Stories of Modern Day Slavery: Colombia and Worldwide
I was 16 years old the first time I went to Colombia. After stepping off of our Avianca flight and being blasted by heat and humidity we stepped into the airport where we were immediately greeted by a giant poster in Spanish. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it essentially stated, "Welcome to our country! Keep your hands off of our children." I had been in the country for 5 minutes tops and it was already blatant that human trafficking, in particular sex trafficking, was a major issue in this country.
Today the END IT campaign has called for a movement to raise awareness of this terrible truth; that slavery is still an issue and a rising one at that. I've seen several people on campus today with the red X on their hand to spread the word and symbolize that they won't stand for the existence of slavery. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to share a couple of my experiences with human trafficking as an effort to do some of my part to raise awareness of a social justice issue that is close to my heart.
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia is a beautiful resort city on the northern coast of South America. It's a vacation destination in Latin America and a key tourist location for the country with its beaches and historic Walled City. Celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Anderson Cooper, Mel C of the Spice Girls, Charlie Sheen, and Shakira - who is Colombian herself - are a few who love visiting the city or even own a house there. It is truly one of my favorite places I have ever been.
However, the government has made sure to hide the sad truth for the majority of people who live in Cartagena from the tourist eye. The outskirts of the city are filled with displaced people who are refugees from the long fought civil war in the country's interior. A hillside of slums contrasts the Caribbean charm, as the government has seemingly left these people to fend for themselves after having lost everything. Immense poverty, abuse, gang violence, drug violence, and of course human trafficking are a handful of common struggles for these people. In fact, this environment is the ideal breeding ground for trafficking rings. refworld.org cites that one of the groups at the highest risk of enslavement are poor, displaced people, with connections to criminal organizations. Unfortunately, the gangs and drug lords that exist within these slums are known for forcing people, sometimes even relatives, into slavery - often as sex slaves.
We had set up an eye glass clinic in one of the largest and most notorious slums, or "barrios," called Nelson Mandela. Here, we got to provide reading glasses to residents who had been unable to read or do tedious work such as sewing for years, sometimes even decades. (It's a humbling experience to have someone tell you that they will be able to read their Bible for the first time in 20 years or start sewing and making an income again all thanks to a pair of $2 reading glasses.) The best part of this, for me, is being able to get to know the people on a personal level and hear their stories.
I will never forget the woman who told me of her journey to Cartagena. She lived in one of the cities that was ravaged by war, and she tried to flee with her family. Before they even left the city limits, her husband was killed and her seven year old son was kidnapped. The first thought of the fate of her young boy was that he had been taken to be used for sexual exploitation, because she had seen it happen numerous times before to many other children. She arrived in Cartagena with her teenage daughter and they tried to start a new life with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Not long after arriving this woman's daughter was claimed by a local drug lord who forced her into a servile marriage (another form of human slavery). Her daughter was 17 when she told me this story (the same age I was at the time) and by then had two children with this man who physically abused all three of them. This woman shared how trapped she felt. Because this situation is such a common occurance and nothing the police or government would help her with, all she can do is tell her story and pray that God will remain present. I wanted to do something, I wanted to save this family from these horrors of poverty, violence and slavery, but in that moment all I could do was hold her hand, cry with her, and pray with her to our God who still has not - and will never - abandoned her or her family.
Colombia is a main source for women and children to be sexually exploited and for men, women, and children to be forced into labour and exported throughout Latin America, Europe, Asia, and North America - including the United States. The northern coast of Colombia, including Cartagena, is infamous for providing child sex slaves to tourists from all around the world.
After getting ice cream one night, our team met Alex and Alexander. They were two boys around the age of 12 who were selling bracelets to make money for their families. They had not eaten all day so we took them to Frisby Chicken, a popular fast food restaurant, across the street. While we were trying to do a nice thing for these boys a lot of the Colombians stared at us suspiciously. After consideration, we realized that we were being insensitive to the issue of Americans taking advantage of child prostitution in this country. It saddened me that a nice gesture to two hungry boys is suspicious to these people because of how prevalent the concern of human trafficking is in their culture. It is always at the forefront of their minds, for good reason.
