Flight attendants can prevent children from being sold into slavery, especially at Superbowl time
/The agent at the airport check-in desk was taking an awfully long time to input the information from my children's passports. Her hands moved slowly and clumsily. I sighed as patiently as I could.
Photo courtesy of Julie Farnam
Then I heard someone stop to talk to my two children, who were waiting behind me with their miniature roll-on suitcases. Being a watchful mother, I turned around to check it out. A woman in an airline uniform was asking my five-year-old son where he was traveling to. I thought her manner was a little too officious for talking to young children, but I wasn't really worried. She wasn't offering them candy or trying to lure them away.
My son mumbled something but she gently insisted that he answer her while studiously ignoring me. And finally a light bulb went on in my tired brain.
So, that was why the check-in agent was so slow. We'd been flagged.
My kids are trans-racially adopted and they have my husband's last name, which is different form mine. Of course, we tripped an alarm somewhere. I watched with interest. How well would my kids pass the "I'm not being sold as a sex-slave" test? I was secure in the knowledge that I had birth certificates and adoption records stashed in my own carry-on just in case.
My son finally managed to articulate clearly that we were going home to Papa and we had been at grandma's house. The uniformed lady moved on, the check-in agent was suddenly done and we were free to go.
It might seem disconcerting to some parents to have their children questioned right in front of them in such a manner, but I was actually glad to see it happening. My kids could stand some practice in overcoming shyness when I'm standing right next to them.
Finally! A children's story that actually prevents harm to children! Shanna and the Raven teaches children how to use their intuition to avoid dangerous situations.
But more than that, I know what's happening. As a journalist some years ago, I interviewed a few victims of human trafficking who had been able to escape a life of terror and slavery. If my kids can help stop such things by answering a few questions, all the better.
As it turns out, there was another reason for this special check. And that was our timing. Apparently the days and weeks before the Superbowl are the prime period for human trafficking in the United States and many of the victims are young children sold (and often resold several times a day) as sex slaves. The connotations of why this timing is so crucial are a bit too disturbing to dwell on in great detail but the fact is that airlines are on high alert looking for passengers who may actually be slaves being transported for sale at this time.
While an adult traveling with children who don't match in terms of family name or physical appearance may seem like the most obvious way to tell, it isn't actually the best test. Flight attendants have a special set of criteria that can't be forged or falsified. Even other passengers may be able to notice the signs of human trafficking.
Here's what they look for:
A passenger who can't or isn't permitted to speak for themselves,
Someone controlling what another person says,
a child who avoids eye contact,
a passenger who is fearful, nervous, depressed, submissive,
inappropriately dressed young passengers with few possessions on a long flight,
a passenger who is constantly accompanied by someone who controls their every move, such as when going to the restroom.
One of the most common ways women and children being sold as sex slaves are discovered and helped is actually in flight. Flight attendants have a lot longer to observe the interactions than most other people a slave might encounter and trafficking rings often have to use commercial airlines. So, it is often actually up in the air where a flight attendant notices something is wrong, rather than during check-in.
Still, that was one reason I let my children speak for themselves. The bottom line is don't panic if uniformed personnel at an airport question your children. Do tell children where they are going when they're on a trip. It relieves anxiety for children in general (and you'd be surprised at how often we adults forget to tell children even the most basic things about plans that affect them). It also saves time and hassle if they are questioned.
If you travel with children who don't share your last name or who differ from you in physical appearance or if you travel without both parents present, you may want to take the extra precautions I take and carry birth certificates and other documentation of the children's identity and reason for travel.
