Tampa girds for Super Bowl and a surge in sex trafficking

Jan. 31 marked the end of Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, but one of the biggest spikes in human trafficking is occurring right now and it will culminate in the National Football League's biggest game, the Super Bowl, on Feb. 7 in Tampa, Florida.

As a former member of my county's Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, we learned that big events involving large numbers of people in a concentrated area, like the Super Bowl, are magnets for the traffickers to bring their victims.

Criminal gangs have learned that human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, is more profitable and less dangerous than drug smuggling.

According to the International Labor Organization, forced labor and human trafficking is a $150 billion industry globally with an estimated 40.3 million victims worldwide.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “We are working hard every day to fight this form of modern-day slavery. I am honored to work with law enforcement, service providers, state agencies, task forces, trade associations and business partners to provide a safe environment for events like the ... 2021 Super Bowl in Tampa. Spreading awareness is a critical step; you can help us stop human trafficking by knowing the signs and how to report trafficking when you see it.”

In Atlanta two years ago, the FBI reported that an 11-day pre-Super Bowl operation yielded the arrests of 169 people, including 26 alleged traffickers, and the rescues of nine juvenile victims.

Human trafficking knows no bounds. Trafficking claims victims of all ages, sexes, ethnicities and demographics. Signs that a person is a victim of human trafficking include:

• Seeming to be under the control of another individual;
• Responding as if coached, or letting someone else speak for them;
• Acting fearful, anxious or paranoid;
• Displaying branding-scars, burns or tattoos, or having serious dental issues; and
• Being malnourished, disoriented or confused, or showing other signs of physical abuse.

Tampa has the 12th highest rate of calls per capita made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and Florida has the third highest rate of human trafficking cases reported. Last year during the Super Bowl in Miami, 44 human traffickers and customers were arrested.

But it is important to remember that labor and sex trafficking occurs 365 days of the year. While the Super Bowl may bring attention to the problem, it is not the cause of the problem. We must remain vigilant year-round because it almost certainly happening in your community. In my work with the task force, we learned that the victims came from suburban communities like mine and brought to distant cities to separate the victims from natural support systems.

According to a study of the DOJ human trafficking task force cases, 83% of sex trafficking victims identified in the United States were U.S. citizens. The average age that a trafficked victim is first used for commercial sex is between 12 and 14 years old. Some victims are as young as 9 years old, according to the study.

To learn how to spot and report human trafficking, click here or report suspected human trafficking by calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888.

The Super Bowl's super commercials about America

The Airbnb commercial played during the Super Bowl highlighting the benefits of inclusion.

THAT WAS a really great game played last Sunday in Super Bowl LI (51). It will most likely do down as a classic as the New England Patriots came from behind to beat the Atlanta Falcons.

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched sporting event on American television.So huge, in fact, it has gotten so big, that it has become a cultural barometer of the country at a point in time.

The point in time is two-weeks into the Trump presidency. 

If the commercials by big American businesses are any indication, the messages they are communicating runs counter to the direction President Trump is taking the country.

One commercial was so controversial that Fox Sports Network did not allow to show it in its entirety. The commercial by 84 Lumber followed a Mexican mother and daughter trek through mountains and desert to reach the U.S. border. But before they reach the border, the commercial was cut and a website given for those who wanted to see the rest of the 6 minute commercial.

The mother and daughter reach the U.S. border only to find a 20 foot high wall. At first disppointed, their spirits are lifted when they see a big gate which they open and proceed into the the U.S. Over the final scene is the message: "The will to succeed is always welcome here."

Trump supporters saw the commercial as taking a stand for illegal immigration. 84 Lumber tweeted the commercial was "a symbolic journey toward becoming legal American citizens."

Coca Cola reran one of my favorite commercials of al time: a 2014 ad where "America the Beautiful" is sung in several languages. When it first aired in 2014 the company was attacked by so-called patriots who believe the song should only be sung in English. But the message was clear: America is home to people from many countries.

RELATED: America can be as beautiful as we want it to be

What really set off criticism was the image of Muslims and the song being sung in Arabic. Tsk, tsk. Certainly, the commercial gained new meaning in the context of Trump's anti-Muslim travel ban.

Airbnb ran a commercial with a similar message of inclusiveness with faces of people of many races and ethnic groups facing into one another as words overlaid the images: No matter who you love, where you came from, we all belong. The world is more beautiful if you accept. #weaccept.

Certainly it counters the current wave of xenophobia sweeping across Trump nation.

The most American of beers, Budweiser took a break from its horses to tell the story one of their co-founder -- a German immigrant Adolphus Busch. The commercial highlighted the difficulties immigrants have especially when greeted by xenophobic Americans. Budweiser denied any intention of a political message, but the role of immigrants played in America was not lost, not even to the most casual of observers. 

The pulse of real America was reflected, not only in the commercials but in the entertainment also. The cast of Hamilton, which greeted Vice President Pence when he came to see their show with a political message of inclusion, sang America the Beautiful before the opening kickoff. Phillipa Soo, who is half Chinese and half White, along with two other original cast members, Jasmine Cepas Jones and Renee Elise Goldsberry, steered clear of any political overtones. They did however add the word sisterhood to the song to cheers from the crowd.

Lady Gaga is also known for her political statements. She was among Hillary Clinton’s strongest supporters during the campaign. Her political statement was really subtle for an entertainer known for her over-the-top performances.

Breaking away from the songs that she made famous, she started with a pair of patriotic songs, including "This Land Is Your Land," which has become a sort of anthem for the demonstrators on behalf of the refugees who were turned away or detained at airports across the country. During her set, she did hug a person of color who could easily have been an immigrant or refugee. Right when she gave her hug, Lady Gaga belted out the word “stay.” Coincidence? Maybe. 

Last Sunday was so AMERICAN! How American can you get? Football, Coke, Bud, Hamilton and Lady Gaga.  So ... who's living in a bubble? (AsAm News contributed to this report.)

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