Expert Analysis

What National Human Traffic Awareness Month means to me and how we fight it in the private sector

Getty Image

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!'”
Isaiah 6:8

As a matter of fact, January is the month of such awareness. While it’s a distinct honor to have an entire month dedicated to awareness of the scourge that is trafficking human beings, it does strike me that this singular designation only gives citizens of the U.S. 11 other things to be aware of throughout the year. That’s fine with me: I’ll take the January that God graced the struggle against the human affliction of individuals who would be trafficked, and others who could traffic them.

To do my part to be aware and pass the torch, I’m going to describe a few private sector levels of effort that exist in our country today to assist law enforcement (LE) to stave off the throes of the diabolical act of trafficking.

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!'”
Isaiah 6:8

As a matter of fact, January is the month of such awareness. While it’s a distinct honor to have an entire month dedicated to awareness of the scourge that is trafficking human beings, it does strike me that this singular designation only gives citizens of the U.S. 11 other things to be aware of throughout the year. That’s fine with me: I’ll take the January that God graced the struggle against the human affliction of individuals who would be trafficked, and others who could traffic them.

To do my part to be aware and pass the torch, I’m going to describe a few private sector levels of effort that exist in our country today to assist law enforcement (LE) to stave off the throes of the diabolical act of trafficking.

1.) Victim Recovery Services.

May the good Lord bless their hearts of gold for their generosity and kindness–but these attributes aren’t fighting human traffic. Dare I say it’s not even a stretch to include that it could be viewed as an act of perpetuity rather than subjugation. Here’s a cogent explanation from a man truly immersed in the fight against trafficking:

“Illegal substances are sold for a one-time price: a-zero sum game. Humans can be sold repeatedly hundreds and even thousands of times: a non-zero-sum game. Rescuing a victim creates ‘shelf space’ for newer and younger product. Trying to combat human trafficking through victim rescue is the equivalent of trying to shoplift Walmart out of business.”

2.) Awareness Spreading Services.

I guess they serve who stuff stacks of awareness pamphlets on countertops of hotel reception lobbies. We have a group of do-gooders in my home of Albuquerque who set up and serve coffee and cookies to trafficked women in the city. I can only suppose that it serves to keep the spirits up between johns.

These types of services offer pamphlets that have hotline numbers women can call for aid. Reminds me of the Veteran Suicide Hotline that I called eventually just out of curiosity and boredom. Essentially, you reach out, someone answers, and you say: “Hey man, I’m thinking about killing myself,” to which the person on the other ends replies: “Aw man, don’t do it!”

3.) Vigilante Victim Rescue Boy’s Clubs.

These are groups of chest-thumping males who race off to distant exotic countries like the Philippines and Thailand to rescue women and children from sex slavery–oblivious of the fact that we have that same problem right here in the U.S. Why would you go down the street to fight a brush fire in your neighbor’s yard when there is a roaring blaze in your own? Why would anyone do that?

Boy’s Clubs: racing off to Neverland for high adventure, while side-stepping the issue here at home to go rescue tiny tots in a land where it’s so much easier to buttress the local authorities. Right. “I lost my keys in the other room, but I’m looking for them here in this room because the light is better.”

4.) DeliverFund.

Founded and steered by former USAF Pararescue Swimmer and CIA GRE Operative Nicholas McKinley. This organization melds the power of LE and resources found in the private sector to form an efficacious force to pit against the human traffic issue here in America.

LE has power that the private sector doesn’t; the private sector has far more legal rights than LE. That synergy has teeth. DeliverFund brings a group of well-sourced intelligence analysts to the hunt for human traffickers and trafficking networks–the very vortex of the problem. DeliverFund also offers extensive training to LE personnel in specifically-designed hunt techniques that are more effective for penetrating this vortex. LE agencies have access to valuable free resources to aid in the hunt they would otherwise not be able to afford.

DeliverFund brings the best hunters and the most powerful tools to bear against the sex traffickers of our American children. DeliverFund is not in the business of running interference or futile damage control. It focuses on the root cause of the problem, then pulls out all stops to dump on and neutralize the networks and their players.

There’s no coffee, cookies, pamphlets, club patches, or secret handshakes in DeliverFund; there’s only sense and sensibility and dedicated hunters with fiery ambition. Climb aboard or get out of the way. Donate to the juggernaut and share in the satisfaction of being part of the solution.

And so now… consider yourself aware.

By Almighty God and with honor,
geo sends

Dedication for this literary work is to DeliverFund founder Nick McKinley

About George E. Hand IV View All Posts

Master Sergeant US Army (ret) from the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, The Delta Force. Post military I worked for 16 years as a subcontract to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on the nation's nuclear test site north of Las Vegas Nevada. Developed hunt methodology for Albuquerque-based Counter Human Traffic organization DeliverFund llc as an Intelligence Analyst and Network Disruption Team Leader in the

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In