During another project, we were on a lunch break and I was having a conversation with the pastor and his wife whom were hosting us for the day while we watched several of the children playing soccer on the beach. The pastor and his wife shared about how several of the children that were right before us had friends and siblings who had been taken, and several of them suffer psychologically after close encounters of being taken themselves.
These kids live in fear every day that they will join the 27,000,000 others who are currently slaves. This fear is a sad reality of the culture that they are growing up in.
Many would be surprised to know that this kind of thing doesn't just happen in Colombia, Cambodia, or other foreign or developing countries. It happens in our own backyards. In the United States the average age of first being sexually trafficked is 12-14 years old, and 300,000 youth are at risk for being trafficked every year in this $32,000,000,000 industry. Right here in central Indiana, just a month ago, a family was charged for sexually exploiting women, forcing them into prostitution and arranged marriages. We need to be aware that this is a global issue and it is only getting worse.
So how do we stop such a large problem? It's hard to picture an end when we don't even know where it begins.
Some don't even know that this is happening, so creating awareness is a start. But we need to be more alert. We may have been in the presence of a victim and not have even known it because they are disguised. I pray every day that God will help me in my discernment, so I can see what He sees. Changes in attitudes, as to not objectify men or women, could likely have an impact on sexual exploitation. The government and law enforcement could also be more attentive. One of the issues in Colombia, for example, is the lack of places for victims to go for help. Shelters can assist those seeking help and escape. Places such as the Julian Center in Indianapolis provide many different services to human trafficking victims. There are many other things that can be done, and the U.S. Department of State has created a list of just 20 of the ways that you can help fight human trafficking. While some of these things may seem small, you can be having a bigger impact than you even realize.
As Christians we have the power of God on our side. But that doesn't mean we just get to sit back and watch Him go to work. It's like the senior pastor at my church always says, "The church is God's plan A for this world, and there is no plan B." God has given us, the church, the power to change the direction of the broken places of this world through Him. Therefore, we need to keep moving and have eyes that see where God wants us to go and what He wants to use us for. Through prayer and making ourselves available to Him, He will reveal our part in fighting the injustices in this world.
"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17
Today the END IT campaign has called for a movement to raise awareness of this terrible truth; that slavery is still an issue and a rising one at that. I've seen several people on campus today with the red X on their hand to spread the word and symbolize that they won't stand for the existence of slavery. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to share a couple of my experiences with human trafficking as an effort to do some of my part to raise awareness of a social justice issue that is close to my heart.
Cartagena de Indias, Colombia is a beautiful resort city on the northern coast of South America. It's a vacation destination in Latin America and a key tourist location for the country with its beaches and historic Walled City. Celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Anderson Cooper, Mel C of the Spice Girls, Charlie Sheen, and Shakira - who is Colombian herself - are a few who love visiting the city or even own a house there. It is truly one of my favorite places I have ever been.
However, the government has made sure to hide the sad truth for the majority of people who live in Cartagena from the tourist eye. The outskirts of the city are filled with displaced people who are refugees from the long fought civil war in the country's interior. A hillside of slums contrasts the Caribbean charm, as the government has seemingly left these people to fend for themselves after having lost everything. Immense poverty, abuse, gang violence, drug violence, and of course human trafficking are a handful of common struggles for these people. In fact, this environment is the ideal breeding ground for trafficking rings. refworld.org cites that one of the groups at the highest risk of enslavement are poor, displaced people, with connections to criminal organizations. Unfortunately, the gangs and drug lords that exist within these slums are known for forcing people, sometimes even relatives, into slavery - often as sex slaves.
We had set up an eye glass clinic in one of the largest and most notorious slums, or "barrios," called Nelson Mandela. Here, we got to provide reading glasses to residents who had been unable to read or do tedious work such as sewing for years, sometimes even decades. (It's a humbling experience to have someone tell you that they will be able to read their Bible for the first time in 20 years or start sewing and making an income again all thanks to a pair of $2 reading glasses.) The best part of this, for me, is being able to get to know the people on a personal level and hear their stories.
