 |
|
|
|
|
February 5th, 2012
02:00 AM ET
The new Christian abolition movementBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor Greensboro, North Carolina (CNN) —The truck-stop hooker is no Julia Roberts, the trucker in the cab with her no Richard Gere, and this truck stop off the highway could not be any farther from Beverly Hills, the staging ground for “Pretty Woman.” The woman sports baggy shorts, a white T-shirt and frizzy hair. Her fat middle-aged pimp sits in a beat up red Honda, watching as his “lot lizard” moves from truck to truck, in broad daylight. If this pimp has a cane it is for substance, not style. She moves through the parking lot, occasionally opening a cab’s passenger-side door and climbing in. The trucker and hooker disappear in the back for 10 minutes. Danielle Mitchell watches from the other end of the parking lot and shakes her head. “We know from talking to other victims and other agencies that girls are taken to truck stops and they’re actually traded,” she says, sitting in her car, a shiny silver sport utility vehicle, keeping a healthy 50-yard distance from the pimp. CNN's Belief Blog – all the faith angles to the day's top stories Mitchell is North Carolina human trafficking manager for World Relief. World Relief is a Christian nonprofit attached to the National Association of Evangelicals and is best known for its efforts to combat global hunger and respond to disasters around the world. Mitchell is trying to tackle a disaster in her home state. And she is not alone. Motivated in large part by their religious traditions of protecting the vulnerable and serving “the least of these,” as Jesus instructed his followers to do in the Gospel of Matthew, World Relief and other Christian agencies like the Salvation Army are stepping up efforts and working with law enforcement to stem the flow of human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking and labor trafficking. “Jesus didn’t just go around telling people about himself. He also healed the blind and healed the brokenhearted, he freed captives, and I think that it would be ridiculous to walk up to someone who is hurting and tell them, ‘Let me tell you about the Gospel,’ and then walk away while they’re still hurting,” Mitchell says. In North Carolina, the result of those efforts can be seen in the number of victims of human trafficking being referred to World Relief for services, up 700% in 2011, Mitchell says. “It’s not that North Carolina is all of a sudden trafficking more people,” Mitchell says. “It’s that we know what to look for and we’re actually identifying and rescuing them.” Truck stops and sweet potatoes North Carolina’s rich soil makes it an agricultural hub. It produces more sweet potatoes than anywhere else in the country. The state acts as a crossroads for three major interstate highways. The mix of accessibility and low-paying farm jobs make a good working environment for traffickers, Mitchell says. This truck stop is the type you think twice about. It’s grimy and run down. How badly do I really have to use the bathroom? I bet I could hold out for another 12 miles. That kind of place. Mitchell walks in and politely asks the women behind the register if they have tape. “Over there, honey,” the cashier says, pointing to a dimly lit portion of the store. After paying for a roll of industrial packing tape, she tucks it in her purse and heads for the restroom. In a stall on the far end, she shuts the door behind her and pulls out the tape and a poster with words in English and Spanish. “Need help?” the poster asks. “Are you being forced to do something you don’t want to do?” There’s a toll free number, 888-373-7888, for the National Human Trafficking Hotline, run by the nonprofit Polaris Project. More on the fight against modern-day slavery at the CNN Freedom Project “A lot of times when girls are being trafficked they’re being controlled,” Mitchell says. “They’re often not allowed to get very far from their trafficker. And we’ve found one of the very few times girls are alone is when they’re in the bathroom.” She used to ask if she could hang posters in truck stop restrooms. Now she just hangs them. That toll free hot line number is plastered on combs, lip balms and nail files that Mitchell and other anti-trafficking workers can slip discreetly to men and women they suspect might be victims. Slipping a potential client an anti-trafficking business card could be dangerous, even deadly, they say.  A comb, nail file and lip balm feature the number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline. But it’s not the only way Mitchell gets in touch with victims. Law enforcement is reaching out to her more and more. When North Carolina law enforcement breaks up a trafficking ring, they call her. She helps the victims get safe places to live, food and job training, along with just being a conversation partner. Since 2010, North Carolina has had a statewide coalition to fight human trafficking. Law enforcement officers are now trained in what to look for. The program includes rapid response teams made up of representatives from law enforcement, service providers, hospitals and charities. When a potential victim comes into a hospital or is discovered through an arrest, the team springs into action. “Victims are not going to self-identify,” says Mitchell, who has since left World Relief and is considering going back to school after a lack of funding threatened to cut her hours to part time. “ They’re not going to say ‘I’m a victim of human trafficking.’ So the burden is really on the service providers and law enforcement and the community." In North Carolina, the partnerships between those groups, she says, “have helped to rescue victims.” Church and state in an unlikely coalition Christian groups working to combat trafficking are providing law enforcement with some much-needed relief. “Because of the limitations of our work, we like to partner with organizations that can provide services,” says Kory Williford, a victim specialist with the FBI based in North Carolina. “Human trafficking isn’t the only victim population we work with, so to have organizations who can provide care to our victims on a longer term basis than we are able to is huge,” she says. “A lot of sex trafficking is occurring in this state” and labor trafficking is on the upswing, Williford says. The FBI in North Carolina has been partnering with World Relief for several years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anand P. Ramaswamy, who focuses on human trafficking cases across the state from the federal prosecutors office in Greensboro, says he has been collaborating with local law enforcement on human trafficking. “Those kind of cases have only recently been on the uptick,” he says. “As officers become more trained in what to look for, the number of cases goes up.” The nation and the state are still working to catch up with the reality of trafficking, he says. “Sometimes the victim was treated as part of the problem,” he says. “In one instance a 16-year-old girl was charged with prostitution by local authorities. So we have to go and sort of undo that. That’s also the case where the person may have done something wrong, so they’re reluctant to come forward.” Ramaswamy is keenly aware that his office and religious groups do not always have the same interests. His is in upholding and enforcing the law, while religious groups are interested in practicing their religion. But the assistant U.S. attorney still believes in the partnership between church and state. “On one hand the fact they’re a religious organization is not directly relevant,” he says. “However, if you look at the history of the abolitionist movement, it has always been religious communities and those are the people who are concerned enough to be active in it. “And today with modern-day slavery the same is the case.” The new Underground Railroad Westover Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, is imagining what fighting modern-day slavery could look like. The nondenominational suburban church is cut from an evangelical cloth and has 5,000 members and a sprawling campus. In 2011, the church started a ministry called “Abolition!” to fight human trafficking. It focuses on prayer, awareness and resources. “In truth we didn’t know what we were going to do. We just knew we had a really strong passion for it,” says Dianne Stone, an "Abolition!" member. “We didn’t want to be a group that got together and said, ‘Oh we feel so bad for this.’ We wanted to do something and we wanted to make a difference.” In a bright room off the sanctuary, Stone, Cambre Weller and Jennifer Craver, all members the group, explain why they got involved. They seem unlikely fighters against trafficking. They could easily pass for a women’s Bible study group as they casually chat about their children and church activities before turning their attention to trafficking concerns in their area. “It’s another thing to realize this is in your backyard and that’s our responsibility to address that and protect those who are being exploited,” Craver says. What's the role of faith in fighting slavery? Craver says the things they have learned about trafficking are horrible and keep her up at night. “I don’t want to know about trafficking, but I do know about it and as a Christian, I feel like I have to respond to that,” she says. “That is part of my calling.” The group screens documentaries about human trafficking at other churches and sends out speakers to the Christian circuit. They also prepare emergency bags: canvas totes with a comb, brush, journal, pajamas, clean towels and other basics they learned that most trafficked women don’t have. They keep a ready stash of bags for World Relief to distribute to victims, particularly those who are rescued during raids. Mitchell says her faith has played a large role in her work to help victims of trafficking. “I don’t think I’m any different than anyone I work with, in vulnerability or dignity,” she says. “And man, I really believe that Christ saw everyone equally.”  Danielle Mitchell views her faith as integral to her work in fighting human trafficking. “I could have been born in a brothel in India,” she says. But there is a limit to how much personal faith she shares with clients. “We’re completely client centered,” she says. “That means we’re not going to force our faith on anyone. And I don’t talk to the clients about what I believe, unless they ask me.” “If a client asks me and they want to go to a Buddhist temple, then I’m going to take them because that’s what they want.” Prostituted not prostitute Back at the truck stop, Mitchell explains that she hates the term “prostitute” and despises the phrase “lot lizard.” She says it strips people of their dignity. Instead, she refers to a “woman or man who is being prostituted.” It is a slight change in wording that reveals a starkly different viewpoint. The prostitute, or woman being prostituted, or potential human trafficking victim, gets back into the beat up red Honda with the overweight pimp, who drives off, maybe after catching a glimpse of a journalist and activist watching them from a safe distance. Mitchell calls the police to report what she just saw. A few hours later, they call back and say the alleged pimp and alleged prostitute are long gone.
