tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17953503037885691502024-03-06T12:01:39.912-08:00Conspiracy of HopeThe gut wrenching stories and diabolical statistics of Human Trafficking and what can be done to stop it.Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-8296512567287934702014-07-19T12:55:00.000-07:002014-07-20T08:40:32.671-07:00Human Trafficking and Immigration Reform: The Refugee Crisis At Our Southern Border<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This morning as I drove in there were two pre-teen boys standing on the overpass holding signs. As I slowed to read their messages, which were obviously written in their own somewhat sloppy script, one said, "Secure Our Border" and of course the other, "Impeach Obama".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To say this nation is weary of politicking when it comes to our immigration policies is an extreme understatement. The Twitter and Facebook feeds, the news headlines and op-ed columns are full of rants and pleas for resolution. No matter if you fall on the humanitarian side of the fence or the national security side, everyone agrees the status quo is unacceptable and the whole process is deeply flawed and broken.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are no simple answers, there is no easy way out. There is only the critical need to come together for the sake of human dignity and to protect the most vulnerable among us. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are the facts and the stories of those most at risk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Homeland security reports there are 12,000,000 unauthorized immigrants in the USA. But according to border patrol agents this is closer to 20 million. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The more likely figure is 18-20 million and rising daily,” says Zack Taylor, chairman of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, Inc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whether it is 12 million or 30 million as some have claimed is not the issue. The reality is those are huge numbers that represent families living in limbo. And if the number does approach the 30 million mark, well then our sense of urgency must match it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to a <a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/01/29/a-nation-of-immigrants/">Pew Hispanic Center report</a>, 57% of unauthorized immigrants are from Mexico; 24% are from other Latin American countries, primarily from Central America; 9% are from Asia; 6% are from Europe and Canada; and 3% are from Africa and the rest of the world. The PHC also reported that in 2010, there are "1 million unauthorized immigrants under age 18 in the U.S., as well as 4.5 million U.S.-born children whose parents are unauthorized". </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAQKT4JjbwiQzPOXV9ii6ozsv2BxZJZ5W2rkQfUez6UFyh5Uyt8Z0lrSGfmvvgzdMSyxfOK0BhYqmGf-Mn7pyOT3yiJq8tjgGKTHwD1OwxMETKB0zyhRIVR2fTEtDEp1vigfF0Q5AwQg/s1600/children_on_border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAQKT4JjbwiQzPOXV9ii6ozsv2BxZJZ5W2rkQfUez6UFyh5Uyt8Z0lrSGfmvvgzdMSyxfOK0BhYqmGf-Mn7pyOT3yiJq8tjgGKTHwD1OwxMETKB0zyhRIVR2fTEtDEp1vigfF0Q5AwQg/s1600/children_on_border.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's 5.5 million potentially vulnerable children as a conservative estimate based on the number 12 million for unauthorized immigrants so that number could be two or three times higher. And the number of children immigrating alone is spiking exponentially, especially from Central America. The graphic below from The Economist.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why the recent spike? What are these children fleeing from? The answers are deeply disturbing. This <a href="http://www.vox.com/2014/6/30/5842054/violence-in-central-america-and-the-child-refugee-crisis">article</a> from Vox is a must read to understand the current state of many Central American countries. The article reports "the murder rate in Honduras in 2012 was a whopping 30 percent higher than UN estimates of the civilian casualty rate at the height of the Iraq war. In other words, all three Central American countries were, statistically speaking, twice as dangerous for civilians as Iraq was."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This extreme violence is due to pandemic gang activity and children are uniquely vulnerable to gang violence. "The street gangs known as "maras" — M-18 and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 — target kids for forced recruitment, usually in their early teenage years, but sometimes as young as kindergarten. They also forcibly recruit girls as "girlfriends," a euphemistic term for a non-consensual relationship that involves rape by one or more gang members. If children defy the gang's authority by refusing its demands, the punishment is harsh: rape, kidnapping, or murder."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Below, with well over 60,000 members, Mara Salvatrucha (aka MS-13) is easily one of the largest and most feared criminal gangs in the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Two more articles that outline the terror that these children live in: from </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/09/central-america-child-migrants-us-border-crisis" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Guardian</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, and </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/opinion/sunday/a-refugee-crisis-not-an-immigration-crisis.html?