It was a chance meeting.
"What are you doing in Asia?" read her
Facebook message to me.
I explained my purpose: "I'm just touristing
and doing a bit of learning on sex trafficking in Thailand and Cambodia."
"Wow!" she replied, "I work with
women in the sex trade!"
...
Cassie is a brilliant, bright, and bold person.
As I met with her, our conversation easily flowed from our mutual time at
Briercrest College, to justice and social work, and onto matters of the heart
and loving people. We talked about community. We talked about
Cambodia, her now home for now, and we laughed about the fact that it took us
until Asia to connect and really have a conversation because she was a
basketball player in College and I was the artistic introvert.
How funny how roads lead us to places we'd never
expect!
Meeting people in random places.
Of course I peppered her with questions.
And then my breath was stolen and my stomach was
punched in the gut by her responses. Because how can you listen to
stories about children who are being trafficked without feeling this way?
...
And as I started writing this blog, I had to take a
break. It's so hard to interact with this material and to really feel it-
to really feel it- like its your blood and water.
It haunts.
But this keeps gnawing on me to write.
So write, I must.
For them. The young ones. The one's who
have a little voice, but need it to be so much louder.
...
I think of my friend, Cassie, and I love the
way her smile lights up a room and the way her laugh dances. She's got so
much joy and life and she's bringing it to these girls.
So although I speak of pain, I speak of hope.
Because many children play in the courtyards of
Destiny Rescue, Cambodia, are free from a life of sexual exploitation and getting
the help they need.
Cassie is a Reintegration and After-care Manager who will be eventually relocating to India this summer. However her time with
Destiny Rescue has taken her to Thailand and Cambodia (where she currently
resides). The clients, who
are more than just victims, but survivors of child exploitation, are mainly 11 to 21 and are amazingly resilient.
As we scooted down the road on
her Moto for a second I could imagine life in Cambodia as if I never
knew Canada. She took me
to a trendy coffee shop because coffee is always a good idea with a
friend and a deep conversation to be had.
I pulled out my journal with 'little-kid' print on
the front and we get down to the grit of it.
