I went to a seminar last night on human trafficking. It focused on domestic trafficking, specfically in the Atlanta area. Diane Langberg, a psychologist who focuses on trauma and abuse counseling, was the keynote speaker and brought a clear and concise presentation of the reality of this evil that is infiltrating societies exponentially. Yes, even the United States. Even down the road from where you may live. Here are just a few interesting facts I took away from the evening.
- Atlanta, our fair state capital, is ranked number three in the nation for being a hotbed of child pornography and sexual exploitation. Other resources show that it is a hub for international trafficking as well (http://www.innocenceatlanta.org/)
- Until 2001, the pimping of a minor in Georgia was classified as a misdemeanor, punishable with a $50 fine.
- We heard a story of a young suburban girl meeting a new friend at school, going to spend the night at her house one weekend, to have a drug slipped in her drink by the girl’s “father” and awakened to find herself trafficked over state borders to be used for prostitution.
- The Mall of America (in MN, the biggest mall in the US) is one of the number one breeding grounds in the U.S. for prostitution and for pimps to pick up new victims.
- Research has found that a majority of girls and adult women engaged
in prostitution were sexually abused as children (Sibert & Pines,
1981). - Many girls escape these abusive homes by running away. Having nowhere to turn and no resources, pimps prey on their vulnerability by giving them food, shelter, and clothes. They then force them into this cycle of prostituition by instilling fear through beatings and manipulation. The victims feel as if they have no other place to go.
Dr. Langberg painted a very blunt picture of what it meant to enter into these hurt and broken places with these women and children. The work is isolating. Recovery is long. It is repetitive. There is no quick fix. Or pat answers. She gave a great analogy of this community that lives on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It is in a town called Garbage City. And that is literally what the town is built on. Garbage. Packed down garbage are the streets you walk on. The houses people live in are made from it. The people smell like it. It sticks to their skin. It becomes part of who they are. In the midst of all this rubble and refuse, there are people who take this garbage, sort it, and make something new out of it. Old paper becomes beautiful journals and tapestries. Furniture is built. Even jewlery is made. All out of stuff other’s percieved as garbage.
Listening to her speak last night, I was simultaneously sobered and encouraged. As I pray about what my response to all of this should be, I know that it is nothing to be taken lightly. If I wanted to committ time and energy to this cause, it will cost me. It could cost me everything. I will see some of the greatest evil humans are capeable of. I will understand to a fuller extent the evil Satan is capeable of. Those who enter into “Garbage City” come out with stains on their clothes and a stench they can’t get out of their nose. Am I willing to go there and enter in? Is that what God is even calling me to do? I do know, however, if God says yes, and I obey, that he will equip me with everything I need. And if I did, I will join in the work that He is already doing, in taking what Satan intended for evil into His good. Women and children who have been told their entire lives they were trash, who even believe themselves to be trash, can be transformed by a man named Jesus who can take the trash of their lives and turn it into something beautiful.
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:3
