Posts Tagged ‘Anti-Human Trafficking’
Dear Ivanka
World Relief, along with a host of other evangelical organizations, recently penned a letter to Ivanka Trump urging her “to use her significant influence within the administration” to end the suspension of an anti-trafficking law that has provided safeguards to unaccompanied minors.
Ivanka is the daughter and an advisor to the president of the United States. Recently, at a roundtable discussion with victims of human trafficking, she referred to human trafficking as “arguably the gravest of human rights violations.”
At World Relief, we agree with her assessment. We believe all people are created in the image of God, and human trafficking gravely violates the dignity found within each person. But the recent change in immigration policy could leave unaccompanied youth who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border exposed to increased vulnerabilities to human trafficking.
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) was passed in January 2008 and ensures unaccompanied minors are afforded due process while they await their cases to be reviewed. It also ensures minors are protected from harm under the care of the Department of Homeland Security.
Unfortunately, those protections have been suspended since March, leaving unaccompanied minors at risk of harm. At World Relief Triad, we work with several young people who have already endured incredible hardships and are seeking safety in the U.S., and many of these unaccompanied minors already have family ready to welcome them.
I think of young girls like Rosa* who, in an effort to escape sexual violence, flee their homes only to be lured into jobs or other homes under the guise of protection and are taken advantage of again. Often, these young women flee to the US to the only remaining family who may offer them protection and a home. Sometimes these young girls, like Rosa*, are pregnant by their victimizers, and they undertake this journey to protect themselves and their children. Their love and incredible resilience is something to behold.
I also think of young boys like David* who leave their homes because of gang violence. Imagine a world where daily, someone threatens to take your life and the lives of your family members. This is the reality for many young men who come to the U.S. in search of safety.
Previously, the provisions outlined under the TVPRA ensured these youth had a safe place to stay at detention centers while their cases were reviewed. Once their cases were approved, these youth would either be reunited with family members already living in the U.S. or connected to resettlement agencies like World Relief. At World Relief we were able to connect these vulnerable young people to counselors who could walk with them through their trauma, offer guidance through our immigration legal services programming and help integrate them into the community through ESL classes, job placement and social activities like youth soccer leagues.
Unfortunately, without the protections of the TVPRA, hundreds of vulnerable youth are being denied these life-saving services and are being expelled to their countries of origin where they face the threat of violence and exploitation again.
In March, DHS cited public health concerns amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for taking such measures. But, as we state in the letter:
“The recent acknowledgment from DHS that children are being tested and expelled to their countries of origin only after testing negative for COVID-19 demonstrates that these children do not present a risk of bringing further incidence of COVID-19 into the U.S. We must not allow COVID-19 to serve as a pretext for abandoning our national commitment to standing for vulnerable children and against the scourge of human trafficking. Our faith compels us to speak up for these children.”
Join us as we advocate for these vulnerable youth by reading and signing on to our letter to Ivanka Trump.
*Names have been changed to protect the individual’s identity.
Rachel Parker serves as the Anti-Human Trafficking Services Program Manager at World Relief Triad. She supervises and coordinates outreach and direct services for survivors of both labor and sex trafficking, and collaborative responses across North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad. Rachel supervises the coordination of the Triad Rapid Response Team and the Triad Labor Trafficking Task Force to support victim identification across Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson Counties and provides training for professionals, communities, and churches across NC.
Stopping Slavery before it Starts – A Story from Cambodia
Human trafficking continues to flourish today in 167 countries – that’s 85 percent of the world. Every day, women, men and children of all ages and nationalities are captured and forced to work on farms, in factories, in hotels or in the commercial sex trade – generating billions of dollars of revenue each year. But the worldwide church has stepped into the fight against this gross injustice. World Relief stands with local churches in Cambodia and the United States and empowers them to protect their communities from human traffickers. Cambodia’s bustling capital city, Phnom Penh, is a hot spot for slavery and trafficking – but across Cambodia, there’s a growing movement of churches standing with their communities to end slavery. In 2014, over 400 Cambodian churches worked together to spread awareness about human trafficking. This crime flourishes in darkness, but when it’s brought into the light, perpetrators begin to lose their power.
