WARNING: This blog is for adults only. If you’re one of my kiddos reading, you should stop here. Adults, this is a very difficult topic but I feel the need to share what I have recently learned.
"I am not for sale, you are not for sale; no one should be for sale."
Naïve and oblivious. Those are two words I would use to describe my previous understanding of the global slave trade and human trafficking. I was taught slavery ended when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation… I was wrong.
I recently finished the book Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It by David Batstone. The point of the book is to educate common people like you and me about the reality of human trafficking and how to become a smart abolitionist. Batstone comments there is no need for more dumb abolitionists…
The book highlights 6 countries- a testimony about the reality in each one as well as what’s being done to stop the injustice. I wasn’t surprised to see Thailand or India or Europe but the US and Peru? No, not these countries, I thought, not my beloved Peru…surely not in the US. The truth is, slavery exists worldwide. Today.
More than 30 million slaves exist in the world today. To give you a point of reference, that’s more than the 4 centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trade combined! 80% of the slaves are female and 50% are children. These numbers shocked me the first time I read them!
I knew I would encounter human trafficking at some point during this year, but I thought that wouldn’t happen until the red-light districts of Asia. To tell the truth, I’d heard stuff about sex trafficking but it never directly affected me, so it was one of those “social justice” issues you push to the back burner after lamenting about how awful it is.
I can’t do that anymore. Not after reading this book. Not after hearing people’s stories. This is what’s currently happening on the streets of Lima, Peru:
Imagine you’re a 12-year-old girl. You’ve been raised by your mother and grandmother. They just told you you’re old enough to start chipping in for room and board; they kick you out of the house and tell you not to come back until you’ve got money to offer. You have nowhere to go and you don’t know what to do. After a day passes you attempt to return home but you’re turned away because you don’t have any money. Back to the streets…
A taxi passes by you, slows down. The driver gets out and forces you into the car. He drives away to a remote location and rapes you. He then tells you, “You’re used goods, you might as well come work for us now.” Without giving a real option, he forces you to prostitute your body at night and work domestically during the day. He asserts authority and control over you because you now depend on him for the basic necessities of life.
That is Sandra’s story.
Luckily she ran into Lucy Borja. In the early 90’s, Lucy opened her office building at night for a few street kids who were seeking shelter. Her life was forever changed as she came back to find over 600 kids sleeping in any nook or cranny they could find. This led to the opening of Generacion, a safe home for street kids. If kids come seeking shelter, they must abide by one rule- they must attend school. An effective extracurricular activity to keep street kids out of trouble has been surfing.
That’s right, surfing! Christian surfers in Peru is based out of Lima- the surfers we’ve made friends with in Huanchaco have a similar program for kids on this community. They have provided free surf lessons to many children. The children’s home we helped build will provide safe shelter for orphans and children who lack the means to survive on their own. It will keep them off the streets and provide them with training to make a living. The day care we spent time at is doing the same thing… all the ministries we’ve been a part of in Peru are helping to keep kids off the streets and give them the means for a life free of slavery.
I love connections. I love that while I was reading this book, God was using me to be part of the solution. I was outraged when I was informed of the reality of human trafficking in the world today; I’m hopeful when I hear about everyday people finding ways to stand in the gap and fight for freedom.
How about you? Is this your first time hearing about such things? Or have you had a fire in your belly for quite some time? I felt the need to share what I’ve learned in an attempt to educate more people. Here are some resources for further education:
Read Not for Sale by David Batstone
Slavery Map www.slaverymap.org Shows any slave trading activity in your neighborhood.
Free2Work www.Free2Work.org Be a smart consumer and see where products are manufactured. You can be part of the solution by what you choose to buy!
Free2Play is a sports ministry that funds many programs to fight trafficking.
Justice League equips law enforcement on how to handle trafficking.
Okay, that very well might be enough information to process for a while. But some of you may want more. Here are my spark notes from the rest of the book- they highlight the other 5 countries, the stories told in each one and what is being done to stop the trafficking.
THAILAND: story of Chan, a boy forced to labor in a garlic factory for 16 hours a day; also known as the “Disneyland for sexcapades” due to the easily accessible brothels.
What’s being done: Kru Nam, an artist turned abolitionist, provides shelter and basic needs for street kids at Next Generation to keep them from being sold. Annie Dieselberg founded Night Light International, an organization that trains women in jewelry making to get them out of sex industry.
INDIA: story of Narayan and Maya who signed a contract they couldn’t understand to “work” at a brick kiln with their family. Mr. Vasu, their boss, verbally and physically abused all involved, as well as repeatedly raped all the women.
What’s being done: International Justice Mission’s Gary Haugen has used their power-actor analysis and long term planning to free many slaves like Narayan and Maya all over the world.
UGANDA: story of Charles who was abducted into the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to kill people and drink their blood; story of Margaret who was taken by the LRA at age 9 and forced to be a “wife,” meaning she would be subjected to rape multiple times a day. The LRA aims to “purify” the Acholi people (tribe in northern Uganda).
What’s being done: Idan Lagum Lumoro directs the World Vision rehab camp where LRA soldiers and wives are given the resources needed to start a new life. Florence Lacor acts as a motherly figure to all who enter- whether they wanted to come out of the LRA or not. Florence’s daughter was abducted and forced to “serve” in the LRA, a driving force in her passion to see lives changed.
EUROPE: story of Nadia, a Moldovian woman attempting to provide sufficient money for her family and 4-year-old son. She took a job at a restaurant in Italy but was forced to be a sex slave once she signed the paperwork and her passport was taken. Many orphanage workers also work with third parties to sell children into the sex industry.
What’s being done: In San Foca, Italy, Padre Casare Lodeserto has opened and operated a refugee center since 1995. Nadia was found washed ashore after escaping her captors. He provides room and board, counseling and job training to help escaped women re-enter society. Many local businesses employ “Padre’s girls” and many have stayed in the area to begin a new life.
USA: story of 3 girls from Cameroon promised an education who were forced to be domestic help and sex slaves to different families in Pennslyvania; story of Hardbody Norris who prostituted and controlled women through his “workout school”; story of Pastor Keith Grimes who enslaved a Zambian boys choir to make a profit for his church.
What’s being done: Louis Etongwe (native from Cameroon) ending the domestic help of the three girls and returning to his home country to educate others not to fall for the same scheme; Susan Coppedge who works in the US Attorney’s office to prosecute slave holders so they can’t repeat offenses; Katherine Chon founded the Polaris Project to guide slaves to freedom
