Season of Light: A Blog to End Child Trafficking

What I've Been Through is Not Who I Am

2012-01-13T12:17:00.000-05:00

Fascinating, heartbreaking, eye-opening video from ECPAT-USA.

Child sexual exploitation and trafficking is a complex problem that needs a lot of smart minds, focused thinking, and a comprehensive response from our government, law enforcement, legal system, and everyday people like you and me. This video gives us some things to consider.

And in response to my earlier post, Fragmented Mirrors, I give kudos to ECPAT, Polaris Project, GEMS, WITNESS, and Shared Hope International for joining forces and collaborating on this video.

1/11/12 Human Trafficking Awareness Day

2012-01-11T15:02:00.003-05:00

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

In honor of those who are currently enslaved throughout this country and around the world, consider doing any one of the following things today:

Donate $2 to provide emergency supplies to a survivor (via Philanthroper for Polaris Project)
Apply for the 2012 International Justice Mission Freedom Tour--a cycling tour from Cincinnati to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in DC
Read "Girls Like Us" by GEMS founder Rachel Lloyd
Buy and carry the Stop Sex Trafficking for Life Celebrity bag from the Body Shop
Buy and wear a Sevenly shirt that benefits Somaly Mam this week
Find and join a local Love146 Task Force
Download the Free2Work app on your phone to become a more conscious consumer
Set up a Google Alert for "child trafficking + [[your city]] [[your state]]" to be aware of what's going on nearby and how you can help
Wear the same dress for six months straight
Put the National Human Trafficking Hotline number in your phone contact list: 1-888-3737-888
Read this MTV article for 5 more easy ways to take action on Human Trafficking Awareness Day
Oh yeah--and spread the word! If you like any of these ideas, share this blog post on your social networks

I'll leave you with a great sentiment from one my favorite abolitionists, Rob Morris (@RobLove146):

Fragmented Mirrors

2012-01-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

I saw this quote on Twitter today:

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton

The quote was in the back of my mind when I read this article (two pieces of anti-trafficking coverage in a row for Forbes, btw): How to End Sex Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery. It's an article interviewing Siddharth Kara, a well-known author and fellow at the Carr Center. It's an educated and informed look at the evolution of awareness about human trafficking and the subsequent public response. Kara observes:

[A] primary challenge has to do with the inability of activists in the field to catalyze a more unified grassroots movement to combat the issue. The antislavery movement remains highly fragmented, and as a result, its ability to mobilize social opinion and lawmakers on the issue has been hampered.

It frustrates me when people want to spend time criticizing and belittling other organizations' efforts instead of recognizing their common desire--to end trafficking and modern-day slavery--and using that as an impetus to work together. It's true that some people, no matter how good intentioned, are doing more harm than good. It's true that sometimes stories are sensationalized and blown out of proportion. However, I think that as a whole, abolitionists need to put politics and personal vendettas aside in favor of greater partnerships. Let's keep in mind who the real adversary is here.

I know--easier said than done. Maybe a united resolution for 2012?

Because, let's face it: mirrors that have become "highly fragmented" simply aren't going to reflect the candle the way that they should.

Photo by Artnow314

Tech Advances and Human Trafficking Month

2012-01-06T11:42:00.002-05:00

Photo by tvol

As you might have seen, President Obama has designated January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month.

This is just one of the ways the government has been putting an increased focus on human trafficking prevention. The Department of Homeland Security has launched a website specifically on the topic of human trafficking (see it here), which includes providing a daily e-mail news update on human trafficking/smuggling; offering multi-lingual online resources for vulnerable populations; and creating and disseminating free training tools for law enforcement to use in identifying situations of trafficking.

All of these developments (and, let's be honest, my recent return to Twitter) got me thinking: technology is truly a double-edged sword when it comes to child sex trafficking. The Internet has made it easier than ever to sell children as commodities, widely distribute pornography, and has successfully forced prostitution off the streets and deeper behind closed doors. However, there are a number of ways technology is aiding the fight against child trafficking, as well. For instance, in addition to the advances described above, this Forbes article ("Technology, Business, and Anti-Human Trafficking Innovation") talks about campaigns by digital ad agencies and tech powerhouses like Google and Microsoft to address trafficking issues. Microsoft has issued a $150,000 request for proposals to create technology that helps identify johns who are attempting to purchase victims.

In addition, Google has helped redesign the CyberTipline (run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) in order to make it more user-friendly, easier to navigate, and easier to report child sexual exploitation.

It's encouraging to see the U.S. government and giant U.S.-based tech companies taking notice of human trafficking, doing more to publicize its occurrence, and using technology in a practical way to make inroads against it.

What about you--is there anything you've seen this January that has made you feel encouraged in the fight against child sex trafficking?

Psychological Warfare

2011-12-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

For the past three months I've been leading a new Love146 Task Force and it has been very eye-opening, to say the least. The group had our third meeting this past Wednesday, and spent some time talking about the various psychological warfare tactics that traffickers use to accomplish their goal.

After the meeting I had a chance to catch up with a lovely girl who had just moved back to Hartford from Columbus, Ohio, where she had been involved with a ministry called Rahab's Hideaway. Even though I've been learning about child sex trafficking for years now, I was newly astounded at the depth and time traffickers are willing to put into luring new victims. The founder of Rahab's Hideaway has shared about how she was personally pulled in by a husband and wife team who moved into her neighborhood and for over a year and a half built the trust of the local kids--AND their parents.

We talked about how traffickers will use their "bottom girls" to register as students at local high schools and attend classes for the sole purpose of meeting girls, gaining their trust, and eventually trafficking them into the life. Often they look for the girls with low self esteem, who have bad family situations--the ones who can be "easily separated from the pack." However, this can also happen to girls who are "well-off" or even who come from stable home environments. If you are a lonely young girl who is desperate to be loved, you have a target on your back.

Education is critical. This week Love146 held a presentation at a Connecticut high school to talk frankly about the reality of trafficking and the tactics that traffickers use. Truthfully, I think this should become as commonplace a discussion as the anti-drug education we provide to our students.

GEMS put together this 5-minute video called "The Making of a Girl." I think it's fantastic at showing the psychological game traffickers have mastered--and gives us a chance to start thinking and understanding where we have to start providing education, awareness, and emotional support as a counterattack.

Searching for Good

2011-12-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

Today, Google retained its position as my favorite search engine (sorry, Bing) by announcing an $11.5 million grant to fight trafficking globally.

It's believed to be the largest-ever corporate grant devoted to fighting slavery.

IJM (International Justice Mission) will partner with Polaris Project and Slavery Footprint, as well as several other organizations, to lead the grant's initiative. The initiative consists of three parts:

Fighting forced labor in India
Education and advocacy campaigns, also in India
Mobilizing Americans to act in the fight against modern-day slavery

You can read more about it here. Or... you could Google it (ha.)

And while I applaud Google for this awesome effort, I also have to mention another fantastic search engine that deserves our support. Check out GoodSearch--you can select your favorite charity (like Love146 or many other trafficking organizations) and every time you use the site for searching, they will donate money to your cause.

Turns out that at least for today, you don't have to look too far if you're searching for good.

The Launch of Born to Fly

2011-12-11T14:55:00.001-05:00

It's officially here--

Diana Scimone's e-book, Born to Fly, is available for purchase. I've read it and think it's a fantastic story. Diana has written a beautiful allegory that is entertaining and teaches kids how to make wise choices and avoid traffickers (here portrayed as "Dream Thieves") in a meaningful and age-appropriate way. As she says on her organization's website, wherever kids receive awareness training, the rate of child sex trafficking plummets.

The book is $5.99, and proceeds go to Born 2 Fly International to help prevent child sex trafficking. Consider purchasing one for yourself or as a gift for someone else. It's a very sweet story and more importantly, every dollar will have a tangible impact on the fight against child trafficking.

See the Born to Fly Facebook page and read an excerpt from the story on Amazon.com. There is even a chapter-by-chapter curriculum for teachers and parents, available here, to help children learn and process what they are reading.

Congratulations, Diana! What an accomplishment. I am thrilled that your hard work has paid off and I know that this book will serve such a practical and honorable purpose: educating and protecting children before they can become tricked and exploited.

More on Diana and Born2Fly:

Born to Fly International founder and director Diana Scimone is ajournalist who has traveled to more than 40 countries including Sudan, Zimbabwe, Thailand, China, and India. In 2003 she founded PawPaw’s Pals, Inc.—now called Born to Fly International—to respond to some of the most critical needs she has seen among the world’s children.

In the past, the non-profit organization has donated tens of thousands of dollars to help tsunami victims in Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka; childen in Vietnam disfigured by land mines; child slaves kidnapped in Sudan; AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe, and many other children around the world who live in tragedy, war, disease, and degradation.

Today Born to Fly International is focused solely on stopping the worldwide pandemic of child sex trafficking.

The Power of Print

2011-09-22T15:53:00.002-04:00

As a writer, I love to see ways the written word can have a significant impact on fighting child sex trafficking. Here are two ways that books and magazines are providing ammunition in the prevention side of the trafficking fight:

Born 2 Fly: Diana Scimone has made some incredibly major strides since the last time I wrote about her. Her wordless book, which is designed to make it easy to teach children how to avoid being trafficked regardless of where they live in the world and what language they speak, has been finished and is now in a rigorous testing phase around the world. Testing has already been completed in Russia and Bulgaria and is currently going on in the Philippines and Thailand. A companion curriculum will be distributed to schools, NGOs, etc. to help children understand the concepts presented in the book. This is huge. Diana has been working on this project for years and it's incredibly exciting to see it on the brink of being distributed globally. To support the Born2Fly project, click here.

Escape Magazine, Love146: Moldova is a hotbed for trafficking youth in Eastern Europe. To help stay current on the latest deceptions that traffickers employ, and to raise awareness of trafficking for young people in the area, Escape magazine is published every two months. It's a pop culture publication that also educates a readership of 100,000+ on how they can avoid being trafficked. The magazine has been deemed such a success that a pilot program is also being introduced in Ukraine. To support the efforts of Escape magazine, click here.

Yes, aftercare is a critically important part of the battle, but remember: prevention is what is ultimately going to win the war. Sometimes the pen really is mightier than the sword.

Image by ToastyTreat87

JBM

2011-09-14T15:21:00.000-04:00

To my infant son:

Did you know that--years before you were even born--you were a reason I first became involved with Love146 and decided to start this blog? I remember thinking that I wanted to do something, no matter how small, to try to change this world for the better before you came into it. Although sometimes it seems too big to hope for, I want the trafficking of children to be something that ends while we are both living and breathing on this earth.

Often when you are sleeping in my arms I think of the children I have met, not so many years older than you, who have already experienced the antithesis of childhood and of love. Sometimes it is for them that I tell you over and over again how much I love you, and hold you maybe just a bit too tightly. Part of me looks at your little eyes and ears and never wants you to even know that such evil exists in the world. But I am fiercely aware of my responsibility as your mother: to raise you to love others; to have courage and compassion for what is difficult and heartbreaking; to act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

There are little boys who grow up to be pimps and traffickers and johns, and there are little boys who grow up to be heroes in the fight against injustices, both large and small. At some point my parental guidance will end and the choices that will determine what kind of man you become will begin. But right now, I will cherish your innocence, hold you in my arms, and pray that your heart never breaks except when it's in compassion for those who need it most.

Image by SanShoot

Inspired.

2011-09-12T17:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the ten-year anniversary of 9/11. It also happened to be the day that Love146 came to my new church, Calvary Fellowship.

Maybe it was the new-mom hormones, or the memories that I have of the Love146 partnership trip that so easily rise up again, or the fact that yesterday was bound to be a raw day for all Americans, but I alternated between crying and beaming throughout Rob's entire talk.

I was thrilled to see that Calvary taped and has made Rob's message available online. I can't encourage you enough to hear it for yourself.

"God's Justice and Mercy in the Midst of Trafficking" from Calvary Fellowship on Vimeo.

How appropriate, on the anniversary of a day that brought so much sorrow, to be inspired to look forward with such audacious hope:

"I believe in a God who brings beauty from ashes. And the crazy, insane thing of it all is that he uses people like us to do it." - Rob Morris

I'm looking forward to meeting the future abolitionists who will rise up in the Hartford area over the next year as a result of this first step.

P.S. It was the highlight of my week to see you again, Rob and Matt!

A Piece of Justice

2011-01-31T21:18:00.000-05:00

Image by Elycefeliz

A man who was running a child sex ring of young boys in Thailand has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

"John Wrenshall created a place where innocent children were sexually brutalized as a vacation pastime," Fishman said. "It is fitting that a man who has condemned children to live with unimaginable scars for his pleasure and profit should spend decades of his own life in a prison cell."

This is the kind of news that simultaneously can break your heart and give you hope. The days of the predator are numbered, and today, there's a small piece of justice for Wrenshall's victims.

Better Late Than Never

2011-01-26T21:01:00.000-05:00

Finally, Massachusetts!

For a state that is infamous for its taxes and laws, I'm surprised that 46 other states have beaten us to this punch. Attorney General Martha Coakley is finally calling for legislation that would make human trafficking for sex in Massachusetts a crime.

The law will make sexual trafficking a punishable offense by 20 years in prison, with harsher penalties for trafficking cases involving minors.

This is an important first step and I hope it will soon be followed by a vested interest in funding anti-trafficking programs in the state and making anti-trafficking more of a priority here.

Meanwhile, in central Pennsylvania, lawmakers are pushing to make trafficking hotlines "prominently visible" in all massage parlors, nuisance motels, and any place with a liquor license. Other measures for better protecting victims of trafficking include making sure that "prostitution" does not appear on their criminal records.

Keep it up, politicians. Glad to see some of you are using your time in office wisely.

When Is a Broken Heart Worth Celebrating?

2011-01-19T21:57:00.001-05:00

Love146 says, when it changes the world.

The Broken Heart Club from LOVE146 on Vimeo.

Being an abolitionist means being willing to voluntarily join the Broken Heart Club:

"[A] final comfort that is small, but not cold: The heart is the only broken instrument that works." ~T.E. Kalem

Become a Biographer

2010-07-20T19:28:00.002-04:00

BE A BIOGRAPHER - Take The Blind Project Design Challenge from The Blind Project on Vimeo.

CNN: Rescuing Girls from Sex Slavery

2010-04-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged for a while, and I apologize! Good stuff is coming soon. In the meantime, check out this CNN video.

Beautiful Faces

2010-03-31T18:53:00.000-04:00

I've written about them before, but it's worth checking out again:
www.theblindproject.com

ABC News: In Cambodia, American Evangelicals Fight to End Child Sex Trafficking

2010-03-25T19:58:00.003-04:00

I have actually met Clay once before and in the few minutes we talked, I thought he was one of the most amazing people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Couldn't believe it when I saw him in this ABC News story...

