Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

stories of rescue

A slave's story, part three: Rescue

This is the third of four parts of a fictional account of modern-day slavery. Click to read Anna’s story, part 1 and part 2. Details have been provided by The Exodus Road.

“I can help you.”

Anna shook her head, afraid to believe, to hope. The man in the room with her had paid for her earlier in the evening, and now she was listening as a woman on the other end of his cell phone, a woman who spoke Russian, offered her a way out.

The man was an investigator, she said, and he could help her escape.

Escape?

Anna had given up thinking it was possible. And yet …

She told the woman it was too risky. That she’d be hurt if her owners found out. The woman said she understand her fear, but the man could be trusted. He could bring the police and have the owners arrested. He had evidence. But he needed her to tell him she wanted out.

Anna looked into the man’s eyes. They were trusting eyes, the kind she hadn’t seen in a long time. And like a buried seed in the cold, hard ground of winter, hope began to sprout in her heart. ER-flower-rescue

But just as quickly, she imagined a boot stomping the dirt over the seed, forever squashing her hope.

She shook her head no.

Anna had been a moment away from rescue, but she let the moment pass.

As morning dawned, Anna realized it may have been her only chance to escape the prison that had become her life. If only she could have another chance. She hadn’t thought much about God, figuring He must not exist if men were capable of such evil. Yet she found herself praying, God, if You’re there and You see, please, get me out of here.

That night, the man from the previous night returned, and Anna fought to hide her astonishment. Not knowing whether he would approach her again or not, she tried to think of a way to get a message to him. When her captors were haggling with a customer over a price, Anna reached for a paper and pen, seemingly miraculous in their appearance.

“Please help me.”

The investigator was watching her and found a way to reach her without drawing attention. She slipped him the note, hoping her eyes sent a message also.

The man nodded, Anna’s only assurance that he’d received her message. He left almost immediately, and Anna felt more alone than before.

She didn’t know how long before he’d return, if he’d return.

She’d been fooled by promises too good to be true before.

Was she a fool again?

Weeks later, Anna dreamed of rescue. Of men kicking in the door to their hovel, of handcuffs on the men who owned them, of seeing daylight and tasting freedom. She woke up in the darkness of their living space and began to weep. It was only a dream.

Loud shouts outside the door brought more tears and the girls huddled together in a corner, afraid of what was on the other side. They recognized the word for “police” and Anna’s head lifted slightly. Then the door came crashing in and men were searching the room. Anna saw the investigator and dared to believe.

Her dream was reality.

Rescue had come.

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Anna’s story concludes next month with the fourth and final installment.

A story of rescue: Meet Sarah

Last week, I introduced you to The Exodus Road and told you why I’m joining their blogging team.

This week, I’m sharing a story of rescue.ER-night

The Exodus Road partners with 15 trained undercover investigators in Southeast Asia to rescue children enslaved in the sex trafficking industry. They work on a case-by-case basis, funding and investigating a case from initial contact to raid and prosecution. Sarah was one of those cases. Here’s her story:

They met Sarah in a brothel in Southeast Asia. There was a line of prostitutes behind a glass wall, a fishbowl they call it. They were sitting on high bar stools, with heavy make-up and short skirts, numbers pinned to their shoulders, displayed for the customers on the other side of the glass.

And then, they brought in Sarah. She was “fresh,” the pimp had told the lead investigator over the phone. Sarah was dressed in street clothes, head down, hands fiddling nervously with a napkin. She was 15 and had been sold by her mother in a neighboring country several days before to work off a debt which her mother owed. Sarah’s virginity had been sold three days prior for $600 USD.

Let that sink in for a minute. Then take a look at these numbers:

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What is a human life worth?

Back to Sarah’s story.

Sarah could not speak the local language, was kept under close watch daily, and had no access to a cell phone or any communication from the outside world. She had been slipped illegally across borders by a system of traffickers that has become a global highway of modern day slaves.

ER-cameraWith covert cameras, Exodus Road investigators were able to record the sale of Sarah for the night, capturing valuable evidence that could be passed on to the trusted authorities in hopes of the pimp’s prosecution. Later, behind a closed door, the Exodus Road operative was able to call a social worker who spoke Sarah’s language. He explained that he was there to help her, not to hurt her, and that he could aid her escape if she wanted. Unfortunately, Sarah was too scared to run, too scared to trust a stranger, understandably.

The following day, the investigator returned to visit Sarah in the brothel, just blocks away from a crowded local market. She scribbled a note, “Please Rescue Me,” on a bill and slipped it to him.

She wanted out, but didn’t know the way.

Immediately, the investigator gave his testimony and video evidence to the authorities and asked the government to conduct a raid on Sarah’s behalf. It was believed that 10 or more girls were also being held against their wills at the same brothel where they found Sarah.

In late August, the team of investigators The Exodus Road is able to help fund worked in connection with the local government in SouthEast Asia to raid Sarah’s brothel. It was a collective effort of several NGO’s, two of which are involved with The Exodus Road, and several government and police agencies. It was a professional operation, spearheaded chiefly by The Exodus Road lead investigator, which took the course of three days and resulted in the discovery of eight underage victims and the arrests of the brothel owners.

After weeks of waiting, Sarah’s door was kicked in. The note she scribbled to the investigator on a piece of currency which said, “Please rescue me,” finally got answered.

And while it did require more time, money, and manpower than first assumed, the team pursued Sarah’s freedom with tenacity, a reminder that there are brave men and women on the front lines who live the belief that child slavery is unacceptable.

And Sarah’s life will never be the same because of it.

Sarah isn’t the only one. Every 60 seconds worldwide, a child is sold for sex. The Exodus Road is working to rescue girls (and boys) like Sarah. To find out how to partner with them in rescuing children from sex trafficking, visit the Web site to learn more. Tell others. Fund a raid. Buy a covert camera. But, please, don’t do nothing.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt