Help former slaves

The Emancipation Network (TEN) sells clothing and other items made by former slaves living in Nepal, India, Cambodia and other countries. That brings income to the former slaves and helps them to move toward self-sufficiency and a new life. It’s cool that TEN sells many of the items at house parties, which allows them to educate people about the problem.

I received my copy of the “Not For Sale” documentary today, and I can’t wait to watch it.

What about my chocolate???

When William Wilberforce was working to abolish the African slave trade, he had to deal with the insatiable appetite of the British people for sugar, which came from plantations in the West Indies that used slaves to grow and harvest sugar cane. Abolishing the slave trade could threaten the sugar supply!

Today there is widespread agreement that child slaves are being used in the cocoa industry (though no one seems to know how many). Could our fight against modern slavery threaten our chocolate supply?

Stop Chocolate Slavery provides background info on the issue (although much of it seems a bit dated, coming from 2001-2002) and provides a listing of chocolate brands that appear most likely to be slave-free.

In response to the reports about slave labor in the cocoa industry, the International Cocoa Initiative was formed, including industry members and others. The ICI has a fairly extensive site that admits the problem, tells how the initiative came to be and describes what steps are being taken.

Global March Against Child Labour is one of the organizations taking part in the ICI, but I didn’t see any good info on their site specifically about cocoa.

Free the Slaves is also listed as participating in the ICI, but once again I didn’t find a lot of current info at their site. I have written to them, asking if they can assess the progress up to now and the prospects for assuring that slavery will no longer be a part of cocoa production.

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa has been working to end child and adult slavery for years, and his Web site also has some recent updates about the cocoa issue (written by his staff, of course, but one could check Senate records to verify his statements).

As far as I can tell, progress is being made, but not as much progress as one would like. It sounds as if child slavery still exists in the cocoa industry.

And I’m disappointed to see the paltry budget the ICI has to work with. Its site says,

The ICI is capitalised through its board members contribution. The annual budget is provided by industry members of the board made in the form of a grant against an approved budget.

In 2004 the total budget available to the foundation was Swiss Francs 1,523,055 (about 1,228,350 US Dollars). This was the first full operating year of the foundation.

So the information is now rather old, but think about this: the 2004 budget was about $1.2 million, provided by the ICI board members:

Mars Incorporated
Hershey Foods
Cadbury Schweppes
Nestlé
Kraft Foods
Ferrero

OK, stop right there. Those are six of the ICI’s 14 board members (other members include the European Cocoa Association; the International Confectionery Association; the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations; the International Trade Union Confederation; the US National Consumers League; Free the Slaves; and Global March).

But let’s look at those first six board members:

Mars Incorporated: The Mars Web site claims that Mars is an $18 billion-dollar company.

Hershey Foods: 2003 annual income was $457,584,000 (from their 2003 annual report, page 74).

Cadbury Schweppes: Their 2006 annual report, page 28, claims 2005 net profits of 700 million pounds (I don’t know what the exchange rate was back then, but today this would be U.S. $1.38 billion).

Nestlé: Their 2006 annual report, page 94, lists profits in 2005 of 4,438,000,000 Swiss Francs, which today equals U.S. $3.6 billion.

Kraft Foods: Their 2006 annual report, page 95, lists net earnings of $2.63 billion (they break it down by quarters).

Ferrero: I couldn’t find any financial info on their Web site, but their homepage says, “With global sales growing in country after country, Ferrero is today one of the largest confectionery companies in the world.”

The point is that it seems like these really, really huge companies could together pony up a bit more than $1.2 million (in 2004) to make sure that their products are not being produced by slaves.

I Just Showed Up

Sara Groves has a song that says “And I just showed up for my own life, And I'm standing here taking it in and it sure looks bright.”

That’s kind of how I feel about all this. Again, I don’t feel as if I’ve wasted my life up to now, but I feel like I am moving into a new phase of life. And even though I have no idea what’s in store, I’m excited to see where God will lead.

In the meantime, I’m still praying, reading and corresponding. I’ve had some encouraging e-mail exchanges with people who are fighting human trafficking, and I’m continuing to read through lengthy reports that various NGOs and government agencies have posted online. Currently I’m in the middle of the Transitional Housing Toolkit for Anti-Trafficking Service Providers. I think the information could be crucial if we start some kind of shelter for survivors of trafficking.

I’m overwhelmed by the amount of helpful information at humantrafficking.org.

And I am aiming to hold the first meeting of the Clapham Circle of Lancaster County in August or September. Between now and then, I’ll try to meet and correspond with key people in this area to explain the issue to them and see if they will agree to attend that meeting. I’m thinking that we’ll probably watch a film such as the “Not For Sale” documentary, which I’ve ordered.

