The 30th truck and trailer wrap designed as part of the Know Human Trafficking campaign has hit the road, bringing awareness of the crime to motorists on Canada’s busiest highway between Trenton and Oshawa, Ont.
Mackie Transportation will pull the 53-ft. trailer, wrapped with key messages about human trafficking thanks to sponsors including: QJS Services; Elexicon Energy; the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade; Smurfit Westrock; and the Ajax and Oshawa Lions clubs.
The wrap was designed by Big Rig Wraps, as part of the Know Human Trafficking initiative started in 2022 with the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada (WTFC) and Crime Stoppers.
The images on the trailer are striking. The messages important.
Casandra Diamond, founder and executive director of human trafficking support group BridgeNorth spoke at the trailer’s unveiling and commended all those involved in getting it on the road.
“You’ll notice there are no images on this wrap of a girl held in chains,” she said as she admired the design. “Yes, here in Canada, horrible things happen like that. But the chains are in the mind.”
Instead, the trailer features an image of the frightened eyes of a trafficking victim.
“It’s the eyes that tell the story,” Diamond said. “The photo of the eyes speaks volumes.”
Diamond would know. She herself was a victim of human trafficking. Through her work at BridgeNorth, she looks to bring awareness to the problem, noting truck drivers can help by looking for telltale signs of trafficking as they travel the continent.
“We cannot enforce our way out of this problem,” she said, acknowledging insufficient police resources. “What is possible is educating our way out of this problem and we can do that, and we’re doing that now.”
Human trafficking myths
Part of her goal at BridgeNorth is to shatter myths about human trafficking. She said most Canadians believe trafficking victims are recruited abroad, flown to Canada and put to work in the sex trade.
“That’s not true,” she said. “It happens, but that’s not the majority of cases. Ninety-three per cent of victims [here] are Canadian citizens. This is our issue to solve and sort out. We need these trucks rolling down the road because there are more victims than you think there are, and they are younger than you think they are.”
She encouraged attendees with children to be aware that perpetrators are taking advantage of social media apps to find victims locally. And she also implored truck drivers to not enable traffickers by purchasing sex on the road.
“It’s lonely on the road,” she acknowledged. “It’s bloody lonely. You’re isolated. Yeah, it’s easy to buy sex on the road. We just can’t. We can’t do that. We are asking the trucking industry and its employees to recognize the dangers and harms [associated with sex work].”
She credited Mackie with getting the message prominently displayed along its route on the 401 corridor. “If this sign encourages just one victim of human trafficking to reach out for help – just one – your job is done,” she said, adding just letting victims know help is available is an important step.
Drivers play pivotal role
Sara Mackie spoke on behalf of the Mackie family, thanking the sponsors who made the wrap possible. She runs the business with brother Shawn, and their parents Dean and Cindy.
“We believe that our drivers play a unique role and pivotal role in the fight against this horrible crime,” she said. “Our drivers are the eyes and ears on the road, and they often find themselves in places where human trafficking can occur. That’s why we’ve chosen to take a stand and educate, not only our team, but also the communities we serve. Together, we can make a difference one mile and one conversation at a time.”
Asked what individuals should do if they come across suspected human trafficking, Diamond said it depends on the situation. If the potential victim flashes the hand signals depicted on the trailer (the thumb folded across the palm and the remaining fingers folded over top the thumb), “Call 911 and don’t pass Go,” she said.
It’s a universal plea for immediate help.
It it’s more of a gut feel that something isn’t right, Diamond urged witnesses not to intervene themselves, but instead to gather details like licence plate numbers, hair color, personal descriptions, etc., and to report them to Crime Stoppers.
“If you’re wrong, so what?” she said. “But if you’re right, you might save a life.”
Credit: Source link