_r=0" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The New York Times</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. The stories in these articles are graphic. Especially the NYT piece. But they are the true accounts of what these kids are running from. Please read them and let them crush your heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Along with this refugee crisis of children fleeing violence is the issue of human trafficking across our southern border. The State Department estimates up to 50,000 people are trafficked across our southern border with Mexico annually. This usually takes two forms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1. Sex trafficking:</b> young girls are brought into the US and forced into prostitution or are sold over and over again as sex slaves. A <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Guilty-pleas-in-sex-trafficking-ring-5629541.php">high profile case</a> in Houston where </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Federal prosecutors described a trafficking ring that was selling young Mexican girls, "[they]fixed the prices for sex with the underage girls based on how young and pretty they were. The victims were kept locked in a room over the bar and regularly beaten by pimps and clients.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The prices for the sex acts ranged from $65 for 15 minutes to up to $500 per hour.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">" A quick Google search reveals endless stories of young girls tricked, coerced, or kidnapped and brought to the US as sex slaves. A 12 year old forced to service 25 men a day in a field under a tarp is one of many stories revealing the need to act now with relentless determination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2. Forced labor:</b> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are thousands of documented cases of </span><a href="http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking-in-the-us/agriculture-a-farms" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">forced labor</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in the US agriculture industry. From the tomato farms and citrus groves of Florida to the livestock ranches of Colorado workers are lured to the US with false promises and then coerced into slave labor. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Many of the types of labor exploitation trafficking victims endure are touched on in this </span><a href="https://www.freetheslaves.net/Document.Doc?id=17" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">report</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> from </span><a href="https://www.freetheslaves.net/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Free The Slaves</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">According to <a href="http://antislavery.org/">antislavery.org</a> "</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Enslaved workers are taken to labor camps where they face brutality and a near-total loss of control over their lives. As many as 12-16 [workers] may be housed in one cramped, run-down trailer, kept under constant surveillance by employers using a variety of methods, including armed guards. Some endure a constant barrage of verbal abuse along with threats of violence and death to themselves and their families back home. In the most severe cases, employers use public beatings, pistol-whippings, and shootings to make an example of those trying to escape. In addition, women in forced labor are sometimes faced with sexual harassment and even violent sexual assault."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When workers are undocumented they are afraid to call police when abused. They fear retaliation, deportation, incarceration, or worse. And yet we continue to demand cheaper and cheaper goods in America. We continue to claim that these men and woman are doing the jobs Americans will not do (u</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">nauthorized immigrants make up 25% of farm workers (not including temporary workers)) making them vital to our economy</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. We continue to profit from this cheap, sometimes free labor and because of this we the people have been silent too long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My heart here is to outline a possible solution which makes the very best of a very bad situation. One that brings ultimate resolution and safety for the vulnerable caught in this border-less labyrinth. I feel any reform bill must have these three points included to be just, effective, and compassionate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>First:</b> We must close our borders. We must do it to keep the children from being sold into sexual slavery here. We must so we will know who is here, know they are citizens and make sure they have full rights. So they are not scared to seek justice or medical care. So they can better themselves through education and the many opportunities this incredible nation affords its people. And going forward we must enforce the law. A society who protects the weakest among its people is one who is governed by compassion and the rule of law. <b>We must at the same time always and perpetually have open doors to all those who are fleeing persecution and abuse.</b>This is what has always made America amazing, it is what I would love my country to be known for again. We cannot solve all the worlds problems. We cannot end all the abuses that send people fleeing. But when those that are desperate for freedom come to American shores we can say to them, "you are welcome here, you are safe now, you are family."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Second:</b> We must give amnesty to those who are already here. We have benefited from their hard work and cheap labor. Those who have fake social security numbers have paid into a retirement they will never see. Money the US government is glad to have and use. We must fast track these unauthorized immigrants to citizenship. Not superseding the ones who have immigrated legally but with an urgency that admits that what we have is not an immigration crisis but a refugee one. Once these immigrants are in our system then those few that are dangerous felons can be deported. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Third:</b> We must take political expediency and opportunism out of the equation. Whether we suspend the right of those unauthorized immigrants receiving amnesty to vote for an election cycle or two; this is a small price to pay for not giving political parties a voter base they can leverage. Our response to this humanitarian crisis must be apolitical and dignified. We must restore the humanity to this deeply troubled situation. This is not about what is best for America anymore. <b>This is about what is right, what is ethical, what is good.