People need to know!

I've written about IJM before and I'll write about it again.

People need to know that these awful things really happen in our world today. Slavery is alive. Sex trafficking is alive. And it is awful.


International Justice Mission is is a human rights organization that works through the legal processes of freeing modern day slaves and trafficked individuals. In overview, IJM goes through the hard process of finding police and other community leaders who actually care about these people to go through the process of legally releasing individuals from their entrapment. They especially work to find minors. These men, women, and children are enslaved in a few different settings.
With sex trafficking, women are often offered a job by a pimp or madame posing as someone else and saying that they can work to send money to their family. Or the girl is sold into sex trafficking by her family. These girls can range anywhere from around age 7 and up. If the girls agree (they are ticked) to go with them, the people in the brothels beat them, drug them and rape them about 40 times to break their spirits and make sure they stay. If they try to escape they will be beaten and can possible be killed. The pimps don't care. These people are cheap to them and it doesn't matter if they die. These girls and women go through life being raped daily.
With bonded labor, children and families are enslaved in brick kilns, rock quarries, and rice mills. They are beaten and forced to work at a wage that can never pay the slave owner back and they constantly build up debts that the slave owners makes up. They don't get any care if they are beaten to where they cannot walk or work. Pregnant women are forced to work until birth and then forced to get right back to work afterwards. There are sometimes children as young as age 2 working in their master's house.

After releasing these people, they then work in aftercare (with social workers, counselors, lawyers, etc.) to help them learn life skills and find a way to make a living and life for themselves. For those in bonded labor, IJM gives these families some land and a home to start their own farm. This gives them an opportunity to build up a new life. The women in sex trafficking are taught to make something them sell it to make a profit, often in the U.S. All of these individuals have to learn that they are of value and precious. They have been taught that they are worthless and have lives are not worth living. We must teach them the opposite. They are human beings who deserve everything this life has to offer them. Not to be beaten and raped.

I encourage you to check out IJM. Of course, their website has much more information than I can give. You can raise awareness, send money (it cost about $500 to free one slave) and just talk with other about bonded labor and sex trafficking. Many people do not know about this. This needs to be heard. People die every day because of this. Speak out for those who cannot!!

http://www.ijm.org/

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!