Summary: 49 year old Norma Bastidas, mother of 2, is an acclaimed marathoner, known for traveling 150 miles across the deserts of Namibia or running double-marathons over the tundra of Antarctica. She even recently completed a 3,762 mile triathlon! Her story is extremely inspiring because she is a former victim of abuse, rape, and sex trafficking. At 19 years old, a local woman offered her a modelling job in Japan. Coming from a rough home, she accepted the offer to earn money for her single mother and 4 other siblings. The people who took her to Japan shut her up in an apartment, and then transported her to a "meeting", where she was actually being sold. She involuntarily worked as a sex slave for years, then finally escaped to Canada. She developed a drinking problem, but then traded in the addiction for running. She is naturally gifted in endurance and speed, and has ran ever since.
Analysis: Bastidas is a role model for women who are in unfortunate situations and have lost all hope. She will continue to inspire women everywhere for years to come. She is similar to Rosa Parks, who, with her passive resistance, initially started the Montgomery Bus Boycott during the Civil Rights Movement. Parks was arrested, but emerged from the racism and suffering and became a symbol of rebellion and justice. She was a source of motivation for the participants of the movement, and Bastidas also serves as motivation for the thousands of girls and women forced into sex trafficking.
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/world/human-trafficking-norma-bastidas-triathlon-record/index.html
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