</b> We the people have eaten the fruits picked by bruised and broken hands. We the people have worn the cotton picked by beaten and bloodied backs. We the people with bellies full while those who have labored without pay in our fields have gone hungry. No more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are a nation of immigrants who once proudly, compassionately proclaimed:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>"Give me your tired, your poor,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have we become a nation of closed and hardened hearts? Have we long forgotten where we came from? Are we willing to do less for the scared and battered children of the world then we will for our own children? Are we willing to allow this refugee crisis to continue unabated?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope our collective response is a loud, resounding "No! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not on our watch, not now, not ever!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please contact your congressperson. You can do so <a href="http://www.usa.gov/Contact/US-Congress.shtml">here</a>. Tell them what we have in America is a refugee crisis and you will not allow it to be politicized. Tell them you want reform now. If you agree with the some or all of the three points above then email them to your senators and representatives along with your ideas. Let them know your America is one of compassion. Let them know your vote is for human dignity and always for safe harbor of the persecuted. Please sign this <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/felicia-escobar-protect-arriving-refugees-at-our-southern-border">petition</a>. And thank you for caring about justice and opening your hearts with compassion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-53186432220194864792014-02-27T13:34:00.000-08:002014-02-27T13:34:41.793-08:00The Locust Effect: Why The End Of Poverty Requires The End Of Violence<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the following quote Gary Haugen sums up the title and the premise of his new book <i><a href="http://www.thelocusteffect.com/">The Locust Effect</a></i>. “Without the world noticing, the locusts of common, criminal violence are right now ravaging the lives and dreams of billions of our poorest neighbors.” It is rare, that a statement like this, one so enormous, so far reaching in its implications, so shocking in its claim can also be undeniably true. As with the holocaust or the purgings of Stalin or Mao's "great leap forward" that saw 45 million killed in 4 years, all humanity wonders aloud how this could be happening under our noses, "without the world noticing". They ask where the good people are? The collective ego assumes we have evolved past this sort of mass evil. Mr. Haugen goes on to indict us all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“One would hope that if the world woke up to such a reality, it would swiftly acknowledge and respond to the disaster—but tragically, the world has neither woken up to the reality nor responded in a way that offers meaningful hope for the poor. It has mostly said and done nothing. And as we shall see, the failure to respond to such a basic need—to prioritize criminal justice systems that can protect poor people from common violence—has had a devastating impact on two great struggles that made heroic progress in the last century but have stalled out for the poorest in the twenty-first century: namely, the struggle to end severe poverty and the fight to secure the most basic human rights.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are just a few</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> statistics from </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Locust Effect</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> that we at COH found excruciating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-29.8 million men, women and children enslaved today</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-70% of women in Peru have been the victims of rape or attempted rape.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-95% of women and girls who have reported sexual violence are still waiting for justice. Average wait time 6 years for those that finally get justice. Most do not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-Only 5 perpetrators of forced labor in India have been arrested in the last 15 years. There are upwards of 10 million enslaved in India in forced labor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-Worldwide there are nearly 2 million children in the sex trade.</span><br />
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-<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every year 5 million people are the victims of forced eviction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-In the developing world school is the most prevalent place for sexual violence. This means more girls denied education when parents keep them home to keep them safe. And of course many girls dropping out of school traumatized by the sexual violence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-And finally, the statistic that brings this all together in staggering, mind-bending soul-crushing fashion, 4 billion of the world's poorest people are estimated to live outside of the protection of the law.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the absence of enforced law the strong take from the weak whenever they desire. Land, sex, physical labor; all the poor have, coerced or stolen or worse from them all across the developing world. The problem is deeply complex, rooted in and mired by years of bad governance and inattention by the world community. And though it speaks to the wickedness men are capable of it also reveals how this same wickedness can be kept in relative check where there is rule of law. Please read this book. It will change how you understand poverty, how you view the world. </span><br />
