Human Trafficking

A man claiming to be Abubakar Shekau, leader of a militant Islamist group, issued a statement this past week that he plans to sell the school girls that his band of abducted recently in Nigeria.  Whether sold, or kept in bondage, the fate of these girls is a nightmare which is likely to result in sexual slavery to those who hold them in chains. 

According the U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2010, the number of adults and children currently in forced labor, bonded labor and forced prostitution is 12.3 million. Worldwide, 1.8 per 1,000 persons is a victim of human trafficking, increasing to 3 persons per 1,000 in Asia and the Pacific. Sixty-two countries have yet to convict a trafficker under the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, and 104 countries have yet to establish laws or regulations regarding human trafficking. (Fact Sheet)

Did you know that the Super Bowl is the highest money-making weekend of the year for those who profit from human trafficking?  As football fans descend on host cities, many of them will also be going online on their computers, or making phone calls, to place an order - an order for a human being.  An order for a child made in God’s image.  They may order someone Caucasian, or African, or Asian, or Hispanic.  They may choose any gender and almost any age, most likely very young.  And they will pay for it with cash or a credit card.  And I was naïve enough to think that slavery ended with the Civil War.  No, those who profit from slavery have just become more sophisticated about how they ply their trade.

And lest we think this is a problem for Third World nations or big cities, only, my sister recently told me about an incident in a small town in western North Carolina last month.  Modern day slavery is happening right under our noses.

This summer I will be riding a bicycle across the United States.  I treasure the freedom I have to take on such an adventure, and I ache for those who have been denied their freedom to flourish, to do meaningful work, to have the leisure to play.  Even more, my heart breaks for those who are oppressed and forced into demeaning sexual exploitation.  So, as I ride I will be hoping to raise awareness and funds to help put a stop to human trafficking, or at least to put a pinch in this criminal economy which is second only to trafficking in drugs. 

To read a bit more and to donate, click here --- Pedaling to Stop Traffic.