So glad to see what you are doing right now in Cambodia, Clay. Hope to run into you again someday and hear your stories of heartache and hope.

The Body Shop is Making LemonAid

2010-03-21T19:39:00.000-04:00

Yay, Body Shop!

After taking a stand against child sex trafficking with their "Soft Hands, Kind Hearts" campaign last year, The Body Shop has launched a new fundraiser to again benefit ECPAT-USA and the Somaly Mam Foundation. The "LemonAid" campaign began on March 15, and it has already received so much support that The Body Shop has raised its goal to $15,000.

I just raised $5 for these organizations with a few clicks. It's so easy--visit http://www.lemonaid.thebodyshop-usa.com/ and you can raise $2 by becoming a Facebook fan of The Body Shop; $2 by following @thebodyshopusa, 50 cents by using the hashtag #LemonAid, 50 cents by squeezing the Lemon widget (below!), and $1 for installing it here.

I'm impressed by what the Body Shop is doing, and I'll be supporting them at every chance I get. Hope that you will, too.

Leaving Your Signature

2010-03-09T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is sooo cool. Check out these new t-shirts and key chains from Freeset Global. They are free trade products made by women survivors of the sex trade--and imprinted with their signatures.

I love this idea. Freeset has found a way to connect to the individual, in an issue that so often is deadened by statistics. You can match each woman's signature on the website and click to read a little glimpse about them. For example, Sanda's nickname is "Mosquito" and she has recently learned to write her name--a mark she will now leave on each of the products she makes.

As an introductory special Freeset is offering free shipping. According to the website:

"Purchasing a Freeset Tee enables women to rise out of poverty and the sex trade. Many women are coerced, blackmailed or forced into India's sex trade by pimps and poverty. Shunned by society with no education or job training, it is nearly impossible for these women to free themselves from prostitution. Freeset offers women the chance to work instead of selling their bodies, and helps to restore their place in society by teaching them both vocational and life skills like budgeting and nutrition. They grow in self-confidence and receive a steady income so their freedom is sustainable.

Purchasing a Freeset Tee helps to decrease demand for cotton produced using dangerous pesticides, child labor and irresponsible land management. Instead, purchasing a freeset tee supports sustainable farming practices that include fair wages paid to field workers, employment of natural pest management, and no child labor."

I'm going shopping, and this is one time I would be thrilled to be wearing the same thing as every single other person in the room.

All That is Possible

2010-03-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

If you want to feel inspired, and so incredibly thankful for your life/education/opportunities, read Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" and his recently published "Stones into Schools." They are fantastic.

These books, and Mortenson's organization the Central Asia Institute, ask what can be possible by giving girls an education and a chance to pursue a profession. In a similar vein, Nicholas Kristof wrote a piece today called "Three Proven Steps to Advance the World's Women," which is also worth a read.

It makes me want to sing that even as men and women are trafficking children and taking away every one of their rights, hopes, and opportunities, there are men and women who are pouring their lives into building the next generation. It's people like Greg Mortenson that make me believe that the balance will come out in the right.

The Sum of Things

2010-02-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

Full blogger disclosure: I'm needing a bit of a pick-me-up tonight.

I just read a book on the Holocaust and have had to delete a couple of links from a persistent commenter that are totally inappropriate given the subject matter of this blog...

...so to cheer us both up I'm posting a couple of (hopefully encouraging) videos to break up this week.

Not for Sale in Cambodia from Jesse Natale on Vimeo.

Engage In Your World from ryan frederick on Vimeo.

The second video says: "Our history is the sum of all moments and deeds, an aggregation of every tiny action taken."

I love that thought. Going to think about that one tonight.

Diane von Furstenberg and Polaris Project

2010-02-16T06:37:00.000-05:00

Diane von Furstenberg has had quite a career. My mother wore a DVF suit as she left her wedding and started the rest of her life with my father--all the way back in the 70's. Meanwhile, Ms. von Furstenberg is still making waves as a top designer more than 30 years later, whether she's guest judging on Project Runway or donating funds through her foundation's annual "People's Voice" awards.

This year, the admirable Katherine Chon, president and co-founder of Polaris Project, is up for the DVF People's Voice award. If you read this blog at all frequently, you might remember a post a couple of months ago where I went to a Harvard forum on careers in human trafficking and actually met Ms. Chon. She was extremely well-spoken, intelligent, and passionate about fighting human trafficking, and that's why I would urge you to take 2 seconds and cast a vote for her.

The winner will receive $50,000 for their organization in recognition of a woman who uses their vision, resources and commitment to change lives. You can vote here: http://inside.dvf.com/awards/, and unlike many of these contests, you don't have to register, add a group on Facebook, or do anything other than simply click a button.

Polaris Project is one of the most respected organizations in leading the fight against modern-day slavery and human trafficking, and I would be thrilled to see them win this recognition.

So please go vote! :)

Hello Rewind; Or, How Your Laptop Found Its Home

2010-02-15T20:05:00.000-05:00

Hat tip to my good friend Johnny Fitz for finding this cool site. "Hello Rewind" takes your favorite old t-shirt and turns it into a comfy, protective home for your laptop--and simultaneously provides training and an alternate source of income for survivors of NYC sex trafficking.

Image from Hello Rewind

By partnering with Restore NYC, Hello Rewind works with sex trafficking survivors--many of whom don't speak much English, but now have the opportunity to learn--and teaches them a skill to support themselves outside of the brothel. Check out some additional details on their work here: http://blog.hellorewind.com/some-additional-thoughts.

The process goes like this:

You select the size of laptop case you want; pay $49; and Hello Rewind sends you a prepaid envelope for your t-shirt of choice. Once you've mailed the shirt in, they work with the sex trafficking survivors to make it into a beautiful, handy, and soft little case, and mail it back to you. Voila! It's a way to protect your laptop and also feel like you've done something to protect a woman from being pulled back into a life of sex trafficking and endless cycle of prostitution.

High fives to the people behind Hello Rewind for thinking way outside of themselves when they created this business model.

Aaron Cohen: Innocence for Sale

2010-02-12T06:45:00.002-05:00

I read Aaron Cohen's fascinating book "Slave Hunter" over the summer. It's harrowing and some of his methods are controversial, but definitely worth a read--if you're interested, you can find a link to it in the "Reading" section over to the right.

In the meantime, Mr. Cohen continues to shed light on child sex trafficking, this time with the help of CNN. CNN Hong Kong actually reached out to me about their recent program called "Innocence for Sale." I'm so grateful that they did, and now I will share it with you.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2010/01/27/wus.innocence.for.sale.cnn

I think what is so devastating about child sex trafficking is how many forms of injustice and suffering combine to each play their hands. Extreme poverty. Sexual abuse. Child abuse. Forced drug addiction. Old taking advantage of the young. Strong taking advantage of the weak. Rich taking advantage of the poor. Parents being forced to sell their own children. Disease. Governments, police, the rest of us, either feeding the cycle directly or just doing nothing to help.

This, in a word, is tragedy. This is heartbreak. This is hard to watch.

This makes me cry.

Valentine's Day, Part II

2010-02-11T06:30:00.001-05:00

Chances are, the first word that comes to mind when you hear "Valentine's Day" is... chocolate.

Unfortunately, one of the first words that is now coming to mind when you hear "chocolate" is... slavery.

This blog generally looks at issues of child sexual exploitation, but it's important to remember that there are many ways children are forced into slavery around the world. And it pains me that one of my favorite things in the world is often brought to my local stores through the blood, sweat, and tears of child labor.

Free2Work has put together a site where you can investigate how certain companies are faring in the use of slave labor. The fact that we can now educate ourselves about the best place to put our money is the good news.

The bad news is... most of our chocolate producers are getting C's and D's in the slave labor grading system. (This system is based on what Free2Work can gather via publicly available information/lack of action.)

Want to see why the likes of Godiva, MARS and Hershey are receiving D's? Check out Free2Work's list and reasoning here: http://www.free2work.org/products?cat=21. An overview of how the major companies scored (as of V-Day 2009) can also be viewed here:
http://www.laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications-and-resources/ChocolateScorecard09.pdf.

Eating chocolate may never be guilt-free... but by looking for ways to buy slave-free chocolate, it can be much less so.

Image by ulterior epicure

Valentine's Day

2010-02-10T19:34:00.001-05:00

Love146 is once again doing something very cool. (See why I love them so much?)

Do you want a really original, sweet, and productive way to celebrate the day of love?

Start by reading Diana's story here: http://love146.org/Diana.

Then break out your creative juices and make a valentine for the girls in Love146's Philippines safe home: http://love146.org/valentines

And for some really cool ideas for Valentine's Day, read this PDF of suggestions from the Love146 office: http://love146.org/sites/default/files/I%20Shall%20Not%20Be%20Moved.pdf.

Not to be a holiday Debbie Downer, but typically Valentine's Day often means a lot of depression for the singles and a lot of pressure/let downs for the coupled... That's $14 billion annually that Americans spend, and that--IMHO--just doesn't pay off. I applaud taking the time to celebrate love/your loved ones. But how about, in place of focusing on ourselves this year, we sent a big wave of love together on February 14th to celebrate some of the bravest girls I know?

Super Bowl XLIV

2010-02-06T22:28:00.001-05:00

I will be rooting for the Colts with all my heart tomorrow... but this will be on my mind, too.

CNN: Volunteers try to help young sex workers on Super Bowl weekend

"I don't want the idea [of fighting underage sex trafficking] to go away when Super Bowl ends. The reality is that it's more concentrated on Super Bowl weekend, but they're still out there come Monday morning." - Eddy Ameen, StandUp For Kids Miami

It's funny how important a football game can seem until you remember what's going on outside of the stadium, tomorrow and every day thereafter. That's when it becomes clear that there is a much more crucial battle to be won.

Time to Refresh the World

2010-02-03T21:51:00.000-05:00

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are supporting GEMS for the Pepsi Refresh challenge--hopefully you will, too. (It's easy!)

Mr. and Mrs. Kutcher have been very vocal advocates against human and child sex trafficking over the past several years. Their latest step in this area was to launch the DNA Foundation--D and A, get it?--on January 25. As part of this initiative Demi Moore submitted her Refresh Idea on behalf of GEMS to win Pepsi's $250,000. The grant would go toward 10 outreach workers to help thousands of girls get help, counseling, etc. for exiting the sex trade and be reintegrated into society.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/refresheverything to learn more and cast your vote.

Special thanks to my sweet Aunt Martha for telling me about the DNA Foundation after seeing it on the Today Show!

Hearts for Haiti

2010-02-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

It's been almost a month since I last posted. I apologize for such a long absence, and I plan to be blogging much more regularly. Since my last post, I've started a new job, went home to Indianapolis to visit my family, and turned 26. But all of those things are silly and fleeting compared to what else has occurred since my last post... the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

One of the first things that went through my mind, as well as through the minds of many others who have interest in fighting child trafficking/exploitation, was what was rumored to have happened in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami: traffickers taking advantage of the chaos and newly orphaned children. The news surrounding the "trafficking/adoption" controversy of Americans in Haiti this week serves to highlight the other risks children face after such a massive natural disaster. The bottom line is that extreme poverty already made child and human trafficking a reality in Haiti in the years before the earthquake. Now that the world has turned to look, I hope we can make some bit of good come out of the immense suffering by standing with Haiti and rebuilding the country with a traffick-free future. You have probably been overwhelmed with requests to give, but if this moves you to give just a little more, consider donating to a trusted organization like World Vision, Partners in Health, World Relief, or the Red Cross.

I have so many things that I want to blog about that have piled up during my blogging break, but this one tops the list. To keep both you and me from being overwhelmed by TMI, I'm going to try to post briefly on the things I think are worth taking a minute or two to check out. So there might be a flurry of posts after this one. Or at least to follow over the next week or so.

Thanks for sticking it out with me. <3

GEMS Girls: We Are Millions

2010-01-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

GEMS Girls put together this beautiful video called "We Are Millions." Imagine my surprise when I saw that I'm in it!!

Thank you for a beautiful tribute. I hope this video brings all of the encouragement and love it has the power to.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

2010-01-11T11:19:00.000-05:00

It's January 11th--National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Let's not let this day just pass by as if it were any other. Here are a couple of things you can do to mark 1/11/10.

Take a moment to read Benjamin Skinner's recent article in TIME: "South Africa's New Slave Trade and the Campaign to Stop It." Even now, child sex traffickers are preparing for major business during the upcoming World Cup. If anyone you know is traveling to South Africa for the games, bring this up. Ignorance and silence always works in favor of traffickers.

Check out some of the events taking place around the country today in honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, listed courtesy of Change.org.

Visit the Polaris Project Action Center for ways to keep informed and ideas to be actively involved.

Do a Google News search today on "human trafficking" "child sex trafficking," and read up on this week's news. Social networks are one of the best opportunities to get the word out and raise awareness--consider Tweeting or sharing these articles on Facebook to help open your friends' eyes. Or even set up Google Alerts for these terms to stay up-to-date every day.

Here's a chance to honor those who are enslaved by making the most of this awareness day.

Photo by herby_fr

Sex + Money: A Search for Human Worth

2010-01-07T16:55:00.000-05:00

Watch the preview of a full-length film by college students in 2007.
Can't wait to see this and read the corresponding book: Sex + Money.

January: National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

2010-01-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

Image by Axlot

In all of the news today about Google's "Super phone," I hope you didn't miss an important announcement from the White House. President Obama has declared January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

You can read the official proclamation here, and I've pulled my favorite part below:

"We must join together as a Nation and global community to provide that safe haven by protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence.

Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation." - President Barack Obama

As we begin our first week of resolutions, I have a new one to throw in to the mix: becoming increasingly aware of the suffering of others and what we can do to ease that suffering. To get you started, check out this great list of actionable items that you can do to help end human trafficking and slavery in 2010: http://www.endslaverynow.com/take_action. There's something on there that every single person has the power to do. Use this honorary month as motivation to lend a hand and get started!

Ten Years Ago, Ten Years From Now

2009-12-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

10 years ago this month, I was a fifteen-year-old walking home from school in Japan. I was surprised to find my dad at home in the middle of the work day. He met me at the door and I immediately knew that something was very, very wrong.

Doctors had found a large tumor growing behind my thirteen-year-old sister’s eye. She had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer, and it had already progressed to stage 4.

***

This month, I sent my twenty-three-year-old sister a small bunch of flowers. They arrived at an apartment door where she lives downtown, instead of to a headstone. The past ten years saw radiation and chemotherapy treatments, lost hair, countless hormone imbalances, atrophied leg muscles, months of physical therapy, impaired vision, tutors for a school year spent in the hospital, injections every day (to this day).