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Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0Hattiesburg, MS, USA31.3271189 -89.290339231.1100264 -89.6130627 31.5442114 -88.96761570000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-30878250327219328832014-01-03T18:25:00.000-08:002014-01-03T18:43:26.195-08:00Child Pornography and Human Trafficking in the News<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New research shows that Internet pornography is more addictive than cocaine and heroine — and that it “literally changes the physical matter within the brain so that new neurological pathways require pornographic material in order to trigger the desired reward sensation”. And current trends suggest that the material desired is of an increasingly violent nature and of younger and younger victims. The rate of production of child pornography is eclipsing all other forms of porn production.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Though it is true that there are women who choose to be filmed sexually, any child filmed pornographically is always a coerced or forced victim and therefore they have been exploited. And if they have been transported or sold or rented for this purpose they have also been trafficked. The following articles are vile and horrific and they reveal an alarming escalation in the amount of child pornography being produced and children being violated. These stories involve some of the youngest victims of commercial sexual exploitation by some of the most perverse perpetrators the world has ever known. Please read them, let the horrors of these stories change you forever. Let them be the catalyst that makes you an abolitionist for life. Truly there is no one more voiceless than children. Please be their voice. Thank you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Click the bold heading to be taken to the full articles. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8MNcdWWzmN59p6DT0iGlM7s4UgOTrimhkQXiQlBAxrT5yDYgfnwoJLhlQI7Oy_3HjamrlJTLXNAZsqo3NXF5e5V4kEWXiuPFvM4QN5u6NNAKz9TIRTCxwrZuL6ShnS1_OhgCq49HYEA/s1600/John-Bidmead-2850105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8MNcdWWzmN59p6DT0iGlM7s4UgOTrimhkQXiQlBAxrT5yDYgfnwoJLhlQI7Oy_3HjamrlJTLXNAZsqo3NXF5e5V4kEWXiuPFvM4QN5u6NNAKz9TIRTCxwrZuL6ShnS1_OhgCq49HYEA/s400/John-Bidmead-2850105.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://john%20bidmead%2C%2065%2C%20was%20caught%20red%20handed%20by%20police%20as%20he%20watched%20a%20child%20sex%20abuse%20movie%20on%20a%2050-inch%20television%2C%20when%20they%20knocked%20on%20his%20front%20door%20with%20a%20warrant%20to%20arrest%20him./">John Bidmead (above), 65, was caught red handed by police</a> </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">as he watched a child sex abuse movie on a 50-inch television, when they knocked on his front door with a warrant to arrest him. They found him in possession of one million child porn images including 24,000 images of adults violating children.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZGd-scyJC9zF5QS2qu821Bn2V3P3z_a8JstUDRj2Azsq69tboSu-ZZDXX93ueqVnvsFne6FqlVCddyRgLPnz7Buo6nCyYAX64prDRltiJcoLf_hHXxnWL0cEVTSvvC5M22R843F-Emg/s1600/Stewart+Matthew+Kidwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZGd-scyJC9zF5QS2qu821Bn2V3P3z_a8JstUDRj2Azsq69tboSu-ZZDXX93ueqVnvsFne6FqlVCddyRgLPnz7Buo6nCyYAX64prDRltiJcoLf_hHXxnWL0cEVTSvvC5M22R843F-Emg/s400/Stewart+Matthew+Kidwell.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://traffickalerts.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/man-accused-of-asking-online-stranger-to-rape-4-year-old-relative/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Stewart Matthew Kidwell (above), 36, of Blanchester, Ohio</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, was arrested today on charges that he sought someone online to rape a 4-year-old family member while he watched and that he distributed child pornography through a social media website.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/9435784/Kiwis-bombard-banned-child-porn-websites?utm_content=buffer61c8e&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer"><b>Experts say New Zealanders seeking child pornography</b></a> are increasingly demanding younger victims and more violent abuse. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Department of Internal Affairs has already blocked 34 million attempts, now upwards of a million a month, within New Zealand to access at least one of 582 child sex abuse sites blocked by government filters since 2010.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxQZqcHzlEJOx9uRz54Sz0jEm1m8HUUMzzqz87mAJaBT46LlAThtkOLLyaGSRUfu93WyRJ54mifkdFWJUgCaBfIfrlKPnJeJB9rl9WIfLqblnN95p5i1Ki4_JzaJtPPyhDYi-9Ud92JU/s1600/Tommy+Lee+Waugh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVxQZqcHzlEJOx9uRz54Sz0jEm1m8HUUMzzqz87mAJaBT46LlAThtkOLLyaGSRUfu93WyRJ54mifkdFWJUgCaBfIfrlKPnJeJB9rl9WIfLqblnN95p5i1Ki4_JzaJtPPyhDYi-9Ud92JU/s400/Tommy+Lee+Waugh.JPG" width="303" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://traffickalerts.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/man-admits-using-5-week-old-baby-girl-in-child-pornography/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Tommy Lee Waugh (above), 29, of Wartburg, pleaded guilty</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in federal court Thursday morning to production of child pornography. Authorities rescued a 5-week old infant baby girl in his care that he had sexually abused, recorded it, and shared the images over the internet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://traffickalerts.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/man-accused-in-live-streaming-incest-case/"><b>Bret Allan Nichols, 29, made an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday</b></a> on three counts, including producing child pornography, possessing it, and receiving and distributing it. A woman reportedly told agents that he would make payments of up to $200 to watch her and her husband have sex with their daughter.