For Their Rescue

Mexico City Police Free 107 'Slave Workers'

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:32:00 +0000

Enlarge Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
Enlarge Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
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MEXICO CITY December 3, 2009, 11:20 pm ET
Mexico City police on Thursday freed 107 people who were forced to work under slave-like conditions in a clandestine factory making shopping bags and clothing clasps, authorities said.
Police raided the factory, which was hidden inside an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center, after a worker escaped and informed authorities, Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said. Twenty three people were arrested for human trafficking.
"The victims were being exploited and some were sexually abused," Mancera said. Many were suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, and some had cuts and broken bones.
Most were from indigenous communities and didn't speak Spanish. They were abducted or lured from communities across Mexico and taken to the St. Thomas-The Chosen by God rehabilitation center, Mancera said.
The freed workers, whose ages ranged from 14 to 70, were forced to work for 16 hours a day, with just a 30-minute break. Mancera said they were fed chicken feet and rotten vegetables.
Mancera said the rehabilitation center in Mexico City's populous Iztapalapa district had been open for at least eight years. But he didn't say for how long the factory had been operating or where the shopping bags and clothing clasps were sold.
He didn't say how many were men and how many were women.

via npr.org

Posted via web from sethjohnson78's posterous

Human Trafficking Atlanta

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:48:00 +0000

via youtube.com

Posted via web from sethjohnson78's posterous

Be Humankind

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:33:00 +0000

via youtube.com

Posted via web from sethjohnson78's posterous

"Shelters are not solutions" ???? What the what?!?

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:20:00 +0000

An article came out yesterday that stated, "Shelters are not solutions".... Here is a link if you want to read the article, but below are my comments which I sent in to the paper.

This article is incredibly disturbing and disappointing. It is so poorly written and uninformed I had extreme difficulty in finding a starting place for my rebuttal. I figured the best response was to try to address each point in the article, individually.

Senator Wyden should be esteemed for his efforts in trying to pass this bill. He is also correct in stating that $50 million is a modest sum of money. When you consider there are nearly 27 million individuals who are enslaved around the globe, and the FBI estimates there are 300,000 American minors who are trafficked within the US every year, or that Human Trafficking is a $32 Billion business (more than Nike, Google, and Starbucks combined), $50 million is a drop in the bucket.

Moreover our Government’s “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons” only spent $23 million last year on the fight against trafficking in the US, which is $76.66 per American girl, per year. So, this money is desperately needed.

As one of the readers had mentioned, “This article is an adventure in missing the point.” The reader could not have been more right. Demand is definitely an issue, but to say that, “Shelters are not solutions” is simply an ignorant statement.

Officials in Portland have said recently that we have 2-5 minors who are trafficked every week. Simple math would show, that is a minimum of 104 victims a year. What should we do with these individuals? These individuals have been raped 5-20 times a day by 5-20 different men. Most of us know someone who has dealt with rape or molestation and we know how bad that damages the rest of their life. Just imagine being abused to the level that these girls are experiencing. Yet "Shelter are not solutions."?

Siddarth Kara is quoted in his book, “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery”, as saying, “If the 27 million people who are in slavery today were set free, where would they go?”

The writer of this article doesn’t seem to understand that, “Freedom without a future is simply another form of slavery.” (James Pond, Transitions Global)

The writer goes on to pose the question, “... could there be benefits of legalized prostitution?” The answer is yes! Legalizing prostitution absolutely could be beneficial.... to the Trafficker . If the writer had done proper research it would have been discovered that in places where trafficking is legalized (which in correction to the writer, prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada, but not legal in Las Vegas) it only attracts traffickers. Which naturally makes sense from a business stand point. If you are a business owner, wouldn’t you go somewhere that your business is not being scrutinized and under constant threat of being shut down?  

The writer continues to create conflict in the article by pointing to Sweden’s model of legalizing the selling of sex, but outlawing the purchase (which I think could be a good model) and seemingly aiding the plight of the trafficking victims. By using this model as an example the writer is saying that, “ ... without men’s demand for and use of women and girls for sexual exploitation, the global prostitution industry would not be able to expand.” This is great, but what about all the girls who are left?

The writer quotes The Council for Prostitution Alternatives and points out all of the damage being done to these women “in our own city of Portland”, not to mention all the underage victims, yet still makes the statement that, “Shelters are not solutions”. This is without taking into account that, “Interviews with prostitutes around the world revealed that two-thirds suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), in contrast to fewer than 5 percent of the general population, and in a higher percentage as well as more severe form than that suffered by Vietnam veterans.” (Farley, 1998) 

To make the statement that, “Shelter are not solutions” after knowing the horror which takes places to these women and little girls in our nation and around the world, is unbelievable!

Shelters might not be THE solution, but it is definitely a primary facet!

Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Human Trafficking is a horrible injustice that is ravaging women around the globe and in our own backyard.

Everyone should find a way to come to the aid of these women and girls for the sake of our humanity, and Senator Wyden deserves to be applauded for his work not questioned.

Help Transitions Global win $25K Just by voting!

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Nominate Transitions Global

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:15:00 +0000

Bike For Shelter Thank You Video

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

This is a video that I did as a thank you to all the volunteers who helped with Bike For Shelter!

the devil is in the details

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:19:00 +0000

Over the last two years I have lived and breathed, all things, Human Trafficking. I still have a lot to learn, but there is something that I have noticed during this time that is turning into a concerning trend...

I have noticed a great majority of people who are moved to donate time or money to organizations solely because of the issue. The issue itself is very emotional and very moving. The thought of little girls trapped in cages and sold for sex. Who wouldn't want to help?

However, it seems like people are so moved by the cause and a good website, philosophy, video, or photos that they do not ask the hard questions.

What I mean is.... At the end of the day, when the donor time/buck has stopped... What is actually happening? What lives are actually being changed? What are these organizations actually doing?

There is no doubt that this issue is huge, and that there are many avenues to use in order to end modern day slavery. Some of these avenues are; Awareness/Education, Legal (such as changing laws or prosecuting perpetrators), Law Enforcement, After Care, Etc...

