Besides Half the Sky, which I have discussed several times on here (this book is about more than just human trafficking, but includes chapters on it), I decided to provide more resources about the subject. As the founders of The Emancipation Network, which I wrote about yesterday, can attest to, hearing or reading about actual victims and their stories is much more powerful than seeing a bunch of statistics. The statistics about child sex trafficking are frightening, but when you hear individual stories, it’s more powerful. Look for the following books at your nearest bookstore, library, or even online:
“Human trafficking is an ugly crime. Its brutalized victims generate vast profits, and many of them are being used and abused in the cities and towns where we live. Human trafficking is also a hidden crime. Governments, human rights groups, and all the rest of us, are struggling to understand how it fits into the lives of our communities and economies. Now we have help: Alexis Aronowitz has written a lucid and concise introduction to human trafficking. Based on impeccable research and years of experience, she shines a light on the modern slave trade. This book is perfect for student and educational use, or for anyone wanting a clear and unbiased understanding of human trafficking today.”
–Dr. Kevin Bales
Academic and world reknowned expert on modern-day slavery
Author of best-seller, Disposable People
President of Free the Slaves
Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book, Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action.
–Amazon Product Description
“I approached this book with a certain weariness. Having worked on the subject of sex trafficking for many years, I was unenthusiastic about yet another exposé or cri de coeur from a business executive turned human rights advocate. I could not have been more wrong. This is a unique and inspiring book–an honest, lucid, and immensely intelligent account of a devastating yet pervasive aspect of contemporary globalization. It deserves to be widely read by anyone who wants to understand one of the most persistent and complex human rights violations of our times.” — Jacqueline Bhabha, Harvard Law School
I first learned about The International Justice Mission when I attended a human trafficking awareness night on the University of Illinois campus. A young man who had interned with IJM shared his horrifying stories from the field–stories of girls as young as TWO YEARS OLD in brothels. After listening to him–someone who had been on the front line–I knew I had to check out IJM and what they offered for victims of human trafficking. What I like about IJM is that they are raiding and shutting down brothels, but they are also fighting for stricter laws against human trafficking agents and brothel owners, against corrupt police, and against kidnappers. Some countries have laws where these people are barely punished for their crimes or as we saw in Rath’s story yesterday, the wrong people (the slaves) are being punished.
According to the IJM website, this organization was founded by Gary Haugen, who was working as a lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice and as the United Nations’ Investigator in Charge in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Today, IJM has over 300 professionals working in their own communities to fight injustice. These professionals “confront aggressive human violence: violence that strips widows and orphans of their property and livelihoods, violence that steals dignity and health from children trafficked into forced prostitution, violence that denies freedom and security to families trapped in slavery.”
If you want to help these professionals fight for human rights and help girls like Rath, then you can donate money to their cause–you can give a one time gift or a monthly donation. It is simple to do–right from their website. If you don’t have a lot of money or your school would like to do something to help IJM, you can always do a penny drive. Ask people to bring in their pennies and loose change for a period of time, and then donate this money to IJM. Whatever you can give helps.
But not everyone has extra money–especially in today’s economy, so another way you can help is to tell other people about IJM. You can also pray for the professionals that are working in the field and for the victims they are working to protect. IJM also has student ministries, so if you work with children or teens or if you want to do something in your own home, you can! And IJM helps you with this. They also provide resources for churches. Just spreading the word and talking about the problem and resources available can help stop human trafficking.
If you are interested in the t-shirt pictured above, you can purchase these from the IJM website. Thanks for listening!
photo by hdptcar www.flickr.com
Currently, I am reading a very powerful book that is touching my life deeply and calling me to action. The book is called Half the Sky written by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn,and it’s about women’s oppression around the world and how to combat it. I plan to start another blog in late spring or early summer about this subject targeted to teens and college students, but I wanted to tell you about an organization I found out about while reading this book. It was started by a seventh grade student, Zach Hunter, and is geared toward children and teens helping the fight against human trafficking and slavery around the world. It’s perfect for a class service learning project or even a year-long project for a home school group. So, let’s go. . .
Loose Change 2 Loosen Chains has a Facebook Cause page that anyone can join with a Facebook account. This organization is also connected with the International Justice Mission, which is relentless in fighting slavery that still exists in the world today. If you don’t believe me or think–there’s no way slavery exists in the 21st century, I encourage you to find a copy of Half the Sky at a bookstore, library, or online, and start reading.
If you are interested in finding out more about how you can do a service learning project with Loose Change 2 Loosen Chains, then you can email [email protected] with your snail mail address and get a tool kit. You can also visit Free the Slaves website for information on what slavery looks like around the world today. You can share some of these stories with students–depending on the age of your students or your children, you can decide how much detail to go into. However, in my opinion, even the youngest child can understand that taking away someone’s freedom based on religion, race, or sex is wrong; and they don’t need all the gory details but can still understand that some 10-year-old girl living her life in a brothel without being able to go outside and play or even go to school is not right.
On the Loose Change 2 Loosen Chains Facebook Cause Page, Zach Hunter has written that: “27 million people are still in slavery today. It’s estimated that 50 % are children. They may be tricked with the promise of a good job, deceived or sold, working in brothels, brick kilns, on plantations and in many industries.”
On the International Justice Mission website, it is written: “According to Real Simple magazine there is $10.5 billion in loose change lying around American households. Imagine what you could do if you were to collect even just a fraction of this amount and use it for a good cause!”
So contact Loose Change to Loosen Chains either through [email protected] or at [email protected] and get your starter kit today. Your life and your children’s or students’ lives may be changed forever with this service learning project.
Finally, I would like to announce that Cinda B. won the Aries Rising book by Bonnie Hearn Hill from last week’s giveaway contest. Thank you to everyone who left a comment and even came back once the technical difficulties were fixed! 
