Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

abolition

5 on Friday: What to do for Human Trafficking Awareness Month

For Christmas, our family received matching bracelets, on which are written “It Matters To This One.” They were part of an adoption fundraiser, and though we have no connection to the family, we are 100-percent behind the sentiment.

Because we can’t change everything for everyone, but we can change one thing, or maybe some things, for a few.

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January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. And while human trafficking is an overwhelming issue–an estimated 27 million people enslaved around the world today–it doesn’t have to be a paralyzing one.

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What will you do?

What can we do?

I don’t have a lot of answers, and frankly, I always want to do more than I’m currently doing.

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But here are five options.

1. Learn all you can about human trafficking. Maybe you don’t know what it is or why it’s a problem or how it affects your life. Maybe you have a basic understanding but you want to do something. Some good places to start online are Love146, IJM and The Exodus Road.

2. Get connected. I wouldn’t know what I do about human trafficking if I hadn’t connected with The Exodus Road more than a year ago to join their blogging partnership. Now that I’m aware of what they do, I’m more aware of what’s available in my city. A goal this year is to connect in person with one of the many organizations where I live that are working in anti-trafficking. Social media can only take you so far, but it’s a good place to start.

3. Shop better. We spend a lot of money on stuff. Wouldn’t it be great if some of that money helped people have a better life? My friends at Imagine Goods create jobs for women by commissioning dresses, tablecloths, bags, napkins, skirts and aprons, among other things. And they aren’t the only ones working to provide jobs, especially for women, that pay a fair and living wage in impoverished countries. When we pay a little more for the things we love–coffee, tea, clothing–we’re helping keep fellow human beings out of unsafe working conditions and overwhelming poverty. 

4. Tell others. I’ve learned the most about trafficking through people who are willing to speak up. I, in turn, am doing what I can to spread the word. You can start by sharing quotes on Facebook, retweeting Twitter statuses and pinning images on Pinterest. You have a network, and you can use it for good. We rarely are affected by something the first time we see it. But if we see it over and over again, from different circles of influence, we’re more likely to learn more and check it out.

5. Pray. You don’t have to believe in God to be involved in abolition, but if you do believe in God, I wonder why you wouldn’t want to be involved in abolition? Historically, the abolitionist movement has involved people of faith, and I believe prayer aids the work of freedom.

Let this benediction also be your prayer.

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"What if it was my daughter?" Why I'm blogging to end human trafficking

The first time I heard about human trafficking was about five years ago. My husband was finishing his undergrad degree. We were newly married. I was early in my first pregnancy. He came home from a class one day with information about human trafficking for a project. I was naive and uninformed and unaware that a horror such as sexual slavery, involving women and children, existed in the world. What he learned, he shared with me. Yes, I decided. We needed to support those who fight human trafficking.

A year later, holding our less-than-a-year-old daughter in my arms, we attended a Ten Shekel Shirt concert near our new home in Pennsylvania. The concert supported an organization called Love 146, which works to end child trafficking and exploitation. During the concert, the band shared stories and statistics about child trafficking. I remember crying when I read the words about a girl who had been used and abused in unspeakable ways before her 8th birthday. I looked at the little girl sleeping in my arms and thought about the other little girl. Somebody’s daughter.

William Wilberforce, a man who worked to end another kind of slavery, said this:

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

Today is the first of many posts to follow about human trafficking. I’ve joined the blogging team for another organization, The Exodus Road, working to end child slavery.

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At least once a month, I’ll share stories, pictures and videos from their work to rescue enslaved children in Southeast Asia. It’s not an easy topic by any means, and sometimes I want to turn away. But it’s my hope that the stories we share will move us to action. To do whatever we can, wherever we are, to fight this horrific crime.

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Next time, I’ll share some of Sarah’s story. She was 15 when The Exodus Road investigators met her. Three days earlier, she’d been sold for the equivalent of $600 USD to pay a debt. In the meantime, I urge you to learn more about the modern-day slave trade. Through The Exodus Road, you can provide surveillance equipment for investigators or fund a raid. (Learn more about that here.)

The founders of The Exodus Road, when first faced with the challenge of child trafficking in Southeast Asia kept asking themselves the same question: “What if it was our daughters?” They speak more about their motivation to start this organization in the video below. I’ll hope you’ll come along with me on this journey.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/53473680 w=500&h=281]

The Exodus Road: Fighting to End Child Slavery from Justin Lukasavige on Vimeo.