The thing is... I have seen a ton of groups that have a lot of "fluff" and seemingly no substance. Or worse than "fluff" is when they use "faith" to draw people to support their organization. They use "fat" words like; Campaign, Task Force, Coalition, Villages, Communities, Strategic Initiatives, Targeting Predators, etc.... I call them "fat" words because they are words that make it seem like the group is doing a lot, but when we stop and think about it... we are not really sure what they mean and/or what is actually being done.

I understand why people stop at the "fat" words.... We are all really busy. We care about the issue and we are compelled to throw our money at the first cool website that pops up and then tell ourselves that we did our part... Or we go the extra mile and volunteer at an event with another friend. We do this because we want to do something, but we just don't have the time to drill down to the details....

Recently there was an article that came out about a group who claimed to run an aftercare in the US. I remember looking at this groups budget a couple of months ago and thinking, "there is no way they can do what they say they are doing." They are now being sued for misuse of funds by the Attorney General.

I am sure there were a lot of people who bought into the story, the cause, and the website. I am sure the donors figured that no one who claimed to do such amazing work could be misusing funds.... I hope the AG is wrong... I hope I was wrong... I hope this group comes through the investigation and lawsuit and they prove everyone wrong. Not for themselves but for the survivors that they claim to serve.

Please do not misunderstand the purpose of this post... I am not trying to "call out" other organizations. I do not feel that is my place. What this particular post is for.... is to encourage the average Joe or Jill who wants to make a difference.

I know the "devil is in the details" but please believe me when I say that it is worth that extra time to ask the hard questions.

The Johnson's are moving

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:10:00 +0000

So here we are... on another chapter of life. I love this journey of life!

I love that the journey is cyclical and not linear. I love that it is beautiful, ugly, crazy, sane, disgusting, wonderful, happy and sad. It is both wild and calm.

If there is one verse in the Bible that I have clung to over the years it is, "A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure."

There have definitely been seasons in the journey where I have questioned this verse but so far it has proven itself true.

So, the next chapter means that we are moving to Jacksonville, Florida (closer to the Holy Land, aka "The Swamp"!).

I have been offered a job that would position me to make a significant amount more than my current job. God knows with three daughters and a wife, I need to make all I can. :-)

Mar is extremely excited about the opportunity and the girls have mixed emotions... but overall we are happy about this next stage in life. That is not to say that we will not miss the friends and family that we have here in Oregon!

I came to Oregon over 6 years ago amid non ideal circumstances... I thought I would never like it here and yet... I am saddened thinking that I won't get to deal with the winter road ice... wait.. that is a joke... I won't miss that at all!

All kidding aside... The last 6 years have been a time of restoration and vision casting. I will miss the beauty of Oregon and I will miss her people.

Most people are excited about this but the number one question I have fielded is, "What will this mean for your work on Human Trafficking?"

I have spoken extensively with the founders of Transitions Global and we are all looking at this move as a positive! We will be expanding our reach into the South Eastern States.

I have been researching Human Trafficking in Florida and believe me... there, unfortunately, is much to be done!

So, it might be a couple of weeks until my next blog... but I will be sure to post once I get settled in!

Much Love and Enjoy the Journey!

Seth

Bike For Shelter in the News

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:34:00 +0000

I met the mother of a trafficking survivor

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:37:00 +0000

Ok.. .So, some of you know that I am working like mad to help coordinate www.bikeforshelter.org

I have the rest of this afternoon and tomorrow before the event on Sunday.... So, needless to say, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. :-)

One would be correct in asking the question, "If Seth is so busy then why the heck is he taking time to blog? Shouldn't he get to work!?!"

I had to share this, because it is what will keep me going this weekend!

I was in Staples about 15 minutes ago faxing something that I had already faxed and I shouldn't have been there because I am really busy... Honestly I had a lousy attitude and it was just a pain in my butt. (sure go ahead and judge me, I am sure none of you have ever done that :-) )

However, there was apparently a reason I was there. The lady behind the print counter asked how my day was and I did the usual small talk... I told her about the event and how busy I was. I told her I never imagined that it would take this much work to get several hundred people on bikes to ride around in a big circle.

She tells me she totally understands and that she will email her friends about the event because she used to work with "Bike Oregon". I thought, "Wow, that is huge and could get us some more exposure." She then asks, "What is the cause?" Which prompts me to launch into my standard Human Trafficking speech that I have given a thousand times....

The response I received was different than any other to date.

She stood their stunned..

She then broke and was on the verge of tears as she told me that her daughter was taken when she was 16 and was prostituted all over the South Western states. She told me that the guy who took her impregnated her and that she is now a 25 year old, single mother, who is an alcoholic.

Now it was my turn to be stunned! How in the world was I having this conversation?

I quickly asked her if her daughter had gotten any help and she said, "That she just drinks to numb the pain and the memories."

I gave her my info and told her to contact me and I am going to work with our Director at Transitions Global to get her some help.

I am honestly blown away... And now I have to run to pick up t-shirts, print outs, keys, etc, etc, etc.....

Much Love,

Seth

Is "Awareness" really all that?

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:18:00 +0000

*** The Following is a caption from "Stuff White People Like***

"An interesting fact about white people is that they firmly believe that all of the world’s problems can be solved through “awareness.” Meaning the process of making other people aware of problems, and then magically someone else like the government will fix it.

This belief allows them to feel that sweet self-satisfaction without actually having to solve anything or face any difficult challenges. Because, the only challenge of raising awareness is people not being aware. In a worst case scenario, if you fail someone doesn’t know about the problem. End of story." *** END CAPTION**

Now I know this is a bit snarky and stereotypical but as the old saying goes, "Sarcasm is a subtle revelation of truth."

As someone who works my tail off, everyday, in the attempt to raise funds to make an actual impact on the lives of actual girls who have been rescued from slavery, I can tell you that awareness does not go a long way.

I can't remember where I read it, but I read a section from an activist who stated that, "Good intentions cannot be traded on in the Global Market."

We cannot rescue girls, we cannot give them the trauma counseling that they need, we cannot feed or house them, we can't even buy them toilet paper, with awareness.

I have 617 "friends" on Facebook and 1051 "followers" on Twitter... I can count maybe 20 (and that is generous) people who have donated their time or money to the cause of abolishing slavery.

There are 27 million people (and the number grows everyday) in slavery around the globe. It is the second leading crime around the Globe. Awareness has its place, but it alone is not going to make a difference.

