Prologue

    


TW: sex trafficking/violence

While recently healing from severe trauma, I traveled back to poems I wrote during the earlier years of being trafficked. I found many poems I wrote while feeling lost, confused, and trapped. I decided to write this book, collect these poems, and bind them back together to provide a glimpse of what that life was like: a life of unimaginable violence, hopelessness, and isolation. I wanted to bring forth an opportunity for others to understand the realities of the trafficking world. 

    I did not understand I was being trafficked until years after it began. I was also silent about it for a long time, didn’t believe my own experience, suffered through episodes of depersonalization, lied about the realities of my life, and had to come to terms with my situation before I started reaching for outside help. I know I am not the only victim of these intrapersonal circumstances, and I believe that bringing awareness to the different and unique circumstances of what human trafficking can look like will help identify more cases from the inside, as well as allow people to have the language to identify when they are being trafficked. 

    So many representations of human sex trafficking that I’ve seen come in the forms of documentaries or news headlines. There is very little portrayal of a detailed life told from the victim’s point of view: a perspective that is crucial for the world to be aware of, and imperative to giving survivors autonomy and community. I hope that whoever holds this book can comprehend the sense of being monetized, objectified, lost, and alone through the lifestyle and culture of human sex trafficking. Along with bringing an awareness to the personal experiences and trauma of the trafficking world, I also hope to display the aptitude for strength, revival, bravery, and resilience that people like myself are forced to fight statistical outcomes with, as well as fight for the lives we deserve. 

    Only about 1-2% of sex trafficking victims are recovered. These statistics are terrifying and heartbreaking. However, it does not mean that our voices need to be silenced any more than they already are by our handlers, Johns, pimps, and other enabling members of society. Where the Flies Swarm is a chance for a survivor’s voice and story to be heard, felt, and deeply appreciated. I’m not only speaking on my behalf, but also the other 98-99% of survivors who will never be able to share their story. 


 

 

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