes that's the official term they use. There is a problem when a teenage girl can be bought to serve as a sex slave, just as easy and affordable as buying a blackberry. Oh, that's right, a three hundred dollar blackberry is actually more expensive in a lot of cases, I stand corrected. Disgusting, abusive and shameful.

"In September 2002, Love146 Co-Founders Rob Morris, Lamont Hiebert, Desirea Rodgers and Caroline Hahm went on an exploratory trip to SE Asia to determine how they could serve in the fight against child sex trafficking. In brothels they saw young children being sold for sex. In safehomes they witnessed the miracle of restoration as they sang and danced with survivors." www.love146.org

Organizations like Love146 get it. They understand the urgency of this problem. They understand that it is going to take people like you and I to make the difference. I encourage you to get educated. I warn you the numbers are staggering.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -MLK