“Catch the Vision, Offer Compassion, Continue to Persevere” was the theme of a May 8-11, 2008 conference in Amsterdam, Holland sponsored by two groups working to combat human trafficking in Europe. The Scarlet Cord has worked with people in prostitution in Amsterdam for over 20 years by sharing the Gospel with them and providing practical help. They assist women who want to leave prostitution to build normal lives. The International Christian Alliance on Prostitution (ICAP) was formed in 2006 and is a network of organizations and individuals devoted to offering freedom and change to people involved in prostitution and those who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation (see www.icapglobal.org for more information).
I was fortunate to be able to attend this conference, along with several of my American Baptist International Ministries colleagues: Susan Linderman (Bulgaria), Debbie Kelsey (Italy) and Lauran Bethell (the Netherlands). Over 60 representatives from 33 different countries came together for the conference. During the course of the three days, we heard from lawyers, from policemen, and from Dutch government representatives and politicians discussing the pros and cons of the legalization of prostitution in the Netherlands. On a more personal level, we heard moving testimonies from former prostitutes, from the mother of a young woman who was drawn into prostitution by her boyfriend and from a Christian husband and family man who was a client of prostitutes. Our visit and prayer walk one evening in the Red Light district of Amsterdam was an emotional experience. It’s hard to believe that so many people come to this beautiful city, full of culture and beauty, for the purpose of sex tourism or just to gawk at the girls in the windows. Prostitution in Europe knows no boundaries. The Scarlet Cord reports they have met girls from 43 different countries in the windows of Amsterdam alone. Many girls come from Africa, especially from Nigeria, and an increasing number are being trafficked from Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria. Many of these girls are very young, know no English, and have been the victims of unscrupulous sex traffickers. Upon their arrival in Holland, the girls are put to work by their traffickers in order to begin paying off their “debts” to them, which can be thousands upon thousands of dollars. Added to this, the women must pay by the hour to rent their window space, pay rent on a place to live, buy food, and often have children to support as well. They sometimes end up servicing clients 15-20 hours a day just to pay the basic bills, not even making a dent in what they owe their trafficker for the “privilege” of coming to this job.
Statistics say that up to 2 million people are trafficked each year, and many of those are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is defined as “the use of an individual for forced labor or exploitation, through the use of force, fraud or coercion”. The trafficking of human beings is now one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. It even outranks drug smuggling and the sale of illegal weapons. Whereas weapons and drugs can only be sold once, trafficked people can be sold and resold, always at a profit to the trafficker. The victim is used over and over again, always for someone else’s gain, all the while stripping her of her dignity and self-esteem.
Most victims of trafficking are women and children. They are often illiterate, belong to a minority ethnic group, are drug addicts, and/or come from areas of high unemployment and poverty. Work abroad, legitimate or not, is the main reason they leave home. The issues of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and discrimination must be addressed through programs in the areas of prevention, outreach, intervention and development. Prostitution is modern-day slavery. And that’s why conferences such as this one are so important—Christian organizations working in the area of trafficking can come together and share ideas, resources, support and encouragement. Reaching out to liberate sexually exploited women and children, helping them regain their dignity and self-respect, is a genuine act of Christian love, and nothing less than what Jesus himself would, and did, do.
Please pray for:
--Organizations around the world which are working in the area of the trafficking of human beings, and specifically for the Scarlet Cord and their ministry in the Red Light District of Amsterdam.
--For all the girls and women who stand in windows or walk the streets selling their bodies to strangers day after day. This may even be happening in your town.
--International Ministries missionaries around the world who work in this area, and especially for my colleagues in Europe who minister to these victims:
Susan Linderman—working in Sofia, Bulgaria
Debbie Kelsey—working in Padua, Italy
Lauran Bethell—working globally, based in Amsterdam, Holland
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--A team from the American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains who will be in Bulgaria from June 20-30, ministering in the town of Guliantsi through Vacation Bible School and work projects in the local Baptist church, a public school and an orphanage. Pray for safe travels and that their labor will be a testimony to others of Jesus’ love.
--For our two sons as they finish up the school year this week, and say good-bye to many of their good friends who will be moving to other parts of the world.
--For the Literacy Program at Sofia Baptist Church as we take a two-month summer break. Pray the children will be safe over the summer, and will return again in September.
DID YOU KNOW???
--10,000 Bulgarian women are trafficked each year.
--Bulgaria is among 11 countries listed by the United Nations as top sources of human trafficking, based on reported numbers of victims.
--Around 20% of identified trafficking victims in Bulgaria are children, many of whom are trafficked internally to resort areas along the Black Sea coast and in border towns with Greece, for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.
--More than 30% of Bulgarian victims of human trafficking were subjected to re-trafficking once they returned to their homes.