Today I went back into my archive of posts. The words I wrote in the past, still tear at my heart.
This week was human trafficking awareness.
So many of us are still completely unaware….
Stand Up For A New Habit
11 Jan
Trafficking In Persons Report Map 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today, at A Holy Experience, we are blogging on habits.
Habit–an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary
I have habits. Don’t we all?
Some are good habits…
Some I wish I didn’t have at all.
The great part is that I can make a choice.
Some people don’t have a choice….
They are forced into a life style that they neither wanted nor chose.
For whatever reason, they are living a life that most of us will never know.
Today, January 11, is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
I wanted to repost a blog entry that I wrote last year.
Make it a habit this year, to not ignore the facts.
To be aware of what is going on.
To make a difference wherever and whenever you can.
Stand up for those who are unable to speak for themselves.
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NO LONGER SILENT
15 May
WARNING: This blog may contain some material that readers will find difficult to read or might find offensive. Some may choose to believe this doesn’t really happen….but it does and if you are touched by these stories you can be a part of making a positive, life altering change in the lives of thousands of women. ONE WOMAN AT A TIME.
Last Saturday my daughter and I had opportunity to hear about W.A.R ministry. (Women At Risk) The mission organized a few years ago to help women around the world that were captured in the horrors of sex trafficking. Many people will read this and think, “That is someone else’s daughter, or sister, or friend. I don’t have anything to do with that. Sex trafficking is such a dirty, perverse life….well….I just don’t want to even think about it.” I beg you to reconsider. There are women that are crying out–but they have no voice. Children and young girls are sold into a life too heinous for us to comprehend. I want you to read the story I am about to tell.
A young, 14 year old girl, the daughter of missionaries in Bangladesh saw with
her own eyes the treatment of females in southeast Asia. Her parents worked at a missionary hospital. One day she was there with her parents when another 14 year old girl was left in front of the hospital like no more then a sack of garbage. The girl had been raped by male members of her family. She cried out and resisted their attacks, to no avail……but because she had resisted and screamed she had to be silenced. They poured acid down her throat so she could no longer cry out. Her throat was badly damaged and she could not eat…she was dying. I suppose they didn’t want to deal with her dying so they threw her in front of this hospital. The staff of the hospital showed her love and acceptance. God healed her throat through the skilled hands of the doctors at this missionary hospital. She was able to eat again and to have good health again…..but she never uttered another word. She could not talk. Her words were gone.
This young missionary daughter remembered this and years later started W.A.R to help give voice to the silenced cries of women of the world. This mission outreach creates circles of protection in the name of Christ. They provide safe havens for women who have never known safety, or have never known what it is to feel worthy in the eyes of others. Safe houses are used to rescue women, women’s centers teach job skills and offer medical support, sponsorships for women and orphans, empowerment, humanitarian missions, and research.
They also have emergency rescues…..this is the story of one such rescue.
A 2 week old Thai baby was sold to sex traffickers for $200. Her mother already had 4 children and could not afford another. She made the choice to sell her infant daughter to sex traffickers who would raise her in that culture– “breeding her” for the life of a prostitute. When the Women At Risk women heard about this they got the baby back. She was redeemed. Eighteen months later she is now processed for adoption into a loving home.
Baby trafficking is on the rise. Most sane people don’t like to think about that. It turns the stomach. It hurts me to think about innocent children being used for such vile purposes. The woman at the meeting on Saturday informed us that there is a village in Cambodia that is known for being completely used for pedophilia. Men that are interested in that lifestyle know about this village and evidently it is a popular vacation spot for those who are the depraved among us.
These women and children who have never known worth are exposed to the love of their Heavenly Father…..many for the very first time. They are told and shown that they ARE worthy and that they ARE fearfully and wonderfully made. That God loves THEM. That He SEES them….and that He HEARS them even when they are forced to be silent.
You too can make a difference. You can host or attend a WAR chest party at home, work, or church etc. High end products made by disadvantaged women rescued from traffickers and employed with dignity. You can also pray, creating circles of protection for these women and those helping them.
Please visit http://www.warinternational.org for more information.
FACTS:
*800,000 people are illegally trafficked against their will every year. 50% are children. 70% of the women are sold into sexual slavery.–US State Dept.
*The new slavery…human trafficking, is the fastest growing segment of organized crime. 100,000 are trafficked INSIDE America.—FBI
* Virginity is sold by traffickers to the highest bidder and children forced to perform sexual favors.
* 2 Million girls a year are brutally circumcised, one every 15 seconds–Secretary General
* 5,000 honor killings reported a year. –Christian Science Monitor
* Every 14 seconds, a child is orphaned by AIDS. 19 million women live with HIV/AIDS.–United Nations
* Routine Physicals are death traps, when organs are stolen for sale on the black market.–Sudanese Human Rights Lawyer
* 114-200 MILLION
women are “demographically missing” due to infanticide, dowry deaths, domestic violence and all manner of risk. –UN Secretary General
UNVEILING THE HIDDEN GENDERCIDE.
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It Just Dawned On Me 