Searching for Marita

Searching for Marita

By Daniel Rome Levine

May Issue : page 90-96.

What the story is about:

When Susana Trimaco finds her missing daughter, she discovered a shadowy world of human trafficking and forced prostitution. Susana’s daughter, Marita, was lost when she was just 23 years old. To find Marita, Susana tried all means such as disguising herself as a prostitute going into brothels to ask girls whereabouts of her daughter. Susana and her husband Daniel even pleaded the police to take action after what a girl told them about what happen to Marita. Also, to pay for her investigations, Susana exhausted most of her savings, sold her house and Marita’s house and two cars. Her single-minded obsession also led to her and Daniel separating. However, some effort of Susana paid off, although she did not find Marita, but Susana refusing to be cowed, started receiving media coverage. The police who felt pressure by the publicity, they stepped up raids on bars and brothels. But, this led to Susana being in grave danger where bar owners and traffickers threaten to kill her, such as sending text messages to her “The next message I send will be a bullet in your head.” Many girls came forward and told Susana about their harrowing tales and Susana, who saw a little bit of Marita in each of them, she promised to do everything to help those girls. Other than that, she led more than 200 protesters through streets to demand greater government action in finding girls who were forced into prostitution. Mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped were also calling Susana for help. Susana was also elected to receive an International Woman of Courage Award. Susana also opened the 'Fundacion Maria de los Angeles Por la Lucha Contra la Trata de Peronas' in Tucuman. This helps victims of sex trafficking get treatment, either psychological or medical, job training and provides them food and shelter.

Reflection:

From this story, I realized that a mother’s love is so bold and strong that Susana could do anything to find her daughter, Marita, back. Susana did not care how much it takes to get her missing Marita back by her side and that she is willing to give up whatever she has, for her. On the way, Susana discovered the shadowy world of human trafficking and forced prostitution, she did do nothing about it but instead she help those victims by opening a shelter for them and even help mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped. In my opinion, Susana is helpful, caring and a person who takes advantage of every opportunity. In this world, there maybe things which we do not care much about like sex trafficking. Some young girls are been cheated by ads for modeling or acting jobs while others were grabbed from the street and driven away. These girls are then forced into prostitution. They were forced to take drugs and if they were pregnant they have to undergo forced abortion with a coat hanger and will be severely beaten if against their will. In prostitution, the girls are not physical abuse but also psychological abuse. Although there are lesser sex trafficking in Singapore, I hope that every government in the world would then take action to help these poor young girls by enforcing a law or even providing help and a shelter for them, so that sex trafficking would decrease. Also, the governments should make police go around brothels to check on force prostitution and free innocent girls.

By: Jaslyn Tan (4)