A good example of awareness not making an impact is the Church... the number of people who tithe averages somewhere between 5-10%. It has been said that if 100% of the church tithed then we could abolish hunger. I am pretty sure that we all are plenty aware of what global hunger is... and yet we have not placed a priority on ending it. If I talk to one more Church leader about getting involved in this issue in a significant way, and they tell me that they need to, "pray about it."... I am not sure what I am going to do, but it won't be pretty. (actually it probably won't be more than me shutting my mouth and burying my feelings)

Or another example would be the recent scandal with the well known group, ACORN. They were caught giving advice to a pimp and prostitute (in the Baltimore and DC offices) on how to tax shelter their income (even after being told that the couple was planning on bringing in minors from South America to put them to "work")

The sad thing about this is that ACORN stands to obtain BILLIONS from the Government Stimulus package... And yet the Government only spent 100 Million on Slavery last year. Slavery is not something that is new to our Government... We even have a specific office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. We just haven't placed it as a priority. The Government is not going to solve this problem!

Right now we (the group I volunteer for) have multiple young ladies in Cambodia that are depending on us for their care... Soon we will have girls in Mumbai, India that will depend on us and hopefully, eventually, we will have girls in Portland, Oregon that will depend on us.

We CANNOT do this alone. There is no one in this field that is a "Bruce Wayne" independently funding the fight against slavery.

We NEED your help! I think the main reason that people do not move to action is that they see all of the staggering statistics and become frozen with the the thought of, "I don't have enough to give to make a significant impact on this situation". Your probably right... You ALONE, probably don't have enough...

BUT consider this:

If you invest: $12

You can support one girl’s school supplies and books to attend English classes, or literacy school.

If you invest: $25

You can support one girl’s meals and snacks for an entire week

If you invest: $50

You can support one girl's counseling and social work support to help in healing.

If you invest: $75

You can support one girl's education, including her school uniform

If you invest: $100

You can support one girl’s vocational training in a career of her choice.

The need is urgent and waiting to help these girls is not an option!

Please hear me when I say, that this blog entry is not meant to be a chastisement in regards to our apathy (we are all guilty), but it is meant to be a "Call to ACTION"!!

Please consider partnering with us to make a lasting impact on the Globe!

The best way to give right now is to go to:

GLOBAL GIVING and help us win a $6000 bonus!

OR go to

TRANSITIONS GLOBAL and donate directly to our organization!

Thank you all so much!

Much Love!

Seth

$100 Million Dollars

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:17:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what $100 million dollars looked like?

That is a lot of money, right!?! The problem is, it is such a large amount of money that we don't really compute it... we just kind of go on tilt and just default to, "yeah, that is a lot of cash!"

In FY 2008, the U.S. Government obligated approximately $76 million to 140 international anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) projects benefiting over 70 countries and approximately $23 million to 82 domestic anti-TIP projects. These projects work to ensure the survivors are protected, the traffickers are put in jail and human trafficking is prevented. This is great so far and still looks like a lot of money...

The catch comes in to play when you consider the enormity of the issue. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million people in slavery around the globe.

Often times we hear this, and think that this is an issue that is somewhere other than the US... but in actuality the FBI estimates that there are 300,000 domestic girls that are trafficked every year in the United States of America.

So lets start breaking down these numbers:

1.) There are 27,000,000 people in slavery minus the 300,000 (that is just domestic children) in the US... that equals, 26,700,000 international victims, left.

2.) If there was $76,000,000 spent on international victims that equation would be.... $76,000,000/26,700,000 = $2.84 dollars per international victim.

Now, admittedly, there is somewhat of a discrepancy... Most Governments agree that there are 800,000 people "trafficked" (actually moved across country lines) every year, but that there are many more are slaves within their particular country. So just for fairness sake, let's rework the math.

$76,000,000/800,000 = $95 per survivor.

That is a little better!

3.) There are 300,000 American girls that are trafficked every year... We spend $23 million to help them... So, let's work the math on that.

$23,000,000/300,000 = $76.66 per girl.

At this point these numbers are all relative. This could be good and it could be horrible... who knows?? Well, to give us some perspective, let's back this whole scenario up to before a slave is purchased, and ask ourselves, "What is the purchase price?"

The average price to purchase a slave is $90. (insert jaw drop here)

Really, $90!! I spent more than that on my last trip to the grocery store and I don't even remember what I got.

One little girl who I know personally, was bought for $300, and her virginity was sold for another $300... .That was in Cambodia. How much do you think someone would pay for a virgin here in the States?

So, in summation... We are spending $5 more than the average purchase price per international victim (and that is just the ones that are actually moved from country to country) and $13.34 less than the average purchase price per domestic girl.

I personally don't think this acceptable, especially when it is estimated that Traffickers are making $32 Billion a year!

To give you some perspective on how much $32 Billion is... It is more than Starbucks makes... It is more than Google makes.... and it is more than Nike makes... COMBINED!

Ok... If that were not enough for the comparisons, humor me with one more... think about the fact that the US Government FY budget for 2010 is requesting $130 Billion for more war spending. That is 1,300 times more than the yearly budget for Human Trafficking.

OK, So... I guess my point in all of this is that we cannot count on our Government to do anything substantial about this issue. At least not right now. As to the question of whether we should be able to count on them.... Well... that is another blog all together.

We the people! We the people of The United States of America! We must do something about this! It is time for us a Nation to put up or shut up! Stop talking about how bad everything is and start doing something about it! If I hear of one more "awareness rally" or "awareness campaign" I am going to throw up! How about we have a DOING rally!?!

*** as a side note to Christians (I personally am a Christian)... the way I read things is that James 4:17 says, "If you know the good to do and you do not do it.. that is sin." It can't be more clear cut than that. However, for a little more theological debate, Isaiah 1:17 says to, "Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of the orphans. Fight for the rights of the widows."

If we look at this in context, we see that passage in Isaiah is directed at the "Rebellious nation" the focus is not on the ones who need justice, it is on the ones who need to seek it! We are not to "Seek justice" as long as we get them "saved" or as long as they hear the message. The verse is speaking to us and that we need to do it for us! Not for them.... Let's pull our heads out of our a..err... religion, and start doing what is right because it is the right thing to do.

