“We have normalized the exploitation and trafficking of people”

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By Reynaldo Mena

Sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, human trafficking, and slavery are constant signs of the modern world, and unfortunately, awareness of these issues is far from reaching the majority of the population.

“It is very regrettable how we take these problems as normal and even become part of them. We unconsciously participate in them. There are hundreds of thousands of children begging, and instead of trying to remedy this problem, we give them money, thinking that we are helping them solve their lives,” says Angie de Luna, Latin America director of the organization A21, which seeks to abolish human trafficking at all levels.

A21 has been in existence for 15 years and has offices in various parts of the world. It is one of the largest organizations that focuses on these types of problems and in its track record, it has numerous success stories where they have been able to integrate numerous children and young people into society.

“We believe that education is one of the keys to our work. I became aware by educating myself about this issue. I became interested in being part of the organization because I have a family and I want to leave them a better world, to the extent possible, reduce these problems,” says De Luna, who has been officially in this position for three years.

“The more I learned about human trafficking, the more helpless I felt. Coming to A21 gave me a space to act and do something,” adds De Luna, based in Mexico City.

“At a local, domestic, and international level. All over the world, we are not just responding to trafficking that is already taking place, but we are actively working on the frontlines to prevent it from happening to begin with,” they mention on their website.

A21 bases its work on three principles: reach, rescue, and restore programs that address the issue of human trafficking.

The first one is about informing, reaching those involved, and launching prevention programs. The second carries out a rescue process for the affected individuals to initiate their reintegration into society as the third step. In summary, they do global work that offers solutions to the problem.

“We depend not only on our staff but also on volunteers who join the cause,” says De Luna. And she adds, “We understand that there is corruption, but we try to work with local governments with whom we sign agreements to achieve our goals.

According to De Luna, human trafficking is a total violation of human rights. There is a lot of exploitation in all areas.

“When we talk about human trafficking, we not only refer to the sexual aspect but also labor exploitation and begging,” she adds. “Unfortunately, we have normalized exploitation, and many times, we are part of it.”

Here are some of their achievements:

• 15.3 million vulnerable people impacted by prevention, awareness, or education resources.
• 1.7 million minors reached with prevention and awareness efforts.
• Thousands of Walk For Freedom events hosted across 70 countries.