They also saw learning to walk again, high school and college graduations, good friends, a first job, family vacations, opportunities of a lifetime and a remission that by all accounts will likely last until she is a sassy grey-haired lady.

***
In times when the fight seemed like it would be lost, and that there was no end in sight, I wish I could have seen what I know now. That in the end, she lives; that she thrives. That there is second life after terrible darkness. This is my hope for all of the young girls (and boys) who are at this very moment fighting a different kind of heartbreaking battle, and my hope for those who are fighting it with them.

Happy 2010! Here’s to what's possible in the years to come.

Photo by harold.lloyd

Change My Christmas

2009-12-14T13:12:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking for awhile about putting together a holiday shopping list that benefits survivors of child/human sex trafficking or organizations that support the cause. Since so many of my blogger friends had the same idea, I'm going to list a couple of the things that I'm personally asking for this year, and then point you to their sites for some really great additional places to look.

The SOLD Project DVD

Va-Va-Voom Necklace from the River Kids shop

These pretty earrings and bracelet from Original Good

This AWESOME shirt from WeAreOverlooked.com. $5 from each shirt goes to Love146. The front says, "Because some things were never meant to be caged."

Terrify No More by Gary Haugen

And here are some other great places to check out for your holiday shopping (keep these links in mind for birthdays and other celebrations throughout 2010!):

But before you go, take a minute (well, two and a half minutes) to watch this video from ChangeMyChristmas.com.

Change My Christmas from MZM Cornerstone on Vimeo.

Happy Hannukah, Advent and "Season of Light" to you all!

Love It

2009-12-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

Head on over to Love146's newly unveiled website --it looks SO GOOD.

I was especially blown away by the revamped education section. You can see it here: http://love146.org/slavery.

Bravo guys, and keep up the very good work!

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

2009-12-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

Today, December 2nd, is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

I'm going to spend it at an event in downtown Boston tonight supporting The My Life My Choice program. More about that likely in the next post!

Take a minute today to read the following comments from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reprinted here in their entirety from the U.N. website:

"On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, we express our commitment to the complete eradication of slavery and slavery-like practices.

Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and slave trade shall prohibited in all their forms”. Yet slavery remains a grave and unresolved problem. This is true in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.

In our globalized world, new forms of slavery have taken shape. The list of abhorrent practices, new and old, is now shockingly long, and includes debt bondage, serfdom, forced labour, child labour and servitude, trafficking of persons and human organs, sexual slavery, the use of child soldiers, the sale of children, forced marriage and the sale of wives, and the exploitation of prostitution.

The majority of those who suffer are the poor and socially excluded groups such as minorities and migrants. The overlapping factors of poverty, class and race create structural problems and cycles of marginalization that are hard to break.

Indigenous peoples are more exposed to bonded labour because in many countries they have limited access to land. Gender inequalities and discrimination, lack of education, desperation for work and demand for cheap labour also trap people. The global economic and financial crisis threatens to heighten vulnerability further still.

Combating slavery means not only its direct prohibition by law but also fighting against poverty, illiteracy, economic and social disparities, gender discrimination and violence against women and children. We need to enforce laws against slavery; create mechanisms to combat such practices; reinforce bilateral, regional and international cooperation, including with non-governmental organizations that assist victims; and launch awareness raising campaign.

On this International Day, let us renew our pledge to assist and protect the victims and to do our utmost to ensure the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."

Counting Blessings, Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year where we look around and give thanks for our blessings... and I have many this year.

I'm reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's "Half the Sky," and each chapter makes me realize even more how blessed my life has been. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a couple of things I'm giving thanks for this year.

Image by Road Fun

My family, friends and loved ones, of course
You, who are reading this
My husband, who is the picture of a good man
My parents, for valuing my life, unlike millions of girls all over the world
My education, literacy and the opportunities it has granted me
My job, during a time when many are searching for one, and that it allows me to use my brain rather than my body
The amount of awareness that came out in 2009 about human/child sex trafficking, in the U.S. and around the world
The April Love146 partner trip I took this year, which I think about every single day
Clean water that comes in different temperatures and is easily accessible, and indoor plumbing
All the food I'm going to eat tomorrow, and the fact that I have never felt true hunger in my life
Medical care and vaccinations, and the health insurance to pay for it
A safe place to live, and the privacy and peace of mind that comes along with it
The opportunities my future children will have simply based on the place they are born

This doesn't even begin to cover it; but I hope this small list helps you to celebrate a few of the blessings in your life this year, too.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Anti-Trafficking Talks and Networking at the Kennedy School

2009-11-24T13:58:00.002-05:00

Image by Thomas Hawk

Last night in Boston was cold, rainy, and inspiring; I spent it at a networking event on anti-human trafficking at The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Panelists included Cherie Jimenez of Kim’s Project, Jeff Gulati, who is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bentley University, and Katherine Chon, President and Co-founder of Polaris Project.

This was a much better dialogue than the last Harvard event I attended, focusing on practical issues rather than terminology/semantics. The speakers were from very different backgrounds and are currently playing various roles in the fight against trafficking, and they each had interesting things to say. I jotted down some notes as they were talking and wanted to share the highlights with you below.

When discussing the strengths and skills needed to be in a career that fights trafficking, Cherie, who founded Kim’s Project based on her own experience in the sex trade, said that first and foremost there is a need for compassion and understanding of how to empower people. One of my favorite points that she made throughout the night was that “just as everyone has a story for how they ended up in the sex trade, they will each have a different story for how they get out.”

Jeff talked about how people who are going to engage in fighting trafficking have to be willing to take the long view—and need to understand that making a large-scale difference in this process won’t yield immediate returns. This isn’t a light-switch sort of problem. Katherine proposed that those interested in an anti-trafficking profession need to identify answers to three preliminary questions:

What’s already out there, being done, from an organizational standpoint?
What are my particular passions/skill sets?
How much of my life am I willing to/want to put into this?

The conversation then shifted to discuss the challenges that we currently face in fighting trafficking—including sex trafficking, forced labor, adoption trafficking, even organ trafficking. Cherie talked about how crucial it is that we examine and identify the root causes that lead to trafficking, and then attack those. While we often get caught up in “trafficking” as a standalone entity, it is really an amalgamation of much deeper issues, and we need to change the systemic elements (extreme poverty, lack of education, a growing individualism that lacks any outer societal responsibilities) that are actually creating the industry.

Jeff added to this point by mentioning that he often examines how the issue of human trafficking is portrayed in the media. It’s something that I will be more aware of as I read news stories: Are gender/race inequalities being addressed as part of the larger picture of systemic causes, or does most of the coverage solely center on the problem being built out of organized crime?

Based on her years running Polaris Project, Katherine discussed the challenge of experiencing secondary trauma in a job that makes you face the brutalities of human trafficking day in, day out—and the importance of finding the right balance. She mentioned how sad it is to see brilliant, caring people become burned out and leave, and that working with survivors of human trafficking will never be a 9-to-5 job.

Finally, an issue that came up repeatedly was how divisive the activism field can be. People will always have differing ideas of how and why to get something done, and it can get nasty dealing with politics—especially if you’ve invested a lot of yourself. Anti-trafficking organizations need to pay their own bills and be sustainable, but we can often become lost in our own branding, reputation, and individual strategy instead of how we can most effectively attack the problem from a collaborative standpoint.

After the panel we had the opportunity to meet others who are interested in taking a role in anti-trafficking activism, and I had a number of conversations with some great people, including law students, future policy makers and even one of the representatives from Minga. Most encouraging was the turnout—the room was full, and interest was high.

A special thanks to each of the panelists and to Christina Bain at the Kennedy School for a night that has given me a lot to think about.

Links of Light: Recommended Posts on Trafficking

2009-11-19T16:35:00.001-05:00

There are some really great bloggers out there that are consistently writing good posts on child trafficking and modern-day slavery. So I'm introducing a new, semi-regular category called Links of Light that will pick out some of my recent favorites by other bloggers and share them with you.

The first installment:

Regarding Thanks--and Giving: some tales of selfless giving to Love146, even during hard economic times, written by their wonderful accounting administrator, Jennifer Franz.
"They are Merchandise Because They Are Just Pounds of Meat:" a look at the documentary "Lives for Sale" by Diana Scimone. Diana jotted down some thoughts she had as she watched the film, including this telling quote from a state attorney in the U.S. who prosecutes traffickers: "One of the first things I have to do is convince a jury that slavery actually exists."
"Human Rights Remain Off the Radar Screen:" an op-ed by Paul Bernish on President Obama's recent trip to Asia and the lack of any direct address to human rights violations in the area.
"Incredible Slavery Survivor-Activists Honored at Freedom Awards:" an encouraging look from the Emancipation Network at two modern-day heros in the fight against human trafficking. Read about how Sina Vann and Veero are singlehandedly saving hundreds of their neighbors from the slavery they escaped from.

Got any other good recent posts to share? Please link to them in the comments so we can all take a read!

Image by Moriza

GEMS Girls and You Will Survive

2009-11-18T20:20:00.000-05:00

GEMS Girls and the Council of Daughters are asking for your photos of support.

In conjunction with the launch of a song re-recorded specially for GEMS by Sinead O'Connor and Mary J. Blige called "This is to Mother You," the organizations are collecting encouraging photographs from people all over the country with the message "You will survive."

Here's how it works:
Go to this website and download a PDF sign for printing. Take a photo of yourself or a group holding signs and email it to motheryousong (at) gmail.com by November 25th.

I LOVE this idea. Given all of the harm that has been done to girls trafficked for pornography, I hope that by turning the camera on ourselves we will send a visual encouragement to these girls that they are survivors and that we are behind them. (Side note--due to reflections you'll probably need to use a mirror to take the picture so it's readable!)

"This is to Mother You" will be available for digital download from GEMS and at select retailers on December 2, which is the international date for the abolition of slavery.

So with Shaniya Davis fresh in our minds and the eyes of the U.S. suddenly focused on human trafficking, whip out those cameras, mobile phones or webcams and send a message of support to those who have been exploited on our streets and in our backyards.

A Sad Day, and a "Beautiful Slave"

2009-11-16T17:03:00.000-05:00

There is a lot of heartbreak today, in the abolitionist community and beyond, about the news that 5-year-old Shaniya Davis was a victim of child sex trafficking and murder in North Carolina.

I keep coming back to a song I heard and video I saw over the weekend from a nonprofit Christian "musicianary" band called Take No Glory. "Beautiful Slave" is a song that sounds like it could have been played by Evanescence, woven into a simple children's hymn that people who grew up going to Protestant churches will recognize: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." The transition happens around the 3:25 mark.

Locked in brothels in Southeast Asia or trafficked by relatives in North Carolina, they are precious in his sight. This little girl is at peace now, and for the rest who are still waiting: we will come for you.

Trafficking Blogroll

2009-11-16T16:41:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, in the Big Move mentioned in my previous post, my blogroll somehow got lost. If you were on there previously or think that you should be, please email me at seasonoflightblog (at) gmail.com or leave a note in the comments below!

Love,
Emily

I Moved...

2009-11-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

Image by v@lentina

...but not very far away!

I took the plunge and bought my own domain name last night. You can still find this blog at the original .blogspot.com address, but please visit/bookmark http://seasonoflight.net from now on to make sure all my widget-y things on the sidebars work for you.

I also bought some really cute mini-sized Season of Light business cards from www.moo.com. I loved their designs, so if you're in the market for new cards, give them a try. Hat tip to Jaime Lee for that find--(you should listen to her music when you get a chance, she's a fellow abolitionist and a beautiful singer.)

Season of Light is now official, and all grown up! :)

Trafficking: Hidden in Plain Sight

2009-11-11T16:41:00.002-05:00

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department is going public with a campaign to educate U.S. citizens about human trafficking that is literally happening in front of our eyes.

According to the ICE website, "Posters, billboards and transit shelter signs were rolled out last month bearing the slogan 'Hidden in Plain Sight.' They are displayed in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Newark, New Orleans, New York, St Paul, San Antonio, San Francisco and Tampa. The campaign's goal is to raise public awareness about the existence of human trafficking in communities nationwide, and asks members of the public to take action if they encounter possible victims."

When I was in Cambodia, it amazed me how many World Vision billboards I saw on being alert for child sex trafficking and providing a phone number to call for reporting. Now it is time for us to face the reality of human trafficking within our own borders.

I'm greatly encouraged by this step by the government and the Emma Thompson-backed "Journey" exhibit on sex trafficking taking place in New York City. Someone, somewhere, who is currently enslaved in our country is going to be saved by the awareness this brings and by the seeds that it plants.

Photo by Wootang01

CNN: Child Traffickers Prey on Powerless

2009-11-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

A child trafficking story on the front page of today's CNN.com headlines. Will mainstream media coverage bring us to the tipping point?

At the End of Slavery

2009-11-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

...where will you be?

At The End Of Slavery - Extended Trailer from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.

See the film on Nov. 14. Presented by International Justice Mission.

For more information go to http://www.attheendofslavery.com.

Ten Dollars and a Bicycle for Love146

2009-11-02T16:37:00.004-05:00

Image by Georgios Karamanis

This is one of those posts that is going to get tagged "things that make me cry."

You might remember me writing about a community we saw in Phnom Penh that has been horribly mistreated by the government. They were stripped of their housing and whatever possessions they had and trucked off to a no-man's land beyond the airport, away from potential jobs, schools, and shelter. Many simply live under blue tarps and have no healthcare, privacy, sanitation or running water. I saw it with my own eyes, and it made me want to weep. Whenever I am lying in my warm bed when it rains or feel grateful when I'm taking a hot shower, I think of that place.

Last week, about 80 children living in this area were given bicycles by Love146. This is crucial because they now have a way to get to school, earn an education, and therefore decrease their chances of being trafficked. You can read more about the event here and here. I only wish I could have been there to witness the ceremony where these children were given such a small but significant gift.

I recently learned that Love146 is part of this year's Giving Challenge. Basically, whichever charity receives the most number of unique donations (starting at $10), they will win. So the more people who give $10 or above, the better chance Love146 has of winning.

And if they win, they'll have $50,000, to keep on doing some more beautiful things for the children who need it the most.

Please consider giving $10 today. I just did, and it's extremely easy to do--just click right here. And one more small favor to ask: will you please spread the word and tell someone else?

Human Trafficking in Charisma Magazine

2009-10-30T15:25:00.004-04:00

Diana Scimone has written an amazing piece on human trafficking in the November issue of a Christian publication called Charisma magazine. She highlights the issue of trafficking as well as all of the fantastic organizations who are lending a hand in the fight to end it (and even mentions this blog in the "Everyday Abolitionists" sidebar--thanks so much, Diana!!)

Please check out the piece in full here!

I hope this article continues to open eyes and hearts toward the full realization of abolition.