When we do our good works with the hidden agenda of hopefully one day getting the individual "saved"... we are just prostituting our good works. For crying out loud... Just go and love someone without worrying about their eternal security. Leave that up to God. I dare you!! Don't bother with arguing the theological ins and outs of this theory with me. Just go try it and see what happens!***

***For those of my non believing friends and readers.... Thanks for letting me rant!****

Back to the subject at hand.... There are little girls that are waiting on us to just move to action! To put our time and our pocketbooks where our mouths are!

Edmund Burke (an abolitionist) has two great quotes that I love... The first is, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

The guys that are making $32 Billion a year are banking on this!

The second quote is, "No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."

I understand that we all have lives, responsibilities, and pressures of our own, but we need to step up and do something... anything!

Imagine if everyone in the nation were to give just 1 dollar... We could more than triple the Governments annual budget for this cause.

And for those of you who have read this far... you are probably getting fired up and you might even give a damn! If you decide to actually act on your feelings... you are probably going to get push back from friends and family.

Most people don't want to hear about this. They don't want to think about 14 year old girls being raped 10-20 times a day, by 10-20 sweaty, dirty, disgusting, vile men. They don't want to think about the broken teeth that the little girls have because of what they have had mashed into their faces. They don't want to think about the destroyed GI tracts that are because of what they have been forced to drink/swallow. They don't want to think about the beatings, or the car batteries that are hooked to these girls to shock them into submission. They don't want to think about them and I am not sure why.... I think it might be, because if we do... if we truly think about this part of the population then we feel that we must do something!

And most of us are to busy living for ourselves to do that.

To those of you who are getting fired up and experience push back from those around you... I offer this quote to you from William Lloyd Garrison (an abolitionist in the 1800's). He said to those who criticized him for his enthusiasm, "I have need to be all on fire, for there are mountains of ice around me to melt." He was realistic (as I am) about the immediacy of ending slavery.. yet he was uncompromising. He said, "We have never said that slavery would be overthrown with a single blow; that it ought to be, we shall always contend."

I pray that each one of you reading this entry will be moved to action. There are little girls in our own backyard and around the globe who are waiting on us!

Generosity

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:21:00 +0000

There have been two statements that have been weighing on me over the last few days...

The first comes from this book that I am reading. It is titled, "A New Kind Of Christian". These two guys are having this conversation and they start in on financial stuff.... The character known as "Neo" is responding adamantly and says,

"We live in the most affluent culture in the most affluent period of human history. If we can't discipline ourselves to learn the joys of generous living, I think we're an embarrassment to the gospel."

This phrase has absolutely pierced me! I don't make a lot of money (compared to some) and I try to support my wife and 3 daughters... I have debts to pay off, first cars, my own car, we would like to own a house someday, college tuition to worry about, weddings (good lord), retirement, etc... In the midst of all of this I feel compelled to "discipline myself to learn the joys of generous living". How do I balance all of this? I remember being in Cambodia and seeing a woman with her two small children... she was lying in the gutter... We had just come out of a "fun night", eating at an Italian restaurant run by an expat. This lady was dirtier than I have ever seen anyone. I immediately was nauseous and overwhelmed with compassion for her. But I had know idea what to do... I still don't know what to do....

The second statement comes from James Pond on his most recent blog, he says,

"If we are willing to sow indifference to children being sexually harmed, are we equally willing to reap the consequences?"

The answer, for me, is NO!

Am I willing to reap the consequence of just sitting by and arranging my life? Am I willing to be content with climbing the corporate ladder, a super fat house, two cars, a padded 401k?

I am not advocating that we give up everything for others... Or maybe I am... I guess that is still to be determined. It much harder to be a radical idealist when you have a wife and kids to support. Not that I would trade them for a minute... I am just saying that I understand all of this is easier said than done.

So, then if we are balancing life... What are we to do???

I guess for me it comes down to "learning the joys of generous living"! Find out what that means and grasp it and don't let go. I think when we become givers through and through (religious or not)... when we learn to let go of ourselves... that is when we are truly happy. That's my story... for now at least. :-)

Thanks for reading and partaking in my journey! I love community...

Feel free to comment and enter the conversation!

Probing

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:17:00 +0000

I had an unexpected meeting with a new friend last week and he shared a quote with me that has been haunting me ever since. I figured I would share it with the few of you that take interest in my writings. :-)

The writer of the quote is Shane Claiborne and it is from his book, "Irresistible Revolution".

"I did a little survey probing Christians about their (mis)conceptions of Jesus. I learned a striking thing from the survey. I asked participants who claimed to be "strong followers of Jesus" whether Jesus spent time with the poor. Nearly 80% said yes. Later in the survey, I sneaked in another question. I asked the same group of strong followers whether they spent time with the poor, and less than 2 percent said they did. I learned a powerful lesson: We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what He did. We can applaud what He preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore His cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that rich Christians do not know the poor.

When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world. But that collision rarely happens. I long for the Calcutta slums to meet the Chicago suburbs, for lepers to meet landowners and for each to see God's image in the other. It's no wonder that the footsteps of Jesus lead from tax collectors to lepers. I truly believe that when the poor meet the rich, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end."

How many poor people do I know? How many people do I associate myself with that are completely different than I am? How accepting am I of people that are different, whether they are poor, fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, gay, straight, black, white, purple, whatever…. Here is a question that I rarely ask myself… how accepting am I of people that are rich? Volunteering with an NGO, it is so easy to be critical of people that are “rich”. I easily pass judgment on them. How dare they live in their fancy houses with their flex fuel vehicles, their boats and jet skis, 2.5 kids? How dare they have their perfect little life and not give to those who are suffering all around them? Yet, if I compare my own standard of living to the other 94% of the globe, I am incredibly wealthy.

Riding the bus this week has been incredibly humbling. I can be SO judgmental! And the crazy thing is… it happens before I even know it. I am instantly sizing someone up and have decided whether or not I will give them the time of day, before I even know it. I am in a sense creating a caste system in my mind. I am deciding who my equal is, who is beneath me is and even who is better than me. Funny, there are not many who fall into the latter category.