« Previous entryIowa Muslim leader: Law enforcement betrayed us
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Athiest.....why are you upset about a God you don't believe in, anger is fear, and the fear you have is that He is real and you are in trouble lol.....I find those that scream of intolerant the most themselves lol...Christians are the greatest givers and helpers in the world. I would like to be wrong but can you name an athiest organization that tries to help people fully funded by donations?
Salvation Army, Nature Conservancy... There are thousands, these are just the big ones
Follower Charlie ... why are there Doctors in mental hospitals, to help them. Delusion is a real diagnosis but the money from the religion industry exempts it from a cure.
Charlie, Amen to that!
Atheist means self centered, lost in space of ignorance, do not expect any better from them.
Jesus is Savior, So were Ptolemy of Egypt. Man gods.
Ummmm, the SALVATION Army is Christian. Just FYI.
I wonder if pro sti tution were legalized would this even be a story. Lord knows after 2 days on the road I could use some female companionship. Thanks CNN for the cen sor ship too.
Just let these women continue to do what they do best.
Only if they do it by choice. If it's against their will they need help, where are the police? They know this goes on all the time. If they truly wanted to stop this they could. This religious woman is going to get hurt and a dead martyr is still dead.
How about giving guys more chances and initiating contact so that guys do not end up desperate seeking these types of services? This seems like the root problem... Women must play a role of a woman in the society or they create a huge demand for services that they used to provide to men for men just being there for them. Now that women elect not to do that any longer; please, do not be surprised or complain that this is happening.
Or maybe more men can control themselves and their urges like human beings instead of behaving like animals? That would control the demand for these services as well.
We can also try to stop eating and sleeping in addition to our standard reproductive function
When creeps like you rot in their own dung, alone and forsaken, without a tender care of a woman that nurtures your disgusting worm/plague infested bodies, showing you kindness, then you may understand that women are not put on this world to be objects to your lewd lusts, but to color your world with beauty and gentle grace, which is to teach you how to be and remain more human, lest you numb your neglected soul to the point of becoming less then a beast.
Do you think that there is a little spark of dignity left in you , that you may understand the meaning of the words written here?
PRISM 1234, wow... you really hate what men are. Sad, but it just proves the point. There is nothing beautiful I find in what you are saying. Essentially, you are saying that women are there to teach, but what they teach is that you should appreciate your suffering, suppress your instinct, get over yourself.. If you are Christian you should consider if your life on Earth is supposed to be suffering or if your life in hell is supposed to be suffering... It almost defeats what you have faith in itself
You've got it wrong... It's not that I hate what men are, it's what men have allowed themselves to become. You speak of Christianity, but know nothing about what it really is, nor the One who is the originator it, yet you twist it according to your own motives.... but one thing is for sure: the place called Hell is not a word to play game with, it is not a fable, nor product of "puritan's desire to control your lewd nature"....It is REAL, it is the place of the damned, who have rejected the authority of God, their maker, who in pride and arrogance of their hearts have declared themselves to be god to themselves... it awaits all those who go Christ-less into their eternity.