Child Sex Trafficking of Runaways in the U.S.

2009-10-27T16:28:00.004-04:00

Photo by Sunny laid back L.A.

I read a great article in the NYTimes today, and it was especially relevant on the heels of yesterday's big news.

"For Runaways, Sex Buys Survival," looks at the business of trafficking runaways for sex on America's streets. It's a growing problem according to law enforcement and child protective service agencies, and the Internet plays a large part in attracting "clients."

“It’s definitely worsening,” said Sgt. Kelley O’Connell, a detective who until this year ran the Boston Police Department’s human-trafficking unit, echoing a sentiment conveyed in interviews with law enforcement officials from more than two dozen cities. “Gangs used to sell drugs,” she said. “Now many of them have shifted to selling girls because it’s just as lucrative but far less risky.”(excerpted from NYT article)

The article featured interviews with convicted pimps, who talk about the tactics they use to ensnare young girls into prostitution--including targeting girls with large backpacks on, who have clearly just left home. The pimps' bottom line was that they recognize these girls' starvation for love and attention, and they can easily "hook" them with a few gifts of jewelry and nice dinners.

One of the pimps put it this way:

"With the young girls, you promise them heaven, they'll follow you to hell."

NYTimes content doesn't stay free and available for long, so I'd recommend reading the story as soon as you can. Ian Urbina has put together 4 pages of an extremely important and well-written look at the reality of sex trafficking in America.

The question I'd ask now is--does it matter that these girls are runaways? Does it make them less worthy of our attention and care, as opposed to a little girl on the other side of the world who has been kidnapped or sold? Do we care more or less that this is what sex trafficking looks like in our cities and on our streets?

Child Trafficking in America: More Operation Cross Country

2009-10-26T16:05:00.004-04:00

Read the news today?

52 children were rescued from sex trafficking as part of the ongoing Operation Cross Country operation. Not in Southeast Asia, not in South America, not in Eastern Europe--here. In the U.S.

Read the FBI's press release on the results of Operation Cross Country IV here.

The Innocence Lost initiative started in 2003. 900 children rescued from sex slavery, 500 convictions, 6 years later, and I fear we are just at the tip of the iceberg.

Photo by Lucian Tao

What a Difference a Year Makes

2009-10-20T11:46:00.005-04:00

165 posts later, today is the one-year birthday of this blog.

As I look back on the past year, I'm extremely encouraged by the things that have happened. We raised tens of thousands of dollars for Love146 through the Boston Taskforce's "Tread on Trafficking." We raised tens of thousands of dollars for the incredibly important Born2Fly awareness book project. I had the chance to go to Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines with Love146 on an absolutely life-changing trip, and see this problem with my own eyes. Meanwhile, countless stories were told in the media and on the movie screen, from "Taken" to "Playground" and "Call and Response." Celebrities have taken on the cause and spoken about it from the hills of Hollywood.

Most of all, I'm so blessed to know such amazing people who are spending every single day fighting child trafficking. From Rob and Kathy at Love146 to Diana Scimone at Born2Fly; from my amazing Twitter friends like those at Transitions Global, Not for Sale, and Nowhere2Hide; from Rachel Sparks-Graeser of The SOLD Project, making a life in Thailand--to so many others. I thought of all of you and what you do, day in and day out, at my church last Sunday after hearing a simple line from a Michael Crawford song:

"Help me not to rest, while those around me weep."

What will be changed by October 20, 2010? What will we do to fight child sex trafficking over the next 365 days, to make sure this coming year sees even greater things? Thank you to all of you who do not rest, but work tirelessly until the weeping ends.

The Blind Project: Open Your Eyes

2009-10-14T15:58:00.004-04:00

AnnaLynne McCord, from the CW's 90210, is doing exactly what she was meant to do: draw attention and open eyes to child sex trafficking. Her involvement with something called The Blind Project is being talked about in the press, and it's how I found out about the organization. TBP is partnering with indigenous organizations in Southeast Asia to protect potential victims of trafficking and provide restoration through education and vocational skill training to those who have been rescued from it.

Teaser

theblindproject|MySpace Videos

I see all of these amazing organizations working toward the same goal, to eradicate the event of child sex trafficking and the root causes that feed it, and I hope that they are doing the best they can to overlap and work together to fill in the pieces. As is the case with organizations like Chab Dai, and the work of TBP to partner with existing groups, a united front will be much more effective than each individual fighting its own little battle.

Something I think is really cool is that the Blind Project is making plans for a clothing and jewelry line called "We Are Biographers." Each item will tell a real-life story of someone affected by trafficking, and the shirt or necklace will have a wearable, standing opportunity to talk about trafficking.

Today I'm feeling that restlessness of not doing enough, of wanting to be there or working more to help. I wish I could just drive to the airport and get on a plane, to bring some bit of purpose to this problem, to play a little more of my part.

09_09_09

2009-09-09T08:34:00.005-04:00

Today's the day we're going to raise $90,000 to put a stop to future trafficking of children.

Would you give $9 to help stop one childhood from being spent in sex slavery?

Please, and thank you! <3

Update: as of 1:30 p.m. ET, Born 2 Fly is at $11,000. That's incredible! Please keep giving! :)

Reading and Writing Against Trafficking

2009-09-04T11:06:00.003-04:00

Here are two things for your consideration on this Friday before Labor Day:

Recommended Reading:
Hat tip to Sarah Coenen for finding this one. This is a great Washington Post op ed on human trafficking today. You can read it here. The article talks about the uniting power of diverse groups crossing religious, political, and geographical lines to combat trafficking and exploitation. It also looks at what's currently being done and why the need to address underlying causes of trafficking is so important. Here's a sneak peek (I was especially excited to see the mention of Chab Dai's Helen Sworn, who is one of my heroes):

"Helen Sworn, the English woman who founded Chab Dai, talks a language of partnership and cooperation - with government and private companies, women's groups and police. The challenge is to educate people about their rights, and to protect those who fall victim to circumstances or to crime. But she also sees the issues as an integral part of development and social change. As corridors for transportation open up, as borders are easier to cross, as tourism gains momentum, the pressures for trafficking increase. She argues that at the same time that we work to protect and help victims directly and prosecute those who break the law, far more effort should go to addressing the underlying causes.

And the underlying causes are ferociously complex. First and foremost it's about poverty, ignorance, and lack of opportunity. Grinding need drives desperate families to sell a daughter. Uneducated girls more easily fall prey to promises of a glittery life, only to end up trapped in a brothel. And simple greed exacerbates the problems. Weak government institutions and corrupt systems make it hard to enforce laws. Unequal relations between men and women are corrosive realities that translate into low priority to the work needed to bring about change."

Go visit the article and give it some link love if you can! I always like to show editors just how interested we are in keeping updated on the battle against trafficking. It's one of the most simple things we can do to ensure that these kinds of stories continue to be published and get attention.

Get Your Voice Out There:
Chances are if you're here, you're interested in the issue of child sex trafficking/human slavery and exploitation. And you probably want to do something about it. If writing's your thing, why not give this a thought?

There's a great blog on Change.org, run by Amanda Kloer, and they're actually looking for some additional writers. Check out "Want to Blog for Change.org?" for more information and an application. We need more voices like yours to bring attention to human trafficking and add even more momentum to making it a thing of the past.

Have a great long weekend.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/heycoach/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Operation Twisted Traveler is Sending a Message

2009-08-31T15:43:00.003-04:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tetsumo/ / CC BY 2.0

Three American paedophiles are currently being sent back to the U.S. to face trial for child sex tourism in Cambodia.

It's hard not to become hateful and vindictive when you hear about people from our country paying thousands of dollars to fly across the world and take advantage of the kind of poverty that exists in Cambodia. To take that kind of advantage of little children, for $2 and a bag of rice.

Read more about it here:

"The appeal of a place like this is that it's very far away and pedophiles feel like they can come here and be anonymous, and be outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement," Carol Rodley, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, said. "I hope the message that it sends is one of deterrence."

I do believe that some day there will be justice, and for some of those that have preyed on the weakest of the weak, that day starts today.

This Must Change!

2009-08-28T07:53:00.000-04:00

Wow, this is equal parts convicting and incredibly inspiring.

Meet Jason. He, along with a large percentage of American citizens, has a goal to lose weight. And he's identified 6 great causes that fight injustices and inequalities around the world--from child sex trafficking with Love146 to Doctors Without Borders and Soles for Souls, an organization that helps people get something as simple as one working pair of shoes--to benefit from his hard work in working out. On his site This Must Change!, Jason asks for people to consider sponsoring each of the pounds he loses to go toward one of these six causes.

I dare you to watch this video and not feel humbled, inspired, encouraged.

And hey Jason...

You can do it, and you rock.

This Must Change! Intro from Project Church on Vimeo.

John Schools

2009-08-27T10:06:00.003-04:00

Photo by Lee Carson

Currently reading: "'John Schools' Try to Change Attitudes About Paid Sex."

What do you think? I think if an estimated 1/3 of the class is deterred because they start to see the darker side of prostitution and its consequences, and it also funds itself, that this is a great idea.

I wonder if a trafficking education portion is or ever will be included in this program. I would hope demand would drop significantly if a john knew that there was a chance the woman he was paying was not actually there "by her own choice."

Ultimately, I've got to keep thinking that more awareness will have some effect on changing the hearts and minds of the masses, or else we're lost.

09_09_09: A Personal Favor

2009-08-25T11:08:00.005-04:00

Something amazing is going to happen on September 9, 2009. We are going to raise almost $100,000 to have a major impact on preventing future children from being trafficked. That's right--you, and me.

My friend Diana Scimone is holding a one day fundraiser on 09-09-09. The goal is to have 9,000 people donate $9 so that we can get the Born2Fly wordless book into the hands of the children who need to see it.

The gist of it:
Most kids are lured into sex slavery because they don’t know the deceptive tactics of traffickers. What if we could warn children and their parents ahead of time? What if we could teach them about the lies traffickers use—and how to stand up against them? The rate of trafficking would drop and millions of kids would never enter the dark world of trafficking.

That’s exactly what the Born2Fly Project is all about: educating kids and their parents about the dangers of trafficking, with the ultimate goal of ending it. The centerpiece of B2F is a wordless book that teaches kids to make wise choices—wordless so we don’t have to translate it into hundreds of languages. A companion curriculum will reinforce the important concepts in the book.

Born to Fly is at the critical moment. The books and curriculum are nearly complete. We need to print these strategic materials and give them to at-risk kids and parents around the world. The 1-day fundraiser will raise money to do that—and prevent millions of kids from being trafficked. Traffickers think kids are commodities. On 9/9/09, tell kids they’re priceless. All it takes is $9.

What you can do:

Donate: Go to www.born2fly.org and use the Chip-in widget to donate $9--or simply click on the link below.
Email: Tell 9 people about 09-09-09 and send them to www.born2fly.org.
Social Media: Use Facebook, blogs, and Twitter to tell your friends. Follow @09_09_09, and add a Twibbon after you've donated: http://bit.ly/xml6t
Check Diana Scimone's blog for the latest, including daily updates on the awesome prizes you could win by being a part of this fundraiser--everything from beauty products to Chris Brogan's new book, "Trust Agents."

I'd like to ask you to consider donating $9, either today or on 09-09-09 itself, to make this book happen. Diana is a tireless abolitionist against child trafficking and even sent me a generous check to make sure I was able to go on the Love146 partner trip this year. I would love to repay the favor and have you join with me in blessing Diana and the thousands of children that would benefit from this book. A personal thanks from me to you!

Love,
Emily

An Addendum...

2009-08-24T12:33:00.004-04:00

...to my last post.

If you have the chance, take a look at this weekend's New York Times article by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. It's part of a section called "Saving the World's Women," and it dovetails nicely with the ideas raised in the below video. Through microloans and educational opportunities, the authors argue that women and girls could be the best weapon to fight global poverty--which of course would strike a huge blow to the world of sex slavery.

"While a precise number is hard to pin down, the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency, estimates that at any one time there are 12.3 million people engaged in forced labor of all kinds, including sexual servitude. In Asia alone about one million children working in the sex trade are held in conditions indistinguishable from slavery, according to a U.N. report. Girls and women are locked in brothels and beaten if they resist, fed just enough to be kept alive and often sedated with drugs — to pacify them and often to cultivate addiction. India probably has more modern slaves than any other country." -- Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, "The Women's Crusade"

Kristof and WuDunn's book, "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” will be published next month.

These ideas echo what author, mountain climber and humanitarian Greg Mortenson has found to be true in his life of building schools and educational opportunities for girls around the world. If you haven't read it, I would strongly recommend his book "Three Cups of Tea"--and if you liked it, you can now follow Mortenson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gregmortenson.

And to bring it all full-circle, you'll find he recently posted on a little video called... "The Girl Effect."

Something to Think About

2009-08-21T11:22:00.003-04:00

What would this kind of change do to fight child/human trafficking? Poverty and lack of education/life options would no longer be the webs that are used to trap girls and women around the world.

The Girl Effect: it's really such a simple solution. Think about it.

Bostonians: Here's Your Chance

2009-08-19T22:31:00.005-04:00

A two-part quiz for people local to the greater Boston area:

Are you:

1. Interested in getting involved with the Love146 Boston Task Force?
2. A parent, teacher, social worker, community youth advocate, or concerned community member wanting to a) know more about the problem of commercial sexual exploitation in the greater Boston area and other major U.S. cities and b) increase at-risk high school students' awareness on the issue?

If yes, you might want to be part of this opportunity.

Love146 is partnering with FAIR Fund as an exploratory phase of bringing a "Tell Your Friends" program to Boston. "Tell Your Friends" (TYF) is an awareness and prevention program created by a Washington D.C.-based organization called Fair Fund. The objective of the TYF program is to educate at-risk high school students about the realities of the commercial sex trade in the US - especially in the cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, Miami, and Washington, D.C.

The "Tell Your Friends" training will be taking place over two workdays near the end of September in the greater Boston area--and not a moment too soon:

In the United States, an estimated 150,000 youth are at risk toward victimization via commercial sexual exploitation.
In 2008, 35 known cases of commercial sexual exploitation of minors was reported by FAIR Fund, the Polaris Project, and other area nonprofits and law enforcement.
During the pilot year of Tell Your Friends, 450 teens said that they personally knew teens involved in prostitution in D.C. Furthermore, 56 teens disclosed they or a friend were involved in commercial sexual activity.

If you're interested in learning more, leave me a comment or tweet at me (@ebain) and I can provide more details.

Dispatch on Human Trafficking in the U.S.

2009-08-19T09:24:00.003-04:00

Photo by Sanja

The Columbus Dispatch put together some multimedia materials on human trafficking happening in the Ohio area. The headline reads, "New word for prostitute: Victim."