I am reminded of the story of Jesus and the woman at the well (the adulterer/prostitute depending on your translation). There is a lot going on in this narrative and I won’t even pretend to try to interpret it all… I am just taking it at face value for the narrative that it is. The thing that stands out to me the most, besides the fact that Jesus was completely chill with the lady, is in verse 6, “…and Jesus tired as he was from the journey, sat down…” After I work a 13 hour shift and stand on the street corner for 15-20 minutes and then have to ride on a bus for 45 minutes… the last thing I want to do is listen to some idiot or meth-head go on and on with their drivel. And yet, this is what they need the most from me…. Just to listen… Just to accept them… Just to “love my neighbor as I love myself.” Why is this so frikin hard?

How does all of this apply to abolishing human slavery? I am not quite sure… other than that as my heart is changed to the world around me… I think I will become more passionate, more caring and more effective in caring for the survivors as they are freed!

If you are still reading… well congratulations! You made it to the end of my drivel and I appreciate the fact that you care enough about me to read through this whole thing. Feel free to comment on your thoughts or points of interest… I love to hear from others and join into conversations about our humanity!

Comments...

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:15:00 +0000

This past Friday an article came out in the Portland news on OregonLive.com

The article was about a man who was sentenced to 7 years for pimping out a 13-year-old girl.

The U.S. Attorney was quoted as saying that, "The prostitution of a minor, by both her pimp as well as the 'johns' out there taking advantage of her, is a crime that offends all standards of civility."

The comments that followed the article were pretty passionate and all indicated that this guy should have gotten a lot more time than 7 years...

Here are a couple of quotes....

JLundegaard said, "Seven years? for Pimping a 13 year old? That's rape not 'work'. I'm feeling ill. Seven years! The judge who gave this sentence deserves seven year."

filoviridae said, "watermelons have the same density as a human head, i'm just sayin'"

viking87 said, "I met a guy today that robbed a bank and served 8 years. Not saying robbing a bank is a good thing, but I would rather have him on the streets or living next door than this sick pervert. Even if he turned over the names of her customers, 7 years is too light. I hope they are investigating the sickos that used this girl."

MrWellington said, "He's not only a judge, he's also a client!"

And so it goes.... comment after comment about how this guy needs more time and the judge should be punished as well.

The one question I did not see anyone asking was, "What has happened to this little girl?" I am constantly amazed at this... Maybe it is because working through all of the damage with a little girl is not glamorous, but we (as a society) are not looking beyond the disgusting Johns, or the organizations that find these girls, or the creeps who traffick these girls, or all the awareness dinners... We as a society are not asking the question, "What has happened to this little girl?"

We probably all know someone who was been sexually assaulted at least once. Think about the level of trauma that individual goes through and probably deals with their entire life.... Then multiply that by years and many, many rape scenarios.

What has happened to this little girl????

My hand at poetry

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:10:00 +0000

So, I am in an English 120 class and I was tasked with writing a poem about something I am passionate about. Bet you all can't guess what I decided to write about. :-)

I have never claimed to be a poet so this poem could be horrible... However, I did put as much passion into as I knew how and so I figured I would share it with you all!

The poem is based off of the four main principles which Transitions Global operates by:

1.) Rescue is not an event; it is a process.

2.) Freedom without a future is simply another form of slavery.

3.) When you can't tell the difference between her and us, we have done our job.

4.) By giving girls choices, we restore their voices.

The twist is that I wrote the poem from the perspective of these precious girls that we have the privilege to serve.

"Rescue me"

This is not an event

To simply remove me from harm and strife

This is a process, a journey

To help me rebuild, to restore my life

I know what I am saved from

What are you saving me to?

Once we are all rescued

What are we to do?

Will you commit to me excellence?

Will you truly give me a chance?

Will you work tirelessly?

Will you give me a life of substance?

This trauma has disabled me

Will you restore my voice?

I am fragile but I am strong

Please show me that I have, choice.

End sex trafficking in two steps!

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:13:00 +0000

The Center for Disease Control talks about Sex Trafficking and states that if we want to end this atrocity we should...

1.) Raise the status of women and,
2.) Eliminate the entitlement of men.

James Pond (founder of Transitions Global) quotes this all the time. But for several reasons I have had this two part solution rolling around in my head for the last couple of weeks.

Raise the status of women! (I will blog about the entitlement of men soon, two part answer=two part blog)

This is such an intense statement! Why do we have to raise the status of women? Why was their status ever lowered? When was their status lowered? How do we raise their status now that it has been lowered? I have 3 daughters and a wife... How do I make sure that their status is raised? I have a Mom, a sister, female in-laws, I work with almost all women, I volunteer with almost all women, there is a house, half way across the world with 20 women that are survivors of sex trafficking who I would give up just about anything for... How do I make sure that their status is raised? Is it my responsibility to worry about any of this? Why should I worry about a woman's status, I am a man? Am I more of a man if I worry about the status of a woman or less of a man?

As all of these questions are swirling (some of these are theoretical... I do believe that a woman's status should be raised and it is all of our responsibility) I have been thinking about an excerpt from a book that I read. The book is "Captivating" by John Eldredge and his wife Stasi. It has been a while since I read it, but there is this passage that I remember every time I think about raising the status of women.

John talks about the day that God made woman (if you don't believe in the creation story.. just humor me and put your attitude on hold for a sec and try to get the point of what I am trying to illustrate). So... God made woman... when did he make her? Last! Not because that is her place in line but because He was saving the best for last. John Eldredge points out that God had created all of these amazing things and yet it was incomplete. It was missing one more thing. John says that, "Woman is the zenith of God's creation"! What a powerful statement! The creation of woman is God's work of art! She is His master piece! (BTW John does this way more eloquently than I just did... you should get the book, it is a good read)

And yet.... Look at the state of women today.... It is, for the most part, despicable.

Here in the States we have grown leaps and bounds in the area of "Women's Rights" but there is still the "glass ceiling" and I think that some of it is out of kilter and off balance. Not to mention 300,000 American girls that are trafficked for sex every year within our borders. Even still we have, I think..., progressed further than other parts of the globe.

Even in our own churches, women are not taught to be captivating creatures who are God's masterpiece. They are taught to behave properly and to take care of the children and their men. They come home to men who do not know how to be men... these men in turn do not know how to show these women that they delight in them, and that they have captured their heart.

