Human Trafficking

You're an undercover agent from Philadelphia. For the last few years you've been making efforts to put an end to child sex-trafficking. But you need to keep your emotions separate from your job... or else bad things might happen. [[Let's Begin]]

Your heart pounds as you sit on the crowded, noisy bus. This isn't the first sting operation you've been assigned to, but that doesn't change how nerve-wracking it is each time. Last time you did this, things quickly went South. One of your buddies was shot, the captors got away, and no children were rescued. It's dangerous work, but thinking about your two daughters at home remind you why you do this kind of thing. Everyone deserves to live their childhood. [[You look down at your watch.]] [[You look out the window.]]

7 PM, Cambodian time. Despite your many travels as a former FBI, you've never actually been here before. In some ways it feels familiar to walk among the Vietnamese and Indochinese people, but from a geographical standpoint you'd be hopelessly lost without your map. You adjust the small, hidden GoPro camera on the inside of your jacket. In the grand scheme of things, this is the most crucial part of the operation. No proof means no arrests, and consequently no justice. The bus comes to a halt. This is your stop. [[Get off the bus.]]

The Cambodian streets are full of people - everywhere. The bus must be passing by a marketplace. In some ways it reminds you of your trip to Nepal. You smile, looking back on your trip there. It was a fun place to visit, but what makes you remember it all the more fondly is the mission you pulled off while you were there. At least two happy families were reunited with their children that day. You adjust the small, hidden GoPro camera on the inside of your jacket. In the grand scheme of things, this is the most crucial part of the operation. No proof means no arrests, and consequently no justice. The bus comes to a halt. This is your stop. [[Get off the bus.]]

You and one or two other passengers step off. You look around. The street is dimly lit and barely inhabited. The light is almost gone from the horizon, and people are starting to return to their homes. It seems this is always the kind of setting for your line of work: late at night on a sketchy-looking street. You take a deep breath and review the most recent message from the guy you found online: "get off at the 14th stop and head straight down the center road. keep going till you see house with red roof" [[Head down the road.]] [[Opt out of this and wait for the next bus.]]

You head down the road, looking for anything with a red roof. After what feels like ages, you finally spot a run-down-looking house with a pale red roof off to the side. There doesn't seem to be anyone around on the road. [[Go into the house.]]

You step inside the house and are greeted by a Vietnamese man with a big, almost fake-looking smile on his face. You shake hands with him. "How was trip?" the man says in broken English. "Fine." you reply. Clearly he's trying to make a good impression, but you don't need pleasantries - you need proof that he's doing something illegal. The man motions for you to head upstairs with him. [[Head Upstairs]]

He leads you into a room upstairs. There’s a light on the ceiling but all the windows have been blackened. There isn’t much in here except for a bed, a chair, and a brick on the floor. The bed’s sheets look as if they were taken from a hotel. The man turns to you and smiles. “How high?” he says, moving his hand up and down in front of him. Your heart sinks as you realize what he means. But you've gotten this far - you need to keep going to get enough evidence. [[Hold your hand up to your waist.]] [[Hold your hand up just above your knees.]] [[The deal’s off!]]

The man leaves the room for a few moments and returns with two girls. They both look as if they could be around age 11. The one on the left has brown, matted hair and freckles, and the one on the right has shorter, dark hair. Both are only wearing tank tops and shorts. “Which you like?” the man says, still smiling. [[The girl on the left.]] [[The girl on the right.]] [[The deal’s off!]]

The man leaves the room for a few moments and returns with a small girl. She's barely up to your knees - she could be as young as six years old. This shocks you that at so young she's been used for evil purposes, but you try to contain your surprise. “You like?” the man says, still smiling. [[I'll take her.]] [[The deal’s off!]]

You tell this man that what he's doing is wrong and he deserves to go to jail for it. Without realizing it you just blew your cover. [[Uh oh.->bad news]]

The man sends the other girl out of the room and starts to negotiate a price with you. You end up giving him 300 US dollars, which he happily pockets and leaves. As soon as he’s gone, the girl with freckles walks over to the door, shuts it, and moves the brick on the floor up against it—just as she was trained to do. She then looks at you. [[Ask for her name.]] [[Ask her to sit down in the chair.->sit]] [[Wait and see what she does.]]

The man sends the other girl out of the room and starts to negotiate a price with you. You end up giving him 300 US dollars, which he happily pockets and leaves. As soon as he’s gone, the girl with dark hair walks over to the door, shuts it, and moves the brick on the floor up against it—just as she was trained to do. She then looks at you. [[Ask what her name is.]] [[Ask her to sit down in the chair.->sit]] [[Wait and see what she does.]]

"Chanda," the little girl replies. [[Ask her to sit down in the chair.->sit]] [[Wait and see what she does.]]

The girl walks over to the chair and sits down, looking at you expectedly. [[Play a game with her.]] [[Talk to her.]]

The girl looks at you quizzically. After waiting for a few moments, she starts to undress. [[Yell at her to stop!]] [[Kindly ask her to stop and to sit down.->sit]]

The girl stops, clearly frightened. She runs out of the room and downstairs to her captor. You hear him yell at her angrily and start to beat her. [[Run downstairs and stop him!]]