As a country we generally have such a strong reaction toward prostitution. What this article and movies like "Girls Are Not for Sale" encourage is for us to look a few minutes longer at a larger picture. When we're seeing girls who aren't even legal adults yet being pimped and sold, how can we be treating them as though this is a lifestyle choice and then prosecute them as criminals?

On a related note, the Australian Broadcasting Company posted a story on how legalized prostitution is failing sex workers in Australia and that human trafficking for the purpose of illegal brothels is becoming a larger concern. I'm against legalizing prostitution for a number of reasons--most importantly because I think it poses an enormous step backwards in the fight against human trafficking. But I think our automatic criminalization of prostitution in the U.S. is attacking the problem from the wrong angle, as well. It's the two ends of the spectrum and unfortunately, until we can meet somewhere in the middle, we'll continue failing our young girls in the worst way.

Rock It.

2009-08-13T17:59:00.003-04:00

What are the best things about summer? Sunshine. Happy summer pop songs. Longer days. Wearing dresses and shorts. Walking down the street to get an enormous, toppling two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in a cone.

Saving children from sexual trafficking and exploitation with an outdoor car wash.

Update on Soft Hands, Kind Hearts

2009-08-04T09:35:00.002-04:00

Yesterday the U.S. portion of the Body Shop campaign was announced (mentioned in my last post). Hurray! $6.00 of each hand cream will benefit ECPAT-USA.

I love it when beauty products have an impact that is way more than skin deep!

Soft Hands, Kind Hearts Against Child Trafficking

2009-07-30T13:00:00.002-04:00

Apparently I'm on some sort of "hand" theme this week. I am going to track down the nearest Body Shop as soon as I can and stock up on this wonderful hand cream. (On second thought, looks like it's only available outside the U.S.; Body Shop, please offer this campaign here, too!)

A large portion of the proceeds will go to Beyond Borders to fight child sex trafficking. Apparently sales of cotton bags and gift boxes will also benefit Somaly Mam's foundation.

Some of the funds will pay for the smaller (and incredibly meaningful) actions beyond the typical shelter and treatment; things like removing the tattoo of a pimp's name from a child's hand.

It reminds me of what Billy Graham once said: "The most eloquent prayer is the prayer through hands that heal, and bless."

What [Your] Hands Can Do

2009-07-29T18:06:00.002-04:00

This Not for Sale PSA about fighting trafficking and "reabolishing" slavery is awesome. Take a minute to watch it; and all it takes is a couple of clicks of your hand to forward awareness on to a friend.

The Edge of Things

2009-07-21T16:29:00.007-04:00

Image by el patojo

We hear a lot about martyrdom throughout history, but there are plenty of people who are really putting their lives on the line today--July 21, 2009.

Just to name a few:

Workers at a partner organization we visited on the Love146 trip who said that they fear they haven't made enough of an impact because one of them hadn't been killed yet.
Euna Lee and Laura Ling's potential experience at the North Korean labor camps because of the investigation they were doing on human trafficking (see http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/09/world/fg-north-korea-camps9)
Aaron Cohen's life risked over and again on slavehunter missions in Cambodia, Columbia and other locations around the world.
Somaly Mam's regular personal threats and the kidnapping and brutalization of her young daughter by traffickers.

As for me? I sit in my cube, watching the rain streak down the window of another gray day in Boston, and wonder how far I would really go to help save someone else.

One Foot in Front of the Other

2009-07-17T10:31:00.001-04:00

“I don’t feel like I can change the world. I don’t even try. I only want to change this small life that I see standing in front of me, which is suffering. I want to change this small real thing that is the destiny of one little girl. And then another, and another, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself or sleep at night.”

- Somaly Mam, The Road of Lost Innocence

Ending Child Sex Trafficking in Atlanta

2009-07-17T07:13:00.003-04:00

Atlanta is becoming a leader in the abolitionist movement. We've got to fight a multi-sided battle at trafficking hotspots all over the world--and it's hardest when you have to start in your own backyard.

Innocence Atlanta presents more art for awareness. I love it that everyone can be a part of ending child sex trafficking and exploitation in this generation.

Innocence Atlanta Art Experience from Erik Newby on Vimeo.

The Trouble with Numbers

2009-07-10T13:32:00.004-04:00

Photo by Riot Jane

I've been thinking about something a lot since I was on the Love146 partnership trip, and it was brought back to mind after a conversation this morning with my friend/colleague. He watched the movie "Taken" last night (see my thoughts on the film here) and we were talking about the parts we found the most scary. **Minor spoiler alert if you haven't seen it yet, you might want to skip this.** I mentioned the part where Liam Neeson finds the young friend dead of an overdose and chained to her bed. He brought up the point where the girls were sold and selected by number.

The act of placing a number on a human being is evil--whether it's a price on their worth or simply a method of identification. This was one of the reasons behind starting (and naming) Love146. The 146 is a reminder about the little girl who inspired the organization, who had only a number on her life, not a name. This idea was reinforced during our trip to the Tuol Sleng museum in Phnom Penh, where room after room of displays showed murdered Cambodians (men, women, children) with a number pinned to their shirts. Reduced to a figure, easier to throw away.

After reading Richard Stearn's "The Hole in Our Gospel" I got to thinking about this idea even further. Stearns describes how deadened we become to the mass statistics of horror. The number of people murdered in genocides; people starving to death and dying of AIDs and being trafficked as commodities. The numbers become overwhelming and in a sense, one step removed. Alternatively, if you see a single person's face or name or hear about their specific situation, it is much harder to slip into that feeling of numb separation. We seem to be wired to care about the individual. I wonder sometimes if the vast statistics surrounding child sex trafficking (and human trafficking in general) do more to motivate us to action or paralyze us in our tracks. I'll most likely continue to refer to numbers and statistics in this blog as forms of information and depiction of the problem; but I think this is careful to keep in mind.

Time to stop thinking about human beings in terms of any numbers, and instead see their beautiful faces with hope for each individual future.

07.08.09--One Day to Make a Difference

2009-07-08T16:10:00.003-04:00

My amazing friend Bethany Needham had a crazy idea: what if we all gave one single day of our pay to a charity we love? What if we picked a day and all did it together? What kind of an impact could we have?

Well, that day is today. One Day is taking place now, 07/08/09, and if you are blessed enough to have a job today, I hope you will consider joining in. It's simple: just pick a charity you care about, make a donation directly to them of the amount of money you earned today, and share who you're supporting at www.onedaygive.com

Even if you're not currently employed, or have the day off, consider pledging to volunteer somewhere in honor of One Day. My favorite charity, Love146, is featured as a suggested site for donations. If you don't have a favorite, choose them! Or Born2Fly, or Transitions Global, or IJM, or Ahava Kids, or any of the other wonderful organizations working to end child sex trafficking.

Check out OneDayGive for all of the information and a really cute video. Last time I checked, One Day was up to around 950 fans on Facebook. Imagine how much of an impact almost 1,000 people will have to give away their earnings today. Proud of you Bethany!

The Killers Take on Child Trafficking and Exploitation

2009-07-06T11:40:00.003-04:00

More musicians adding their voices and influence to publicize the horrors of human trafficking. As of today, add The Killers to the list.

MTV, UNICEF and USAID have joined forces with The Killers to film a music video for the band's song "Good Night, Travel Well"that looks at the reality of human and child trafficking. The full video will begin airing on MTV on July 13. In the meantime you can see a preview in the clip above. The concept is similar to the amazing Radiohead music video that MTV worked on last year.

Hat tip to new friend @JaimeWalton for finding this one.

Child Trafficking, the Fourth of July, and Celebrating Freedom

2009-07-03T13:15:00.002-04:00

This is the first year I've really celebrated our Independence day and freedom while also having the knowledge of child trafficking and modern day slavery heavily on my mind.

To me, those fireworks tomorrow are going to be a bittersweet promise. <3

Beautiful Art for a Beautiful Cause

2009-07-01T15:07:00.001-04:00

Feeling inspired by the ways people use their talent to raise funds and awareness for anti child trafficking purposes.

Today's Black and White is the creator of the butterfly photograph. As I've mentioned before, all proceeds from photographer Jeff Hall's pictures go to Free Chains to fight child sex trafficking.

The SOLD Project, run by Rachel Sparks (who just got married, by the way, and is moving to Thailand for the next 9 months--congratulations!) has some great art for sale at Etsy. The photo montage was made by orphaned street children in Chiang Mai.

I'd love to wallpaper all the rooms in my house with these beautiful pictures made for a beautiful cause.

GEMS, Netflix, and the One and Only Beyonce

2009-07-01T12:31:00.004-04:00

You might remember a post I wrote last year about the work GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) is doing and the film "Very Young Girls." Thanks to @cfpdx for alerting me to the next development in the program--something that the likes of Beyonce, Halle Berry, and Netflix have teamed together for.

On July 7, Netflix will begin streaming the Showtime documentary "Very Young Girls," and high profile musicians and actresses will be using live events and "e-activism" to draw more attention to the fact that between 100,000-300,000 American children are victimized by child traffickers and pimps each year.

Beyonce says that she saw the documentary 6 months ago and has been inspired to try to help in whatever way she can. Besides visiting the girls at GEMS, Beyonce is inviting a group of the girls to be her special guests at an upcoming concert in New Jersey. She says,

"I realized that they were no different than I am. If I grew up with some of the struggles and challenges they have had to deal with and live with every day, I could have possibly been them and vice versa. After hearing the shocking stories of what those young ladies have gone through, I want to use my voice to do what I can to bring awareness to this horrific sex trafficking that happens right here in America."

You can find more information at The Council of Daughters and GEMS websites, and show your support by becoming a fan of Girls Are Not for Sale on Facebook here.

Between Beyonce's support for GEMS, and Paramore and The Fray spreading the word for Love146 at their concerts, it's good to see the music world taking an active interest in fighting child sex trafficking in America around the world.

The Price of Sex: Women Speak

2009-06-29T17:38:00.001-04:00

The Price of Sex: Women Speak (Trailer) from CIR on Vimeo.

10 Things You Need to Know

2009-06-26T16:33:00.004-04:00

So many good, important things for us to be reading.
I'm looking forward to learning more about the issues of child trafficking and exploitation from the following in the next few weeks:

Aaron Cohen and Christine Buckley's Slave Hunter (packed in my bag for a quick weekend trip to Maine)
The previously mentioned TIPS report
The 10 Things You Need to Know About Human Trafficking Report, published by World Vision

The latter is a free, downloadable PDF resource that you can get on World Vision's site here.

Read; learn; grieve; act; tell me (and the people around you) what you think.

Work and photo copyrighted by World Vision; cover photo reproduced courtesy of Jimmy Lam; In Bangkok rain, a child sells flowers to passing traffic.

Faces of Slavery

2009-06-18T22:36:00.001-04:00

Faces of Slavery from David Hepburn on Vimeo.

History Starts Now

2009-06-17T22:43:00.005-04:00

Fashion is such a fun, artistic way to escape from reality. I love my In Style, Allure, What Not to Wear and Project Runway as much as the next girl. But I love high fashion even more when it makes a difference in the things that really matter in life.

On June 22 in NYC, lucky locals will have the chance to see a fashion show, in the front row, for $25--and benefit anti-child sex trafficking awareness at the same time. The designer will be revealed at the show, and word has it that fashionistas in the know won't be disappointed.

Check out History Starts Now for more info. I can't wait to see what they'll do to make a difference next. Best of luck with the show!

Required Reading: TIP Report

2009-06-16T21:58:00.003-04:00

Today is an important day for anti-trafficking supporters. The U.S. State Department has released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2009.

There's been some controversy in past reports about political relationships and diplomatic issues shading particular rankings among countries that still have a long way to go in terms of human trafficking--Japan, you know I love you, but my finger is pointing at you. Another issue was the fact that the U.S. itself does not appear on the list, and our hands are far, far from clean in the issue of human trafficking. However, the report will apparently begin to include the U.S. as of 2010. Regardless of past controversies, I think that this is an important document that everyone who has an interest in advocating for the fight against trafficking should take the time to study.

You can view the report here. I'm going to spend the next few days reading it in depth, and will let you know my thoughts. In the meantime, check out one of my favorites (Diana Scimone!), as she already covered it earlier today.

"With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made, and where more is needed. Trafficking thrives in the shadows, and it can be easy to dismiss as something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. But that is not the case. Trafficking is a crime that involves every nation on earth. And that includes our own." Hillary Rodham Clinton

Sin City Earns Its Name

2009-06-15T20:33:00.005-04:00

It's estimated that around 400 underage girls are prostituted in Las Vegas, every single night.

On Friday, Shared Hope International began a national awareness campaign called "End Demand: Kids Are Not For Sale." The campaign kicked off with a candle lit vigil and march in Las Vegas last Friday, June 12. Shared Hope has done two reports, released in 2008 and May, that name Las Vegas as a hub for child sex slavery in America.

Vegas has made quite a name for itself as an adult's paradise with no consequences--all the way down to its wink-wink slogan "What happens here, stays here." Regardless of how you feel about Vegas, I hope we can all agree that it's time to take some collective responsibility for making sure that child sex trafficking never happens there--and if it does, rather than simply "staying there," it's met with some serious jail time.

Life is Beautiful

2009-06-14T18:12:00.004-04:00

Today we celebrated the successful run of our six-week fundraiser for Love146 called Tread on Trafficking. The rain came off and on, and we had a BBQ at one of the Love146 Boston taskforce member's homes.

It was great to get together with so many awesome people, both on the taskforce side and our faithful treaders. I'm very proud to report that the grand total raised to fight child trafficking through Love146 was around $16,000 (!!!)

I think there's little better than gathering around a campfire in the sprinkling rain to eat hot dogs and cookies with people who share the same passion for these children that I do.

I've been listening to this song by Vega4 on repeat today, and the words seem very applicable:

our hearts,

they beat and break;

yeah, life is beautiful.

Aaron Cohen's Slave Hunter

2009-06-13T19:25:00.005-04:00

Psyched for this book. Aaron Cohen (@aaroncohen777) is getting ready to release a look at his crazy life as a modern-day slave hunter.

From the back cover: "Years of drug addiction and late-night partying led Aaron Cohen, one-time best friend and business partner to Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, on a path of spiritual discovery that has both transformed and endangered his life -- a path that has drawn him into the shantytowns of Cambodia and the hidden brothels of Latin America, across the sweltering savannahs of Sudan, up to the Dalai Lama's Himalayan retreat, and through the unforgiving jungles of Burma and the deserts of Iraq. At a time when more people than ever before are enslaved somewhere on the planet, Aaron Cohen is a slave hunter -- working to find and free human beings from various forms of bondage.

