Sex and slavery in Nicaragua

That night back at the hotel, Ryan and I talked for a while in the chairs near the elevators. A non-Nicaraguan older man came out of the elevator with a prostitute. It really bothered me. How could a man play into that system of wrong? Where did she come from to learn that selling her body was the best way to make a living? Did she have a choice…or know there are other ways out there? Does the man have a wife and kids at home? Is he a sex addict/ a sexual tourist or just some rotten man? I wanted to punch him in the face!!!! Though there is consent from both the man and the woman…it is still wrong.

Here in Nicaragua the sex trade is a big issue along with slavery. People are sold for their labor in a factory or plantation, for their bodies at outrageous rates. And I am not just talking about adults…children too.

In the world right now there are more than 27 million people who are estimated to be in slavery…more than any other time in history. 80% of those are women and 50% are children!!!

60% of the human trafficking victims from the western hemisphere are exported from Nicaragua.  

A virgin here in Managua can be sold for as much as 750 dollars or as little as 2.50 dollars. Children are chained up by their own family and told to do house work and then sold to the man of the house by night. A friend of mine works for an organization called One By One: The Refuge Project and another friend works with an organization called House of Hope here in Nicaragua fighting against prostitution and human trafficking esp with children. They told me that in one week they found 3 girls under the age of 11 living as child prostitutes; one of which was six years old, sold to the pimp by her 9 year old big sister who also worked for the pimp for 3 dollars.

There are 109 declared brothels….some of which are frequently visited by public government officials.  Most of the brothels secretly hold little girls and boys. One secret brothel here in Managua for high government officials has 12 and 13 year old girls in high security…and my friends have not been able to get girls out of there yet. Many children see their parents in sexual abusive relationships, or in the act of prostitution since people live in little one room houses. Children learn about sex not as an act of love, but as a duty, a job, and a sacrifice.

Similarly, factory/plantation workers are forced to work against their will for little to no pay.  Workers and strong children are traded as a commodity and self esteem destruction, fear, hopelessness are cultivated at the workplace. Parents refuse to work and force their children to work and provide for their families. People are locked up, chained up, physically and mentally abused. Confidence, interests, education, love, and dignity are stripped away.

 Now, I do not know the story of the prostitute that walked out of that elevator nor of the man that bought her for the night. But I do know that love, dignity, confidence, self-value, family, healthy relationships, and justice are all things that we should strive to preserve in our own lives, in the lives of others and especially in those less fortunate and/or more vulnerable than ourselves. We are all citizens of the same world.

To learn more check out:

http://www.therefugeproject.com/innocents.htm  and/or

www.notforsalecampaign.org,

Love,

Ayla

“There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~Denis Waitley