Response to "Sold" By Patricia McCormick

There were many times while reading Sold by Patricia McCormick that I had to pause and take a break before continuing on. The use of detail and realism was incredible. It is almost depressing to think about how big of a deal human trafficking is while it seems that many people either turn a blind eye or have no idea about it. I actually read the book before doing research on Nepal/India as well as research on human trafficking. It was interesting to see so many similarities in Sold with my research. I think this is what made McCormick’s book so real.

Starting off in the beginning when the main character, Lakshimi was talking about her mom she told us about how her dad had passed and how she had a stepfather who did not work. In Nepal, the man is the head of the household and is to be respected by the children. While her stepfather did not work because he had an arm that would not work, Lakshimi was still to give him respect and treat him as if he were the head of the household. This was very frustrating to me because Lakshimi’s father would take whatever money he could scrape up and instead of spending it on his family who really needed it he would go and gamble it away. I believe he had a huge impact on Lakshimi being “sold”.

Lakshimi’s Ama (mother) said that at least they had the stepfather even if he did not work because he completed the family. In Nepal, it is frowned upon to not have a complete family and family is to precede one’s individual self. You can see that strong connection of family and honor throughout the book even when Lakshimi getting into the roughest of times she is still devoted to her family. Another connected that is made on the same page is that Lakshimi talks about trying to ignore her father when he laughs with the other men of the village about how sons are much better than daughters because a daughter is like a goat, good for while it is baring milk, but no one thinks twice when it is time to make a stew, whereas a son will be a son forever. In my research on Nepal, it said that sons are valued much more than daughters.

I found it interesting to see that physical purity, religious refinement and humility rank to be some of the highest values in Nepalese society yet, human trafficking is such a big thing. While talking in class, I also learned that if a man has a disease such as an STD, they would be in search of a virgin because they believe that their pureness will heal them. This is beyond ridiculous and not logical at all. This also enrages me because it shows how selfish that man is to spread their disease, how cruel the trafficker is to allow this to happen and it reflects on the society as to how women are obviously not valued at all.

Just touching on the whole system in the book where the trafficker Mumtaz broke Lakshimi and literally brainwashed her into thinking that this is ok, we talked in our groups about how this reminded us of an abusive husband that after a while the abuse is all that the victim knows and they eventually crave it and feel loved when it happens. I found that this is what seemed to also happen with many of the girls who paid off their debt to Mumtaz, that they felt like there was no where else to go and they eventually just continued on with the work. Through research we found that many women who continue to help the traffickers have been victims themselves of human trafficking and they just continue the cycle by recruiting other girls. This same psychological brainwashing could possibly be going on with these women because they no longer know no difference; the trafficking is all they can remember.

When the whole Spokane Spa raid happened, I remember watching an interview with one of the women that had been giving services to other people. I remember her talking about while she was not dirt poor, that the whole idea of actually having money for once in her life was a big deal to her. She loved to actually be able to indulge in a bit more expensive things on herself and on her children that eventually the system gobbled her up and she was addicted to the money. This too seems like it could happen with a victim of human trafficking especially if they come from absolutely nothing at all. They say money can’t buy happiness, but maybe for these people it can. While it is a very sour subject, like was discussed in class human trafficking is a result of a much bigger problem, poverty. I think too that it is important to worry about America’s poverty and America’s issues before we become superheroes and try to save every other country.