My friend, Christianne, recently attended the William Wilberforce Conference with her husband. What she brought back was a passion to see modern day slavery end. It is hard to believe that there are millions and millions of people TODAY who are slaves. Even harder to grasp is the fact that many of them are children. Christianne posted information regarding this issue on her blog and I would recommend you visit her site.
Also calling attention to the issue of slavery, is one of the ministries that Josh and I support, Voice of the Martyrs. In this month's newsletter, there was an article about a young Christian girl who was a slave on a Muslim brick kiln in Pakistan. When it was discovered that her mother and she were Christians, the slave owner punished them. The mother was raped and murdered and the girl was forced to be a concubine of the manager of the kiln. She was only 14 years old. For several years she was violated by this older Muslim man who then arranged a marriage to her against her will. Voice of the Martyrs learned of her story and, the day before the wedding ceremony was to take place, they purchased her freedom for the price of $1100 (US). They pulled her out of the kiln and moved her to another part of the country to live with a Christian family. This story really stirred me. It is unfathomable to me that a human life could be measured in dollars. And, only $1000 at that.
Pray for Voice of the Martyrs and other ministries, like the ones Christianne mentions on her blog. Pray that as the Gospel of Christ imparts life and freedom from the bondage of sin, the children of Christ will fight for life and freedom from physical bondage.
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7 comments:
Thank you for posting this, Rebecca. The story of that young girl is just one of millions, and it is heartbreaking. When we were at the conference last month, we heard from a number of panelists who are working to end instances of slavery such as this one. One woman was stirred to do so because of her personal experience as a missionary in Spain. When she and her husband and two daughters were ministering there, they encountered a little boy living with a supposedly Christian family who was actually enslaved to them. This family beat him regularly, and they forced him to do their bidding. This was a Christian family whose "ministry" was to take in children, all of whom they enslaved, and they garnered funds from churches back in the States to upkeep this practice under the guise of "operating expenses" -- which is basically the money they used to buy and keep these children enslaved to them.
When this woman learned of this one young boy's plight, she went to the police station and would not leave until the Spanish government did something about it. They refused, saying it was none of their business. The woman got International Justice Mission involved, who helped write letters on her behalf. She stayed at the police station for three straight days until, eventually, the government took notice and freed this young boy and about 11 others.
The woman came back home to the States to find ways she could consider fighting for these kind of causes overseas but did not find many missions organizations (including the one she originally worked under in Spain) that would support this kind of work. It is such a taboo topic and a source of denial for many people today. She ran up against so many obstacles in gaining a position within an existing missions organization that she eventually started her own, and that is the work she does until this day.
Thank you for highlighting this issue (Rebecca & Christianne). I recently heard of this issue too, on an Oprah show of all things. It highlighted the story of a young boy from Ghana named Mark who, at the age of 4, was sold by his father into the fishing trade for a mere $20.
It is sad to think this is going on in countries all over the world, particularly when you think of the freedoms we enjoy.
Thankfully, Mark (who is now 8) and several of the boys & girls who were in bondage with him, have been freed. The IOM (International Office of Migration) in Ghana is working with other organizations dedicated to ending modern-day slavery to free the children who are enslaved and also educating families to ensure more children are not being sold into bondage.
Thanks again for drawing attention to this issue. It is heartbreaking, but there is something we can all do about it.
Christianne-- it is hard to believe that there are stories like that from "civilized" countries like Spain. Praise God that there are people around the world, like the one you mentioned, who are fighting tooth and nail to see this end.
All--I would like to read more about the issue. Do any of you have a recommendation? I've heard of a few different titles, but I'd prefer not to take a stab in the dark, so if you know of a particular title, please let me know.
Try starting with Not For Sale by David Batstone. This is one I've been hearing good things about and have been meaning to read myself.
Oh! And you should definitely read The Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen, the president and founder of International Justice Mission. Kirk just finished reading this book and said it was powerful and painful to read, but also one that offers an incredible amount of hope. It is also on my book list right now.
Christi, thanks for the recommendations. I decided to start with your second one. . . I placed an order for The Good News About Injustice. I'll probably post about it when I finish reading it.
Thanks for raising awareness about this issue, Rebecca (and Christianne). It's not something one hears about very much and it's easy to forget the sorrows of others and to be complacent. God help us!
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