The market for slaves of any kind is staggering.
The targets are the poor and powerless.
Picture a family. A mother, father, and a bunch of children. The parents were never formally educated because they spent most of their lives working in order to make enough to put clothes on their backs and food in their bellies. They work doing whatever they can do to make some money. Maybe they farm, or maybe they work on someone else’s farm. Maybe they work in a factory. The bottom line is that they are poor. REALLY poor. Their clothes are tattered and dirty. Their shoes have holes. They do the best they can, but it never seems to be enough. They are hungry.
There are millions of people that live like this. All over the world. These are the targets for traffickers.
Many possible scenarios could come across this family. All involving a sweet talking business type person who is full of promises and dreams. They present a situation that looks hopeful to entice them into a world of slavery. It happens all the time. It happens every day. The poor and uneducated are the targets. And they are easy targets.
Maybe the business person will give them a “loan” to help them through dry season. Then, in order to pay back the “loan”, the entire family must come work at this nice man’s factory, or rice mill, or brick kiln, or whatever. They must work there and only there until their debt is paid back. Meanwhile, the nice man gives them shelter and food, which he adds to their debt. The interest rates charged out outrageous and these poor, uneducated people end up slaves before they even know what is happening to them. The “nice man” suddenly turns into a tyrant who beats them and controls every single thing they do. They are not free to do what they choose. They have become property and they don’t know what to do about it.
This is bonded labor and it is illegal everywhere it is practiced, but poor criminal justice and judicial systems allow this practice to take place anyway.
Another possible scenario would be for this nice business type person to offer a scholarship for the girls at some far away school. Or it could be a job offered to the girls. The parents want what is best for the children, and being uneducated, they believe the recruiter. This person then leads these girls to a brothel to become sex slaves.
In places like Thailand, men come from ALL OVER THE WORLD to have sex with these girls….or boys.
In places like Sudan, Uganda, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children are abducted from their homes and forced to join rebel armies as soldiers. Often their initiation experience involves killing someone close to them. Girls and boys are taken. Once girls reach puberty, they become sex slaves for the commanders in these armies.
It happens over and over and over again. The powerful take advantage of the weak because they can.
Right now there are 27 million men, women, and children in bonded labor around the world. That includes the USA, ladies and gentlemen. Almost 1 million people are bought and sold on a yearly basis. Human Trafficking has become the fastest growing crime on the planet. In the United States alone, it is estimated that there are 200,000 people enslaved. The estimated number of people trafficked into the EU is 120,000 yearly. Depending on your source, revenue generated from human trafficking is between $9.5 billion to $32 billion annually. 80% of those forced into bonded labor are women and 50% are children. CHILDREN!!
With millions upon millions of people living in refugee camps around the world, and millions of people living at or below $2 a day, the pool to draw from is seemingly unending.
This stuff fires me up. I didn’t even know how big of a deal it all was until I was smacked in the face with it in Thailand. I spent a month working with prostitutes. Many had come to Phuket to find a good job. They bought one way tickets from far away and ended up sleeping on the streets. Out of desperation, they ended up in the bars. They are there by choice. However, most of the girls I talked to shouldered the responsibility of taking care of their families. They felt as if they had no choice. It was so hard to see. That was my first encounter….the tip of the iceberg for me.
I just read the book, Not For Sale, and I just can’t stop thinking about this stuff. It is reality for millions and millions of people around the world. ( I got the statistics I used in this blog from that book)
I was listening to this missionary named Jennifer Toledo the other day. She made a statement that sunk deep into my spirit. She said that we cannot be in love with Jesus and NOT have our hearts break for the poor. This is the exact stuff that Jesus wants us to fight against. He said that whatever we do for the least of these, we also do for him. You know, you could flip that statement. Whatever you DON’T do for the least of these, you also DO NOT o for Him. (Matthew 25: 39)
I won’t lie. When I went to India to serve, I was NOT expecting to teach pre-school. I didn’t see the value in it. I am not a fan of dealing with large groups of small children. God just now smacked me in the face with the reality of what we did in India. We spread the love of Jesus. We gave Jesus to these children. I can’t stop what is happening around the world. I cannot stop it, but I can do my part. I can’t protect them, but Jesus is our protector. He is our rock and refuge in times of trouble. I can give them the greatest resource in the world – JESUS!!! There is so much hope in that!!
In September, I will be leaving again. This time I am going to Thailand. We will spend the first half of our trip working with Remember Nhu on the prevention side of human trafficking. We will be working with children who are at risk. Then, we will be working with SHE. I was just there in April and I am super excited to go back and see all that God is doing in that area. At SHE we will be going into the Red Light district to minister to prostitutes and also doing some after care for those who have come out. I will be able to combine my two biggest passions at the moment, women and college students. I am really excited about what God is going to do in and through all of us!!!
There is plenty of need. Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. That means that slaves are found in Thailand, brought through Thailand to other destinations like Malaysia, Indonesia, European countries, or even the USA, and slaves are brought to Thailand to work in brothels as sex slaves.
We are going, but we are not going alone. We are bringing with us the greatest hope in the world – Jesus Christ. We are coming in the power of the Holy Spirit and we expect to see miracles. We expect to see lives transformed. We expect to make a difference!!!
I need your help
In order to be ready to leave in September, I need to raise $1800. This will cover everything for me for the three months I will be on the field. Please prayerfully consider partnering me in my mission to bring the Kingdom of God to Thailand!!
If you are interested in supporting me, please click HERE
Even if cannot support me financially, PLEASE support me with your prayers. Your prayer support is so much more important than you can even imagine. We move heaven and earth through our prayers and they are POWERFUL!!
