I love going to the movies. In my crazy world, i love to take an afternoon and go to a matinee. Sometimes, it’s an escape. Other times it’s just to relax. Or maybe I’m on a sweet date with my hubby. Whatever the reason, I love to watch a movie.
As I think about many of the victims of human trafficking, they must feel as though they are in their own personal horror movie. But they never asked to be the star of this show, and they wonder if the horror will ever end. I wonder where they escape to in their minds. As the unthinkable is happening to them day after day, night after night, they must escape in their minds just to survive. What kind of story might they be writing? What fairytales do they dream in order to escape the horrors of their realities? Oh how I wish I could reach in to every dark room, every cage and every dark corner of despair and whisper, “you are not alone. Someone is writing your story. And He has the final word in your life.”
This month, I will be giving up my movie habit. No more cinemas, redbox or Comcast OnDemand. I will give the money my husband and I would have spent on our movie tickets and movie snacks to The Home Foundation’s domestic shelters program. It’s a small sacrifice, but I pray that God will multiply the effort. And I have also committed to pray every day for freedom. I will pray for the oppressed for 10 minutes every day for 31 days, and that God will “Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream”. (Amos 5:24.)
Sugar. Every time we hear the word we instantly think of all things yummy and nice in the world. Chocolate, ice cream, pet names for loved ones, songs using it as a term to describe love, sugar is nothing more than a blissful reminder that all is right in the world. But in truth, sugar is a by-product of slavery.
Back in the 1600’s the Caribbean’s used salves to help start the ever booming sugar industry in their countries as well as South America. Slaves by the hundreds were being shipped over seas from Africa to work the fields and further the crops. Centuries passed, and so did the use of slaves in sugar crops. Or so we thought. Today, in Haiti and the Dominican Republic slaves are being used to once again work a sugar crop that is then being exported into the US for our consumption daily. Where we once thought we had succeeded, we truly have not.
So what is my sacrifice for freedom during these next 31 days? Sugar. No more sweets, sugary drinks, or delicious Starbucks vanilla lattes. I’m going cold turkey. And as I sip on my nice iced glass of unsweet tea, may I be reminded of those whose hands work forcibly without wage or reward. May I be reminded of those who are given water and food fed to them through cage bars and where the idea of a sugary lifestyle is but a myth and fantasy that they sadly may never know. And may we today strive to seek freedom for those without a voice and those who, unlike us, cannot choose.
Heather Owen
Director of Development
The Home Foundation
We are so excited to bring you 31 Days of Freedom. This initiative is something we have been dreaming about for a while but deciding on how it should come together took us some time. We hope that it’s the beginning of a campaign we can do annually and that we can develop it to bring meaningful materials that will encourage all of us to think more seriously about freedom and those who are in bondage across the world.
As you know, if you’ve read about the initiative, the main part this year is a twitter campaign where 31 of your favorite Christian artists and leaders will share their idea of freedom and help us re-focus our responsibility as believers to the oppressed. Leaders like Natalie Grant, Max Lucado, Mac Powell, Bark Millard, Tenth Avenue North and many more will share their hearts on the issue of human trafficking and sexual slavery and justice and freedom.
Now for the hard part! We are also asking that in celebration of your freedom that you consider giving up some aspect of that liberty and giving back to those without a voice. I have been thinking and praying about how my family and I can have an impact in some small way to this fight against injustice. I have a large family and you may be surprised to know that we eat out a lot! I know many mothers spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals and planning for dinners- well not me. I really can’t stand to cook so we venture out frequently for Mexican (our favorite) and Thai and just about any thing else we come across. But not for the month of July. We have decided to stay in, save the money and give to shelters across the US who are dedicated to providing a place of restoration for survivors of sex trafficking.
I am not only excited about giving to this worthy cause but also about what God will show us about freedom and sacrifice—even in this small way.
I have spent countless hours with the members of the CTSA who have been patiently waiting for funding for the homes to open so that they can show these girls the power of restoration. I am so proud to be on the team with them and know that the wait will be worth it. I recently visited one of our partners in Georgia who are open and serving girls. It was inspiring to see their dedication to those who have had little hope and to hear the stories of renewal. God is doing great things!
We hope you will join us on this 31 day journey to freedom through prayer and your commitment to sacrifice- whatever that may look like for you. Log on to www.thehomefoundation.net and click the link for 31 days to tell us your freedom story then tell your friends and your churches that they can be part of the change too and get ready for God to do awesome things!
Journalist Najibullah Quraishi starts investigating what’s happening to Afghan boys, bought and trained to entertain at all-men parties. To follow and watch this Frontline report – Click here.
