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By Dorothy Brotherton
“SOME of these girls are the same age as my sister,” said Chris.
He is only 14, and wants to help rescue young people in Asia who are caught in
slavery and sexual exploitation.
Chris is one of the middle school students from Trinity Baptist Church in
Kelowna, who recently held a weekend demonstration to raise awareness about the
problems of international child sexual exploitation and modern day slavery.
They call their initiative Freedom 151, referring to the number of people in the
youth group.
In a further play on the number, their goal is to raise $151,000 – to go toward buying the freedom of people caught in slavery.
For the demonstration, the teens chained themselves together and held signs at
Burtch and Sutherland, one of Kelowna’s busier street corners.
They stayed on the corner overnight, from 4 pm May 23, to noon May 24, calling
attention to the problem – and demonstrating solidarity with their counterparts around the world, who are
forced into the sex trade or into working without wages.
“I have so much freedom. It’s not fair that other kids around the world don’t have freedom,” said Scott, age 14. Malcolm, age 13, added: “I think it’s amazing that we are worrying about stupid things, like what we should buy next
for our own pleasure, when there are people suffering in the world.”
Simon Ng is the middle school youth pastor at Trinity.
“Kids today want the hard facts, not a padded version of the truth," he said.
“I told them all about the sex trade in Asia, how girls as young as six years old
– just like their sisters, cousins, kids they babysit – are being used by men the age of their fathers and grandfathers. And that makes
them mad enough to do something about it.”
Ng was very satisfied with the demonstration. He said that, apart from a few
drivers shouting at the group, the response was strong from people going by,
and from local businesses. The feedback, he said, was 99 percent favourable.
For the kids themselves, the impact was also strong.
“The students have been working on the goal since December, and it is changing
them, in the way they see themselves in the world. They are rethinking every
time they go to spend money on something,” said Ng.
He explained that they tell themselves: “If I don’t spend this money, it could help a teen my age.” So far, the group has raised more than $70,000 – nearly half their goal.
The money has been raised at events the kids organized, such as yard sales or
doing chores for neighbours.
Some have pitched in money earned from baby-sitting or various other jobs; some
have asked parents and friends to donate to Freedom 151 instead of giving them
birthday gifts.
The funds will be directed to International Justice Mission Canada.
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IJM brings together lawyers and law enforcement officers around the world, to
tackle child exploitation in India and Cambodia. The group gathers evidence to
help local authorities lay charges. It also runs aftercare centres, where kids
who have been freed can get education and medical attention, and learn life
skills.
Ng explained that this approach is better than simply buying the children held
in bondage, which could be done for as little as $100 each. He said that
creates a bigger market, and makes the problem worse in the long run.
IJM tells the story of 14 year old Manna, who fled from her abusive home in
South Asia, and met a woman who offered her a job selling fabric.
The woman gave her a place to sleep for the night; but the next morning, her ‘benefactor’ was gone – and Manna discovered she was in a brothel.
She tried to refuse the first three men who paid to rape her. She was assaulted
by the brothel keepers, until she was too weak to resist. For two years, she
was held in the brothel and raped by paying customers.
IJM personnel heard of the situation, investigated, alerted local authorities,
and then worked with them to release Manna and three other young girls in the
same situation. The brothel owners each received a five-year sentence.
Ng has told these kinds of stories to his youth group, and they are actively
promoting IJM’s work.
IJM notes that human trafficking is the world’s third largest criminal enterprise, after drugs and weapons. Worldwide, there
are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade.
An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people are sold across international borders
annually. Approximately 80 percent of the victims are women and girls, and
around 50 percent are minors.
The United Nations estimates the total market value of human trafficking is in
excess of $32 billion. The U.S. State Department calls sex trafficking the
engine of the global AIDS epidemic.
Contact: freedom151.com.
July 2009
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