I grew up in Santa Cruz, 70 miles south of San Francisco so when I traveled to the Bay City in June to work with Not for Sale, the anti trafficking group, it was a bit like coming home. But then again, it was anything but home.
The experience there was shattering and humbling. I spent two weeks working with Not for Sale in the heart of the city, learning their processes for battling and ending modern day slavery in our day. I knew I had to go to be part of this. I know now it’s something I can never now ignore.
I’ll spare you the details and statistics behind the trafficking crisis in the US and around the world. If you want to horror stories, look up the website, http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/. Instead I’ll tell you a bit of what I learned about strategies to address the crisis and how ordinary people can participate in a very significant way.
“Not for Sale” is now the fastest growing NGO focusing on human trafficking in the world. They are achieving this success because they are building “open source” tools for grass roots teams and churches all over the world to contribute to the battle against slavery. NFS does not so much do the work as facilitate it. Along this line NFS is developing three interactive websites where local information about slavery can be gathered and made available to the world. A good part of our training centered around learning how to use these tools and how to get various small groups and teams involved in using them.
The first tool is the public site http://www.slaverymap.org/. This is a map program where anyone can register and post documented cases of trafficking on the map location where the crime occurred. The idea here is to assemble on one map all official cases of trafficking. This information will then be used for public awareness, for developing public policy, and for tracking the patterns and evolution of the problem. While there our Minnesota team (three of us) posted three documented cases from the Cities. There are many more still to address, a task one or more of our small groups could easily take up!
The second tool is also a public site called http://www.free2work.org/. This project follows the supply chain of a given consumer product identifying which companies along the production process use slave labor. Example: If the shirt I’m wearing was made in Indonesia, I can trace back from the retail store to the distribution system to the factory (or sweat shop) where it was sown, to the thread manufacturer, to the cotton producer, etc. Their goal is to have on this website the supply chains of tens of thousands of products. This information can then be used to inform consumers and pressure companies who in turn can influence suppliers to change labor practices. It has huge potential.
Both of these public sites are simple tools that our ministries and/or small groups could learn to use as entry-level involvement in this movement. Just a few small tasks and they can have a very tangible impact on the battle for liberation. Any one of these projects can be done with small commitment or significant commitment. I believe they can become excellent optional ingredients to add in to the recipe of our ministries, small groups, classes, worship sites, etc.
The third tool is more requires more commitment. NFS has designed a second tier on-line “slavery map” where certified investigators (that’s the training I went through) can supervise groups that gather evidence of suspicious activities in high probability trafficking sites in Minnesota. During our time in SF we already identified 20 such sites. We can now assemble teams that we can we can direct to begin to build cases that we may eventually be able to bring to the Minnesota Anti-Trafficking Task Force and/or the FBI.
The fourth tool that NFS is developing is a network of aftercare services and service providers for those rescued from slavery. As the movement builds we will need trained individuals/families/small group communities to care for and minister to survivors. This is a massive need, as you might imagine.
The fifth tool involves NFS international anti-trafficking projects and exploits. Right now NFS has active operations and open cases in Uganda, Ghana, and Peru, with open doors in several other nations as well. They need short term teams willing to travel and document existing cases and in some cases implement “rescue.” Right now in Ghana NFS has a short term team working on a large fresh water lake intercepting fishing boats filled with child slaves and moving these children to safe houses. They have a similar operation in Peru. And presently in Uganda they need as many short term volunteers as they can get to document more than 7,000 cases of child-warrior cases. Three people from our class went on to Uganda last month. The window for these kinds of efforts is often very short.
Personally, I was deeply moved by my experience and tremendously challenged. Now the real work begins. North Heights has a team already working in anti-trafficking called “Servants of Mercy.” I’m diving with them. One of my goals is to link former YWAMers in with this cause.
As an ambassador for Jesus, my life does not belong to me. I am a “slave” for Jesus Christ, sent to release slaves into the arms of their Heavenly Father. Ironic, isn’t it…
Beliefnet Daily
