Thursday, May 10, 2007

First Steps

My younger son and I were at a grocery store in early April, and we came across a bin of $5 DVDs. One caught my eye--"Human Trafficking." I remembered seeing part of it on Lifetime TV several months earlier, and it had made enough of an impression that I bookmarked a Web site about it. It seemed to be a pretty accurate portrayal of the problem, and nothing I've seen since then has convinced me otherwise. I decided it would be a worthwhile purchase.

I had a week off work, and during that week I began to immerse myself in the issue. I watched the movie (it's three hours long) twice.

I also read a book called "Terrify No More," by Gary Haugen, president of the International Justice Mission. The book details how IJM rescued a bunch of young girls from forced prostitution in Cambodia. Along the way, the book tells other stories, of people rescued from slavery in brick kilns and other situations. It is powerful stuff.

IJM is staffed by lawyers and people with law enforcement backgrounds (there are others, of course). I wanted to see if a regular person like me could get involved.

Lots of Web sites are springing up as a grassroots movement grows among people who are dedicating themselves to fighting human trafficking. Some helpful sites I've found are:

International Justice Mission
Not for Sale Campaign
Polaris Project
Free the Slaves

I've read documents such as the U.S. State Department's "2006 Trafficking in Persons" report and the "Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in Persons," by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

I've begun to tell friends, co-workers and people on airplanes about the problem.

I read the book "Not For Sale," by David Batstone. He tells of many people around the world who are fighting human trafficking.

I called my county's sheriff's department, but they said they know of no human trafficking in our county. We are quite close to Charlotte, NC, though, so I can't imagine that there is nothing going on around here. I wonder if it just isn't on their radar screen yet.

I e-mailed the state representative from SC who authored the bill to ban human trafficking in our state. She says she might be able to give me names of others in my area who are involved.

I've begun to read the book "Amazing Grace," by Eric Metaxas. The recent movie of the same title is based on this book, which tells the story of William Wilberforce's battle to end the slave trade in England.

I called the SC Attorney General's office to congratulate them on their recent statements that they are beginning to see how to deal with victims of trafficking--treating them as victims, not as criminals. I asked if they knew how a church or an individual could become involved, perhaps by providing housing for a person who has been rescued from trafficking. They suggested that I call Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

I called ICE, but the guy didn't seem to understand what I was asking. He seemed to think that I was asking how my church could provide sanctuary for someone his department wanted to deport! When he finally understood what I was asking about, he had no real suggestions.

Tonight I spoke with a neighbor who is an FBI agent, and he gave me a couple of places I might be able to contact.

I e-mailed a woman in Ohio who reportedly produced an 80-page document detailing instances of human trafficking in her state. I wanted to ask for pointers on how I can research the topic as well. She is out of the country for several weeks.

I started this blog!

And tonight, with this post, I hereby announce the formation of the Clapham Circle of Lancaster County. So far, I'm the 0nly member. At least when I was a kid, my brother and I could form a club and have two members right away. So I'll need to figure out how to publicize this thing.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live in Canada -- is that in Lancaster County?

Anonymous said...

I think Canada is an honorary township in Lancaster County, Jim!