Triad

If someone had told us five years ago that we would proudly introduce ourselves as a recovering Triad member instead of an active one, most of us would have laughed. For most of our life, we believed the Triads were our family, our protection, our purpose, and our destiny. We accepted the traditions of loyalty, secrecy, honor, and obedience without ever questioning where they were leading us.

Like many before us, We learned that the Triads did not begin simply as criminal organizations. They were born centuries ago from secret societies whose original purpose was to unite people against oppression and protect Chinese communities. Over time, however, many groups drifted away from those ideals. What once claimed to protect people gradually became associated with fear, violence, extortion, illegal gambling, trafficking, corruption, and countless broken families. History changed, but the suffering remained the same.

Many know that suffering because they lived it. For years, many believed respect came from intimidation. some believed loyalty meant never questioning wrongdoing. We believed power came from making others fear us. Yet no matter how much influence we thought we had, we were never truly free. We constantly looked over our shoulders, distrusted almost everyone, and carried burdens that no amount of money or status could remove.