You barrel into the room and see the girl heavily bruised on the floor as the man stands above her, viciously beating her. You run towards him and shove him up against the wall. He shoves back and you struggle to get a good hold on him. The man punches you in the jaw, managing to knock you back long enough to pull out his gun and shoot you. Blackness. [[Game Over->bad]]

You were unsuccessful in freeing any children from the bonds of slavery and ended up losing your own life in the process. Your efforts weren’t enough, and in your absence the injustices will continue. Every year over one million kids are forcibly involved in sex-trafficking all over the world, including here in the U.S. It is up to all of us to put an end to it, but not if we turn a blind eye. You can get involved by knowing how to recognize the signs of trafficking: www.humantraffickinghotline.org/what-human-trafficking/recognizing-signs You can also get involved in other ways to fight against human trafficking: www.state.gov/j/tip/id/help/ Let’s all rid the world of this abominable practice. [[Start Over?->Introduction]]

You ask her what games she likes to play. She gives you a blank stare. You instead sit down in front of her and try and teach her some of the games you daughters play together—versions of “Patty Cake” and “Lemonade, Crunchy Ice”. The girl looks confused at first, but gradually warms up and plays along. Over time her face starts to light up. She looks like she's living a childhood she never got to experience. 30 minutes or so pass by. [[Tell her you're done.]] [[Give her a 20 dollar tip.]]

You ask the girl questions: where she's from, what she likes to do, about her family, etc. Even though her accent/dialect is difficult to understand, she starts to warm up to you and eventually tells you of how she was abducted by the man downstairs. Hearing this from such a small child makes your blood boil, but you make an effort not to show it. 30 minutes or so pass by. [[Thank her and tell her you're done.->Tell her you're done.]]

The girl gets up and leaves the room. You quickly check the camera; it's still running properly. Good. Now it's time to get out of here. [[Leave this place.]]

The girl smiles and rushes out of the room, and downstairs to her captor. That'll make him happy. You quickly check the camera; it's still running properly. Good. Now it's time to get out of here. [[Leave this place.]]

You head down the stairs, where the Vietnamese man is waiting for you. [[Nod at him and head out the door.]] [[Tell him what he's doing is illegal.->bad news]]

You head out and back along the dark road, occasionally checking behind you to see if you're being followed. All seems well. You wait for the bus and take it back to the hotel you'll be staying at for the night. Tomorrow you'll send in the videos to the Cambodian government so they can shut down the operation. This makes you sleep contentedly tonight. [[6 months later...]]

The man starts yelling at you in Vietnamese, most of which you don't understand. He's starting to look aggressive. You start to back away slowly, and then take off in a full-on sprint. You don't get very far before you hear gunshots. You fall to the ground. Blackness. [[Game Over->bad]]

It took 6 months, but the man you met has finally been put to justice. 2 or 3 girls he held in captivity have also been returned to safety. You wish this could have happened sooner, or that more girls had been rescued, but it was still all worth it. Hopefully your next mission will go just as well. [[Epilogue]]

Thanks to your efforts, you were able to rescue several little girls from being slaves for the rest of their lives. You can rest easy, knowing that they’ll be safely returned to their families or otherwise taken good care of. But even despite what you accomplished, the overall problem has yet to be solved... Every year over one million kids are forcibly involved in sex-trafficking all over the world, including here in the U.S. It is up to all of us to put an end to it, but not if we turn a blind eye. You can get involved by knowing how to recognize the signs of trafficking: www.humantraffickinghotline.org/what-human-trafficking/recognizing-signs You can also get involved in other ways to fight against human trafficking: www.state.gov/j/tip/id/help/ This game was based on a true story, but is only one of many. The Vietnamese man was brought to justice, but thousands of traffickers still run rampant and undetected. Let’s all rid the world of this abominable practice. [[Start Over?->Introduction]]

You decide to just wait for the next bus. You're not feeling too well, and the idea of even pretending to participate in human trafficking makes you sick to your stomach. But, because you opted out of this, no kids will be rescued and no justice will be served. You re-think things through and convince yourself to go through with this anyway. [[Head down the road.]]

"Bopha," the little girl replies. [[Ask her to sit down in the chair.->sit]] [[Wait and see what she does.]]

The man sends the other girl out of the room and starts to negotiate a price with you. You end up giving him 300 US dollars, which he happily pockets and leaves. As soon as he’s gone, the little 6-year-old goes to the door, shuts it, and moves the brick on the floor up against it — just as she was trained to do. She then looks at you. [[Ask her to tell you her name.]] [[Try playing a game with her.->Play a game with her.]] [[Wait and see if she does anything.]]

"Mara," the little girl replies. You try and initiate more of a conversation with her, but it's clear she's too young to be able to communicate very well. You opt to play a game with her instead. [[Play a game with her.]]

The girl looks at you quizzically. After waiting for a few moments, she starts to undress. [[Yell at her to stop!]] [[Kindly ask her to stop and to sit down.]]

The girl, somewhat confused, walks over and sits down in the chair. [[Ask her to tell you her name.]] [[Try playing a game with her.->Play a game with her.]]