Over the past few weeks the New York Time has been doing a series on children sex trafficking around the world. Just a few weeks ago they came out with a short two part documentary online about the numbers of runaway children increasing and the likeliness of them being trapped in or willingly going into child prostitution. This short film is called “When No One is Looking” and is an eye opener to what is going on in our back yards.
One of the most surprising facts found in the video was the fact that the children who have grown up on the streets are actually much better off than the runaways. Since it was always their life, they know nothing better. They have developed strategies for survival and no how to get along on their own. These basic lifestyles must be learned by the increasing number of runaways, and rather quickly.
A girl named Nikki who is now seventeen can relate to this quite well. Although her story is different than most, one can still learn a lot from her triumphs. After her parents lost their house she grew up in due to a pile up of medical bills they moved to a trailer park a few towns over. Wanting to finish high school, Nikki got a job and slowly paid off her parent’s debt why attending school. Her overall goal was to attend college as none of her family members had ever done. Unfortunately, this objective slipped away from her quickly as she lost her job. Her water and gas were shut off. She was forced to have to search trashes for food. Despite all the difficulties, Nikki strived to stick it out and learn how to survive no matter what. Although she was street savvy and knew how to get by, she left her parents at far too young an age and is thus still a child. Nikki has found that the simple things in life are what she misses the most.
Nikki recalls knowing many children her age, and younger, who live in Hawthorn Park near her house. Unfortunately, compared to these kids, Nikki is quite well off. Hawthorn Park is much like a homeless hangout. Here teens look out for each other, like a small community. The most astonishing of these children names is Clinton, who is now eighteen. Clinton has grown up on the streets, particularly in Hawthorn park, since he was twelve. He acts as a father figure for both the new and experienced runaways. He teaches these friends how to get along, such as how to hide their belongings, make a tent, what berries, plants, and mushrooms are OK to eat, how to hide from the police, etc. as all these things must become second nature to the runaways.
One of these runaways nicknames is Bug. When Bug first arrived at Hawthorn Park, Clinton talked her into returning home for about a week. It was short lived though for her mom soon kicked her out of the house and she returned to the park. Bug told the New York Times how her mother used to hit her repeatedly after promising she would no longer. It’s scary to hear her say this, as she says it like it is no big deal and just the way life is. When truly life should be like this for no one.
These three young adult’s lives develop along with other stories into “When No One is Looking- Part Two”. I am so pleased that the New York Times is having these stories and increasing people’s awareness to this growing epidemic. I look forward to reading and watching more and I encourage you to follow them a well.
