It is so easy to read the words of a story about something that happened somewhere else, to someone else, in some other town or country...anywhere but here. We digest the news desensitized to the real impact of what is going on all around us. We see the news portrayed in our favorite crime shows, giving us a fictional account of a very real issue. There are so many issues that plague humanity; poverty, lack of clean water, lack of medical needs, degradation of women and children, child soldiers, forced labor and human trafficking, just to name a few.
Child Rape. It's so much easier to call it human trafficking. Both often mean the same, but human trafficking almost sounds glossy compared to child rape. With the word trafficking we can keep our minds from being too specific, but what image is conjured in your mind by the phrase child rape?
Tonight as I sit here I contemplate this world around me. I stumbled upon a story about a doctor in Ghana who performed illegal abortions. While his patients lay on the table he proceeeds to rape them, one by one. That story takes me to the dark thoughts in my mind. It takes me to the imagined images of children who are being raped daily, multiple times a day. They are sold into the lifestyle of having to be someone's perverse pleasure. Don't misunderstand. I DO NOT want to think about what I know to be true as one of the darkest plagues to cover this earth. But, let me ask you, does my not thinking about it cause it to stop for even one child?
It may not be that my thinking about it can save one...or can it? If all I do is think, then, no, I have accomplished nothing. However, if I apply action to what I see, imagine, learn about and know....then we begin to see results. I do not have any formal training to combat child rape. I may not be trained in search and rescue, but I can pray. I can be informed. I can donate money to those who are trained. I can become trained. I can make people uncomfortable by pointing out that children are being raped everyday and every night. I can shine light into the darkness by talking about it, writing about it.
While we sleep, they are working. They are terrorized and terrified. They have no voice, no one to champion their cause. They are soundbytes in the media, a casual occurrence that happens anywhere but here.
They are disposable, like so many other toys and gadgets have become. Once they become damaged beyond use they are replaced. Does it bother you that as you are reading this a child is being raped? Does it make you angry? Sad? Frustrated? Does it cause you to FEEL anything??
Yes, it makes me feel all that and more. May I never stop feeling and may I start DOING more. You can start by praying. If you don't pray, then give some money to those who need support to continue to rescue and rehabilitate these children. Even if you do pray, give money if you can. If you don't pray and cannot give, then TALK about it. WRITE about it. TWEET IT. FACEBOOK IT. Keep dragging it into the LIGHT. Make PHONE CALLS to legislators to encourage them to require laws regarding human trafficking, child rape and forced labor. Host an event in your community that expounds on these issues. Help to educate others.
Exodus Cry is holding an Abolition Summit in August in Missouri. Why not go and get educated? Meet some of the people doing the hard yards. If not Exodus Cry then pick an event somewhere. Watch some documentaries on the issues. They are not always easy to watch, but they are necessary in order to understand.
You can click this link for other links related to the issue. It also includes information on the abolition summit.
Human Trafficking and Human Rights Resources
The point is.....DO SOMETHING. FEEL SOMETHING. Lives depend on what you choose to do. Your voice and your action MATTER.
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