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The Teacher Walking 500 Miles to Fight Human Trafficking

  • Published on
    June 21, 2018
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  • Category:
    Anti-Slavery Activists, Child Slavery, Domestic Slavery, Forced Labor, Forced Marriage, Human Trafficking, Prevention, Rehabilitation & Liberation
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A history teacher atĀ Arlington High School in Nebraska is walking 500 miles to raise awareness of human trafficking.

Barry Jurgensen, who is a member of the education committee for the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force, will walk fromĀ Omaha to Scottsbluff.

He says along the way he will spreadĀ Walk Forever Freeā€™sĀ message to ā€œeducate Nebraskaā€™s youth about slavery of past and present and to empower them to contribute to a global society by taking action against injustice through advocacy.ā€

New York Minute Magazine reports:

Jurgensen is partnering with several different organizations based in Nebraska, likeĀ The Set Me Free Project,Ā Iā€™ve Got A Name, theĀ Coalition on Human Trafficking, and theĀ Central Nebraska Human Trafficking and Immigration Outreach.

JurgensenĀ said, ā€œMy message is the only way to fight human trafficking is a network ofĀ communities working together to prevent it and stop human trafficking from existing. Itā€™s been around for hundreds of years; we just keep renaming it. I think itā€™s time for everyone to realize slavery is slavery, and we need to do something to stop it.ā€

This is the second time Jurgensen will be making this 500-mile journey. In 2016, the teacher raised more than $27,000 forĀ Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, which is an abolitionist organization ā€œdedicatedĀ to fighting human trafficking through education initiatives in schools and communities.ā€

Jurgensen says that raising awareness of trafficking starts from simply meeting people and starting a conversation. HeĀ said, ā€œThe most beneficial thing is to meet people. Then, they introduce you to other people. You get dialogue started about the issue.ā€

Another teacher from Arlington High School, Amber Sims, helped Jurgensen organize the campaign.

ā€œI know last year when he was in Chicago, we felt a great sense of accomplishment with everything we did and we have a lot to be proud of, but we both said we werenā€™t done. I think today and the start of this walk is a testament to the fact that weā€™re not done and the work isnā€™t done and it wonā€™t be done until slavery doesnā€™t exist anymore,ā€ she said.

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Yavor Hadzhiev
Yavor Hadzhiev
6 years ago

Congratulations for you hard work to end slavery Mr. Jurgensen and Ms. Sims!

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