The Affero Project is a grassroots online community of global justice advocates who join together to give small change every month and vote to decide where the money goes. It’s simple… You Give, You Vote, You Decide. The Home Foundation is partnering with the Affero Project and is the organization listed as representing the human trafficking category. Please check it out and support our partners! http://afferoproject.com/
California Against Slavery is now circulating a state-wide initiative petition for signatures.The initiative would deter traffickers with stiffer criminal penalties and fines, aid district attorneys in prosecuting human trafficking offenses, increase protection for human trafficking victims, and mandate human trafficking training for law enforcement officers. The CAS initiative is consistent with human trafficking legislative bills introduced but takes it further. For instance, the key language in AB559 sponsored by Assembly member Swanson is in the CAS initiative. AB559 expired last month without leaving the Assembly. It would add to the human trafficking offense anyone who “causes, induces, or persuades” a minor into sex trafficking or attempts to do so. Our initiative has the identical language, but goes further. For instance, the initiative eliminates some huddles for prosecutors by removing the consent of the minor, his/her history of sexual conducts, and claim of oblivion about the minor’s age as defenses by the traffickers. The initiative also has evidential protection for these victims. AB16 also introduced by Assemblyman Swanson mirrors the intent of our initiative. It would have added human trafficking as an offense under the Three Strikes Law. Introduced in December 2008, this bill like AB559 also died in the Assembly last month. Of seven bills introduced in the state legislative session last year, only one passed (AB17). One of the provisions of AB17 allocates forfeited assets to community based organizations for cases involving minor sex trafficking. Our initiative expands this to labor cases and cases involving victims of any age. It will also make sure that at least 50% of the seized trafficker assets will be routed to community-based organizations that provide direct services to trafficking victims. The initiative will undeniably make California’s anti-trafficking law a stronger deterrence mechanism and provide more protection for victims than currently. If given the chance, we believe that California’s voters will pass the initiative to speak up against human trafficking. Thus it is crucial that the initiative gets on the ballot. We need 600,000 voter signatures by March 31, 2010, to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. That is 6,000 Californians getting 10 friends to gather 10 signatures each.
For more information, please visit our website www.CaliforniaAgainstSlavery.org. Thank you for your collaboration to fight human trafficking in every corner of the world.
Consumerism & Human Trafficking: A Socio-political View from an Eastern European Perspective By Vladimir Ubeivolc
March 2010
One of the hard questions today is, “What is the main reason for human trafficking?” In the past, people compared human trafficking with slavery. Wealthy individuals wanted to have a cheap labor force, so they initiated “crusades” to Africa and enslaved people. Africans didn’t have a choice; nobody asked, “Would you like to work at my farm, dear?” Masters forced, sold, bought, and used people as they wanted.
The second half of the twentieth century is known as a period of human rights’ victory. Western countries stopped predatory wars and many countries from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe proclaimed their independence. However, the world faced the second wave of slavery in new forms that were more inventive, resourceful, and wilier. There are no armies, no ships with slaves and horses in one hold; there are no soldiers and guns. But how are recruiters winning? How are they entrapping that new generation of victims?
Let’s think about the reality in the majority of the world. Why do many people (especially youth) want to escape their countries? The most common answer is that they don’t have a job. This could be true for some African and Asian countries, but what about for Eastern Europe? Maybe not. Let me give some examples from Moldova (part of the former Soviet Union). Click here to read more.
Vladimir Ubeivolc is president of Beginning of Life, a Non-Governmental Organization in Moldova.
While more and more people each day become aware of the dangerous world of human trafficking, many people in the U.S. believe this is something that happens to foreign women, men and children–not something that happens to their own children and neighbors. They couldn’t be more wrong. In this powerful true story, Theresa Flores shares how her life as an All-American, 15-year-old teenager was enslaved into the dangerous world of sex trafficking while living at home with unsuspecting parents in an upper-middle class suburb of Detroit.
When you purchase this book a portion of the proceeds will be given to the Home Foundation!
We just formed a partnership with Mercy Ministries to further help restore girls victimized by sex-trafficking here in the United States. You can read the press release here.
Thank you for all your support! We are reaching these girls together.
After receiving over 4200 letters from Change.org community members, Choice Hotels has made an important decision. They will take proactive action to prevent child prostitution in their hotels. Their decision comes after a long letter-writing campaign from Change.org and over a month of discussions with leading child protection organization ECPAT. I hope you will all join me in celebrating Choice Hotels’ commitment to the important issue of prevent child sex trafficking. We welcome them as an ally in the fight to protect America’s children from exploitation in prostitution.