Yim Srey Oun in Cambodia
Yim Srey Oun, a farmer and mother of three, lives just outside Phnom Penh. As a busy mom, she counted on her family to work together to finish the ever-growing list of chores. “My husband and I always encouraged our children to study and we worked hard to support them. However, many times we would need their help to do other work in the farm but I never had thought of letting my children have enough time to study at home,” said Oun.
Then, last year, she attended a human trafficking training session through World Relief. She learned she could love her children by allowing them more time to devote to their studies. Their education is an investment in the security of their future – and it could protect the children from situations in which they’d be vulnerable to traffickers.
“I hope the anti-trafficking project of World Relief will continue to help and train the rest of the parents in my community…Moreover, I am looking forward to seeing fruitful cooperation and more efficient and effective implementation to prevent human trafficking in our country and stand for vulnerable people who live in our community as well,” said Oun. Pastors, youth volunteers and village leaders are spreading awareness about human trafficking far and wide across Cambodia.
Until all are free, the church will stand strong in the pursuit of justice.
Empower a Hero: Veng Bun in Cambodia
Veng Bun is a church leader, father, farmer – and a hero. He lives just outside the bustling city of Phnom Penh, a source and destination city for trafficked men, women and children in Cambodia. People of all ages are bought and sold in this city, then exploited for sex, labor and domestic work. In the past, Veng was also at risk of being sold into slavery. He wasn’t aware that traffickers preyed on migrant workers like himself.
Veng in Cambodia
Veng grows crops on a small plot of land outside his house, but that hasn’t always provided enough income to support his four children. To make up the difference, he often traveled for jobs as a construction worker or wood-cutter. On these routes, workers become vulnerable to traffickers. This is how many become enslaved for years, working without wages or a chance to go home.
Then, two years ago, Veng attended a trafficking prevention program hosted by World Relief. There, he realized his community’s vulnerability, as well as his own. As he learned about the tactics of traffickers, Veng knew he couldn’t keep this life-saving information to himself. Since he was a church leader, he was perfectly positioned to protect his village. Then World Relief staff equipped him with the tools he needed to educate his neighbors about the risk factors for human trafficking and ways they could prevent it together.
Since then, he’s watched his community grow in trafficking awareness. By shedding light on an injustice that is shrouded in secrecy and conducted under the cover of darkness, Veng is leading a movement that spreads from his church into the greater community. Now, his church and village stand together as a united force against human trafficking. This is what makes Veng a hero.
You can stand with church leaders like Veng as they empower others to confront the deep injustices impacting the most vulnerable. Join the movement today at EmpowerAHero.org!
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
– Acts 20:28
Pray, Educate and Empower: 3 Ways You Can Abolish Modern-Day Slavery
There are more than 20 million slaves today. That’s more than 20 million human lives that are being exploited, abused and neglected. These victims of human trafficking are forced into prostitution or coerced to do hard labor with little to no pay. It’s prevalent in many countries around the world, including the US where it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked into forced labor or the sex trade each year. But in spite of the enormity of this abuse and neglect of God’s creation, there is significant hope. Churches, organizations and volunteers throughout the US are on the front lines combatting this injustice with the power and love of Jesus Christ. And as we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the US, we want you to join us at World Relief as we empower the vulnerable to overcome one of the worst tragedies of our time.
Here are three simple ways you can be a part of this movement to end modern-day slavery:
- Pray – one of the most powerful tools we have as Christians is prayer. God’s powerful response to the prayer of a righteous person knows no bounds (James 5). Join our partners at Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking on January 10 at 6 PM EST to pray for freedom.
- Educate – Know the realities of the problems and the solutions. To learn more about the facts, figures and stories of human trafficking, visit here. And don’t keep this to yourself, but share the knowledge with friends, small groups and others in your community – our impact is stronger when we’re united.
- Empower – To empower victims and survivors of modern-day slavery, you can either invest financially at https://worldrelief.org/donate or you can give your time and skills by helping survivors recover. For more information about volunteer opportunities, check out https://worldrelief.org/volunteer/us-opportunities.
The problem is enormous, but as followers of Jesus Christ who gives freedom from bondage, we have the solution to bring an end to modern-day slavery.