As of late I have been awakened to the rising problem of human trafficking in our country. My wife and I were sitting on the couch a few nights before the super bowl and she was reading and article on human trafficing in America. she read to me a quote from that article in which it stated (and I am paraphrasing here) that something like 20,000 women and young girls were trafficked into Indianapolis to service the super bowl attendees. The super bowl is the single most event in the U.S in which women and girls are trafficked.
These statics blew me away! How could I have missed this before? I guess I have just chosen to not think about the problem. I recently read a book by Philip Yancey entitled "What Good is God" in which Yancey interviews a room full of prostitutes and sex workers. Durring the interview Yancey listened to the women compare their daily quotas. "Linda, a former top madam in Australia who's business used to gross $30,000 per week, remarked that in her day the 'girls' serviced around five clients a day; now they have to accomodate ten to fifteen. Hilda from Costa Rica reacted with shock: 'Fifteen? I did up to a hundred a day, on a double shift!" I was so caught off guard by what these women were saying. I became so sad as I read this portion of Yancey's book that I had to put it down for a few minutes in fear of breaking into tears.
My question is, where is the church? Where is the government? To be honest I know the answer to that question. One of the women Yancey interviewed said that they can't rely on the government officials to stop human trafficing. The government officials are some of their best customers.
I lived for several years in a small town near Lansing, Michigan. When I first moved there I saw a building (L.A. Spa) across from a John Deere dealership which from its name looked to be a spa. Boy was I wrong. From talking with some friends I soon found out that this was no spa. I should have known from the V.I.P sign on the door that it was more than a day spa. My friends and I would make jokes about the place, but since I have learned more about human trafficing I don't find it funny anymore.
What if the women hold up in that place are there against their will? What if they are never allowed to see the light of day or step outside and get some fresh air? What if they are being beaten daily? I have never seen anyone go in or out of that building, yet the sign out front is always lit up saying they are open.
My heart breaks for those women inside that place.
I have heard that the place has been raided by the police several times yet it is still open twenty four hours a day seven days a week. I cannot imagine the conditions the women are forced to live in. Just how many women are in there?
It is strange that this little town from the outside seems to have it all together. There website states that "they come home to a small, close-knit community of established neighborhoods and businesses where people care for and about their neighbors. This community spirit makes Portland a hometown we are proud of." Yet, when you look past the shiny veneer of this little town it has a very dark under belly of sex and drug abuse. The sad thing is that this is certainly not the only town with problems like these. There are millions of small towns with these same problems, yet the brothels stay open and the strips clubs continue to flourish.
These statics blew me away! How could I have missed this before? I guess I have just chosen to not think about the problem. I recently read a book by Philip Yancey entitled "What Good is God" in which Yancey interviews a room full of prostitutes and sex workers. Durring the interview Yancey listened to the women compare their daily quotas. "Linda, a former top madam in Australia who's business used to gross $30,000 per week, remarked that in her day the 'girls' serviced around five clients a day; now they have to accomodate ten to fifteen. Hilda from Costa Rica reacted with shock: 'Fifteen? I did up to a hundred a day, on a double shift!" I was so caught off guard by what these women were saying. I became so sad as I read this portion of Yancey's book that I had to put it down for a few minutes in fear of breaking into tears.
My question is, where is the church? Where is the government? To be honest I know the answer to that question. One of the women Yancey interviewed said that they can't rely on the government officials to stop human trafficing. The government officials are some of their best customers.
I lived for several years in a small town near Lansing, Michigan. When I first moved there I saw a building (L.A. Spa) across from a John Deere dealership which from its name looked to be a spa. Boy was I wrong. From talking with some friends I soon found out that this was no spa. I should have known from the V.I.P sign on the door that it was more than a day spa. My friends and I would make jokes about the place, but since I have learned more about human trafficing I don't find it funny anymore.
What if the women hold up in that place are there against their will? What if they are never allowed to see the light of day or step outside and get some fresh air? What if they are being beaten daily? I have never seen anyone go in or out of that building, yet the sign out front is always lit up saying they are open.
My heart breaks for those women inside that place.
I have heard that the place has been raided by the police several times yet it is still open twenty four hours a day seven days a week. I cannot imagine the conditions the women are forced to live in. Just how many women are in there?
It is strange that this little town from the outside seems to have it all together. There website states that "they come home to a small, close-knit community of established neighborhoods and businesses where people care for and about their neighbors. This community spirit makes Portland a hometown we are proud of." Yet, when you look past the shiny veneer of this little town it has a very dark under belly of sex and drug abuse. The sad thing is that this is certainly not the only town with problems like these. There are millions of small towns with these same problems, yet the brothels stay open and the strips clubs continue to flourish.
Because of these problems I am made keenly aware of the need for a loving and just God. One who gives grace and continues to give it as long as we live even to those who are doing the trafficking.
1 comment:
This is so heart breaking! Anti-human trafficking has been on my heart awhile now. Here in Florida there are some AMAZING and great things happening to help stop this and I am super excited to be apart of it!
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