Approximately 600 people marched in Guadalajara Tuesday to bring awareness to human trafficking, an ever-present blight worldwide.
Organizing the parade was A21, an organization dedicated to the hope that, according to its website, “human beings everywhere will be rescued from bondage and completely restored.”
The march in Jalisco’s capital served to shine a light specifically on the sexual slavery that exists in the state, the focus of which, it is believed, are Guadalajara itself, Puerto Vallarta and Chapala (although no evidence in the latter case has ever been proved).
“We were just 600 people today in Guadalajara, but this is a movement that is happening in about 600 cities worldwide,” said Aida Gonzalez, a member of A21 Mexico. “We believe we can end modern slavery, we believe there is hope for every victim and that the best way to achieve this is to inform the public about the issue and educate people in such a way that they don’t fall into [human trafficking’s] traps.”
She went on to point out that Jalisco leads the country in femicides and that hitherto, the trotting out of dry statistical information rarely has shown to effectively mobilize people to bring about change. Public protests such as these bring the problem into the public eye in more forceful a manner, she said.
In addition, Gonzalez expressed dissatisfaction with the role various government bodies – be they municipal, statewide or federal – have so far played in combatting human trafficking.
“Our modus operandi consists mainly in going to places where people are the most vulnerable [to human trafficking], such as universities, high schools, elementary and middle schools,” Gonzalez said.
For more information on the A21 organization and/or to get involved, go to a21.org.