Overseas the status of women is also despicable! In India, according to Siddarth Kara author of "Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Day Slavery", 500,000 babies have been aborted over the last decade simply because they were girls. China has the one child policy which has led to lots of unwanted daughters. In fact, some religions teach that if you were born a woman it was because you did something wrong in your previous life, and maybe if you are good in this life then next time you will be born a man.

I am not naive enough to think that I can solve all of the problems (or ask all the questions) pertaining to the status of women in one blog (or in one lifetime for that matter) but these are just some of my thoughts over recent weeks.

Feel free to comment and participate in the discussion!

Will you join me in RESCUE???

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:07:00 +0000

"Rescue is not an event; it's a process. A girl's "rescue" is not consummated in the event of removing her from harm's way. This is simply the beginning of the journey. Rescue, understood properly, is the process and passage a girl will go through in finding her voice. We want to honor her journey as she moves from victim to survivor to leader."

The previous quote is one of the guiding principles that Transitions Global (the group I work with) operates by. I think that it is a mind set like this that is vital to the work that we do! We see so much emphasis put on "raising awareness" or seeing agencies "kick in the doors" because it is the glamorous thing to report on. We love to see hundreds of people at rallies or a bunch of cops with well intentioned westerners kicking in the door to some scummy third world brothel rescuing the screaming children... But once all that is done.... Once the stage is packed up, the speaker is headed to another rally, the lights have been turned off, volunteers pick up all the empty cups, janitors clean the toilets. Once the victims are "rescued", the pimps have escaped, the brothel is shut down (at least for now), the little girls screams and wailings have subsided to quite whimpers and stifled sobs while they wait at the Police station to be processed.... THEN WHAT!?!

In most cases these girls just fall through the system and are quickly re-trafficked and/or are re-exploited. There is a small percentage that end up getting bounced around from NGO to NGO getting some services and then are re-trafficked. The average success rate of safe-homes around the globe is 30%.... This means these girls are being failed 70% of the time! And that is just of the number of girls that are lucky enough to make it into a safe-home. When I was in Cambodia in December I talked to an organization that was ready to rescue a huge group of girls, but were waiting because they had nowhere to put the girls once they "rescued" them.

This isn't just happening overseas... Here in the US we have 300,000 American children that are being trafficked in the US every year and we only have 39 beds available for them. We are currently working on setting up a home in Portland, Oregon and we have a vice-cop that says she could fill our home in 24 hours! Our founder always says, "The only difference in the slave trade between the US and any other part of the world is.... Geography!"

The picture above is of me and a survivor in Cambodia that I have the honor to serve. She is a stronger individual than I think I could ever be. Her story is horrific but thanks to the work that Transitions Global does, she has an incredibly bright future. One of the things that most impressed me was when I asked her what she liked most about Transitions... She said, "all of the other NGO's felt temporary, but Transitions feels like home." That phrase melted my heart!

Here comes the rub.... It takes money to work through the process of "Rescuing" these girls! But it is not a lot of money (in the grand scheme of things). Transitions is a grassroots organization that needs passionate people to become involved! Even though we are small we are effective! Our success rate is between 75-80%!!! This is huge, when compared to the previous figures! In order for us to increase and make a significant impact on this issue, we need people like you to get involved!

If you are still reading it means that you care... Awesome! I am going to ask you to partner with me! I have a personal goal of getting 600 people to donate $10 a month. When I do this, I will be able to make sure that all of Cambodia's basic monthly needs are taken care of for a year. I am on a mission to recruit 100 people that will, 1.) Donate $10 a month and 2.) Will get 6 other people to donate $10 a month as well!

Will you join me in the "process" of Rescuing these girls?

If you will... Please, #1.) Send me an email at sethjohnson78@gmail.com and let me know that you have taken the challenge, 2.) Click this LINK and fill out the donation info, and 3.) get 6 others to do the same!

Love you all! Thank you for joining me in this journey!!!!

A struggle with faith

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 18 May 2009 06:02:00 +0000

(this is another long one, if you want to read... cool, if not... whatev) :-)

What a weekend...

Let me give you a little back story.

For the last two weeks James and Athena (the founders of Transitions Global) have been in India, doing the groundwork for setting up a safe-home for survivors of sex trafficking. This has been bittersweet for me... In the last 5 and a half months I have grown really close to James and Athena and I now treasure their friendship. Along with their friendship, I am constantly in awe of their compassion and drive to serve the girls we have in Cambodia and the girls that we will serve in India and soon here in Portland. I can't say that I have ever seen zeal like they display from anyone else. I am truly honored that I get to stand beside them and contribute whatever I can. Sometimes, I honestly feel like we are staring into the pit of everything that is dark and disgusting in this world and reaching into it to pull these girls out. I can't think of anyone else that I would want to be in this fight with. So, while I am beyond excited that we (as an organization) are opening a home in India, I miss the daily phone calls and meetings between myself and the Ponds.

However, this has given me a good rest (seriously these guys set a pace like none other. It is awesome, fierce, manic and beautiful! I can only try to keep up) and time to think and process some things. Also, my wife went down to Bend for a girl's weekend and the girls were at the sister-in-laws house. So, this weekend I had some serious quite time.

The last several months I have had a real struggle with my faith (I know some of you just rolled your eyes, cause either you think faith is a crock or you are a "super-christian" and can't believe that I would be struggling... but I don't care, this is my blog).

You see I grew up in the bible belt and bounced around between Charismatic and Baptist churches... I was also told a lot of stuff that I believed only because I trusted the people who were feeding it to me, not because I was really thinking about it and processing it... Since then all of the people that I really looked up to have let me down in pretty huge ways (that is not to say that I have been perfect). This I believe is just a part of life... we live a shitty world and bad stuff just happens.

Several years ago I needed a wake up call and I got it! My wife left me and took our two kids and moved to Oregon. The following year I drank and smoked my troubles away while sleeping on some really good friends' couches....I did things that as a "good little christian" I never thought I would do. Then one day my wife called and told me that I should move up to Oregon and give things a go. I still remember being in the front yard smoking a cig and asking God how in the hell did I get my family back... I did nothing to deserve it.... At that moment I heard God say (no not audibly, but in my spirit) "that is grace."