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90UA8W5Qh5KmDuDpGT0JDUa41jYsFYg2ttkzYGLKy0KXSxB3928adfsKbhxPIZYICAyeDv4-BjDXAWH9l4k_KH9H3HFcb8XPhPa0sHP25Tobv8nP2gQDQwUNbZBbLnFdOZe-WMs2BtSs/s1600/131114-toronto-child-porn-hmed-6p.photoblog600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90UA8W5Qh5KmDuDpGT0JDUa41jYsFYg2ttkzYGLKy0KXSxB3928adfsKbhxPIZYICAyeDv4-BjDXAWH9l4k_KH9H3HFcb8XPhPa0sHP25Tobv8nP2gQDQwUNbZBbLnFdOZe-WMs2BtSs/s400/131114-toronto-child-porn-hmed-6p.photoblog600.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Toronto Police Service Detective Constable Lisa Belanger (L) and Inspector Joanna Beaven-Desjardins of the Toronto Police Service Sex Crimes Unit (R) announce hundreds of arrests in a global child exploitation investigation.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21462256-nearly-400-children-rescued-and-348-adults-arrested-in-canadian-child-pornography-bust?lite">Nearly 400 children have been rescued and 348 adults arrested</a> </b>following an international child pornography investigation. A pornography site run by 42-year old Brian Way, sold and distributed images of child exploitation </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">to over 50 counties</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">. Police seized over 45 terabytes of data from the $4-million business that included images and videos of “horrific sexual acts against very young children that were some of the worst they have ever viewed." Among those arrested were 40 school teachers, nine doctors and nurses, six law enforcement personnel, nine pastors and priests and three foster parents.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8I4sfYrUdxciM-yzOv2WmRbu5twbEBlY9sB76BmsV-ctMvCSIftHE9G4zNrr2gVf1HjY0J-erTSjiN9cEmj0_KeuRUrMc1cb_0-v21Up7w_2pCP7v9JmYAg6Wm_LocoqNlwinfTYAys/s1600/sfl-cliff-shaw-20140103.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8I4sfYrUdxciM-yzOv2WmRbu5twbEBlY9sB76BmsV-ctMvCSIftHE9G4zNrr2gVf1HjY0J-erTSjiN9cEmj0_KeuRUrMc1cb_0-v21Up7w_2pCP7v9JmYAg6Wm_LocoqNlwinfTYAys/s400/sfl-cliff-shaw-20140103.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-child-porn-arrest-broward-20140103,0,2471995.story"><b>A Broward county Florida man — who agents say was using a dead man's identity</b></a> — was arrested Friday on allegations he was part of a child pornography conspiracy that victimized a baby girl and toddler. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For now, the suspect is booked into the Broward County jail under the name that he gave to law enforcement: Cliff Shaw (above), age 48. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Shaw" and Jason Barber, 36, who lives in Las Vegas, are accused of creating and exchanging pornographic images of an infant girl, between 6 and 9 months old, and a female toddler.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-62029159431480726562013-11-29T14:56:00.002-08:002014-03-07T19:26:03.398-08:00Violence Against Women: A Lexicon, An Overview, A Call To Arms<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Violence against women, or Gender-based violence (GBV) is pandemic. All research, all the diabolical data, every painful statistic suggests that it is growing, and in some cases exponentially so. The causes for these trends are complex and many, but the simplest truth lies in the desires of men, the marginalization of women and the apathy and ignorance of the un-involved. This lexicon with its devastating images is a call to arms. It is an antidote against ignorance and a light on the darkest evils committed among us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For continuity sake all definitions were sourced from Wikipedia unless otherwise footnoted. Some of those definitions have been edited for space sake or augmented for clarity. The pictures were gathered from the web and are not the property of COH. As always we are disinclined to post such pictures as they can further humiliate and exploit the victims of these crimes. It is with great reluctance that we do so, and only after considering that these are already in widespread use across the internet and many are used with the permission of the women to facilitate an end to the violence against future victims. In every sense we are deeply indebted to all who have studied these issues in depth and who work tirelessly to end these injustices. We bring these terms (alphabetically) and images together in one place as a tool for the justice fighters, for the voices for the voiceless, for the lovers of women and girls everywhere. Never give up, a society without women ceases to exist. A society where woman are not safe is the very definition of barbarism and the absence of society itself. From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thank you beyond all our words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Acid Throwing </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrFaDpoHtHN0flMuOzC1_RIPI53WLJ1Z_95qR9uXf9pwX3-cxoInPvzFQU-k9fBRmSFqfTtfbYdLUSNbHnGUeq8JYtcqWJ9XiJrSJcC7hGuplDlRadNB9WpiUio89AStWNJyWGSZyMEU/s1600/acid+victim+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrFaDpoHtHN0flMuOzC1_RIPI53WLJ1Z_95qR9uXf9pwX3-cxoInPvzFQU-k9fBRmSFqfTtfbYdLUSNbHnGUeq8JYtcqWJ9XiJrSJcC7hGuplDlRadNB9WpiUio89AStWNJyWGSZyMEU/s400/acid+victim+1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDrW0yIgVs6H-DOFVsv0_w0rovrBwdpt1KwhJVcgsBSP4CHbBFGPW5Bj3qBcwAQKusHsZz6GwAjklaYOqodRwzuB8uOGGCrU5ZifPJF936DH7kEFXN1J30d1wknQe0PA7Yy73Fi_OW04/s1600/acid+victim+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDrW0yIgVs6H-DOFVsv0_w0rovrBwdpt1KwhJVcgsBSP4CHbBFGPW5Bj3qBcwAQKusHsZz6GwAjklaYOqodRwzuB8uOGGCrU5ZifPJF936DH7kEFXN1J30d1wknQe0PA7Yy73Fi_OW04/s400/acid+victim+2.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWaAETUsBK6Pu97-rI9uYW5vKJ-pktRI2aMvvFng1vSUuq1Cs-VUt2Akz_GabdxUNStbBrTgQruBEzkqIxjWqhgB8veDT1JMOOFn6q_VhJwIWyTG2hIlRZqOp_8KsD2kTJdj8YHzqXdA/s1600/acid-burn-victims.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWaAETUsBK6Pu97-rI9uYW5vKJ-pktRI2aMvvFng1vSUuq1Cs-VUt2Akz_GabdxUNStbBrTgQruBEzkqIxjWqhgB8veDT1JMOOFn6q_VhJwIWyTG2hIlRZqOp_8KsD2kTJdj8YHzqXdA/s400/acid-burn-victims.