Sadly the Washington post did not print our Letter to the Editor

“Why would the Washington Post, disparage an organization that has spearheaded the fight against human trafficking in the aviation industry?

Glenn Kessler, “fact checked” Airline Ambassadors’ ad in the October 2018 edition of American Way Magazine and jumped to a faulty conclusion.

The number of victims trafficked daily cited in the ad, 68,000, is based on data published by the International Labor Organization (ILO). That same publication is cited in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Guidelines for Training Cabin Crew on Identifying and Responding to Trafficking in Person, which was sponsored by the United Nation Human Rights Commission. In his article, Mr. Kessler, in error, jumped to the conclusion that all victims must be “new” victims. .  

There is a lack of adequate data, but the real issue is that thousands of people are trafficked every day.  They’re not just children, teens, and adults from troubled communities or foreign countries. They’re sons and daughters of people we know from the richest to the poorest communities everywhere.  Everyday victims are trafficked, often in plain sight, often on commercial flights. 

The real issue is what we are doing to prevent it. Airline Ambassadors is teaching aviation personnel to report potential human trafficking. We have great success stories to share. 

It’s not about the number – even 1 would be too many. It’s about the work that’s being done to prevent the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Why would the Washington Post, disparage an organization that has spearheaded the fight against human trafficking in the aviation industry? We depend on the support of our partners, ours sponsors, and the public.

We request a clarification on this and would welcome a follow up article on our training’s at airports in the U.S. and around the world.”

Glenn Kessler’s article can be found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/11/are-people-day-trafficked-right-front-our-eyes-nope/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.830748c159b7′

Mr Kessler seems to think that a lower number of trafficking victims is fine and we should do nothing if only a mere 10,000 or even 2,000 human beings are trafficked every single day, and as such are unworthy of rescue from those enslaving them.  We ask the writer:  At what number would you lift a finger to help any of them?”  When we ask ourselves that question, the number is one.”