Record-breaking triathlete to speak at HEART Initiative panel

Over the course of 64 days — across the waves of the Caribbean, the mountains of Mexico and, finally, the finish line in Washington D.C. —  Norma Bastidas completed the world’s longest triathlon. Behind her success is a story of endurance that transcends physical capabilities. 

On April 14, the HEART Initiative — an MSU organization dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking — will host a screening of the documentary “Be Relentless” in the Procrastinator Theater.  The showing will be followed by a discussion with Bastidas, a human trafficking survivor and the documentary's subject.

The film highlights Bastidas’ journey of breaking the world record for the longest completed triathlon. According to the film’s website, Bastidas swam, biked and ran a combined 3,762 miles from Cancun, Mexico to Washington D.C. in 2014. The triathlon was completed to raise awareness for the daily struggles of human trafficking victims. 

According to Izzy Brady, president of the HEART Initiative, events like these are a great way for community members to learn about human trafficking. 

“We open our events to everyone, community, MSU students, staff, like everyone, just to help raise awareness and get rid of the misconceptions,” Brady said.

According to The Exodus Road — a global organization that offers anti-trafficking training, targeted interventions and support to survivors — trafficking takes many forms. These include forced marriages, commercial sexual exploitation and labor trafficking.

“Often traffickers are people who have built a relationship with the person that they're trafficking, and I think that there's not a lot of awareness around that, and it's super important,” Brady said.

Trafficking can occur anywhere and at any time. Brady said as a result, part of the HEART Initiative's mission is to educate people about the signs of trafficking so they can take action.

“If you see someone who is not in control of themselves — like if you're at the airport and they have no control over their boarding passes, their passport, their ID — and you can tell that they're quiet and they're really not using their voice and they're in fear almost, that's usually a sign that something fishy's going on,” Brady said.

She said the club advocates for bystander intervention, empowering people to contact authorities if they see something that doesn't feel right. 

“If you're the person to make that phone call and help that person out just out of the kindness of your heart, that could seriously change someone's life.”

HEART Initiative Faculty Advisor Betsy Danforth said she hopes the club’s events — such as the upcoming documentary screening — can help even one person. 

“It's a really committed crew and it's good to know that, hopefully, we're making some kind of a change, saving one life or having one person identify their situation as trafficking,” Danforth said.

According to Brady, identifying human trafficking comes down to following your intuition.

“If you are in a situation where you're out in public and you can tell that something's not right with the way that someone is acting, don't ignore that. Trust your gut and look for resources,” Brady said. “And we try to provide those resources as a club, so they're available.”

Brady said she enjoys being involved with the HEART Initiative because it allows her to provide anti-trafficking resources to the community. 

“I know that I want to be a mom one day and I want to do everything I can for my kids to not be in these situations, and to make them aware to hopefully save others' lives as well,” Brady said.  

For more information on the HEART Initiative and its upcoming event, visit https://montanastate.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/theheartinitiative.