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Acid throwing, also called an acid attack or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault defined as the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another with the intention to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill. (This is usually directed at the face or the female sexual anatomy.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Experts say that women and girls are <a href="http://www.stopacidattacks.org/">victims</a> in 75-80% of cases. Of the female victims, about 30% are under 18. Although 1,500 cases are recorded around the world every year, according to the <a href="http://www.acidviolence.org/%E2%80%8E">Acid Survivors Trust International</a>. "That is likely to be massively underreported," says Jaf Shah, ASTI executive director. "Most victims are fearful to report it to the police for fear of reprisal." </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>India</b> has an increasing problem with acid attacks. ASTI estimates that 1,000 take place there every year. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23631395">BBC News</a> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C6jWeZAMuXV6rU1YHlwBplwVScfqpP2Qr6sUysJfyreiybEmhwLOzbrdLzwM-lfV6k2FVsihi8vS9uRAG98FHb24_AJBxgHRsCjWABLd2VgZvIpwP_S0Apt4eYAgcHdUIJkDQQQWz3Q/s1600/breast-ironing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C6jWeZAMuXV6rU1YHlwBplwVScfqpP2Qr6sUysJfyreiybEmhwLOzbrdLzwM-lfV6k2FVsihi8vS9uRAG98FHb24_AJBxgHRsCjWABLd2VgZvIpwP_S0Apt4eYAgcHdUIJkDQQQWz3Q/s400/breast-ironing.jpg" height="231" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvXiFVmo-UwQH8OW7aq1pBrH13GvQ_wOmrbZza2qK9m0q_cGZ5_lugV1LkzxUc0p93MDwl0S0zuS8DV_wkr-Rqs1Qac117HFXHNLMl5_SQNO_H4BRnK9_BNbdhxrNzaNXmcGO1oWBXAc/s1600/breast+ironing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvXiFVmo-UwQH8OW7aq1pBrH13GvQ_wOmrbZza2qK9m0q_cGZ5_lugV1LkzxUc0p93MDwl0S0zuS8DV_wkr-Rqs1Qac117HFXHNLMl5_SQNO_H4BRnK9_BNbdhxrNzaNXmcGO1oWBXAc/s400/breast+ironing.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.stopvaw.org/harmful_practices_breast_ironing">Breast ironing </a>(also known as breast flattening) is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl's breasts, using hard or heated objects, to try to make them stop developing or disappear. It is typically carried out by the girl's mother who will say she is trying to protect the girl from sexual harassment and rape, to prevent early pregnancy that would tarnish the family name, or to allow the girl to pursue education rather than be forced into early marriage. Mostly practiced in parts of <b>Cameroon</b>, where boys and men may think that girls whose breasts have begun to grow are ready for sex. The most widely used implement for breast ironing is a wooden pestle normally used for pounding tubers. Other tools used include leaves,bananas, coconut shells, grinding stones, ladles, spatulas, and hammers heated over coals. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT9-hxo4WcsHjdsfjHK6il_9qNALFzRiT98GZrUB0VZVVb0VjiK5avZsEQjt8MA-RabZpNpf84zuIKXG924lzGv6076ZGitb4qi1Zw4fOQfxvCRFSzDr5BnYE0h5BiAqkVJKM0U-bOBg/s1600/mabuse.cameroon.breast.ironing.cnn.640x360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT9-hxo4WcsHjdsfjHK6il_9qNALFzRiT98GZrUB0VZVVb0VjiK5avZsEQjt8MA-RabZpNpf84zuIKXG924lzGv6076ZGitb4qi1Zw4fOQfxvCRFSzDr5BnYE0h5BiAqkVJKM0U-bOBg/s400/mabuse.cameroon.breast.ironing.cnn.640x360.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Obviously extremely painful and psychologically traumatizing. Young girls can have many life long health issues from the barbaric procedure, including inability to breast feed and higher risk for breast cancer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Bride burning</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17Hs86XiVh0hkWZfrkebnimC9yT0PgNIASfMJDM3zsyPVMknY08GdpkYlXmZ5VKS-KN40j_8wvBmMBZ4R2UgyPbIOJaFwm77q70Jb6gHUBuuus6oxEqPF_LVKdXLd56RsfreJWqgmQ2k/s1600/bride+burning+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17Hs86XiVh0hkWZfrkebnimC9yT0PgNIASfMJDM3zsyPVMknY08GdpkYlXmZ5VKS-KN40j_8wvBmMBZ4R2UgyPbIOJaFwm77q70Jb6gHUBuuus6oxEqPF_LVKdXLd56RsfreJWqgmQ2k/s400/bride+burning+1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhTsgSdHAFCLWW6BbkxmcWX4_qpv8vQKFHvpYNmsxs0ZnTlwn1C4EgMJZn0VJvBYtbD-F9mtyZgyrbJiOZfnBGXA7IRx64NV6FA1eGRhPUIy7OXkVG_i7r9Oi1qg7oYdEpgd9dHFLbkg/s1600/bride+burning+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhTsgSdHAFCLWW6BbkxmcWX4_qpv8vQKFHvpYNmsxs0ZnTlwn1C4EgMJZn0VJvBYtbD-F9mtyZgyrbJiOZfnBGXA7IRx64NV6FA1eGRhPUIy7OXkVG_i7r9Oi1qg7oYdEpgd9dHFLbkg/s400/bride+burning+2.jpg" height="400" width="271" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bride burning is where a groom or his family kills the bride due to his dissatisfaction over the amount or duration of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry">dowry</a>. (Above, two survivors, scarred forever) Kerosene is most often used as the fuel and the practice is most common in <b>India</b> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">accounting for around 2,500 deaths per year in the country. In 1995, Time Magazine reported that dowry deaths in India increased from around 400 a year in the early 1980s to around 5,800 a year by the middle of the 1990s. A year later, CNN ran a story saying that every year police receive more than 2,500 reports of bride burning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Child Brides and Forced Marriage</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtNl3VlwOLAuZDi0NscOvqJCKz2InjhqpSRxuz40gsIf-l_Uc6plGRZ3uO0arrMTkVqxwN1b364z4BDE_8cN__0_-jsjsQ34436kyVWUM_Capy4LSgSSq_a2ncRKLihnfH-aajgNgiQ0/s1600/child+bride+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtNl3VlwOLAuZDi0NscOvqJCKz2InjhqpSRxuz40gsIf-l_Uc6plGRZ3uO0arrMTkVqxwN1b364z4BDE_8cN__0_-jsjsQ34436kyVWUM_Capy4LSgSSq_a2ncRKLihnfH-aajgNgiQ0/s400/child+bride+2.