She saw an opportunity to escape and started swimming, but hadn’t gone far when she realized she’d never make it across the small lake to freedom.
She was rescued from the shoreline and “beaten to a pulp” by the two other two girls held in captivity with her. The punishment was ordered by “Mrs. Emerson,” who was making an obscene amount of money on their youth and good looks.
This event did not occur in some far off country where desperate parents live in squalor and trade off some of or two of their children so they can feed and shelter the others.
It happened in Ottawa, 10 minutes from Parliament Hill, says the Conservative MP and former math teacher who has devoted her life to rescuing victims of human trafficking and putting their enslavers behind bars.
Mrs. Emerson was caught and served seven years, said Joy Smith, Conservative MP since 2004 for the Manitoba riding of Kildonan-St. Paul.
Smith visited Red Deer on Saturday morning to tell members of the Magdalene House Society why she continues to fight human trafficking when, at 65, she could be at home baking pies for her six adult children and their families.
The Magdalene House project, still in its infancy, was formed two years ago by people who share Smith’s determination to eradicate human trafficking and support its victims.
Petite and lively with bright blue eyes and an infectious smile, Smith was drawn into the dark world of slavers and their victims while teaching Grade 9 in a tough area of Winnipeg.
Smith was appalled to learn from some of her students that the reason one of the boys hadn’t come to class was because he was “being held.” They showed her the house where he had been taken.
Fellow teachers and the school administration told her to leave it alone: It was outside the school yard and therefore outside of her realm.
Smith ignored them and contacted the police, who used the information to bust a major child trafficking ring.
Also alarming, from a mother’s perspective, Smith noticed that her adult son’s hair had turned grey in the span of two years. Ed — whose full name is withheld to protect his identity — is a senior member of the RCMP in Manitoba and had been working undercover at the time with the Integrated Child Exploitation unit.
He took his mom on a stakeout to help show her a world where vulnerable youths — some as young as four — are lured into a trap and then put to work as prostitutes or labourers.
“I saw more than I wanted to see,” said Smith, whose son continues to work with her on her mission.
She has since learned that large numbers of children and young adults are forced into prostitution while others are used as organ donors or put into forced labour.
Anybody who thinks it’s not happening right here is living a fantasy, she and Red Deer MP Earl Dreeshen told Magdalene House members and supporters, who were gearing up on Saturday morning for a fundraising walk.
The fundraiser is one more step toward raising money for to open Magdelene House, with organizers estimating that they will need at least $250,000 to buy and appropriate property.
As of Saturday morning, they were still more than 80 per cent short of their goal, but optimistic that their efforts will snowball as more people learn about their cause and their mission.
MP Dreeshen, who walked with 18 to 20 other people after Smith’s pep talk on Saturday, said beforehand that he had been among the many people who had been blissfully unaware of the scope and scale of human trafficking, including its influence in Central Alberta.
He said he is now committed to do what every he can to bring the slave trade to its knees and to help out its victims, who are usually caught in a trap before they realize it and are then terrified of what will happen if they seek help.
Human trafficking was introduced as an offence under Canada’s Criminal Code in 2005, said Smith.
Last week, a Criminal Code amendment she had introduced in October passed through the House and has now been placed before the Senate for approval.
Bill C-310 will update the definition of human exploitation and will add human trafficking to the Criminal Code list of extraterritorial offences. That will mean that Canadians charged with human trafficking in other countries can be prosecuted in Canada.
The Magdalene House Society, in the meantime, continues to work at home to rescue victims and prosecute offenders.
Please visit magdalenehouse.ca to learn more.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com