Human Trafficking Misery Hits Home, Essay Example

The article entitled Human trafficking misery hits home is written by Tracy Manzer and is about the issue of human trafficking and its effects on a family. It starts off with how people may picture human trafficking, and how it is a rampant issue all over the world. The article speaks of how human trafficking may be portrayed happening only to low-income countries, or within families who are suffering from poverty. The article focuses on a certain case of human trafficking which happened to a middle-class family.

Human trafficking and prostitution were the main topics of the article, and it speaks of an unfortunate case of a young 15-year-old girl who willingly left home and participated in drug abuse and prostitution. A girl, Marla, ran away from home and was missing for two years. During these two years she was involved in prostitution and has been arrested a countless number of times ever since she hit the streets. The article shows this in the point of view of the father; throughout the long and enduring investigation of trying to locate his daughter.

The article goes in to detail on how Marla got involved in human trafficking, and what types of girls may be victims of these as well. Girls who are generally shy, with low self-esteem and naïve are the types of prey the human trafficking world look for. It covers the process of how the family came to find Marla, and how it was difficult for them to try to win her back. Up to this day, it still is not an easy task getting Marla un-brainwashed from all she acquired in her experiences. The father of the victim talks about his experiences in trying to locate his daughter, and how there are some things within the system which made it difficult for him to do so. There are suggestions and recommendations of how the family thinks the system can better work to help other victims of this human trafficking. Additionally, the aftermath of what happened to Marla is discussed. Currently, she is in and out of Juvenile Prison, and she still runs away, barely speaking to her father. However, her father remains hopeful and he believes that one day things between he and Marla will be fixed.

The article clearly established and executed its goal in describing a certain situation where human trafficking was happening. It was a great example because it is not one most would expect of that issue. It focused on a certain case which does not come very often, nor is it something people even know to happen. The targeted audience for this article is probably parents in middle class societies, a persuasive piece which tries to convince them that this can happen to anyone.

The structure of the article was well written. It narrated the series of events which lead to Marla’s return and was written in a way which made it easy to follow. It also described reasons why she may have turned to prostitution in her life, and did not focus on her willingness to do so. However, the article seemed very one-sided, giving only the father’s perspective on the matter, and not the entire families.

The tone of the article was not formal, it seems to be addressing an audience in a way where readers can understand what the article is about, and brings a certain level of empathy. It is written in a way where you can feel the father’s pain and struggles in looking for his daughter. The article focuses on how much the situation distressed him.

There is enough evidence to show how human trafficking can work within a middle-class suburban family. However, there were no other cases sited. The article was also informative in the sense that it wrote down recommendations for the system in order for future cases like Marla’s to be solved faster, and missing children such as her recovered in a shorter amount of time.