Road-blocking human trafficking Published June 10, 2011 By Brian Schroeder Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- In the cool, still of an early summer night, crickets chirp alongside a small running brook that serves at the only water source for a small village in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. Suddenly, the sound of a tree branch snapping underneath a military-style boot awakens the villagers who have been nervously waiting for this day to come. As the small group of armed men separates the young boys and girls from their elder counterparts, a teary-eyed woman begs one of the men holding a Kalashnikov not to take her daughter. She is quickly put to the ground with the butt stock of the man's weapon. Other parents watch helplessly as their children are tied together and ushered to the back of a cargo truck. The children are destined for a coastal town where they will be sold and shipped west. According to estimates from the United Nations, the number of humans trafficked per year for sexual enslavement, forced labor or other types of forced servitude ranges from 700,000 to 4 million. Although most instances of human trafficking originate in developing nations, the U.S. and many western European nations are primary recipients of trafficking in humans. Oklahoma City is in the top four U.S. cities for human trafficking, behind Las Vegas, Houston and Kansas City, primarily because of the I-35/I-40 corridor, said Michelle Loughlin, Tinker Air Force Base sexual assault response coordinator. However, most human trafficking come through Oklahoma are Americans trafficked across the country for prostitution purposes, she added. "This is something we are seeing increased interest in, but it's also a new way of looking at human trafficking, especially in regards to prostitution," Ms. Loughlin said. "For years when we thought about human trafficking, we thought of people being brought over from other countries, not our own citizens being trafficked. We think about the sex industry in Thailand, not the sex industry in OKC." The exact number of humans being enslaved around the world is unknown. In 2011, the U.S. Department of State estimated the number to be more than 20 million. Ms. Loughlin said the majority of human trafficking in the U.S is 12 to 17 year old runaway boys and girls who are recruited with a promise of a better life. The Super Bowl is one of the top events in the U.S. for transporting enslaved humans, she added, estimating thousands of women were brought to Dallas this past January for the sole purpose of prostitution. "In reality, you have to look at it in terms of a 14-year old boy or girl is incapable of giving legal consent to sex under any conditions," she said. "These children are put into prostitution with somebody else taking the money and profiting off their skin. So many of these people get put into this lifestyle when they are still minors, and it's very hard to get out of. It is a different way of looking at prostitution." Ms. Loughlin, who has a Master's of Science degree in clinical psychology from the University of Oklahoma, volunteers at the Oklahoma City YWCA as a victim advocate. She told of one night when a friend was called to a local hospital because a woman had been kidnapped from Las Vegas, brought to Oklahoma City and forced to work at a truck stop in Oklahoma City, servicing up to 40 men per day. Ms. Loughlin said the victim had no money herself and did not speak English. "It's a very sordid and horrible crime we are just indifferent to," she said. "We think of this as their choice to do this and this is how they want to live their lives, which implies they have some control over choosing this lifestyle." "I've never seen (Julia Robert's character in the film 'Pretty Woman') coming out of these situations," she continued. "I'm sure there are some freelancers who do quite well in the business of flesh, but that's the minority. The majority of people involved in prostitution do not have a penny to their name. For some of them it's not that it's against their will, there is just not another option there." In May 2011, Tinker AFB officially began a program to raise awareness of trafficking enslaved humans. In accordance with Department of Defense and Department of the Air Force regulations, military and DOD personnel at all levels are required to complete annual combating trafficking in persons training through the Air Force's Advanced Distance Learning System. Col. Scott Merrell, 72nd Air Base Wing vice commander, said the Department of Defense and all its subordinate organizations have been focused on countering illegal activities, such as human trafficking, for the length of their existence. "It is in the nature of any federal entity to oppose prostitution, forced labor, and any related activities that may contribute to trafficking in persons as inherently harmful and dehumanizing," Colonel Merrell said. "Furthermore, trafficking in persons is a violation of both United States law and internationally recognized human rights. Any failure to combat this particular set of crimes is a failure in our basic core values." Air Force Security Forces, Office of Special Investigations and Judge Advocate personnel work hand-in-hand with local authorities to identify and pursue indicators of human slavery at local and regional establishments that may be patronized by DOD personnel. Bob Sandlin, 72nd ABW director of staff, said the buying and selling of human beings is a form of serious exploitation and abuse. He said combating trafficking in humans training and awareness continues for servicemembers deploying to locations where human trafficking in persons is endemic. "Trafficking victims live a life marked by abuse, betrayal of their basic human rights, and control under their trafficker," Mr. Sandlin added. "We deploy personnel to many of the countries across the world where trafficking is abundant and we want to play a supportive role in anti-trafficking efforts." Although trafficking is more prevalent in other countries, Ms. Loughlin said many instances of trafficking human beings exist within military life. She said she has seen cases where military members will marry foreign born spouses, bring them back to the U.S. and grant them very few rights and privileges, while keeping them sheltered and isolated from the outside world and culture. She said a person who gets a mail-order bride could take their spouse's green card, keep their dependent ID, and forbid them to meet other people or learn English. In this instance, she added, the person is looking for a housekeeper, bedmate or some type of servitude arrangement. There are also people who bring over relatives from third world countries to live as unpaid housekeepers, she added. "It's like these people are living in an alternate universe," Ms. Loughlin said. "They don't have outside contact like we do. Their world is work or confined to one place. These people are falling below the radar and there is very little accountability. The actual numbers are much larger than are reported, especially with the folks that are coming in on visas." "We would recommend our personnel be on the lookout for signs or indicators of this activity whenever they are out and about and report it if they suspect an establishment of this crime," Colonel Merrell said. "Nightclubs, bars, spas, escort services and massage parlors are typical examples of where this crime may be occurring, and an indicator of this activity may be that the workers (better classified as victims) may not speak the local language or have the freedom to move about and live in the local community, there may be heavy security and/or restrictive access to such establishments, and there may be signs of violence or abuse of the workers and victims, as well." Additional training tools, such as a DOD briefing, memos and posters are also available on the Tinker internal CTIP web page for use in commanders' calls, orientation sessions and other forums. Contact security forces, OSI or the inspector general to report human trafficking.