Beyond the Nachos – The Underbelly of the Superbowl

Beyond the Nachos – The Underbelly of the Superbowl.

Open Your Eyes

This note goes out to my entire global community.

I’ve often merely managed to be at the right place at the right time.  This summer was no exception.  Some of you know that I spend some of my vacation time writing essays for scholarship contests if I happen not to be holding a steady job.  This summer was no exception.  I came across many questions that were really not so relevant to anyone but me over and over again.  “What is your dream?  Why do you want to go to college?  How will you use this prize money?”  I wrote essay after essay about myself and how helping me will change the world!  Not exactly, but you get the idea.  Then one day, I came across a legitimate essay question.  “Research and investigate current initiatives to combat modern-day slavery. Based on your research, how do you propose to increase awareness of human trafficking, reduce demand, rescue victims and bring about new policies to eliminate this activity? Cite examples.”  The prompt jumped off the screen demanding my attention.  You need to care about me.  You need to answer this question.  I was currently in the right place at the right time in my leisure reading to begin answering this question.  I was currently in the middle of a book by Gary Haugen titled Terrify No More.  Haugen is the founder of International Justice Mission, a group of legal experts and criminal law enforcers who work to free slaves and bring criminals to justice.  Half my research was already done and my heart was completely committed.  All that was left was the dirty work of a longer research paper.

I spent a week researching and writing.  It was a very heavy week for me.  I thought about quitting halfway through.  The material was not only impossible to swallow, but trying to present the material for someone else to eat was a very difficult process for me as a writer.  It still is.  Needless to say, it’s too important for me to not lift a finger typing when I sit on my computer and talk about other stuff all the time.

In my research, I found something very interesting but perhaps not so surprising.  Anyone know what Edmund Burke said?  He said, “All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”  What I found during my research on human trafficking was this.  Not enough good men are doing anything.  And why are good guys doing squat?  If they knew what was going on and they ignored the problem, they wouldn’t be called good.  They do nothing because they know nothing.

Was anyone besides me taught in elementary school not to hear evil, see evil, or speak evil?  I was taught and taught well.  Perhaps for an elementary age kid, this is not such a bad policy to live by- but now if I plug my ears, close my eyes, and start humming “I love you, you love my, we’re a happy family” to myself, I drown out the cries of the oppressed.  Twenty seven million people today are slaves and if I pretend they don’t exist, they won’t.  No-

They exist.  They also have names.  Narakalappa exists.  He lived as a slave for 70 years.  IJM helped to rescue him and now he lives in freedom.  Nandi existed.  She was rescued- after she was infected with AIDs.  She died of it.  If only good men would have done something sooner…  Jyoti was rescued and lives on today.  In fact, she was one who went back to rescue more girls like herself. Terrify No More was one of the most painful and yet hope giving things I have ever read in my life.  Painful- because so many are still out there.  So many are still being used nightly even in our own nation.  Hope giving… because slaves are rescued.  Slave owners and pimps are brought to justice.  Communities are changed.

At Old Dominion University this next year, I am going to do everything in my power to bring about awareness.  Why?  Well how are good men and women going to do anything if they don’t know what needs to be done?  Nothing.  I am no lawyer.  I am no police officer.  I have this though- my loud voice.  Will you open your  ears, eyes, and mouth in order to fight against this evil?  It may break your heart but I hear that it’s good to do that every now and then.  If you are interested in partnering with me in the fight against Human Trafficking, contact me personally.  You do not have to be living near by for me to ask you for help.  I have a lot of work to do and I can’t do it alone.

For further information on Human Trafficking and the fight against it, check out http://www.ijm.org/