Answering My Child’s Questions About Human Trafficking
Mommy, What’s a Safe House? Illustration by Layken Davey
“Mommy, what’s a safe house?”
On Monday, I’ll go to the safe house again. It’s where I go every week.
This time, I’ll take my 9-year-old son with me.
Again.
It’s that time of year again. It’s Habiba’s birthday.
How is it possible? How is it possible that it all started three years ago?
Three Years Ago
Jump back to the fall of 2020. For more than one year, I had been going to the safe house every week to help with Arabic translation. There is a huge traffic line between Morocco and Spain, and I don’t mean cars.
I mean the traffic of humans . . . human beings . . . men . . . women . . . young girls . . . children.
Most of the Moroccan women who are rescued off the streets and out of the brothels in Spain can’t speak a word of Spanish. They can’t tell their stories. They can’t tell anyone what happened to them, because they can’t speak the language.
That’s where I come in to help. I translate between English and Arabic or French and Arabic for the human rights lawyers, psychologists, and safe house directors.
The Shocking Question
One day, my 7-year-old son asked me a hard question. It was one that I never thought a child would ask me, one that I didn’t know how to answer.
His words, his question, his wonder, his curiosity overwhelmed me.
“Mommy, what’s a safe house?”
He had overheard me talk about the safe house for months. He knew I worked there. He knew about Habiba. He had even met her and chatted with her on a video call. One day, alongside our entire family, he enjoyed a couscous and chocolate cake that she had made for his older brother’s birthday.
My son knew all about the safe house.
Then again, he knew nothing.
“Mommy, what’s a safe house?”
We were driving in the car that day when those words popped out of his mouth.
What Do I Say?
I had a choice.
I could ignore his question completely, pretend I didn’t hear it.
I could answer vaguely and discretely, dismiss his question as quickly as I could.
I could tell him that we would talk about it later—when we were back at the house—then pretend to forget about it completely and never bring it up again. I could hope he would forget about it too.
I could tell him that he was too young to understand, tell him that this was a subject for adults only, tell him that I would explain more when he was older.
I could answer him the best I could—in an age-appropriate way, kid-friendly way, with language and words he could understand.
It didn’t take me long to choose.
I’ve never avoided tough topics and big questions with my kids. Why would I start now?
Safe houses, human trafficking, modern-day slavery . . . it’s a part of my children’s world, whether I want it to be or not.
Helping or Hurting?
If I avoided my son’s question, ignored him, or delayed the explanation, would that be helping my child?
If I pushed the topic under the rug and pretended it didn’t exist, would that be helping my child?
By talking about this giant global issue, would I be hurting my child?
By avoiding this giant global issue, would I be protecting my child?
The whole world is talking about human trafficking. It’s a hot topic. This month is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Who says that you have to be an adult to be aware? My child is being exposed to human trafficking. It’s all around him.
My Child—A Potential Target
The more I research human trafficking and its global impact around the world, I realize that my child is vulnerable and a potential target as well. What if by talking to my son about this enormous issue, in a kid-friendly, age-appropriate way . . . what if I could actually help my child, protect my child, teach my child?
It’s like drugs, alcohol, and sex. My husband and I have always said that it’s best for us to talk about these things with our kids—openly and directly. It’s better that they learn from us, rather than from their peers on the streets, at parties, or at school during recess.
Our kids are going to be exposed to the sick, ugly, and broken reality of our world . . . of human trafficking . . . if they haven’t already been exposed.
Isn’t it better that we explain it to them? By shielding them, by avoiding the topic, by ignoring the subject, by pretending this issue doesn’t exist at our doorstep . . . we are actually hurting our kids.
Each one of our kids is a potential target and future victim of human trafficking. I see the devastation, trauma, and pain of human trafficking up close and personal—every week when I walk into the safe house. It’s bad. It’s dark. It’s evil.
I want my kids to know about it. I want my kids to learn about it. I want my kids to know how to avoid it, how to escape it, how to protect themselves, and how to help others.
My Choice to Talk about It
That day in the car, I turned to my 7-year-old son, and to the best of my ability as a mother, I began to answer his question.
When we got home that afternoon, I talked to him more about it. I took the price sticker off the bottom of his new water bottle and placed it on his shoulder. I explained to him what slavery was and how there are people in the world who think they can buy a man, a woman, or a child like they can buy a bottle of water off the shelf in a grocery store.
The next week was Habiba’s birthday at the safe house. I invited my son. He was scared at first, but he mustered up enough courage to go with me. He had an amazing time. He was touched. He was changed.
When we walked out, he asked me when we could go back.
“I want to help those women and children too,” he said.
That night, I wrote that true story, that heart-felt conversation between me and my child. I turned it into a children’s picture book—a resource for parents and teachers to use to talk to children about the big global issue of human trafficking.
It’s called Mommy, What’s a Safe House? It’s in English and in Spanish. Mamá, ¿qué es una casa de acogida?: Una historia real para niños sobre la trata de personas.
How about you? Are you ready and willing to talk to your children about modern-day slavery?
I challenge you. I beg you. Let’s talk about it. Let’s start with our kids.
Isn’t it better that they hear about it from us?
What About You?
Have you thought much about human trafficking lately? Where do you hear about it—on the news? In social media? Have your kids ever talked to you about this issue? Join the movement to make a difference. Share this story to begin raising awareness!