Flight attendant tells how she learned to recognize human trafficking and what you can do

[eridani]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/15/1470308/-Flight-attendant-tells-how-she-learned-to-recognize-human-trafficking-and-what-you-can-do?detail=emailclassic

It’s time for the Super Bowl and for most that means football, big screens, chips and chili. But with this big event comes a dark side—a surge of the human sex trafficking of girls, boys and young women. American Airlines flight attendant and best-selling author Heather Poole says victims will be brought to the Bay Area, where the big game will be held this year, and victims will be “sold over and over again to men at the game.”

Flight attendants are now trained to recognize human/sex trafficking, and they are asked to volunteer and report possible human trafficking activity to the police during the Super Bowl. Each year people are being arrested due to these coordinated efforts. Poole says, “Airlines employees are the first line of defense for protecting the countless children who are trafficked on major flights each day.” Some of the signs they are told to look for include:

Can the passenger speak for themselves, or is someone with them controlling what they say? Does the passenger avoid eye contact? Do they appear fearful, anxious, tense, depressed, nervous, submissive? Are they dressed inappropriately, or do they have few possessions — even on a long flight? Can the passenger move independently, or are they accompanied by someone seemingly controlling their every movement?

[Nailzberg]

1. Heather Poole is a great twitter follow.

I'm a big fan of everyday job memoirs, so I downloaded her book "Cruising Attitude" to my reader after seeing it at an airport bookstore. I'm a frequent business traveler, with friends in the airline industry, so I ate it up. Great window into the in-flight world.

Heather Poole is very active on twitter, if you don't want to throw the money down just yet on her book. @Heather_Poole

[Catieee]

2. yes

This is very important