You are not ignorant, you know exactly what you are doing. That's why you will bear your own responsibility, much heavier then those who never heard the Word of God! So, do what you will with what you know!
Good day!
Lust of the flesh.
Amen.
http://stopslavery2012.com/blog/b_12745_superbowl_sunday_2012.html
Christians are to "spread" the Gospel, not force it on anybody. God doesn't want people who are forced to love him, God wants the people who truly love him.
Then why are all others threatened with eternal damnation or at the very least, exclusion from eternity in bliss? Seems more passive agressive than a truly genuine offer.
God word is modified hindu deity Goad, the belly, Name of deity in Hebrew is Ellah, Ellohim and Allah in Arabic meaning The limit most high.
Theirs consequences for everything. If you live your life not believing in God then when you die you will be separated from God. Is that not fair?
So how is this story forcing anything?
It's Yahwey or the highway!!
You are praying to an illusion in your head when you pray. There is no proof to support the existence of your god or any other god. Faith does not equal fact. Faith is a concept created by a religious person to help justify all the crap that doesn't make sense about religion. It is like saying God works in mysterious ways. It is a copout. Believing in your heart does not make something true. I can believe in my heart that pigs can fly but pigs will never fly. Just because your parents taught you something doesn't make it true. The reality is your parents don't know. I don't know and you don't know. No one who is alive and breathing knows if there is a god or not and because of this fact you should question your "faith". If you don't then you are just brainwashed and blissfully and
willfully ignorant.
so you can't prove it isn't true either. if i throw 1,000 pigs in the air not 1 will fly. that is proof.
Yet the universe itself has design written all over it. Straight from the Big Bang their were a number of very precisely tuned features controlling it.
Or in atheist cases it was mere chance, something out of nothing, etc....
Truth is foundation of creation and existence, and truth "HIMSELF" is the deity, have any doubts, study Quantum Physics please.
Space is dependent on true limit 360*, proof enough, universe is dependent not independent as hindus assume in their hinduism.
Brian, that's the simple explanation for Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Amen.
Brian, you do know what they say about opinions?
Amen.
Brian, hate to tell you this. But "fact" doesnt equal fact either. If you are living your life based soleyl on proof, and you are equating that proof with "truth" you are in for a big surprise. Any scientist can tell you that logic breaks down in many places in the universe. Including "proof". So in that case, how would proof help you to believe in god, when proof itself changes depending on where you are? Wuld you really want that as a "truth?" think about it
When I look around the world today, I am amazed. Look at all of the trees, the mountains, the oceans, and the sky. What created these things? Some "big bang." I think to believe in something like that takes a heck of a lot of faith. Our world is put together so perfectly, truly the only solution is God. Read the Bible before you talk against it. Did you know that there is more evidence and proof that Jesus lived than there is of Shakespeare? Everything requires faith. Look into our existence and see if you come up with anything other than God. Read the book of Genesis. God bless you.
Follower,
"Our world is put together so perfectly," No, it isn't.
" truly the only solution is God." No, it isn't.
People love to throw out the figure that 70% of children mo lested are molested by het erose xuals. If this is true then with only 5% of the pop ulation being ho mo se xual, it is 6 times more likely that an indiviual who is g ay will mo lest a child,
Die, hag.
Wow brilliant comeback. Did you learn that in debate class?
Again, Die, hag.
You are praying to an illusion in your head when you pray. There is no proof to support the existence of your god or any other god. Faith does not equal fact. Faith is a concept created by a religious person to help justify all the crap that doesn't make sense about religion. It is like saying God works in mysterious ways. It is a copout. Believing in your heart does not make something true. I can believe in my heart that pigs can fly but pigs will never fly. Just because your parents taught you something doesn't make it true. The reality is your parents don't know. I don't know and you don't know. No one who is alive and breathing knows if there is a god or not and because of this fact you should question your "faith". If you don't then you are just brainwashed and blissfully willfully ignorant.
