Thursday, 02 October 2008

• Currently Reading Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It By David Batstone see related

  Wow - it has been about a month and a half since I've written. Not doing too great so far on the consistency thing, huh? Hopefully I'll get better - this past month has been very busy, but it looks like things will be settling down.

  Having just been required by one of my classes to take the "StregthsQuest" test, I learned that one of my top five strengths is Intellection. This, I'm told, means that I like to bounce around ideas in my head all the time, and that I'm always thinking about something. I would say that's pretty accurate, actually; I don't think that there is ever a time that I am not bouncing some idea or thought around in my head. Being an introvert, I like to draw away from the crowds (which can be hard to do in a dorm setting!) and just process whatever it is that I've been thinking about. I'm not usually the best at voicing my thoughts, which is why I was drawn to xanga so many years ago - it was a way for me to let out the things I had been thinking about without having to acutally say it to someone.

  So for anyone who's still reading, that's what I'm aiming to do in this post: Just let out a topic that has been in my mind and on my heart for some time now.

  This summer, each member of the freshman class entering Grace college was required to read Not for Sale by David Batstone. It's a non-fiction book reporting various true-life stories of human trafficking today. Did you catch that? Human trafficking - TODAY. Call me sheltered or naiive or whatever you want to call me, but I was shocked upon reading this. I didn't know that slavery still existed in our world today. And I don't even mean only in the poorest third-world countries; I mean just about every country. I mean Thailand. I mean Africa. And yes - I mean the United States.

  Did you know that there are human trafficking rings in the United States? Am I the only one who was blind to it? - I don't think so. I know that most in my class who read this book were completely caught off-guard by the statistics we heard.

  For instance, did you know that human trafficking today is tied with the illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry worldwide (second only to illegal drug dealing)? - And that it is the fastest-growing criminal industry? There are twice as many people being held in slavery today as were trafficked in the trans-Atlantic slave trade during the 1700's and 1800's combined. There are an estimated 26 million people in slavery today, 80% of whom are women and children, and 70% of whom are being exploited for sex trafficking. 

  Reading/discussing this book and attending last week's chapels has been an incredibly eye-opening experience for me. How can this be so prevalent in our world today, and still be so invisible and silent? Who will be the voice for the oppressed? As Christians, we are told that it is our responsibility to defend the defenseless. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world," says James 1:27. Where are the Christians in this movement? We should be the ones fighting on the front lines...but so many do not even know about these injustices, let alone what our part should look like.

  I know that that is the boat I am in right now. "With great power comes great responsibility" - and I believe that it is the same with knowledge. According to James 4:17, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." I don't know exactly what my part in this will look like, but I do know that now that my eyes have been opened, I feel like I must do something. I'm not sure what that "something" will look like; maybe it will simply be making sure I am sharing what I have learned with my friends and family, or maybe the Lord will call me to work directly with people who have been trafficked. I don't know where He is leading, but I know that He has awakened my heart to this or a reason.

  If you would like to look up more information about this, there are many websites you can go to. Some that were brought to our attention this week are:

  www.notforsalecampaign.org
  www.slaverymap.org
  www.stopthetraffik.org
  www.ijm.org
  www.sharedhope.org
  www.invisiblechildren.com

  Don't take my word for what is happening in the world; find out for yourself. Look at these websites or read David Batstone's book. Anyone can get involved in this; even if you're not called to go overseas and fight this firsthand, you could be involved by helping to spread the news, helping to support an organization financially or materially, and of course through our most potent (yet probably most underestimated) weapon - prayer.

  I pray that the Lord would show me where He wants me in this picture, and I pray the He would also show you where you can be involved.

  Haz justicia

  God Bless, Ronae

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