Numbers Too Big To Remember
Yesterday, I asked my friend to tell me numbers. “Any number” I said, “that will spill out of your mouth before your mind even registers a thought.” She looked at me and said mischievously “Pi is 3.14159...” before giggling. Minutes later, after the topic had changed, she started spewing out other numbers that had popped into her mind. “October 21, 1998, my birthday” “212 degrees, that’s when water boils right?” “2 minutes and 10 seconds, that’s how long I microwave my popcorn every Friday” The list continued from there and we shared some laughs over some of the more ridiculous, yet precise numbers so instilled in her mind.
Yesterday, I asked my friend to tell me numbers. Yesterday, I realized that numbers have power. Yesterday, I realized how easy it is to forget big numbers when we remember the small ones. UNICEF reports that around ten million children are subjected to modern slavery. Ten million is a number so large, most people, when asked, are unable to conceptualize it. It’s more than the entire population of New York City. Human trafficking is an epidemic that has plagued our world for as long as historians have documented. Although through various international and domestic interventions governments and individuals have managed to lessen the severity of the problem, human trafficking still causes a permanent mark on millions of lives.
For Karla Jacinto, the mark she is stuck with is also a number. 43,200. It’s the number of times she estimates she was raped after being trafficked. Karla elaborates on her number. Up to 30 men a day, 7 days a week, for 4 years. 43,200. Karla’s story is long and heartbreaking. She has found the courage to share it and now, at 23 years old, she stands as a strong advocate against human trafficking with a strong message: “These minors are being abducted, lured, and yanked away from their families. Don't just listen to me. You need to learn about what happened to me and take the blindfold off your eyes.”
So, let’s take off the blindfold. Let’s remember stories. Let’s repeat the horrendous number. Let’s make a stand against human trafficking.