Ramblings

OK, this post rambles a bit, but hang with me for a minute.

John Piper writes in his book "Don't Waste Your Life" about an old man who heard Piper's father preaching and, at the end of the service, came forward to commit his life to Christ. As he talked with Piper's father, he began to sob, saying, "I've wasted it! I've wasted it!"

Piper says that image really gripped him--he didn't want to come to the end of his own life and realize that he had wasted it.

An image that has had a similar impact on me is Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus says:

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

I think of how glibly Christians talk to and about the Lord. We treat God like a friendly acquaintance who is nice to see for a few minutes most days, but we're glad that He doesn't ask very much of us.

Except that He does, and we just try to ignore that part. Let us go to church, maybe even go to Bible study or have a quick daily devotional time, but let's not listen too hard, or we might hear Him calling us to a third-world country or the slums or some other place full of needy, inconvenient people.

Sorry for the preaching. Well, I'm not really sorry for it. Somehow this fits in with the thing God is doing in my life.

I don't think for a moment that I've wasted my life; in fact, for the past 15 years I've worked as a Christian journalist, communicating God's truth to several million readers. I can't think of many privileges or callings higher than that.

I don't know if God will lead me at some point into a different vocational path in fighting human trafficking. It may well be that I'm supposed to stay in my current field and use that platform to publicize the issue. But--and many of us writers feel this way at times--I sometimes wish I could be doing the ministry instead of just writing about it. These days I find myself daydreaming about caring for rescued slaves and, I'll admit, beating up the bad guys (but I'm pretty sure that will never happen).

And I know that the writing itself is ministry. For those of you who know me, don't worry that I'm about to chuck everything and move or drag my family into poverty. But in some ways this reminds me of the situation we faced a few years ago, when my current employer moved halfway across the country.

My wife and I had to decide if we were going to stay where we were or go along to the new location. After awhile my wife had a rather marvelous thought: "Let's not agonize so much about the question of staying or going; maybe this is God expanding our horizons to go somewhere else--and that could be anywhere in the world."

So we looked into moving to Australia. That didn't work out--they didn't want us. But somehow, even though "the whole world" was a lot more nebulous than just "stay or go" with my current job, the thought that God might have something completely different in mind for us was surprisingly comforting.

So I guess these rambling thoughts are just part of trying to figure out why God has hammered me so hard with this issue and why He seems to want me involved in some way. Whatever way He wants, I want to be obedient. I'm pretty sure the next step for me is simply to call the first meeting of the Clapham Circle of Lancaster County. I'll try to set a date soon.

Lots of ideas

World Hope International has a great list of ideas on what individuals can do to fight slavery. Please check this link--it is much more comprehensive than I would have imagined:

What We Can Do

The Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAAST), of which World Hope is a member, has the same list at its site, which is also worth checking:

FAAST

To the victims ...

Imagine the despair of the victims. No hope of rescue. No prospect that today will be any different from yesterday or the day before.

A young girl is raped—a dozen, two dozen times a day or more. A young boy rolls firecrackers by hand for hours on end, when he should be attending school and playing with friends. An entire family labors to make hundreds of bricks each day, trying to pay off a loan that is impossible to pay off—eventually forgetting that they ever were free. For them, now, this is just the way life is.

I want to talk to them. And although I doubt that any of them will ever read this, I’ll say here what I can’t say in person:

You are not forgotten. You are more valuable than you know. God loves you, and His own Son gave His life for you. We love you, too—thousands of us who have finally realized your suffering.

We’re coming for you. We’re coming to set you free and to help you find a new life. We’re coming to bring justice, to stop the wicked people who have done this to you and to make other traffickers realize that their ugly business is no longer going to be worth it. We just need to find you.

Lord Jesus, help us to find them.

Where I used to live

My friend Chris sent me an article from the StarTribune in Minneapolis. The brothels mentioned in the article were close to where I used to live--the "hub" was about 13 blocks from our old house. I'm so glad the authorities recognize who the bad guys are and who the victims are in this case.

Attack on 'sex slavery' targets 8 brothels
Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune

The women came mostly from Mexico and Central America.

When they arrived in Minnesota, the women had their passports and other identifying documents taken away and they were forced into a world of prostitution. In one night, two women serviced more than 80 men in a south Minneapolis house.

On Monday, in what might be one of the biggest such cases in Minnesota, 25 people were charged in federal court with running eight brothels. Eighteen of the suspects are illegal immigrants, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court.

Five of the brothels operated in Minneapolis and the others were in Richfield, West St. Paul and Austin, Minn., according to the indictment.

"The leaders of this prostitution ring ... are responsible for the bondage and sex slavery of women, an intolerable condition in a twenty-first century America," U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose said at a news conference.