So, I find myself in Portland Oregon (almost six years ago... man has it been that long?) and stumble into a church that is mostly Reformed (a totally different way of looking at faith than I am used to) and find a lot of love and unparalleled abnormality... People meeting in pubs to talk about God, the worship leader holds poker tournaments at his house while smoking cigars and pipes, people are late to services but are not frowned upon, people are not dressed "right", there were pictures of Jesus on the wall that made him look more black than white (which I love cause how many pale skinned middle eastern guys have you ever seen?)

At the same time I am at this stage in life, I am reading up on all kinds of other religions and really starting to question my own faith... I mean really whether it is the Angel of Moroni, Buddha, Jehovah, Allah, Vishnu or Christ it all sounds pretty crazy. Right?

So.. while I am wrestling with all this I start to learn about Human Trafficking.... How do we as an American public (let alone the church) not know about this? I think we live in (as Bill Hillar says) a uterus. We have it so good here in the States. Did you know that we make up only 6% of the world's population, yet me take up over 40% of it's resources? Or that only 8% of the world owns a car! Seriously, even if you car is a piece (which mine is) you are still way ahead of the material possessions game. Experts have said that it would take about $20 billion to feed everyone on the planet, every year. Americans spent that much last year... on ice cream. Meanwhile 40,000 people died last night from hunger.

This weekend things kind of came to a head for me... I had someone email and ask me if she could give me money. She also, said that she had a vision of me the night before and I had my head in my hands. It was really bizarre because the night before I was looking at the budget and it was not good... and I did in fact have my head in my hands. I went to Cambodia in December and raised money to film a documentary on a survivor of sex trafficking. The money did not turn out as planned and it set me back quite a bit... I have been playing catch up ever since. Turns out the amount that this lady sent me is exactly what I needed to get caught up! How crazy is that?

Along with that... I went to go see John Eldredge (author of Wild at Heart) speak on being "Fathered by God"... The experience with the vision lady, hearing John speak, and just processing a lot of things has led me to make some conclusions.... (I don't know if anyone is still reading at this point but here you go)

1.) I am choosing Christ... I don't have all the theology crap worked out but, I believe he died, was resurrected, and he and he alone has made a way for me to go to heaven (whatever heaven looks like).
2.) I want to live like Christ lived (I also want to live like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Muhammad... but mostly like Christ)
3.) I want to learn what it means to be a true Christian (not a 20th or 21st century American Christian) but a true Christian.
4.) I want to love and live with reckless abandon! I am tired of hiding my heart in an attempt to keep it safe. I want to give myself to my Wife, my Daughters and the World until there is nothing left to give.
5.) I want to stop judging people (unless they cut me off in traffic or ask me stupid questions). Whether they be of a different faith, sexual orientation, they are making decisions that I don't agree with... whatever. Let them be and focus on me. Love them regardless.

I think that sums it up... if not it is a good stopping place.... I will probably have another rant soon. :-)

Thanks for reading.. Love you all... Feel free to comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Overwhelmed

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:46:00 +0000

** This is a long one... but hopefully worth the read***

The past couple of days have been pretty intense for me and they have been key in my journey to be an abolitionist. So, I wanted to share...

I went with the Transitions Global team down to Oregon State University and the University of Oregon to take part in a student led event called, Slavery Still Exist.

James Pond (founder of Transitions Global) and Bill Hillar (retired Colonel of the U.S. Army Special Forces) were the keynote speakers at each event.

I have heard James speak several times and so, sadly, I have become desensitized to the facts and information that he shares. I say this because his presentation is, although full of hope, pretty intense... and the fact that I am growing more callous to the facts bothers me. This was weighing pretty heavily on me during the first night but on the second night I had one of those "aha" moments (which I will share in a second) when something really clicked.

Mr. Hillar's presentation was really good.... It was so intense and personal that I feel I would not do it justice by recounting it in an online forum like this... I will suffice it to say that he went through a human trafficking experience first hand in the eighties when his own daughter was kidnapped, trafficked and never seen again. If you ever have the chance to hear him speak you should not pass it up.

Besides the personal story that Mr. Hillar shared he made two points that will stick with me for a long time to come...The first point he made was as he opened his speech... He said, "Last night 40,000 people died of starvation while you were sleeping, and most of you don't even give a shit. In fact most of you are more concerned that I just said shit than that 40,000 people died. And you know why? Because you are just like me... If it doesn't affect you directly, you don't care."

His second point ties into my "aha" moment... At the U of O they placed, what I thought was, 27,000 flags (in the above picture) to represent the 27 million people that are in slavery around the globe. The picture that I took does not do this monument justice. The lawn was probably the length of two football fields and 50 yards wide...As I walked through the field of flags it was nothing short of eerie and emotionally overwhelming... All of the students were done with classes for the day, so I was out there alone... just me and 27 million people... the flags were rustling in the wind and I could almost hear the voices of all those who are out there waiting on me to help them...

I haven't had a moment like that since I interviewed a survivor in Phnom Penh... I just walked around looking at each flag and tried to let the fact sink in... each flag represented a thousand people. As I was walking off the field I felt like I was punched in the stomach when I read a sign that said the students were only able to place 4,600 flags and that each flag actually represented 6,000 people. As I started to tear up, I truly felt paralyzed... What am I supposed to do to even begin to make a dent in this issue???

I made my way into the auditorium and listened to Mr. Hillar make the second point that will stick with me... He said, "No one snowflake ever thought it was going to be the deciding factor in the avalanche. Rosa Parks didn't think she was going to make such a change... she was just tired of being mistreated and took a stand for what was right."

To listen to him say this and then to listen to James talk about the ethos of Transitions Global and how we offer hope, and that what we do doesn't start with a program... it starts with a girl, was truly encouraging....

We are still fighting an uphill battle but I can't give up... There is nothing that I can do that will ever be enough... this is a life time marathon... the fact is that the lives of little girls and boys are depending on me and others like me to step up and do the right thing.

After the final night a few of us went to a local pub and got to talk with James and Mr. Hillar. I don't think I can put into words what I felt as I was sitting there with these two men.... I just can't even begin to imagine what they have done and seen in their lifetimes. The way they have served their countries, and are now fighting human trafficking on a global and local level is truly amazing.

