Vote for Somaly Mam

Zach Hunter didn’t win his round in the voting for the Dec. 6 CNN Heroes special, but Somaly Mam is in the final round. Somaly is a woman who has dedicated her life to rescuing young women from sex slavery in Cambodia.

My understanding is that the Dec. 6 CNN special will tell the stories of all six finalists, including Somaly. Each finalist represents a different category, including Defending the Planet, Medical Marvel, Fighting for Justice (this is Somaly’s category), Community Crusader, Championing Children and Young Wonder. But the voting continues for the top hero of all.

Please vote, and help send the message of how important it is that we fight to end modern-day slavery in all its forms.

Vote for Zach Hunter

No, it's not another presidential candidate. Zach Hunter is a teen who organized "Loose Change to Loosen Chains" as a way to raise funds to free slaves. To date he has raised more than $20,000, and he has written a book, "Be the Change," which our youth group is studying these days. Zach was profiled this past May as one of CNN's Heroes, and now CNN is having people vote for the most outstanding of these heroes, with the top vote-getters in each of several categories appearing in a special program Dec. 6.

Voting for the top "Young Wonder" continues only until noon Eastern time on Monday, Nov. 12. As I write this, Zach is in second place but needs several thousand votes to overtake the current leader. Please vote; this is an opportunity to put the issue of human trafficking in front of thousands of television viewers. You can vote as often as you wish, so please consider voting several times before the cutoff on Monday.

Great Meeting Tonight

We had a wonderful meeting of the Carolina Clapham Circle tonight! Lots of brainstorming about things we can actually put into practice—and soon.

Most of us are going to look at the ins and outs of having our churches become "abolitionist churches" through the Not For Sale Campaign.

Various members are going to make contact with the FBI, The Salvation Army, Campus Crusade and with a person who suspects slavery at a local Chinese restaurant.

We'll look for opportunities to multiply our efforts by starting smaller groups in our immediate areas, so prayer and education can be happening more often than once a month.

We'll each look at the recommendations of the Renewal Forum in Washington, D.C. about the shortcomings of North (or South) Carolina's anti-human trafficking laws, and we'll contact our representatives and encourage them to strengthen the laws.

I felt a strong sense of real networking as we talked tonight--it is wonderful how God has brought us together with various experiences and skills to do His will. If you live in the Charlotte area, please join us!

How Does Your State Stack Up?

Thanks to the Renewal Forum in Washington, D.C., for issuing today “An Examination Of State Laws On Human Trafficking.”

The report analyzes not only the laws of the 36 states that have enacted laws against human trafficking; it also analyzes the U.S. Department of Justice’s model anti-trafficking law for states—and gives it a grade of “D.” The state law receiving the highest grade was Illinois, with a B-. Six states that have anti-trafficking laws received a grade of “F” or “F+,” among them my home state of South Carolina. North Carolina, where many of my friends in the Carolina Clapham Circle live, received a “C.”

The folks at the Renewal Forum seem to know what they are talking about. The organization’s president, Steven Wagner, was director of the Human Trafficking Program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2003-2006. He started the “Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking” campaign that I’ve spoken highly about on this blog. Senior Fellows Margaret MacDonnell and Rodger Hunter-Hall, and Legal Fellow Ian Kitterman, have impressive backgrounds, too.

So it appears that we may have something practical to work on, namely lobbying our state leaders to strengthen these laws. I urge you to read the report at the link above and even to download the report for future reference.

Here are the summaries the report gives for North and South Carolina:

NORTH CAROLINA
• North Carolina has made it illegal to engage in trafficking and has also enacted an enhanced penalty if you traffic in minors but it does not make it a crime to benefit from a trafficking victim.
• North Carolina should enact an affirmative defense for trafficking victims for crimes committed under the direction of their captors. It should also establish training policies for law enforcement as well as require support for victim certification. Finally, North Carolina should establish a fund for trafficking victims to provide restorative services, which could be funded by the forfeiture of any property gained from the act of trafficking.
• North Carolina recently passed a statute that provides trafficking victims services under their crime victims rights scheme. North Carolina should now require court ordered restitution and restoration for victims of trafficking from their traffickers. In addition, North Carolina should give victims of trafficking a private right of action against their captors.
• North Carolina should establish a taskforce to study human trafficking in the state and recommend the best policies to abolish human trafficking from the state.