Major state law enforcement leaders also were there.

The charges stem from arrests made Saturday during high-profile raids near Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue S. in south Minneapolis. Nineteen men and six women were charged. All had surnames that appeared to be of Hispanic origin. Paulose said she could not reveal the countries of origin of the accused and the victims.

Another house was a hub

The indictment charges that Marisol Ramirez, a 37-year-old woman, established the network of brothels, and that she was assisted by Roberto Rivera-Miranda, 31. A house at 3212 Cedar Av. S. in Minneapolis was the hub of operations, where prostit! utes would spend time while coming to and from the airport or moving from brothel to brothel, the indictment said.

The other people charged Monday rented the houses used as brothels, drove women to various locations, delivered condoms, supplied narcotics and worked as doormen, the indictment said.

Some distributed business cards -- in Spanish -- at places such as Mystic Lake Casino and along Central Avenue in Minneapolis.

The prostitution ring did not appear to be a high-tech operation. Rivera-Miranda, for example, used his name to get from Qwest a land-line telephone number for a brothel in northeast Minneapolis, the indictment said.

The women were subjected to horrendous exploitation, Paulose said. At 3104 Pleasant Av. S. in Minneapolis, for example, one woman was forced to provide sex to 46 "johns" in one night last month, the indictment said.

The 25 people were charged with conspiracy, transporting persons to engage in prostitution, and coercion and enticement of another to travel across state! lines to engage in prostitution.

The arrests were largely the result of a collaborative investigation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the St. Paul Police Department, officials said.

The arrests also were credited to slain St. Paul police Sgt. Jerry Vick, who two years ago this month was killed while doing undercover work.

St. Paul Assistant Police Chief Nancy DiPerna said that Vick had discovered a prostitution ring involving Mexican and Central American women. A foundation created in his name applied for a federal grant to continue that investigation after his death, she said.

"Our prosecutor and dedicated law enforcement partners deserve much credit for their work in investigating and dismantling a major prostitution ring in a metropolitan area that has been identified as one of the nation's top centers for the prostitution of women," Paulose said.

Human trafficking a concern

The case points to the growing concern about human trafficking in Minnesota. Last year the Legislature commissioned the first state report, which found that 43 percent of the 119 human service providers it surveyed had helped a victim of human trafficking -- and that they were helping about 200 victims at the time of the survey.

There was no information on people charged with human trafficking in the report, because until now, Minnesota law enforcement did not use the law, said Danette Buskovick, the statistics director and task force staff member from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

"Sex trafficking isn't a new crime, but it's something hidden," she said. "These are cases that are very hard to build and to prosecute. So this is a really big deal."

The people charged in the case are scheduled to make their first court appearance Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511 • hopfen@startribune.com

Good going, Zach Hunter

This morning I happened to see a segment on CNN called CNN Heroes. It featured a 15-year-old named Zach Hunter, who as a seventh grader began an effort called "Loose Change to Loosen Chains." He has raised a lot of money by collecting loose change that is donated to the International Justice Mission in its work to rescue slaves. Pretty impressive! I hope I can make such a difference.

Loose Change to Loosen Chains
CNN Heroes: Zach Hunter

What if ...

What if someone could find a way into the lives of traffickers? What if someone could gain a hearing with them in order to tell them how much better their lives would be with Jesus Christ?

About 10 or 12 years ago I met a man named David Yone Mo, who had been the leader of a notorious street gang in Burma (known as Myanmar at the time). He was brutal and fearless, having taken control of the gang when the former leader backed down from David's challenge to a fight--in a barrel, with razor blades.

David found himself near death after using dirty heroin needles, and doctors gave him less than a week to live. He began to read the Bible, and he committed his life to Christ. Christ saved his soul and healed his body. Within a week, instead of being dead, David was out of the hospital. He went to his lieutenants and led them to Christ. They disbanded the gang and formed in its place the Myanmar Young Crusaders, who through the years have helped many people overcome drug addictions, helped opium growers to switch to different cash crops, and led many people to faith in Jesus Christ.

David, this brutal man, became compassionate. He had a significant ministry to people suffering from leprosy (Hansen's disease) that began when he agreed to share a meal with residents of a leper colony, in spite of the flies that would land on the people's open sores and then on the food he was about to eat. The people said that people had come to visit them before, but none had ever eaten with them. He did it out of love for Jesus and for them.

I'm just thinking what an impact it might have if a trafficker found Jesus Christ, realized the wickedness of his work but also the power of Christ to transform people, and then worked to lead other traffickers to renounce their ways and live a life of love and compassion.

