Special News--August 2023
Evil Inc.Trafficking Children for SexGetting Informed--Taking Action
"God's children are not for sale."
The Sound of Freedom (2023)------------
Overview
In this Update (#86), we focus on one aspect of human trafficking: the widespread and egregious practice of child sex trafficking. We feature the new film, Sound of Freedom (released 4 July in the USA). You can watch the trailer HERE.
"Sound of Freedom is the story of Tim Ballard, a former U.S. government agent, who quit his job in order to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers" (from the Operation Underground Railroad website). The film focuses on his efforts with others to rescue two siblings abducted and trafficked for sex in the Americas. It appeals to people to get informed and involved in the fight against sex trafficking.
"You can sell a bag of cocaine one time. But a child, the most precious child,
you can sell a five-year-old kid 5 to 10 times a day for 10 years straight."
The Sound of Freedom (2023)
We also share several other resources to help you get further informed and involved in the fight against human trafficking including child sex trafficking. A main example is the annual World Day Against Trafficking in Persons which is commemorated on 30 July (now in its 10th year).
We conclude the Update with some personal reflections on being "people of faith-hope-love" in the Christian tradition who embrace "common ground for the common good."
Suggested Applications--Making It Personal
- Review the resources below. Are there additional ones that you would recommend?
- Probe further into one or more of the resources in this Update.
- Watch the Sound of Freedom. If you are in the USA then make it a point to view it in a theater (while it is still being shown--locations are on the website). Make a note to periodically look at the Angel Studios website to see if the film is available to stream online.
--Consider a special way for you and others you know to commemorate World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on or aroound 30 July. We think that going through this Update can be a great way to do so! - Share this Update with your colleagues, organization(s), and network(s). Discuss practical applications for your life and work.
Going further--see these Global Integration Updates:
Warm greetings,
Kelly and Michèle
MCAresources@gmail.com
Featured Resources
Evil Inc.
Trafficking Children for Sex
Getting Informed--Taking Action
Source--Getty images, human trafficking section
"Over two million children a year are being sucked into the deepest recesses of hell. Trust me, man, if we do nothing, their pain is going to spread and spread until someday it’s going to reach the likes of you. And that will be a nightmare that you’re never going to wake up from." The Sound of Freedom (2023)
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Sound of Freedom Angel Studies (released 4 July 2023)
This new film focuses on one aspect of human trafficking--the widespread and egregious practice of child sex trafficking. Sound of Freedom is based on "the story of Tim Ballard, a former U.S. government agent, who quit his job in order to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers" (from the Operation Underground Railroad website).The film recounts his efforts with others to rescue two siblings abducted and trafficked for sex in the Americas. It appeals to people to get informed and involved in the fight against sex trafficking.
This movie is currently being shown in USA theaters and hopefully will be available online in due course via Angel Studios' "pay forward" sharing and marketing strategy. You can watch the trailer HERE. See also the review of historical accuracy of this film on the Hollywood or History website. Note--this movie is not for children to watch--take the PG-13 rating seriously!
Note that the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that about 50 million people are currently in forced labor or forced marriage and nearly 5 million women and girls are exploited via forced commercial sex (2021). More stats and a short overview video are on the ILO website. The actual statistics on the number of children exploited each year for child sex vary from 2 million to five million children (1Saved website).
"Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception for exploitation. In every region of the world, traffickers exploit vulnerable women, girls, men, and boys of all backgrounds for profit. Traffickers often use violence, blackmail, emotional manipulation, removal of official documents, fraudulent employment agencies, and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims. Even without knowing, we might have come across its victims." UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Blue Heart Campaign
Going Further
Getting Informed and Taking Action
The annual World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is approaching--30 July! (now in its 10th year and organized by the United Nations and observed by many organizations and people). The theme this year is "Reach Every Victim of Trafficking--Leave No One Behind." More info on the UN web site linked above.
For more information ideas about taking action to fight the various forms of human trafficking see:
--Angel Studios (which holds the rights to the film Sound of Freedom) has several suggestions in a section of their website to “Join the Fight Against Child Trafficking.”
--US Department Of Homeland Security website includes materials and training to recognize the signs of human trafficking.
--International Justice Mission (IJM) has various materials and extensive experience focusing on modern slavery and abuse. Watch the compelling Ted Talk by IJM's founder Gary Haugen on "The Hidden Reason for Poverty the World Needs to Address Now."
--US Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) (Human Trafficking section) has a series of short educational videos that orient viewers to the different “Faces of Human Trafficking” with accompanying materials like “Fact Sheets” and a discussion guide. These can be used in a variety of settings, including churches and community centers.
--The Polaris Project has helpful information on human trafficking including sections on "Myths, Facts, and Statistics" and "25 Human Trafficking Business Models."
Note that there are many more organizations and resources for fighting human trafficking. The "causes" (primary and reinforcing causes) are also many and often complex starting from individual and group evil to systemic and structural evil. Add in poverty and other "survival" realities too. Further, note that complicity on many fronts can be more widespread--and uncomfortably closer to home--than we may want to admit: "If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one." (Spotlight film, 2015)
Personal Reflections
Being People of Faith-Hope-Love
California Coastline USA--Image courtesy and © ENOD 2016
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.
This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964
As people of faith who practice Christian spirituality, we are committed to responsibly engage with others in the challenges facing our world, locally through globally, while holding firmly to our belief that we are in God's hands. We pray that God's purposes "will be done on earth as they are in heaven;" acknowledge that prayer, repentance, and relationship with God are key to human-planetary wellbeing; and live in hope for the time when God through Jesus Christ will decisively intervene in human history with equity--righteousness and justice--to restore all things. And in the meantime, we seek to embrace lifestyles of integrity that prioritize a deep, practical love for truth, peace, and people--and this includes being willing to acknowledge, resist, and confront evil in its many forms (starting with ourselves ourselves, etc.).
We do not want to further problematize our world's plight by focusing primarily on the negative. Rather we want to also promote the many examples of the good going forward, as people of integrity find common ground for the common good.
Finally, we want to highlight that the despair and disillusion that result from seemingly intractable problems like corruption can also be quite positive. They can embody a crucial existential message about reality that can be "revisited"--explored and heeded--rather than simply "resisted." They can point us to Someone who is bigger than ourselves, the SDGs, humanity, and our world--the knowable, Eternal One who is both in and beyond space-time and who loves us all dearly.
The above thoughts build upon the Personal Reflections in Perils, Paralysis, Hope: Sustainable Development-Sustainable Destruction? (Global Integration Update, October 2022).
Member Care Associates
MCAresources@gmail.com
Member Care Associates Inc. (MCA) is a non-profit, Christian organization working internationally from Geneva and the USA. MCA's involvement in Global Integration focuses on the wellbeing and effectiveness of personnel and their organizations across sectors (e.g., mission, humanitarian, peace, health, and development sectors) as well as global mental health and integrity/anti-corruption, all with a view towards collaboratively supporting sustainable development for all people and the planet. Our services include consultation, training, research, resource development, and publications.
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