I will never forget the woman who told me of her journey to Cartagena. She lived in one of the cities that was ravaged by war, and she tried to flee with her family. Before they even left the city limits, her husband was killed and her seven year old son was kidnapped. The first thought of the fate of her young boy was that he had been taken to be used for sexual exploitation, because she had seen it happen numerous times before to many other children. She arrived in Cartagena with her teenage daughter and they tried to start a new life with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Not long after arriving this woman's daughter was claimed by a local drug lord who forced her into a servile marriage (another form of human slavery). Her daughter was 17 when she told me this story (the same age I was at the time) and by then had two children with this man who physically abused all three of them. This woman shared how trapped she felt. Because this situation is such a common occurance and nothing the police or government would help her with, all she can do is tell her story and pray that God will remain present. I wanted to do something, I wanted to save this family from these horrors of poverty, violence and slavery, but in that moment all I could do was hold her hand, cry with her, and pray with her to our God who still has not - and will never - abandoned her or her family.
Colombia is a main source for women and children to be sexually exploited and for men, women, and children to be forced into labour and exported throughout Latin America, Europe, Asia, and North America - including the United States. The northern coast of Colombia, including Cartagena, is infamous for providing child sex slaves to tourists from all around the world.
After getting ice cream one night, our team met Alex and Alexander. They were two boys around the age of 12 who were selling bracelets to make money for their families. They had not eaten all day so we took them to Frisby Chicken, a popular fast food restaurant, across the street. While we were trying to do a nice thing for these boys a lot of the Colombians stared at us suspiciously. After consideration, we realized that we were being insensitive to the issue of Americans taking advantage of child prostitution in this country. It saddened me that a nice gesture to two hungry boys is suspicious to these people because of how prevalent the concern of human trafficking is in their culture. It is always at the forefront of their minds, for good reason.
During another project, we were on a lunch break and I was having a conversation with the pastor and his wife whom were hosting us for the day while we watched several of the children playing soccer on the beach. The pastor and his wife shared about how several of the children that were right before us had friends and siblings who had been taken, and several of them suffer psychologically after close encounters of being taken themselves.
These kids live in fear every day that they will join the 27,000,000 others who are currently slaves. This fear is a sad reality of the culture that they are growing up in.
Many would be surprised to know that this kind of thing doesn't just happen in Colombia, Cambodia, or other foreign or developing countries. It happens in our own backyards. In the United States the average age of first being sexually trafficked is 12-14 years old, and 300,000 youth are at risk for being trafficked every year in this $32,000,000,000 industry. Right here in central Indiana, just a month ago, a family was charged for sexually exploiting women, forcing them into prostitution and arranged marriages. We need to be aware that this is a global issue and it is only getting worse.
So how do we stop such a large problem? It's hard to picture an end when we don't even know where it begins.
Some don't even know that this is happening, so creating awareness is a start. But we need to be more alert. We may have been in the presence of a victim and not have even known it because they are disguised. I pray every day that God will help me in my discernment, so I can see what He sees. Changes in attitudes, as to not objectify men or women, could likely have an impact on sexual exploitation. The government and law enforcement could also be more attentive. One of the issues in Colombia, for example, is the lack of places for victims to go for help. Shelters can assist those seeking help and escape. Places such as the Julian Center in Indianapolis provide many different services to human trafficking victims. There are many other things that can be done, and the U.S. Department of State has created a list of just 20 of the ways that you can help fight human trafficking. While some of these things may seem small, you can be having a bigger impact than you even realize.
As Christians we have the power of God on our side. But that doesn't mean we just get to sit back and watch Him go to work. It's like the senior pastor at my church always says, "The church is God's plan A for this world, and there is no plan B." God has given us, the church, the power to change the direction of the broken places of this world through Him. Therefore, we need to keep moving and have eyes that see where God wants us to go and what He wants to use us for. Through prayer and making ourselves available to Him, He will reveal our part in fighting the injustices in this world.
"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17
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