If Casa de Naomi: The House of
Blessing took place today, what Naomi experiences would be classified at Human
Trafficking. For The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, defines this
crime against humanity as “…an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring,
harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other
means, for the purpose of exploiting them.”
I bring this up because the
public discourse about illegal immigrants changed when the category of Human
Trafficking was accepted and, “…the UNODC, as guardian of the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols
thereto, assists States in their efforts to implement the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Trafficking in Persons Protocol),”
separated that heinous crime from it’s inciting incident which is an
individuals need to change their life, thus endangering them.
Therefore, please note that when
I speak of illegal’s I speak about those brought into this country illegally
that do not know what their lot will be, but assume it will be better than
where they came from.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Today’s Read~~~~~~~~
Resigned to the situation, Naomi
tried to find something positive to think about, she saw that a baby grand
piano held the place of prominence in the sparsely furnished room and smiled in
spite of herself when memories of playing the piano for Abuela Sosa surfaced.
She reconsidered her assessment of the place and added the word grand. When her consciousness flooded
with memories of the many times she had played for the Sosas’ blind
grandmother, she reminded herself, That
was another time, another place. Abuela
Sosa is no more. Images that had brought her
comfort as she traveled the world with them flashed before her eyes. In an
attempt to stop them, she reminded herself that the promises they had made they
had broken. Now those bright
hopes will only bring you pain. It is best you think about this situation since
it seems worse than the one you just left.
“Come.” The old tía pulled her through the living and
dining rooms while she searched her ring. When they crossed the kitchen’s
threshold, she found it and unlocked the handcuffs. She eyed Naomi. “This was
just a precaution!” She threw the handcuffs down on the battered kitchen table.
Naomi looked at the cold steel.
“Sit down!”
Naomi obeyed, felt her will
disappear, and wondered if
the old tía viewed her as a tool to mold to
her demands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~Reflection~~~~~~
Do you try to help others and end
up hurting yourself?
Is this a habit, a life style, or
do you get joy from living your life this way?
If you could find a way to change
your behavior, would you, and why? If not, why not?
~~~~~~~~~~~Authors
Comment~~~~~~~~~
Everything in life has a value
and either a positive or negative emotion attached to it. Although our hard
drive may have become programmed to do anything to get noticed because we are
cogent we can retrain our responses thereby freeing ourselves of the need to
feel better if we feel worse, or if we place others needs above ours.
However, our society seems to
value selflessness. Therefore, the question one must ask and answer is who
matters most? If you do, then your course is set. That is until you fall in
love. For love has been known to be the great equalizer. And passionate love
the great deflator if the object one loves does not respond in kind.
Contrary to popular opinion, to
be self-centered does not necessarily mean that one is less likely to
experience angst, or rejection. For the one who loves self might do so
superficially to hide a deep loathing.
Caught between the proverbial
‘ying and yang’ of the id one might wish they could live in
Now that you’ve walked a mile in
Naomi’s footsteps’ you might understand her plight as we move on. And you might
have taken a moment to think about what you would do if you were this
frightened teenager.
If you think I’m misguided in
what I say, let me share that while withdrawing funds at my local bank my
teller who had read Casa de Naomi: The House of Blessing, shared that years ago
she was telling a coworker about the vacation she was going to take, and
discovered that this blue-eyed, blond haired woman could not go on vacation
because she was an illegal immigrant. The teller was amazed for this woman
looked and sounded as if her family had been here for many years. However,
because my teller was of Latin decent and her family spoke Spanish at home, she
often noticed many cast curious glances her way.
Ask yourself, "What would I do, how would I feel if that happened to me?" When you know the answer to that question, you will be better equipped for whatever life brings your way.
Until next time, may all your days be blessed, and may you rest assured in Messiahs blessing!
To order your copy of Casa de Naomi:
The House of Blessing, visit http://www.amazon.com/