The flesh trade is the world's fastest-growing and most deadly illegal enterprise -- even more profitable and easier to hide than guns, drugs, and precious gems. Free from diplomatic restrictions and political agendas, Cohen is a unique asset to government agencies, think tanks, and anti-slavery organizations. He navigates the oppressive territory of pimps and drug lords, cloaked in the all-too-familiar world of substance abuse, oversized egos, and changing rules. Working alone and posing as a sex tourist, he slips into brothels, urged by madams to select from a lineup of women and girls as young as six. Sometimes he can save them from their captors, but more often than not, he must leave them behind, taking only the evidence he hopes will eventually lead to their rescue.

Struggling to make ends meet on his own negligible salary, Cohen faces temptations few could resist and witnesses atrocities his friends and family cannot understand. And though many assignments over the years carry him away from his ailing father, his commitment to protect, assist, and empower human trafficking victims -- and to disrupt the patterns that lead to all forms of enslavement -- is unyielding.

In a remarkable exposé of a sinister trade most of us will never experience first-hand, rocker-turned-antislavery activist Aaron Cohen reveals the fast-paced, timely, inspiring, and unforgettable story of a real life Slave Hunter."

As I'm writing this, it's a rainy Saturday night, and I'm watching the Sox in my sweatpants. But I WISH I was in NYC right now at Aaron's book party. Congrats, Aaron!! I'm hoping I can be one of the first in line to get it when it debuts on June 23.

If you're interested in learning how ordinary people can make a difference in the issue of human trafficking, I hope you'll join me in reading--and be sure to check out the Abolish slavery site here.

"Well... He IS Kind of a Baldwin"

2009-06-10T22:04:00.003-04:00

As I noted last week, I've been tuning in to some less-than-quality reality TV lately for a special reason. And I ended up watching Monday's 2-hour episode of "I'm a Celebrity..." tonight on NBC.com because I missed it earlier this week. It was all worth it at around the 73-minute mark, when Stephen Baldwin got the chance to briefly talk about his charity of choice--Love146.

When I say briefly, I mean probably under a minute. But those few words translated into around 5 THOUSAND HITS on Love146's website within one hour.

The "celebrity" participants on the show talk about how it's one thing to write a check and think that you've done your part. But the only thing we might value even more than our bank accounts is our time. And to spend multiple weeks in the jungle to raise awareness about what Love146 does, about the issue of child sex trafficking, and hopefully some charitable financial donations in the process, shows real commitment for change. Good publicity/time in the limelight aside--I'm tipping my hat to you, Mr. Baldwin. I'll be voting for you until the very end.

The Power of Vision

2009-06-09T20:41:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about something that came up during one of our discussions in the Philippines on the Love146 trip. We were talking about the power of the visual experience for both good and evil. On one side of the spectrum you have the viewing child pornography, which is abuse in and of itself, but which can then also be a gateway into physically abusing a trafficked child in a brothel situation.

On the other side of the spectrum you have projects like Witness.org, which I have mentioned several times before, and videos like the Love146 history that was the initial motivator for me to become more involved.

I continue to think about this on the heels of another visual tie to child trafficking: a recent display of paintings created by children who were child slaves and abducted girls in Gulu, Uganda. The children were given an art therapy session by New York artist and newly appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking Ross Bleckner. The children's pieces are now for sale in the Lehmann Gallery. You can see some of them here

and a few at the end of the short video below, in which Nicholas Cage and Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon call for the end of human trafficking last month.

I remember a song that I had on a cassette tape as a little girl that said, "Be careful little eyes what you see." How interesting that the simple decisions of what we choose to look at can have such an influence on the people we are turning out to be.

San Jose Mercury News Reports on Child Trafficking

2009-06-04T19:35:00.004-04:00

This is an excellent article by the San Jose Mercury News' John Boudreau. "Globalization's Ugly Side" brought me right back to the Vietnamese slums of Cambodia and highlights the heartbreaking problem of child sex trafficking and traffickers specifically targeting the poorest of the poor. He also lists a number of Bay Area charities and nonprofits that are addressing the issue.

Thanks for opening some more eyes, John.

Photo by mvcorks

Yes I am Watching...

2009-06-03T20:11:00.004-04:00

...and I know this is very old news, but wanted to make sure to note that everyone should be voting for Stephen Baldwin on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" Don't feel like you necessarily need to watch it, because it's sometimes actually physically painful, especially when The Hills' Spencer Pratt opens his mouth--but you can vote for Stephen on NBC.com.

Stephen (probably most well known for his role in "The Usual Suspects") is one of eleven "celebrities" who are living in a jungle for a reality show and competing to raise money for their charities of choice. Stephen is competing for Love146. I wish that the show let them spend less time feeling tarantulas and more time talking about their causes, but I'm going to stick with it and I hope we can spread the word so that Love146 wins the grand prize.

(Annnnnnd as I'm writing this, Lou Diamond Phillips just had his hand bitten multiple times by a pack of rats. I don't understand why anyone would ever be willing to subject themselves to this.)

But regardless--thank you, and go, Stephen, go!

Love146 Partnership Trip: Last Days

2009-05-31T20:08:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since my last post, and I'm sorry! It's true that the last month has been incredibly busy, with weddings, lots of work, and out-of-town guests. But if I'm honest with myself, and with you, I think I just needed to step away for a few weeks, do a bit of grieving, and recatch my breath.

I'm hoping I'm ready now to come back and pick up the torch again. First I need to finish writing about the last few days of the Love146 trip.

We spent most of Sunday traveling from northern Thailand back to the Bangkok airport (our beloved hub), where we had an intense discussion with the Philippine Airlines workers for more than an hour to actually give us boarding tickets for our flight to Manila. (Long story, still not quite sure any of us understand it either.) We got to Manila in the evening, had Japanese food at our hotel (yum) and went to bed.

Monday was pretty much a free day and we spent the day decompressing. Paula, Matt, Kristian and I sat around a table at the breakfast buffet and talked for almost two hours about everything from the trip to books we had read to microloans to the practice of tithing. I loved that morning. Paula and I spent the rest of the day talking and exploring the hotel and the little surrounding area. I bought a pair of sandals for $4 and wore them to our dinner with Love146 staff and other nonprofit organizations that had gathered in the area. I was really excited to meet Rob in person, because it was his story that got me so involved with anti child sex trafficking in the first place.

Paula and I are standing in the hotel lobby when we catch sight of him; spiky, slightly graying hair, tattoos running up his forearms. I recognize him immediately from the Love146 videos, but am surprised and flattered when he knows who I am. We follow Rob to a hotel conference room and spend the evening eating with him, Love146's Dr. Gundelina Velazco, and several other Love146 workers and NGOs fighting child trafficking and exploitation. The evening is capped off with this play by a group called the Stairway Foundation. It is another inspiring night of being surrounded by people using their lives to take on the battle for rescuing children. At one point in between bites of cake someone asks Rob about the tattoos on his arms. He beams as he brings out a photograph of his family, a blend of biological and adopted children, his smiling wife, and their dog. He then ticks off the names of each of his kids; they are written in bold ink around a single word on his right forearm says, "Tribe." On the other forearm is a detailed, delicate image of a young Cambodian girl, accompanied by the word "Mercy."

"Do you know what ever happened to #146?" someone else asks. "Did you ever see her again?"

He pauses before saying, "You know, people ask me that question all the time. And the truth is that I don't know what happened to her, and I don't know if I ever will. But I think about her and see her face almost every single night before I can go to sleep."

***

The next morning we wake and ride in a jostling van for a good length of time out to the brand new Love146 safehome--also known as "The Round Home." The Round Home is, as you might guess, completely round and has no sharp edges or dark corners. It houses 7 girls and we have the enormous honor and privilege to attend the opening ceremony of the home. We pull into the whitewashed gates and Rob makes a joke that we are entering the Rolls Royces of safehomes. There is lush, green grass; a treehouse for playing and therapy sessions; an open-air chapel with a rounded roof; and the home itself, which is decorated with bright, round circles in reds, oranges, pinks. I am handed a program printed with "Love146 Safehome Opening Ceremony," and my name handwritten on it. To see the realization of the ideas and painstaking work and prayers and donations and vision and everything that went into making this home, and the look in Rob's eyes as he takes it all in, makes me cry with the honor of it all. The girls are peeking out of the slats of the windows, watching us as we look with awe and tears at their beautiful new home.

Marie Morin, the Love146 New England taskforce director, flew

out to the Philippines a week early to teach the girls some choreographed dances for the ope

ning. She is dark-haired and beautiful and has a thick Long Island accent. Her husband Paul is the project manager for the Round Home, and his planning and handiwork are evident everywhere. We sit, a

group of less than twenty, in folding chairs around the open air chapel and the girls emerge in a line, smiling. The ceremony is a celebration of speeches, clappi

ng, and the girls' dancing, of their colorful costumes and choreography. They wave scarves and flags in the air with

their movements, and at one point the music cuts out so we all start singing so they can finish the rest of the dance.

We eat dinner together under tents as the sun sets. The girls are energetic and friendly, gathering around to hug Marie and Paul, calling Rob "father." He pulls out his laptop to show them a portion of a Paramore concert. When the lead singer mentions Love146 and points to a 146 badge on her shirt, the girls shriek with excitement. They laugh and cheer and shout "I love you Paramore!" into Rob's tiny Flipcam, so he can take it to the band and show them what they have helped to accomplish.

We take a tour of the inside of the Round Home and the girls show us their rooms. There is a pink room with hot pink plastic armchairs and a bookshelf lined with toys. This is the therapy room. I reach into my backpack and pull out the Beloved quilt that I've been working on for the past few months at home and at the Beloved quilt sew-ins, and shyly present it to Dr. Velazco. She graciously said, "This will be perfect for the girls to point to the different colors in the sessions to help explain what they are

feeling." I know the joy that I had in hearing that made the quilt more of a gift for me than likely any of the recipients it was intended for.

The reality begins to set in that we are leaving in the morning, and that the things we have seen on the trip will be coming home with us. I know that I will think of these moments every day, for the months and years to follow. What I don't know yet is that the hurt that has been kept at bay to get through the trip in one piece will come slowly and at times least expected, and that I have been affected much more deeply than I even understood at the time. While it's painful, I hope that this certain part of me never quite heals back to the point I can forget it.

The girls, just like at the Thailand safehome, gather around the van as we pull away, waving and cheering. Tonight, at home in Massachusetts one month later, I am pledging to support the work the Roundhome is doing a world away in the Philippines--to give these girls love, a home, guidance, and a new life, for a mere $25 a month. If you'd be interested in being a part of this work, too, you can consider joining me to support the Roundhome here.

Over the past few weeks I've realized that I came back from this trip with many new heroes: each of the workers we met who have made this their fulltime job and life's goal; my teammembers; the beautiful, determined, inspiring girls themselves. But there's a special one in particular. You'd recognize him by the ink etched up and down the insides of his arms, and the love for justice and the girls he has helped to redeem etched deep on his heart.

Love146 Partnership Trip: Day 4

2009-05-09T22:28:00.006-04:00

Northern Thailand

April 25, 2009

"Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5

We wake early and head back to the Bangkok airport to board a flight to a northern city in Thailand. The flowers and trees, from birds of paradise to leopard-spotted orchids, are blooming and fill the air with a sweet, alive smell that I've missed through the winter months. They also wreak absolute havoc on Kristian's allergies. Our hotel lobby is open and airy; the heads of white flowers float in a glassy fountain.

Today we are going to our first safehome, a partner organization that Love146 has supported for years. The safehome compound is only a short ride from our hotel. It is beautiful, with a swingset out front, and overlooks a wide field of lush green that stretches on behind it. Shadows of mountains rise up out of the ground, and there are no buildings in sight. Alice*, the woman who started and currently runs the safehome, greets us as our van pulls into the heavy, wrought-iron gate. She is someone who radiates peace, and her voice is low and soothing as she clicks between Thai and English. She takes a seat on our bus for a slightly longer ride out to a resort, where we join the safehome girls

(about 30 of them) and their Thai caregivers for lunch. It is a large buffet, spilling over with spicy chicken soup curry ladled over thin noodles; bits of fried fish; stirfried vegetables; sushi. Two women behind a bar spoon out coconut ice cream and Thai milk tea for dessert. Paula and I sit at a table with Alice, and she tells us about the girls. They are shy at first and eat at their own tables. I ask Alice, although I think I already know the answer, if any of the youngest girls are by chance someone's daughter. One of them in particular is so tiny, with a pink shirt and white sandals emblazoned with Mickey Mouse. With a slight shake of her head, she confirms: Their oldest girl is 22. The youngest is 6; she came to the house two years ago, when she was only 4 years old.

While another European family from Alice's home country also lives here and works with the organization, Alice's plan has always been to raise up Thai workers and eventually give the entire mission to them. But it is clear, beyond nationalities, that these girls see Alice as their mother. She holds them, she disciplines them, and she loves them; and they clearly love her back.

Today is a special treat for the girls--we are taking them on a mini-hike to a waterfall. Lunch has eased their apprehension and they let a few of us join them for the ride to the waterfall in the back of their open air truck. We pile in, 4 of us from the team situated between 7 girls, sitting side-by-side on two benches facing each other. The breeze blows through the cabin and we take turns saying our names and ages. The girl to my left is 8; to my right is 10. They are quiet and shy. The older teenagers speak a little English and are more talkative.

"Do y'all know any songs?" Sharon asks, her blond hair blowing around her face. Without too much prodding, M.* starts singing a praise song in English that we all actually know: "Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness, open my heart, let me see; Beauty that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you." We all sing, the girls laughing and smiling at our exuberance, and it is like the sweetest salve for yesterday's rawness and despair. The girls become more open and talkative as the 30-minute ride progresses and we exchange attempts to communicate. We teach them a song with hand motions as the trees overhead get thicker and the sunlight grows less intense.

The smallest girls aren't old enough to go on the hike, so one of the caregivers takes them to a shady bank to play near the river while the rest of us push on to the jungle path. The hike itself takes about 30 minutes, a trail carved in between thick stalks of bamboo and a deep ravine to our right side. Some of the Thai we pass seem amused to see us, panting and pinkfaced, next to the unfazed kids. M., who is 14 but looks about 10, walks with me the entire way and starts

to teach me words in Thai as we walk. "Mai pai," she says, pointing at the bamboo. "Heen" is rock. "

What's waterfall?" "Naam dtok," she replies. Then she adds more words and continues to quiz me about every fifty paces. My shirt is wet with sweat and my face is flushed a dark pink by the time we climb down the last decline to the waterfall. It crashes down the cliff side into laughing children below.

The girls go right in with their clothes on, splashing one another and playing. I stand among the rocks for a long time, letting the mist from the waterfall spray my face, and watching them. This is what it is all for. To see them happy, playing, out under the open blue sky. This image in my mind will forever be one of the best things I've ever experienced. It feels like being in the very heart of hope, the moment that it's realized.

