Last night Jamie and I were invited to watch a documentary
called Nefarious at Chestnut Ridge Church in Morgantown. We were unsure whether
we would go as we were both pretty tired and we are both a fairly well informed
on the subject. Jamie and I have both served with ministries in the Red LightDistrict in Amsterdam, and we even went into a facility in the states to try to
gather evidence of a suspected illegal operation. We keep our eyes peeled any
time we travel for signs of potential trafficking or slaving operations
existing even here in the US. We also
have a good friend who is legal counsel for the Freedom Center in Cincinnati,OH and a few friends at International Justice Mission.
As the start time
approached, we decided to go to watch the documentary because we knew from the
trailer that it talked about Amsterdam’s Red Light District, and because we
like to show support for initiatives to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking. As I
mentioned, the film was being shown at Chestnut Ridge Church, so we had a bit
of a drive to get there (30 minutes), but the trip was definitely worth it.
I was really impressed that the church was choosing to get
involved in modern day abolition activities, and the organizer, Karen Haring,
had told me that she was trying to take steps to get more involved personally
in issues like this. We saw a number of friends in attendance at the event,
including another couple with whom I had traveled to Amsterdam for a short-term
service/mission trip in 2005. So the event also served as a reunion of sorts.
As far as the film is concerned, it is fairly graphic in its
portrayal of sex slavery, sex trafficking, and prostitution, and is filled with
heartbreaking statistics and stories, but in the end shares hope and some
success stories. Benjamin Nolot, the founder of a group called Exodus Cry which
was started by members of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City,
created the film, and it documents four years of his travels to learn more
about and bring awareness to this multi-billion dollar industry that is
destroying millions of lives.
My own journey with Nuru has been launched because I see
extreme poverty as a strong catalyst for trafficking in some parts of the
world. Desperate people do some pretty horrific things in an effort to survive
sometimes. It’s also true that wicked people do some very wicked things in the
name of greed or lust. The world needs more passionate, results-oriented activists working to break the bonds of injustuce in our world.
Whether or not the film comes your way, I highly recommend
that you learn more about modern day slavery and human trafficking. GaryHaugen, the founder of International Justice Mission has written a couple of
great books on the issue that document what people can do about it Good NewsAbout Injustice and Just Courage). Another great book is called, Not ForSale by David Batstone. Get informed and get involved.
This world needs more people who are willing to move past
talking about issues to start taking tangible action to make it a better place.
Will you take a step?