SOUTH CAROLINA
• South Carolina has taken a step in the right direction by passing a statute that criminalizes trafficking in persons but it falls short by not protecting victims of sex trafficking. In addition, the law does not criminalize benefiting from a victim of trafficking or provide enhanced penalties for trafficking in minors.
• South Carolina should enact an affirmative defense for trafficking victims for crimes committed under the direction of their captors. It should also establish training policies for law enforcement as well as require support for victim certification. Finally, South Carolina should establish a fund for trafficking victims to provide restorative services, which could be funded by the forfeiture of any property gained from the act of trafficking.
• South Carolina has not taken any steps to provide for the victims of trafficking after they are found. It should require court ordered restitution and restoration for trafficking victims from their traffickers. In addition, it should give victims of trafficking a private right of action against their captors. Finally, South Carolina should explicitly provide victims access to their normal crime victims services.
• South Carolina should establish a taskforce to study human trafficking in the state and recommend the best policies to abolish human trafficking from the state.

Making it a priority

Here is an example of what can happen when someone in the right position makes the fight against human trafficking a priority.

Rachel Paulose became U.S. Attorney in March, 2006. There were no human trafficking cases at that time in Minnesota, according to this article from the StarTribune—even though FBI had identified the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as a trouble spot in regard to human trafficking.

Paulose is changing that. Today a man was sentenced to 24 years in prison for human trafficking, and four other cases involving 32 defendants are pending.

Amazing Grace

The Amazing Grace movie was in theaters months ago. I was beginning to wonder when it would ever come out on DVD. Well, it’s coming to on DVD Nov. 13! Here is the official site:

You can pre-order the DVD from Christianbook.com or from Amazon, among others.

It’s an inspiring movie, and my friend Burkinator points to the film as playing an important role in her becoming involved in the modern abolitionist movement.

I Want to Be One of Them

I cried most of the way to work today. That’s because I had my iPod set on “repeat one,” playing Sara Groves’ new song “When the Saints.” Burkinator’s Undercover Writer blog pointed out yesterday that for a limited time this song is available for free at the iTunes store. You should go get it. Now.

The song gives examples of God’s people working for freedom, caring for the dying and taking the love of Christ even to those who would kill them. The chorus starts by giving a hint of what’s to come, recalling Paul and Silas singing in the Philippian jail. The next time around, it adds Moses calling for freedom in Pharaoh’s court.

Finally, the song erupts in a torrent of images (at times it’s hard to figure where in the world Sara takes a breath): the underground railroad, the families of martyred missionaries returning to the people who killed their loved ones, the Sisters caring for the dying in Calcutta, a passionate man breaking down a brothel door to rescue those inside, Jesus bearing the weight of the world for us. Sara sings, “When the saints go marching in I want to be one of them.”

I do, too. In my travel for my job, I’ve seen my Christian brothers and sisters living this kind of selfless love for the sake of Christ. They put me to shame—and they also inspire me. I’ve also seen reports of enemies of Christ saying, “Christianity is a very gentle religion, so it ought to be easy to destroy.” Think again—that gentleness is more powerful than you can imagine. That love—the love behind all the compelling images in Sara’s new song—can never be defeated.

New York Joins the Fight

In June, New York became one of 29 states to pass state-specific human trafficking legislation. The Captive Diaries blog at the Captive Daughters site has a link to an article in the Gotham Gazette that gives a good summary of the problem and some of the current issues involved in fighting modern-day slavery.

While you’re at it, take some time to explore the Captive Daughters web site. Very informative.

Diverse Strengths, Unified Passions

Zach Hunter, in "Be the Change," writes about the Clapham Sect:

They were like one family, combining their diverse strengths and unified passions to go after what seemed like impossible projects—attacking difficult ills of society with the tenacity of a fleet of battleships.

That's often how things get done—a group of friends with different talents and a common goal, working together to accomplish something none of them could do alone.

I like that: Diverse strengths, unified passions, going after seemingly impossible projects. If abolishing the slave trade, and then outlawing slavery altogether, may have seemed impossible at times to the Clapham Sect, consider the task that faces the Carolina Clapham Circle and the many individuals, community-based groups and organizations fighting modern-day slavery.

In the 1800s, the task was to convince a nation to change its laws. In the 21st century, with slavery illegal in every country of the world, the task seems much more difficult: to root out criminal elements, rescue and restore victims, and change the very climate that allows slavery to flourish.

That's a huge task, and it's why we need groups like the Carolina Clapham Circle. We aren't an organization as such; we're a group of like-minded people who come together to inform, encourage and pray for one another. We support one another in what some of us are already doing, and I believe that as we study, network and brainstorm, God will lead us into specific new ways to fight slavery.

