03 December 2011

By Scott Tompkins | ResonateNews.com

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Every country in the world has outlawed slavery but authorities such as the U.S. State Department acknowledge that millions of human beings are trafficked worldwide. Some may even be working nearby as maids, manicurists, restaurant help, farm laborers or sex workers.

Delegates at the Call2All Global Congress here this week heard several presentations aimed at rallying Christian leaders to action in ending what one speaker described as “the most heinous evil in the world today.”

The film "Nefarious,” a gut-wrenching documentary on the sex-slave industry, was shown to delegates Thursday. It outlined a strategy for action based on that of England’s abolitionist leader William Wilberforce: 1) acknowledging slave trade as a moral evil and mobilizing the church to pray; 2) exposing human trafficking and bringing it to the attention of civic leaders; 3) providing help for victims of the modern slave trade.

G. Stephen Goode, international director of Mercy Ministries for Youth With A Mission, or YWAM, hosted a Call2All workshop on human trafficking. Goode has served for more than 25 years in Bangkok, Thailand, which is widely known as the hub of Southeast Asia’s sex trafficking industry.

"People know about trafficking in places like Bangkok and Amsterdam,” Goode said, “but they don’t expect it to happen in their own neighborhood. If we don’t recognize it, we don’t act.”

He shared the story of David Batstone, a University of San Francisco professor who discovered that busboys and dishwashers at his favorite Indian restaurant were illegal immigrants doing forced labor under threat of being deported. Batsone's shock from this led him to create notforsalecampaign.org, a global campaign to identify and expose companies that use forced labor.

The latest United Nations statistics estimate there are 2.5 million slaves working in 137 countries each year, with over a million of those in Asia. Not For Sale and other groups estimate the numbers to actually be as high as 25 million.

"Slavery is forcing someone to do something against their will, exploiting people because of their fear of poverty,” Goode said.

He said in Thailand girls as young as six are regularly bought and sold.

"We were asked by the Thai government to set up a home for trafficked girls from ages 6-12. We said 'Yes.' That home is already full.”

Goode told stories of orphans from Eastern Europe who are brutally raped and beaten by mafia procurers until they are “broken” and ready to become sex workers in the brothels of Amsterdam. He also cited Mumbai, India, as having an estimated 200,000 prostitutes.

The Call2All presentations did give hope that the world is finally awakening to the problem. The movie “Nefarious” identified Sweden as one nation that has virtually eradicated sex slavery by slapping pimps and “johns” — customers of prostitues — with severe criminal charges. The film also showed several poignant stories by former sex workers who said Jesus had set them free from shame, fear, and self-hatred.

The issue is also getting broader media attention. The Arab television news network Al Jazeera recently did an eight-part series on slavery and CNN’s ongoing Freedom Series is highlighting companies using forced laborers.

"One thing these reports revealed is the huge amount of money being made in human trafficking. A drug dealer can sell his product only one time. Sex traffickers can sell a woman many times a day for years," Goode said.

Several presenters reminded delegates that Jesus identified his mission as proclaiming “freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Delegates were challenged to help set free those millions still in slavery. Here are some of the responses identified at Call2All:

Various groups have declared Feb. 26, 2012, to be Freedom Sunday, a time to do church and civic presentations on trafficking:

• TearFund has established a global prayer movement called One Voice focused on poverty and other driving forces behind slavery.

• An Indian pastor told of 20 churches in Mumbai who are reaching out to sex slaves there.

• Exoduscry.com is making the “Nefarious” film and speakers available to churches and missions. Exodus Cry, which has a booth at Call2All, is a movement of intercessors — people dedicated to praying on behalf of the cause — and abolitionists focusing on human trafficking.

• International House of Prayer leader Allen Hood led the Thursday night plenary session and declared the importance of prayer for justice leading to acts of compassion. He introduced one woman who recently opened a home for former child sex workers in the Philippines after asking God how she could respond to the global problem.

• A group of staff and students from YWAM Kona in Hawaii has completed a book and film project called “Sex+Money” that also aims at exposing the sex trade in the United States.

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