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSD2sXkpaoCM98Jc4IhgMoZVAuxNA5OjN5UEDvG0SFeonRn3DSQ1NIGIOcr7KQ_tFN7_hjz-XGsC50AIiwUm15hgHCsCb8H86P8kTU9V25mrxDNpLR_gFpyzu77bO9yWpyZ9tLVyX_nI/s1600/child-marriage-map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSD2sXkpaoCM98Jc4IhgMoZVAuxNA5OjN5UEDvG0SFeonRn3DSQ1NIGIOcr7KQ_tFN7_hjz-XGsC50AIiwUm15hgHCsCb8H86P8kTU9V25mrxDNpLR_gFpyzu77bO9yWpyZ9tLVyX_nI/s400/child-marriage-map.png" height="255" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Child marriage is defined as a formal marriage or informal union before the age of 18. While child marriage is observed for both boys and girls, overwhelming majority are girls. It is related to child betrothal and unmarried teenage pregnancy. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In some cases only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female, due to importance placed upon female virginity. Other causes of child marriage include poverty, bride price, dowry, laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures, regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, and perceived inability of women to work for money.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Today child marriages are fairly widespread in parts of the world, especially in Africa, South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, West Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. The five nations with the highest observed rates of child marriages in the world, below the age of 18, are Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh and Guinea. Nations with greater than 20% rates of child marriages below the age of 15 are Niger, Bangladesh and Guinea. As you can imagine child brides are also victims to higher rates of spousal abuse due to their diminutive stature and lack of understanding as to what their rights are and what is acceptable. And children fleeing these unions are often stoned or killed in some other violent fashion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every year, an estimated 14 million girls aged under 18 are married worldwide with little or no say in the matter. As many as 39,000 a day. In the developing world, one in seven girls is married before her 15th birthday and some child brides are as young as eight or nine. More statistics and ways you can help at <a href="http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/">Girls Not Brides</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Dating abuse </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8A8_LugoqgY8IBh5mln7pVUvDUq4y3zihxTd62hKSVILu8WEcYXWn-lODIx90pqC6p-qcOaY8PQ7G67K3RT-a_jbnlHUax5SlB7fUYRfybihQyZSNstgKEYqktJXWoZ2I8GIEkIpx2Y/s1600/dating+abuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8A8_LugoqgY8IBh5mln7pVUvDUq4y3zihxTd62hKSVILu8WEcYXWn-lODIx90pqC6p-qcOaY8PQ7G67K3RT-a_jbnlHUax5SlB7fUYRfybihQyZSNstgKEYqktJXWoZ2I8GIEkIpx2Y/s400/dating+abuse.jpg" height="247" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dating abuse, or dating violence, is defined as the perpetration or threat of an act of violence by at least one member of an unmarried couple on the other member within the context of dating or courtship. It is also when one partner tries to maintain power and control over the other through abuse/violence. This abuse/violence can take a number of forms: sexual assault, sexual harassment, threats, physical violence, verbal, mental, or emotional abuse, social sabotage, and stalking. It can include psychological abuse, emotional blackmail, sexual abuse, physical abuse and psychological manipulation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to <a href="http://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-abuse/dating-violence-statistics">Love Is Respect</a>, o</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ne quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Approximately 70% of college students say they have been sexually coerced. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Date rape</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cwfefc.org/svfacts.html">Date rape</a> refers to rape committed by a person, who could be a friend, acquaintance or stranger, against a victim. Commonly, date rape is referring to drug facilitated sexual assault or an acquaintance rape. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sexual assault is any sexual act done to someone without their consent. Drug facilitated sexual assault is any sexual assault where alcohol and/or drugs affect the victim's ability to give informed consent. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Drug Facilitated Rape typically involves the use of a the "date rape drug" (Flunitraepam, Rohypnol, GHB (Liquid E or Liquid G) and/ or alcohol. It is quite common, but not limited to, many college campuses across the <b>United States</b>. According to recent studies, alcohol is the #1 drug used to facilitate a sexual assault. For rape which takes place on campuses, alcohol is being used in 90% of cases. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Acquaintance rape is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without consent. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Nearly 2/3 of all victims between the ages of 18 and 29 report that they had a prior relationship with their attacker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.aboutdaterape.nsw.gov.au/stories/stories.html">Stories</a> of date rape told by the victims.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Domestic violence</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, dating abuse, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of behavior which involves the abuse by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, cohabitation, dating or within the family. Domestic violence can take many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects, battery), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Laws on domestic violence vary by country. While it is generally outlawed in the Western World, this is not the case in many developing countries. For instance, in 2010, the United Arab Emirates's Supreme Court ruled that a man has the right to physically discipline his wife and children as long as he does not leave physical marks. The social acceptability of domestic violence also differs by country. While in most developed countries domestic violence is considered unacceptable by most people, in many regions of the world the views are different: according to a UNICEF survey, the percentage of women aged 15–49 who think that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances is, for example: 90% in Afghanistan and Jordan, 87% in Mali, 86% in Guinea and Timor-Leste, 81% in Laos, 80% in Central African Republic. Refusing to submit to a husband's wishes is a common reason given for justification of violence in developing countries: for instance 62.4% of women in Tajikistan justify wife beating if the wife goes out without telling the husband; 68% if she argues with him; 47.9% if she refuses to have sex with him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf">Domestic Violence statistics in the USA</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-85% of domestic violence victims are women.