The Apostle Paul persecuted Christians before becoming one himself. John Newton was a slave ship captain, and the fruit of his conversion is still seen as people sing "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." God has saved wretches before--millions of us! He can certainly save wretches who at this point are trafficking persons.

Taken aback

I think some of my friends and relatives have been kind of taken aback by this blog and by what perhaps has been a shocking introduction to this issue of modern slavery--this "immoral trade," as Baroness Caroline Cox describes it.

Many people, of course, have had no idea that this problem even exists. And that is exactly what I and many others in the grassroots abolitionist movement want to change. Once this becomes a big item on the public agenda, it will become harder and harder for traffickers to operate with the kind of impunity they have now.

For example, the second-largest industry employing slave labor is that of domestic workers. Young women are offered a chance to come to the United States, study for a career and work as a nanny or housekeeper. But when they arrive, their passports are confiscated, they aren't given the education that was promised, they work brutally long hours, they are not allowed to contact their families or to leave the house alone, and many are sexually abused.

If the general public were aware that such things are happening in U.S. cities today, perhaps neighbors would make an effort to make sure the family down the block with the live-in nanny is not actually enslaving that young woman.

Sound far-fetched? Read what happened in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Louis Etongwe's story

Come on, everybody. I know this issue won't be everyone's "big thing," but we all need to find some way to help. At this moment, millions of people are living without hope that they will ever be rescued. Their hearts are crying out--or maybe their hearts are so scarred that they no longer cry. God says, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" (Isaiah 58:6, NIV)

Holy Discontent

A new book by Bill Hybels, "Holy Discontent," talks about the kind of thing that has happened to me. He says that many people who give themselves to causes do so because they have had a "firestorm moment," an experience in which they realize that they simply can't stand to watch things go on as they are. He encourages all of us to look for such moments:

I think you constantly should be on the lookout for that one cause or purpose or problem that grabs you by the throat and just won't let go. Your "one thing" is the stirring situation that causes so much damage to your own soul that it brings you to ... a place where you feel you simply must do something. Your "one thing" births a burning-bush experience in your soul where you sense God himself inviting you into an intentional and personalized partnership with him to renovate reality.

I think it is cool that this book would show up just when I'm going through this process of trying to find some direction for taking real action. I started reading the book today; I'll let you know if it brings some good insights.

Work has been busy lately, and for the next few days I might not get a chance to post very often. But I'm building a good list of contacts, and I'm anxious to see where all this goes.

More research

OK, so now we have two members in the Clapham Circle of Lancaster County. But one member will need to drive about four days each way to make it to meetings. So it would be good if more people would join who live nearby!

I've continued to try to make contacts the past couple of days. The woman I wrote to in Ohio has responded with a couple of research ideas, and she also pointed me to two other helpful reports:

Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States

Florida Responds to Human Trafficking

I'm trying to approach this research in a focused way; I think it deserves the kind of effort I would put into research when I was in grad school. I'm taking notes, printing key sections and following up by contacting people mentioned in the documents.

The biggest frustration I'm facing right now is that although the grassroots movement against human trafficking has some really creative ideas for publicizing the issue and getting people to join the cause, it feels as if most of the ideas still leave the rank-and-file volunteer isolated from the front lines. For example, churches are beginning to declare themselves "abolitionist churches," which means, in part, that they are willing to provide housing for victims. I think that is really cool. But it is one thing to make a declaration; it is quite another thing to actually get plugged into the system in such a way that you would ever actually provide housing for a victim. If local law enforcement doesn't even recognize the problem, can we ever truly help?

The "Hidden Slaves" report (above) says that human trafficking has largely been relegated to federal, not local, law enforcement, so I'm hoping the FBI contacts my neighbor gave me can help.

Meanwhile, as I plow through these big documents, I'm praying that God will continue to keep my heart broken over the plight of these victims.

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.

Surprise

It is amazing what you find when you begin to notice the many references in the Bible to justice and to defending the poor and oppressed. When I read accounts of how traffickers work, I'm reminded of Psalm 10--as perfect a description of human trafficking as I can imagine:

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble." His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. He says to himself, "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees."

Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"? But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more (NIV).

Evangelicals, of which I am one, tend to focus so much on issues of personal morality that we become blind to God's passion for justice. But consider Jeremiah 22:16:

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy ... is that not what it means to know me?" declares the Lord.

I think many evangelicals would be floored if you were to say that defending the poor and needy is what it means to know God. Obviously, this is not the only thing the Bible talks about in regard to knowing God, but the fact that one passage boils the matter down to this carries a lot of weight. And think about this: the core of the Gospel message is that God sent His Son to die for those who could not save themselves. We were poor and needy, and He rescued us. He calls us to be like Him.

Tomorrow I'll try to review some of the specific things I'm doing to join the fight against human trafficking.