If you want to fight slavery and you live anywhere near Charlotte, N.C. (we have members from Indian Land, SC to Huntersville, NC), please join us. Come to a meeting and see how God can take our diverse strengths and unified passions to fight a seemingly impossible problem.

Back soon

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I was out of the country, and lately I've been either really busy or just plain exhausted in the evenings. I hope to be back on a more regular schedule soon. Some things have been happening in the area of networking that I might be able to talk about soon.

In the meantime, please pray that God will free slaves today, and that He will use us as He sees fit in the fight against human trafficking.

Trade

The Make Way Partners report for October 3 talks about a new film that came out Sept. 28. It’s called “Trade,” and it is based on an article that appeared in the New York Times Magazine in 2004 called “The Girls Next Door.”

The film is not yet available in my area, but for several years I’ve been yearning for someone to make a major motion picture on this topic. This kind of thing can put the issue in the public spotlight in a way that even the most compelling documentaries and non-fiction books just won’t do. I’m looking forward to a chance to see the film at some point.

In the meantime, Make Way Partners has links to the original article and to the film. And the film’s Web site has a wonderful list of ideas for getting involved and also of organizations that are fighting human trafficking. Please take a look!

A Little Is Enough

Lesson Four of “The Justice Mission,” the curriculum we’re going through in Sunday school, talks about the feeding of the 5,000. The lesson makes the point that the young boy’s lunch—five loaves and two fishes—wasn’t nearly enough to feed the thousands who had gathered to listen to Jesus. But Jesus took that insufficient gift and blessed it.

Not only was it enough for everyone, it was more than enough. In fighting modern-day slavery, we might become discouraged by the scope of the problem—what we have is so small in comparison.

During the class session, the students are supposed to indicate the extent to which they agree with several statements. I agree with all of them, and I think they are worth remembering—maybe even printing them out on a card to keep handy.

I have a little knowledge God can use to fight injustice.
I have a little anger God can use to end oppression.
I have a little passion God can guide to help the helpless.
I have a little influence God can use to involve others in the search for justice.
I have a few relationships God can energize to create a team of people committed to changing the world as we know it.
I have a bit of freedom to decide what I’ll study and how I’ll spend the rest of my life.

—The Justice Mission, ©2002 Youth Specialties, published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich., p. 76.

Emancipation Proclamation

145 years ago today (Source: the National Archives and Records Administration):

In July 1862, President Lincoln read his "preliminary proclamation" to his Cabinet, then decided to wait for a Union military victory to issue it. On September 22, 1862, following the victory at Antietam, he signed the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, formally alerting the Confederacy of his intention to free all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states. One hundred days later, with the Confederacy still in full rebellion, President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation.

Here are some excerpts from the proclamation:

That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. ...

Sec.9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the United States; and all slaves of such persons found on (or) being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude and not again held as slaves.

Sec.10. And be it further enacted, That no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offence against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner, and has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service.

Of course, 145 years later we still have slaves in this country, as well as in most countries around the world. We don't really need another proclamation (although rallying cries are nice), but we do need to do everything we can to free slaves and ensure that they "shall be forever free of their servitude and not again held as slaves."

First Meeting!

We had a great meeting of the Carolina Clapham Circle tonight. Nine of us spent time getting to know each other, telling about our call to fight slavery, sharing ways that we are already doing so and considering where we might go from here. We watched a video from World Hope International; the Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking; and World Relief; on modern-day slavery in Sierra Leone and Liberia. And we had a good time of prayer, asking God to lead us into what He wants us to do.

We’ve decided to meet on the second Thursday of each month, so our next meeting will be October 11. I’ll make sure the location is confirmed before posting it here. The location will change each time, but you can mark your calendar for Oct. 11, Nov. 8, Dec. 13, etc.

Here are two ministries that are on the cutting edge of helping to rescue people who have been exploited and trafficked: God4Girls and Family Christian Center’s Project Safehouse

And here is a news item saying that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed The Vietnam Human Rights Act by a 414-3 vote. The Act ties future increases in U.S. non-humanitarian aid to verifiable improvements in Vietnam’s human rights record. Among other things, the Act points out violations of religious freedom and harassment of people of faith.

One of the Act's requirements is that Vietnam will need to show that none of its government officials or agencies or entities is involved in “severe forms of human trafficking” (a strange term, I know, but one the U.S. State Department uses in its annual Trafficking in Persons report) and that the Vietnamese government has taken all appropriate steps to end such complicity and to hold guilty parties responsible.

Sounds like a good law to me! It looks like the Senate still needs to act on the bill, and twice in the past it has failed to act on similar legislation. Might be a good thing if some of us abolitionists were to write to our Senators!