Nefarious: Merchant of Souls - Introduction

My Introductory Thoughts:
There is a documentary on the subject put out by Exodus Cry, a movement to end trafficking. I am especially grateful to this document and organization because it's what got my home church to wake up to the issue I've been praying over for a few years now. A member of my church who knows I'm interested in the issue heard from a friend that a local church was screening the documentary and offered to go with me to see it because I was interested. After seeing the documentary, her own heart broke on the issue and she walked away changed and unable to ignore the problem any longer. She shared it around to a few other people in our neighborhood and church, which got more people aware and involved. She shared the documentary with our Missions Chair, and I shared it with my father, our Senior Pastor, and the film did what our words alone could not do. Our church offered a screening of this documentary not long after, and the congregation as a whole decided to partner with Out of Darkness to raise awareness and help stop slavery from happening.

The documentary, Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, is a hard hitting, eye opening look at the issue of human trafficking globally, begining in Moldova ("Breaking Grounds"), moving to the states, and ending in Sweden, a country they have lauded as taking extremely effective measures at preventing the issue and reducing the statistics based on aggressive legislation. I will break it down by section and include both my notes on the film itself and statistics and quotes from the official materials printed to accompany the screening.

The Trailer: 
Warning, trailer is not ideal for work and parental discretion is strongly advised.
A quote from the trailer that breaks me is this, "The CIA would say that the sale of women, not pornography or prostitution, just the sale of women, is the 3rd largest industry in the world."



Impact on Legislators: 
The documentary is making a huge impact on everyone who sees it. It has even made its way into a meeting of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs. During a meeting regarding human trafficking, Representative Kinzinger is quoted as saying, I always knew this [human trafficking] was an issue, but I really had my eyes opened by a documentary... called Nefarious... I would recommend that to anybody who is watching this today or is in the audience." (I will attempt to get a transcript or recording of the meeting and post notes for it online if possible.)

Words from the Director:
The film's director/producer/writer, Benjamin Nolot, founded Exodus Cry as a response to what he saw while documenting the issue. He writes an open letter to viewers of his film. In it, he expresses that he, "quickly discovered that the issue was broader in scope and complexity than [he] had thought." He says that, "There is not a day that goes by that [he] is not mindful of the horrific tragedies [they] uncovered. However, [he] has also become anchored in a profound sense of hope by seeing the authentic transformation of some of the most broken people on earth. Amidst the dark abyss of abuse and exploitation, [he] encountered a God of emancipation and salvation." This quote, to me, defines what many of the faith-based nonprofits exist to do. We are working to end the issue, yes, but we are also working to restore the broken and offer salvation to the desperate, as our God restores us.

When asked what his most shocking discovery was during filming, Nolot replied, "As we began to travel, I was faced with the reality of entire cultures - religious, social and governmental - feeding the sex slavery industry. Seeing the trafficking problem from this vantage point was extremely difficult."

Synopsis:
Reading through the synopsis, a few more quotes jump out at me. "Regardless of nationality, victims are systematically stripped of their identity, battered into gruesome submission and made to perform humiliating sexual acts with up to 40 strangers every night. Held against their will, most are forced to take illegal drugs and are kept under constant surveillance. On average, victims are thrown into such ghastly oppression at age 13. Some are abducted outright, while others are lured out of poverty, romantically seduced, or sold by their families." 

"You'll see where slaves are sold (often in developed, affluent countries), where they work and are confined. You'll hear first-hand interviews with real victims and traffickers, along with expert analysis from international humanitarian leaders. From initial recruitment to victim liberation - and everything between - the previously veiled underworld of sex slavery is uncovered in the groundbreaking, tell-all Nefarious: Merchant of Souls."


Facts on Slavery:
Human trafficking (sexual, domestic, industrial, and agricultural) is a 32 billion dollar per year industry, bringing in more revenue than the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB combined. -United Nations

161 countries of 192 are involved in human trafficking. - United Nations

There are nearly 2 million children involved in the international commercial sex trade. -UNICEF

Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. -United States Department of Health and Human Services

98% of all victims of sex trafficking worldwide are females. - International Labor Organization, 2012

Most sex trafficking is regional or national and perpetrated by traffickers who are the same nationality as their victims. -United Nations, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2009

There are fewer than 30 safe homes nationwide for trafficking victims. -Streetlight Tucson, 2012

Update; Welcome New Readers

Hello!

I apologize for the gap in posting. My work life got pretty busy and I haven't had much free time in the last few months.

Worry not, though... I have been keeping up with the goings on of the trafficking community and efforts to combat the issue.

Hello to all of my new readers and friends made through the DOE Trafficking Conference last week! It was such a great conference, and I was happy to meet so many new friends and partners in combating this issue. I meant to post my notes on the conference today but forgot my folder. Please be looking for those to be posted sometime in the next week or so.

I was also blessed to be invited to a tour of the GBI and briefing on the status of their Crimes Against Children department, dealing with both internet crimes against children and CSEC issues. I will post as much as I feel proper to post regarding this briefing online, but don't look for too many extensive details on that just incase there is a confidentiality issue. I would never want something I post to help traffickers hide from authorities.

Together with you in this issue,
CSEC Awareness Blog