Wow, a lot of angry atheists on here banging their heads against the keyboard. It's not that you're mad that someone's trying to stop human trafficking; you're just bothered by the fact that a Christian felt so inspired by their faith to try and stop this crime. Shame on you!
wrong, that's the part we like - helping people. the part we don't like is the underlying reason: to recruit.
Bootyfunk, what I'm reading in your post is that you want to believe that you created this idea?
Amen.
Prayer takes people away from actually working on real solutions to their problems.
Prayer wears out your clothes and knees prematurely.
Prayer contributes to global warming through excess CO2 emissions.
Prayer fucks up your knees and your back.
Prayer can cause heart attacks, especially among the elderly.
Prayer reveals how stupid you are to the world; that and wasting time are the real impact of prayer.
Prayer exposes your backside to pervert priests.
Prayer prevents you from getting badly needed exercise.
Prayer makes you post really stupid shit.
Prayer makes you hoard cats.
Prayer makes you smell like kitty litter and leads you on to harder drugs.
Prayer wastes time.
LOL ... it's about time someone began to carpet bomb that nutjob!!
Those who fear prayer will go to any lengths to attack even the idea of prayer. Fools have opposed prayer from the beginning of time without success.
I don't understand why people who hate Christianity read these articles and why people find Jesus so offensive. It really frustrates me how people are so quick to bash someone for their Christian beliefs but any other religion is considered "cool "or "acceptable." I guess tolerance only applies to other faiths, but not to Christians. I hope to those who don't acknowledge Him will accept Jesus in their lives before it's too late, because each day is not promised to us.
Proof again that atheists are without shame as they stoop to the low level of stealing others idea and claim it as their own.
Amen.
@ Jesus is Savior
Why? Because their hatred is of spiritual origin! because satan doesn't mind any other religion. But he hates Jesus Christ. They are drawn to these blogs like flies, being demonically inspired to spew insults. We'll see more and more of this kind of activity, because satan knows what time it is!
Prism 1234,
Those like you have not been forgotten. You are as delusional and as treacherous as you were in the 1600s. Shoo!
Heaven Sent : "they stoop to the low level of stealing others idea and claim it as their own."
Just like those primitive Middle Eastern Hebrew storytellers. They were quite imaginative in adding their own ethnocentric spin on them too.
PRISM 1234, excellent post. Precise and to the point.
Amen.
John Proctor, you'll find out soon who is/was delusional!
Can you keep your venom spewing to yourself till then?
Hello, Heaven Sent
God does not sugar cote the truth, nor does He want His people to do it. They can call this "hate", but what good is love without truth that leads the unsuspected souls , lulibied by satan's enchanting "drumming" straight to the portals of Hell itself? But that's exactly what the false shepherds do, play to his tune and lead them right there!
Prism 1234
"Can you keep your venom spewing to yourself till then"
I *can* quit talking, but I will not. We have not forgotten your type, and every time that you rear your crazed, zealotous head, it is going to get thu.mped.
LOL!... 🙂
No, you're the one who is getting thum/ped, being chained by the enemy of your soul, who is dragging you down in the mud of this world, and while he is promising you freedom, he is making the mockery out of you . One day, when you stand naked and without covering for your sins before your Maker, you will find out that THIS "mean and hateful " zealot has only spoken the truth to you.... But what you do with the truth given to you will determine your destiny, John Proctor!
Let time pass, you'll be convinced, you'll see!
Till then – best wishes, and a prayer for you!
Prayer changes things
Prayer is life giving
Prayer is love
Prayer is liberating
Prayer changes things
Prayer takes people away from actually working on real solutions to their problems.
Prayer wears out your clothes prematurely.
Prayer fucks up your knees and your back.