By the time we are back at the safehome the sun is setting over the field. A meal is b

eing cooked in the open air kitchen. The youngest girl grabs my hand and shows me her bed. It has a stuffed animal and two little dolls resting on the pillow. Two dogs run around the girls' feet; there are also plans for ducks and a few chickens in the future.

As we say our goodbyes one of the girls runs out to give me a gift: a little ceramic lamb, handpainted. Some of the other girls run to get theirs and bestow them on the rest of the team. Kristian's is painted blue and missing part of its face. M. runs up to say goodbye and tells me that she loves me. I tell her that I love her, too, and she waves enthusiastically until our bus pulls out of the gate.

After all of the anger, heartache, and despair, this is what I know is true: Hope is living, playing, laughing, breathing, in a small safehome in Thailand, and it is giving us something to carry home.

Love146 Partnership Trip: Day 3

2009-05-06T20:35:00.009-04:00

Friday, April 24

Phnom Penh

This day is, without question, the worst.

Phillip and our van driver pull up to the hotel at 8:30 Friday morning. We load our luggage into the trunk and set off for another notorious Cambodian slum. The morning is already heavy and humid. "You pick the hottest month to come to Cambodia," Phillip says, laughing.

We again drive down the street, now more used to having to weave and jolt through the Phnom Penh traffic. When the van drops us off a short time later, we coat ourselves in sunscreen and bugspray, take our daily Malarone pill, and set off down a winding back alleyway.

The first thing I notice are the flies, shimmering in the air and blanketing rows of exposed food on the ground--bowls of rice and little shelled snails, all covered with flies, all seemingly still planned to be eaten. Garbage is everywhere, under our feet, spilling out in piles and half-disintegrated into the ground. Children surround us, running past, some calling out, "Hello! Hello!" We smile and wave as we walk deeper into the slum, and they return to their playing.

The partner organization we're visiting today is behind a corroded aluminum sliding gate. It opens to a dusty courtyard filled with children laughing and screaming as they chase each other. They are playing some sort of English language-learning game. The words "elephant" and "yellow" are taped to the inside of the enclosing walls. Occasionally someone skids on their knees on a strip of concrete, then gets up and continues running. Most have no shoes.

We are ushered into a small, hot room which serves as the office and are introduced to the man who runs the organization, G.* His English is good and he beams at us as he explains the program and what it offers to the children: schooling, meals, vocational training, shelter for certain individuals. And here the complexity continues to unravel. This slum, like the one from yesterday, and each of the others we will see today, is mostly filled with ethnic Vietnamese, who migrated to Cambodia after the Vietnamese government overthrew the Khmer Rouge, and now live in a state of non-citizenship. They have no legal papers, which makes it nearly impossible to find jobs. They are also heavily discriminated against. Currently, no government/country takes responsibility for their lives.

G. gestures to a wall of business cards, separated into categories with labels like "trafficking" and "medical care." Each of the business cards represent other partners, lined up like a little paper army to battle against all of the trappings these people face. A small handwritten sign on the wall serves as a reminder that "Trafficking is complicated: A child would often rather be trafficked [for sex or labor] than lose their family."

After G. finishes telling us how he came to be the director of the program, we step back out into the sunlight and walk through the rest of the compound; I stop in one of the tiny rooms to buy necklaces made out of wrapped paper. It's one of the skills that the young people are learning to earn a small income. A group of children eating breakfast under a shaded area clasp their palms together at their chins and sing a greeting to us as we pass. Sweat runs down our faces and arms. "The power is out again," G. says, not apologetically, not complaining: just fact. It's in the 90's and climbing.

We finish our brief tour and then leave the compound, winding our way back out of the

cavernous alleyways. On the way we stop at a one-room shack. Inside is a woman sitting crosslegged on the ground. Smoke curls off of incense sticks and her young daughter brings us miniature, cracked plastic stools to sit on. The woman is ill, and HIV-positive. She strings delicate silk flower petals together with quick, nimble stitches at her fingertips, and makes them into a bouquet, offering it to Sharon as a gift. Her daughter runs to get us cold bottled water. G. tells us in English that this woman has had to sell her young son. We set a tiny pile of worn, faded dollar bills on the floor next to her collection of silk flower petals, and leave humbled by a new understanding of what it means to be generous to strangers even in the midst of nothing.

Photo by bartpogoda

Soon we are out of the slum and back into the blazing sun. We cross the street carefully, in a group, to avoid being hit by a motorbike. This first slum was bad; but it was about to get much worse.

We venture down a dirt path strewn with garbage and more flies, and then turn on to a small side alley. Shacks line both sides of the road, and are flanked at the end by a large shed overflowing with garbage bags. Then the planks start. Wooden bridges weave through winding, claustrophic corriders. Slum houses are crammed in like teeth on either side; underneath, visible through cracks in the boards and foot-wide gaps between the bridge and each home, is the garbage. More garbage than I've ever seen, about eight feet below us--a sea of decay, plastic, sewage, rotting fruit rinds, and more flies. The stench and sweat coat my skin and hair. In the rainy season the river often overflows, bringing the putrid black trash water above the planks and into the homes.

Children again call out hello as we shuffle by. Teenagers are gathered around a single television in one of the homes, watching a soap opera. A woman walks by with her shirt pulled up, revealing the curve of a breast and her small infant suckling. She, too, is HIV-positive, G* tells us. "Men are permitted to have outside 'girlfriends' at the brothels," he explains. "Women are not. They simply receive the virus, and then pass it on to their children." We are watched with some curiosity and a bit of wariness. The communities are familiar with G., and so we are permitted to walk into the inner workings of their neighborhoods. He makes it clear to them that we are not here on a tour to gawk at them, but that we want to help. We do not take any pictures and I try to commit what I've seen deep in my memory. Some of the boards are soft and creak shrilly as we pass over them. I grit my teeth and try not to picture falling the few feet into the mass of wet, decomposing garbage below. The thought that men from my country would pay thousands of dollars to fly to Cambodia and prey on this situation makes me want to literally turn my head and vomit. My cheap clothes, picked up with a thought on a last-minute trip to Target, seem clean, bright, expensive. My ankles begin to itch with what I assume are flea bites, and I scratch them incessantly for the next two days.

Back across the road is a school project started by G.'s organization. Three girls are gathered upstairs in a small, airy room, sewing clothes. Three ancient-looking sewing machines line one of the walls; the girls sit on the floor and one embroiders beads by hand on a pink evening gown. They bring out an exquisite dress the color of charcoal with rouched flowers and hand beading snaked over one shoulder. The pen drawing of its design is taped to the wall on a piece of torn-out notebook paper.

We thank G. for everything he is doing, and tell him we think he is a hero. He waves it off with a shake of his head, beaming, and returns to his office and the children behind the aluminum gate.

We climb back in our trusty van, guzzle water, and spend the next half hour navigating the famous Russian market. A young girl, a man with one leg, and a woman whose face has been completely burned follow us through the dark stall aisles and haggle us to buy from them. I shake my head and smile, urging them away almost twenty times. Paula is overwhelmed and keeps handing them dollar bills. When the van door closes behind us she breaks down, sobbing as Kathy tells us that unfortunately, with the young kids and disabled sellers, the money often goes straight to a trafficker.

We have lunch at the Bodhi Tree, another fair trade cafe committed to giving disadvantaged girls opportunities. We eat thin, flat noodles and drink mango passion shakes, trying not to feel guilty about a first-class meal after the poverty we've been in, and then cross the street to Tuol Sleng, the Pol Pot genocide museum.

I can't explain the sick, hollow feeling that I have in this place. (I feel it again, just typing this now.) Kathy doesn't come in with us, as she's already been here, but she explains the importance of it being part of our trip. We cannot combat the issues of poverty, trafficking, and the general human mindset in this country without understanding what they have seen just within the past 30 and 40 years. That dark, weary feeling I had on the first night returns, only weighted down by everything we've seen the past few days. Our group walks the museum with Phillip, and I have this deep desire to just shut down and not feel anymore.

((Please be warned, the below video has some VERY GRAPHIC CONTENT.))

I'm not quite sure how Phillip is able to walk us through the museum. He has lived through this; I will not share the stories he told us here, to protect his safety and anonymity, but the horrors he has experienced are many. Pol Pot and other officials in the Khmer Rouge pinned a number on each person they murdered and took their picture the day of their death. Their photos fill room after room in Tuol Sleng. It made it even that much more realistic to see the haunted look in each of their eyes, and know that very easily Phillip could have been up there staring right back at us. "I almost die many times," Phillip tells us, more than once, each time laughing. "But God save me."

For the rest of us, the hopelessness begins to set in. We stumble around each building, our eyes tired of looking at garbage and human suffering and barbed wire and the horrors of what humankind can do to one another. There's a video at the end of the museum that we sit down to watch, and then the skies open up and heavy rain begins to beat down on the tin roof, drowning

out the sound of the video. One by one, we get up, and stand in a line on the balcony as the rain pours around us. Thunder cracks through the air, as loud as I've ever heard, and then lightning flashes. There is something so good about this rain, pounding on the pavement, like God crying and reminding us of his presence, his power, his broken heart, and the rain just keeps coming down, as if it could wash it all away.

***

The last slum almost pushes me over the edge. It is another displaced Vietnamese slum, situated far away from the inner city, out in the middle of nowhere--where the government has recently displaced their entire community. After selling the land the community was living on to a Korean company, the government forced the residents out and placed them in an area far from jobs, transportation, education opportunities, aid groups, medical care, etc. These people were evicted from their homes in the middle of the night, sprayed with sewage water, and many of their only belongings were razed to the ground. They now live in varying degrees of poverty, from the nicer permanent shelter homes that look like garages, to a group that has nothing more than a tarp to cover their heads. They have no running water, no toilet facilities, no privacy. They are another group so easy to target by traffickers. As I walk through their new "home" land I see an enormous dead rat, laying bloated and face up in the dirt.

We stop in one of the tarped areas, where everyone's personal living areas are pushed together and divided by only mosquito nets. One of the women is having trouble nursing. The organization we are visiting for this slum has recently paid for her to deliver her baby in the hospital, after finding out that one of the women gave birth and laid in her own blood for three days before receiving any assistance. Pas sits on her bed, coos at the baby and prays for healing. By this time we are exhausted and everything is a blur. There are power lines above their heads and the stream is filled with garbage and human waste. A woman comes up to us and tells our organization leaders that her baby has bloody diarrhea, and no medical care. They rush to help her and we, once again, get back on our bus and pull away from the nightmare. We all sit in silence on our way to the airport, burdened, fleetingly questioning even the use for hope.

We are in the Phnom Penh airport for hours waiting for our flight to board, eating DairyQueen blizzards for dinner and poking fun at one another. We laugh over the smallest, silliest things, to the point of hysterics. Because if we didn't, we would start crying and then we might never stop.

We fly back to Bangkok that night, and are grateful to see something familiar.

Love146 Partnership Trip: Day 2

2009-05-03T20:02:00.007-04:00

Phnom Penh, April 23, 2009

We wake up at 4:30 the next morning for an early flight out to Phnom Penh. The flight attendants of Thai Airways pass deep purple orchid corsages to me, Sharon and Paula, and we pin them to the front of our shirts. After producing two passport pictures and $25 for a glittering Cambodian visa, we get in a van and take off for a Love146 partner office. The van navigates in between motobikes, trucks spilling over with boxes stacked precariously on their tops, bicycles, tuk-tuks, and entire families crammed onto a single motorcycle. Most passengers are not wearing helmets as their drivers zip and weave between imaginary traffic lines. The heat, again, is suffocating, and I hold my breath as we narrowly clear a collision with a man and his daughter. They don’t seem to notice.

Beth* greets us at the door and ushers us upstairs. The meeting room has high ceilings and bright sunlight streams in from the windows behind blinds the color of butter. The room is cooled by air conditioning until about midway through our discussion, when the power suddenly goes out. Beth laughs as if this is a normal occurrence; she has been in Cambodia for over a decade, but still has a European accent that blends back and forth between excitement, encouragement and weariness. She reminds me of what Claire Danes might look like in about ten years.

Beth introduces us to Phillip*, a Cambodian man who plays a large role in the organization, and we gather around the meeting room table drinking glasses of purified water. A sign on the far wall says, “On our own we travel faster, with others we travel farther.” The organization has a network of 40 members and also hosts focus forums on topics like shelters, preparing children for court cases, law enforcement issues, etc. As Beth ticks off the issues on her fingers I am reminded again of how tangled this web is.

For example, the deck could not be more stacked against the ethnic Vietnamese living in Phnom Penh: their nonrecognition as citizens by either the Cambodian or Vietnamese governments, extreme poverty, and several cultural customs, among other things, put them square in the crosshairs for easy trafficking. Some families sell their children out of destitute poverty, but others do it for a new piece of electronic equipment for their homes. Many instances of trafficking here are not the locked-up-in-a-brothel-forever kind, but instead take the form of virginity trafficking, where a young girl is sold to a businessman for two weeks and then returned. The price of this can range from $40-$4,000, depending on the girl’s age. A four or five year old child can be “priced” at the higher end of that range, but it’s all about what the market dictates. In a few particularly poor communities in Phnom Penh, 80-90% of families have sold one of their children.

Other issues are raised throughout the hour-long meeting; the crumbling economy has meant a rapid loss of garment industry jobs, one of the main sources of income in Cambodia, and has resulted in a large number of unemployed young women. Poverty draws traffickers like nothing else. Beth also tells us that child pornography can be bought for as little as 35 cents, and that five years ago brothels were relatively drug-free; now they are rife with methamphetamine use. If you can get a girl addicted to methamphetamines, she can work for up to 20 hours a day—and you have the ultimate control over her. Beth laughs tightly as she tells us that the same issue pertains to fishing labor slavery in areas of Thailand, but that in the West “some people are more worried about not catching dolphins for tuna.”

As the list of complications gets longer I feel myself get heavier throughout the day. It is a physical pressure, like a cloud made of iron growing in my chest. But there are also encouragements: brainstorming is evident on the colorful pieces of construction paper hanging on the surrounding walls, and diagrams fill the whiteboard. The partnership coalition is combating the different threads of the puzzle through everything from halfway houses aimed at easier reintegration to rapid response campaigns in magazine outreach to the garment district. Beth is joyful and friendly and I find myself wanting to be just like her, or at least to be her friend. She tucks her hair behind her ears when we ask how she can do it, day in, day out, and says that she has suffered post traumatic stress disorder at times so strong that it leaves her temporarily paralyzed. Then she flashes a grin, clasps her hands together and says that it’s time for lunch.