So... We got up on Friday, headed back to Portland... I played some soccer with my girls.. I got a few hours of sleep... I met with a band about a benefit concert for Transitions Global and then headed in to work my 12 hour graveyard shift... But I am not going to bitch and moan about it... I have a job in an economy where 1 out of 10 are unemployed... I can take care of my wife and girls... and I have an opportunity to plug in with an amazing organization who is actually in the trenches working with survivors in a truly effective way.... I am truly blessed.

Be The Change!

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:44:00 +0000

I am so excited about the newest campaign that Transitions Global is launching!

When President Obama was on the campaign trail he talked about the "Change". Right now our country is suffering economically but people still want to help and show that the US is as strong as ever. We want to show that we can be the "Change!"

The Buck Up Campaign is the answer to this dilemma!!

Right now 27 million people around the globe are in slavery... If you have done any reading about human trafficking you have heard this statistic over and over. In his book, Skinner quotes Stalin when he says, "The death of one man is a tragedy but the death of a million is a statistic." When Stalin says this, he is speaking to a common truth that I have heard called, "The paralysis of analysis", meaning that when there is an issue that is so huge we as humans just shut down.

The Buck Up Campaign gives us the answer to the question, "How do you eat an Elephant?" We all know the answer, right? It is, "One bite at a time" I would say that we could modify the answer and say, "One Buck at a time."

In his book, Siddarth Kara makes the statement that, "if all the slaves in the world were freed today, they would have nowhere to go." Transitions Global is in the business of setting up safe and effective homes for survivors of sex trafficking. They have taken the global success rate of 30% and flipped it on its head. They have a near 80% success rate! When Transitions Global came up with this campaign they figured that if everyone in the state of Oregon (they are currently running a home in Cambodia but are working to set one up in Portland and Mumbai) gave $1 then they could run a shelter for victims of sex trafficking for 3 years!!

Imagine if everyone in the US did this!!!

This is a way that the people of the United States can stand up and put an end to slavery while they pay their light bills, mortgages, kids soccer tuitions, etc...

This is a way for the American public to stand up and make a difference!

Join me and make the statement, "I Bucked Up!"

An average girl who is not so average...

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:27:00 +0000

Angel Daniels is a fellow abolitionist that I have had the privilege of talking to a couple of times via email and Facebook.

It is amazing to me how unassuming her website and blog are. I am absolutely amazed at the work she is doing.

It is people like her that inspire me to keep going even when I am sick, working in the middle of the night, the car needs work, bills need to be paid, there are tivo'd episodes of Lost and 24 that need to be watched, my wife needs a date, my girls need to go to the park, I need to workout, homework is due.... you get the point. :-)

Currently, Angel is working on her PhD in Clinical Psychology, with a focus on the effects of human trafficking, prostitution, slavery, and exploitation.

She has already been to Cambodia. While she was there she met with Transitions Global and was so impressed she wanted to continue the relationship with them especially in the area of Trafficking as it relates to the States.

She states on her own blog, "I became more and more intent on working with Transitions somehow, and it was at that time that I discovered that James and his wife, Athena, were expanding Transitions Cambodia into a global operation, and were starting a shelter in Portland, Oregon, for survivors of trafficking and slavery in the US! Can you imagine how thrilling that is?! It has been my goal to figure out how to help these survivors, and to start some sort of a program for the enslaved in our very own country - and now the hardest part (the getting it started part) is already being done! And by two of the people I most respect, using the most effective model of recovery worldwide! Eek!"

This summer, she will be traveling to Uganda, Africa, to study the reality of slavery and exploitation that occurs there on a massive scale. In order to fund this research, 100% of the proceeds from her art sales will be going directly to the Uganda trip.

U of O Students take action!!

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:34:00 +0000

Last year students at the University of Oregon held a week long event called Slavery Still Exists. These are some photos from last years event.

The event was so successful that they are doing it again this year!

The week of April 18-26 will be dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking globally and locally.

Students and community members will learn about human trafficking and go door to door to raise awareness and support for Transitions Global’s Portland Shelter Project, a secure aftercare facility for survivors of sex trafficking.

The event is sponsored by ASUO Executive Office, the Substance Abuse Prevention Program, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force, University of Oregon Philosophy Department, and Transitions Global.

“Slavery Still Exists” week is going to engage the campus community and the city of Eugene to become aware of the issue and to do something about it.

The week will begin with an installation of 27,000 flags on the campus quads to represent the 27,000,000 people in modern day slavery.

In addition to the lawn project, and the lecture night, students will campaign door to door across Eugene to educate people about sex trafficking in Oregon and to raise support for Transitions Global as part of their "Buck Up Campaign".

The "Buck Up Campaign" is an initiative started by Transitions Global that organizes University and High School students around the issue in an effort to raise awareness for their Portland Shelter Project. Transitions Global needs to raise 1.2 million dollars to cover the capitals costs for the shelter. They have successfully raised half of these costs already, and are hoping that public support will build momentum towards the completion of the project.

On April 23rd The University of Oregon will host Bill Hillar, SAPP instructor, human trafficking expert, and father of sex trafficking victim; and James Pond, founder and executive director of Transitions Global.

"We know that when students are in engaged in issues of social justice, they feel more connected, they feel better, and they do better in the classroom. I am pleased that this group is bringing awareness to human trafficking on campus, says Dr. Robin Holmes, Vice President for Student Affairs. "This university is creating global citizens, and if students aren't engaged in making the world a better place, this will not be a dynamic campus.

Old enough to know better

seth.johnson@transitionsglobal.org (For Their Rescue) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:36:00 +0000

I saw this picture last night and then I read this quote this morning: "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better."

When I found this photo the caption read, "It pays to be Russian." As if it were a good thing.

This is so vile... most of these girls are underage, most of them are there against their will, and most of them will never see a dime that is made from them laying on there backs over and over and over again.

I have heard it said that this issue is one for the christians to deal with, or the feminist, or individual governments. I would argue that this is one for the human race to take care of. We are, "old enough to know better" and "we should be ashamed of ourselves."

We are so proud of globalization and being accepting of different cultures, but at the same time we have let this gender bias flourish and enabled men to create a commodity out of little girls.

We might be able to soothe our conscious and flick on another episode of "24" or "Lost" and say that we are not the dirt bags that are out creating a stain on the human condition.

When I start to think like that I am reminded of Edmund Burke's words, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (and I would add, women) do nothing."