Prayer reveals how stupid you are to the world; that and wasting time are the real impact of prayer.
Prayer exposes your backside to pervert priests.
Prayer prevents you from getting badly needed exercise.
Prayer makes you post really stupid shit.
Prayer makes you hoard cats.
Prayer makes you smell like kitty litter and leads you on to harder drugs.
Prayer wastes time.
I like prayer
Prayer takes people away from actually working on real solutions to their problems.
Prayer wears out your clothes prematurely.
Prayer contributes to global warming through excess CO2 emissions.
Prayer fucks up your knees and your back.
Prayer reveals how stupid you are to the world; that and wasting time are the real impact of prayer.
Prayer exposes your backside to pervert priests.
Prayer prevents you from getting badly needed exercise.
Prayer makes you post really stupid shit.
Prayer makes you hoard cats.
Prayer makes you smell like kitty litter and leads you on to harder drugs.
Prayer wastes time.
I was hoping this story would be about ending capital punishment. Shouldn't that be the number one thing for christians, after all, their messiah was a victim of it, for christs sake!
You cant be THAT bored. Isnt it superbowl sunday?
So you're more concerned with protecting murderers than victims of human trafficking? How 'enlightened' of you... *sarcasm*
i give her a lot of points for helping people in desperate situations. i'd give her more points if she didn't try to convert them. that's the problem with christians, they want to help... but it's a recruitment tactic too.
There was a section in the article detailing how the Christian members of this organization do not share information about their faith unless asked. They aren't trying to convert anyone. They are showing their faith by living it with love, acceptance, and support. People do not realize how many wonderful Christian groups there are that operate in this same manner.
So you think doing nothing is Better? I also would be willing to bet this woman and these churches aren't conditionally trying to help these girls. Whether or not they choose to become a Christian or not has nothing to do with the help these Christians are trying to give them
Bootyfunk, I know this concept has not entered your gray matter ... but, it would be nice for everyone to be on the same page instead of the survival of the fittest mantra from those that believed they derived from apes. Then again, that's why evolution and the big bang theory are being taught to your generation ... aka divide and conquer.
Amen.
You obviously did NOT read the entire article or you would have seen that there was never any intent on even mentioning the christian side of it all. Oh. That's right. I forget. Sorry. Didn't mean to make fun of your illiteracy.
Prayer takes people away from actually working on real solutions to their problems.
Prayer wears out your clothes prematurely.
Prayer contributes to global warming through excess CO2 emissions.
Prayer fucks up your knees and your back.
Prayer can cause heart attacks, especially among the elderly.
Prayer reveals how stupid you are to the world.
Prayer exposes your backside to pervert priests.
Prayer prevents you from getting badly needed exercise.
Prayer makes you post really stupid shit.
Prayer makes you hoard cats.
Prayer makes you smell like kitty litter and leads you on to harder drugs.
Prayer wastes time.
TROLL TROLL!!
Reported you 😀
Troll lol
Stay away from the religion articles then.... go seek a physical doctor and take a nap
our national motto.... proud 😀
You do realize that "God" doesn't always mean the God in your bible, don't you?
Yes, we noticed that those that strut their stuff on the big and small screens never say Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Churches are pretty muuch occupied in converting non christians rather than taking care of poor christians. Stop sending your misssionaries to other nations and ask them to bring back christians to normal stream. Churches should use the fund for good cause not for making religion bigger. Churches should stay out of politics too!
Churches donate money and help the poor as well... we have money for everything!!
Churches do more than you think to ease pain and suffering around the world. A big part of sharing the faith is behaving as Jesus would have with an emphasis on love, forgiveness, and compassion. Look up Catholic Relief Services. There are more Christian groups than you realize who do far better things than try to convert the masses.
This is good work, but the unemployment rate for high school dropouts is 16.5% (Jan 2011 data). Until something is done about that, people who have no other way to support themselves are going to continue in this.
Woow I'm impressed by CNN Jewish to post good things about Christians 😮 Must be kosher!