We drive to a fair-trade café that has air conditioning and fresh fruit juices. The second floor is like an oasis away from the frenetic traffic and heat of the city. I order a watermelon juice and ask Beth for her thoughts on everything from the TVPA report to what she thinks of Nicholas Kristof and the Dateline special on Svay Pak—something she says actually led to increased sightings of Western men after it aired. I am horrified, and then surprised by my own continued naïveté.

After lunch we merge back into the traffic until we turn down a hill onto a thin dirt road. Another organization has set up shop in this neighborhood, turning an infamous brothel into a center to help the community. Conner* greets us with a huge smile and an outstretched hand. He's lived here for two years and the children know him, pulling on his arms, some barefoot, crowding around us as we step inside the former brothel. They are young, elementary- and middle-school-aged, although I doubt that many of them are receiving formal schooling. I almost can't believe my eyes; I've seen this, in research for my blog, and now I am here. A few years ago this place was full of cell rooms no bigger than a closet; rows like stalls that held small girls as slaves. There were no windows, and the single backdoor had been filled to the ceiling with concrete to prevent escape.

Now the cell walls have been knocked down--all but one room, which stands as a reminder of how far this place has come. Light streams through the open front, and children run in and out. A mother rocks her young baby in a small hammock near the door. Beth stands in the center of the room, glowing as she looks from left to right. "The last time I was here, I was knocking down parts of those walls myself," she says. "How good that felt." Some of the girls who were rescued from the brothel are here now, helping and healing the next generation.

A steep, rickety ladder leads up to a room on the second floor--the closest place to a hell on earth I have ever been. The room used to be a mildewed pink: the "Virginity," or "VIP" room. I look around the small, hot room, as Conner tells us softly that thousands of videos of child pornography have been filmed in this room. When the brothel was eventually closed down, CSI investigators from the United States and Canada flew over to extensively document it, taking pictures to help identify all of the horrific scenes it was witness to. Hot tears well behind my sunglasses as I think about how much fear must have been in this room; how much selfishness, how little compassion.

Today is the perfect day for us to be there, as if it were handpicked before we arrived. A Khmer man who cares deeply for the community is in the process of moving into this very room with his family; their things are pushed against the far wall. Normal things--lamps and books and the objects that belong to a family. The room has been painted a soft yellow, and workers are sanding the door to make a bathroom. We can hear laughter and voices and excitement spilling through the slats in the wall.

We shuffle back down the stairs and outside into the daylight. The children continue to crowd around us, tugging on our hands and asking us our names in English. We have been told that a large percentage of the girls are still currently being trafficked, plucked off of the streets at night for the brothels still functioning in the area. Conner treats them all as if they were his brothers and sisters. “This eight-year-old is my little troublemaker,” he says affectionately. "What's he do?" one of our group asks innocently. “He’s a meth dealer and he’s pimping out some of the other kids,” he says.

Down the street Conner shows us another establishment his organization has built and funded--this one to minister to the traffickers and pimps themselves. The children follow us down the road, and I stoop to unpin the deep purple orchid, and give it to a girl who looks like she's about ten years old. She is thrilled, and twirls it between her fingers. Kathy passes out sticks of gum and speaks to the kids in Vietnamese as Conner gives us a small tour of the other facility. I wonder if this is the hardest part of what he does; finding love for the people it's so easy to feel hatred for. But he seems able to see much farther down the road than what I can today; and I know that his wisdom, to be able to minister to both sides of the problem, is the only way that this will ever end.

The afternoon sky darkens with a coming storm and a breeze blows the open garbage around our feet. The kids are playing jumprope and waving, Conner in the midst of them, as we pull away. The rain opens up and patters against the roof of the van before we are halfway back to the hotel.

After today, I have no doubt that I've stood somewhere near the depths of what evil can look like on this earth. And I have also seen, with my own eyes, the glimmer of redemption.

Photo by ŭn-sŭng

Love146 Partnership Trip: Day 1

2009-04-30T08:13:00.005-04:00

The following blog posts are some of my impressions and experiences in the Love146 partnership trip to Southeast Asia, April 21-29. These are dedicated, with admiration, to the teammates I had the privilege to spend that week and a half with: Kathy, Paula Sharon, Kristian, and Matthew. ~

Bangkok; April 22.
The heat is crushing after a long Boston winter; heavy with warmth and alternating waves of sweet jasmine and rotten durians. Our shirts are wet with perspiration after two blocks. The sidewalk is only present in varying degrees, and in some places is nothing but rubble and dirt connected by wobbly stone tiles. A giant cockroach scuttles by, making us jump out of its path. "I actually don't mind them so much now after that friendly one in Wall-E," Paula says.

Dinner is $2 fried noodles and vegetables in a neon-lit restaurant that must be nearing 100 degrees. A large fan lazily turns above our heads; a small, furry grey dog in a colorful sweater lays sluggish at our feet. Pas slaps a bug on her forearm as Kathy recounts recent progressions and a few setbacks in the Love146 prevention, aftercare, and partnership programs. It's Wednesday night and the last time I've seen a bed was Sunday. I dig my fingernails into my arm to keep the drowsy, seductive heat at bay.

It's dark by 8:00 p.m. and we start the 15-minute walk from our hotel to one of the red light districts. Vendors swarm both edges of the sidewalk, where there is one; a sea of activity that parts for us as we pass. We reach Phat Phong and Kristian, Matt and I stand at the head of the street while the rest of the team scouts for water. A bleached-haired young boy, no more than seven or eight, helps his mother hang "Trainspotting" t-shirts in a booth lining the street. Two men stand in front of it with little hand cards they flash at the passersby. They simply say, "DVD Sex." As we wait, we are approached by two women bearing laminated sheets the size of a greeting cards; it is a list of sex options with set prices. We wave off these lists probably more than 20 times. Akon's "Beautiful" blares in the background.

The six of us start down one of the main alleys. Knock off bags line the left side; bars, restaurants, and strip clubs/brothels are on the right. Neon signs above our heads flash phrases like "Super P*ssy," and dozens of girls gyrating in matching black bikinis are visible through entryways to each of the clubs. We pass a number of foreigners, some traveling as families, some alone. A particularly pushy man tries to convince a pregnant Kathy to step inside for a little peepshow. Most of the sellers ignore me and zero in on our two male team members, but some try to get us to buy, as well. The menus posted have lists and prices for food, drinks, and women--all on the same page.

We weave up and down the alleys and see the stereotypical scene, straight out of a seedy television movie; the older, slightly overweight, white-haired man leaning into a much younger Thai woman perched at a bar. In some of the bars, the women sit on numbered bar stools and are purchased by their seat. Others have green buttons with numbers on the front of their dresses. I pass a girl donning the number 17, and she didn't look like she could possibly be any older than that.

The girls are dressed in everything from short dresses with plenty of cleavage to a lavender evening gown knotted at the shoulder to a latex nurse Halloween costume. Some are laughing and coquettish; but most simply sit looking bored and checked out, their eyes completely glazed over. And still, we pass more men. The majority of the Thai sex trade is propagated by Thai men, but this area is a mecca for foreigners. The air is sticky, full of sweat and bodies, neon lights, blaring music, and the voices of pimps selling sex.

The last corridor is possibly the worst--a lane specifically touting young boys. Twinkling blue and red lights thread through the sky above our heads and a rainbow sign advertises "Dream Boys." Thai men in drag bat false eyelashes at us and shout "Pretty boys," gesturing at the skinny teenagers slumped in a line of chairs in front of the bar. These sellers are especially aggressive, blocking our way and trying to usher us in the clubs for a free peek. One puts his lips right up to my ear and half whispers, half snarls an expletive invitation for one of his boys. My stomach turns with a sudden wave of the sick sweetness of secondhand pipe smoke.

We have seen just the beginning of what we are up against. We turn to walk back to our hotel and pass a woman sitting on the street, her very young son and daughter fanned out beside her on the concrete. It's clear that they have gone to sleep for the night.

In front of our hotel is a small elephant. Its handlers move it toward our group and make it perform for us: a high-pitched greeting and bow of its trunk. Any other time I might have clapped and been delighted; but tonight it is just another forced show, another desperate dollar. The glass doors of the hotel slide open and I feel a weariness, physically and emotionally, set in. But most of all it is pure relief, crashing over me, to ride the elevator away from the street; to deadbolt the door; to feel the cold shower water melt away the dirt and heat and smell; to close my eyes.

Almost There

2009-04-21T19:45:00.002-04:00

I'm currently sitting in the Taiwan airport using their free wifi--it's definitely one of the nicest airports I've ever been to. The wonders of modern technology! This airport even has an orchid garden. Our flight was 17 hours and went off pretty much without a hitch. One more flight to go and we'll be at our first (24-hour) destination.

I love my team of people already--Kathy, Paula, Sharon, Kristian, Matt, and poor Derek, whom I actually haven't met yet because weather in the South prevented him from joining us. We're hoping to meet up with him tomorrow morning on our way to Cambodia. I got the chance to start Mountains Beyond Mountains and to see Slumdog Millionaire for the second time on the flight.

Okay, time to board again. Thanks for continuing to send your prayers and good thoughts our way. So far we're doing great and I am looking forward to what the next 24 hours bring.

Love146 Partnership Trip: By the Numbers

2009-04-19T16:56:00.004-04:00

The countdown is on... I'm going to be starting the journey in less than 24 hours.

Here's a quick breakdown of the numbers:

10: flights

9: days

7: forms of medication I'm bringing

6: team members

5: hotels

4: books to read: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder; The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver; What's so Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza; Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Day Slavery by Siddharth Kara

3: countries

1: new safehome to open

I'm not counting on being able to blog while I'm over there, but I'm going to come back with a lot of thoughts and experiences to share.

I've included a recent video from Love146's Rob Morris, who I will have the chance to meet on this trip. He has some interesting thoughts on the language of hope, and toward the end he mentions the Philippines safe home that will be opening the last day of our trip. I cannot tell you how honored I feel that I have been given the privilege to be there on such a special, momentous day. A huge, grateful, overwhelmed thank you to the people of Love146.

I hope you all have a great few weeks, and I'll see you on April 30.

Love,

Emily

How You Can Help Mountain Dew Fight Child Trafficking

2009-04-15T23:03:00.004-04:00

This is an important one!

There is something very easy you can do, right now, to give the fight against child trafficking a whopping $10,000. My friends over at Minga are one of ten finalists in Mountain Dew/Do Something's Energize Your Community contest. Out of the ten finalists, the top five groups with the most votes by April 29, 2009, will EACH win $10,000.

So what would a bunch of teenagers do with $10,000? They would take a roadtrip to cities around the entire country this summer to educate their peers about child sex trafficking. Because the U.S. plays such a big role in distributing and using child pornography, as well as producing a huge percentage of the demand for child sex tourism, Minga's goal is to start raising awareness and action in their peers from an early point in their lives. They say, "We believe that by creating a culture of prevention in which all children of an appropriate age are aware of this issue and are given opportunities to act against it, the child sex trade will die out with the rise of our generation."

They also have a cool social media campaign idea to get kids from all over the country involved in fighting child sex trafficking that is discussed in more detail on the site.

So if you want to help, here's the deal:

1. Go to www.energizeyourcommunity.com.

2. Click on "Project Gallery" and then "Vote for the Finalists."

3. Choose "Minga's 2009 Road Trip."

4. Click "Register Now" under "Vote for this Project."

5. Follow the steps outlined on the website. Make sure to uncheck the box on the second page if you don't want to receive updates! I just did this and even though you they ask for your information, they guarantee it will not be given to a third-party. It literally takes 2 minutes. (Note: on the third page, the only required field is your phone number.)

6. Vote! You can vote once a day until April 29, but you only have to register once.

By taking a few minutes out of today to register, and by simply clicking a button once a day over the next week or so, you could be helping to make an impact on the future of the American role in ending child sex trafficking. People often say that they'd love to help, but they just don't know how they can in their current situation. Well--here's your chance! If you're reading this right now, you are physically capable of bringing $10,000 to the fight against child sex trafficking. Let's make sure Minga gets the chance to reach our kids across the country.

http://www.energizeyourcommunity.com/

Photo by Funnyface Jessica

Child Trafficking: Blood Into Gold

2009-04-14T21:15:00.005-04:00

Well, I'm running around all over the place trying to get everything ready for my trip. I'm purposefully not giving too many details at this point, but I'm going to be writing everything down when I'm over there and will have so much good stuff to share when I get back. I received the final schedule today, and it's really setting in that this is about to happen.

In the meantime, I don't have a ton of time to blog, but this is a great music video from Peter Buffett and Akon that I mentioned in an earlier post. The goal of "Blood into Gold" is to motivate viewers out of any apathy about modern day slavery.

Works for me... how about you?

Heaven's Attic

2009-04-12T22:58:00.005-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to a UK online store called Heaven's Attic. Heaven's Attic sells jewelry, accessories, and handbags, and then shares the profits with various charities.

Currently, their main charity of choice is a worldwide organization called The A21 Campaign, which tackles slavery and hopes to abolish injustice in the 21st century. In addition to raising funds to fight human slavery and sex trafficking, Heaven's Attic aims to be socially conscious around their product sourcing. Their website says,

"One of our current suppliers work with a cooperative in the Philippines. It is made up of 50 women from a displaced community. The co-op enables them to earn a livelihood while living at home and supporting their families.

An ongoing training program offers new jewellery making skills and the opportunity to participate in the creation of new designs.

As we grow, we intend to source more products from disadvantaged communities around the globe."

If you're looking for Mother's Day or graduation gifts, I hope this post comes to mind. Heaven's Attic can ship anywhere, and my wish is that their generosity will be rewarded by success beyond their wildest dreams.

Happy Spring from Love146

2009-04-10T15:52:00.005-04:00

Celebrate Easter and Passover this weekend by remembering the beautiful freedom both of those holidays represent.

P.S. Less than two weeks until I take off on the Love146 partnership trip. Prayers and/or good thoughts are very much appreciated!
P.P.S. I want whoever does Love146's graphic design to give me lessons. They are consistently astounding.

One Cup of Saving the Earth and Fighting Child Trafficking, To Go

2009-04-09T17:06:00.008-04:00

How cute/great/amazing is this?

There is now a way for you to help the environment, fight child trafficking, AND keep your hand from being scalded/frostbitten from your beverage of choice--all at the same time!

The designer of these GreenPockets reusable coffee sleeves is donating half of all sales to a "treader" as part of our Love146 Tread on Trafficking campaign. If you buy one between April 2 and May 2, 2009, you will in effect be supporting Love146. The handmade coffee sleeves are $6.50 and fit all "to go" coffee sleeves.

I think these would be really cute party or shower favors, and they're bound to make the recipient feel like they're making a difference against some big problems in our world... one cup of coffee at a time.