I love living in the Shuswap, especially Salmon Arm. I feel blessed beyond belief to live in a place where I feel safe no matter where I go in this town even in the darkest nights. But I absolutely hate the fact that this blessing tends to make me so immune to the outside world.
I recently watched the movie Taken with some friends. My friends had not seen the movie and I was happy to watch it again.
One friend who had not seen it was blown away when she found out what human trafficking was about. I just saw an action movie, but she was deeply moved by the portrayal of human trafficking. She asked me about it and I said I would help her look into it, since I was fairly ignorant as well. I didn’t know what I was getting myself in to.
Human trafficking is a huge problem. Twenty-seven million people are currently enslaved worldwide. In Canada the occurrence of human trafficking is miniscule compared to other countries; Greece has an estimated 20,000 women and girls trafficked into the Greek sex industry, but it does not make it any less of a problem. Living in the Okanagan we are hugely blessed, we are among the most equipped people to fight the injustice of human trafficking. We have wealth and resources beyond what many could imagine. We are blind to a problem that needs our eyes wide open. This is an injustice that puts people through things I cannot imagine.
I want to do something about this, I want to be able to watch Taken again knowing I personally am doing something. I wrote this letter not to just raise awareness or funds for a problem, but to let people know where I personally stand; I want to be held accountable.
Paul Wunderlich