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/">Domestic Violence statistics Worldwide</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-35% of women worldwide have experienced either intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-30% of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their partner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">More Statistics here from <a href="http://www.womensaid.ie/policy/natintstats.html">Women's Aid</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Domestic Violence and Pregnancy</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pregnancy when coupled with domestic violence is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) where health risks may be amplified. Abuse during pregnancy, whether physical, verbal or emotional, produces many adverse physical and psychological effects for both the mother and fetus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Domestic abuse can be triggered by pregnancy for a number of reasons. Pregnancy itself can be used a form of coercion and the phenomenon of preventing one’s reproductive choice is referred to as reproductive coercion. Studies on birth control sabotage performed by males against female partners have indicated a strong correlation between domestic violence and birth control sabotage</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, or reproductive coercion, such as replacing birth control pills with fakes, puncturing condoms, and threats and violence are examples of prevention of an individual's attempt to avoid pregnancy</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although pregnancy can also lead to a hiatus of domestic violence when the abuser does not want to harm the unborn child. The risk of domestic violence for pregnant women is greatest immediately after childbirth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other related facts:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Unintended pregnancies are 2 to 3 times more likely to be associated with abuse than intended pregnancies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Among adolescent populations females who experience IPV use condoms at low rates and are fearful of negotiating the use of condoms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-In a study of sexually experienced women 15-19 in Uganda, surveys found that fourteen percent of women’s first sexual intercourse had been coerced. Of those, girls were far more likely to be having unprotected sex and to have had unintended pregnancies within the last six months compared to women who had not been sexually coerced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-In Egypt, over 80% of rural women believe that beatings are sometimes justified and one of the most common reasons given as a just cause for beatings is refusing a man sex. This affects the ability of women to protect themselves from unwanted sexual contact and the consequences of sexual intercourse, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dowry death</span></span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoOGKKJCx9Ti3oYHmLUGNNaCRc3sSv9IVmEgiuO_r9d-OJ8R1KtPE4L2jiHTDooxZtX1hyphenhyphen0Y1oBCSNynp87s1DtTPv0b9VNjKtK-iVh7-CqmrRCI4sspA7OE4FgVp2yCqXjsKWAkSQNQ/s1600/dowry+death+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoOGKKJCx9Ti3oYHmLUGNNaCRc3sSv9IVmEgiuO_r9d-OJ8R1KtPE4L2jiHTDooxZtX1hyphenhyphen0Y1oBCSNynp87s1DtTPv0b9VNjKtK-iVh7-CqmrRCI4sspA7OE4FgVp2yCqXjsKWAkSQNQ/s400/dowry+death+1.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br />Above, children protest the dowry system and its death penalties. Below, a young survivor of an attempted dowry murder.</b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4pv-gcN_0gQOM5ssPILSPAAUif7bqKGNNhez0YvOuiAWpPsPH65aiFFHVzUqU8TSx9Cf-6Wtr8eYtZfWCE6GOuebqJBYuoKM3LjoGJQ8KDJbEZms10CraCKHXDGgpj2xgQoA0_aG2hc/s1600/Dowry+victim+survivor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-4pv-gcN_0gQOM5ssPILSPAAUif7bqKGNNhez0YvOuiAWpPsPH65aiFFHVzUqU8TSx9Cf-6Wtr8eYtZfWCE6GOuebqJBYuoKM3LjoGJQ8KDJbEZms10CraCKHXDGgpj2xgQoA0_aG2hc/s400/Dowry+victim+survivor.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dowry deaths are deaths of young women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is widespread in <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rising-number-of-dowry-deaths-in-india-ncrb/article4995677.ece">India</a>, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and some regions of Africa. <b>Pakistan</b> has the highest reported rates of dowry-related deaths per 100,000 women in the world. In India, </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2010, there were 8391 reported cases of dowry death in the country. That works out to a shocking <b>one death every hour</b> approximately. Bride-burning is on the increase - just a decade ago, in 2000, there were 6995 cases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Honor killing</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79JjFIJH0gYbpq72nZIsLxAr2JnjLLdhkxHf3WWTkpx_ZfipPDe6aBnVap93E9TJt8Bf7eJ20NcJ1CnzGwriISnERQzX6xzIPHNBMtR-Nxs2lT01Dk4YEqoJYIC-jzO8HE-Tbx0tQC78/s1600/honor-killing-8-9-10-31.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79JjFIJH0gYbpq72nZIsLxAr2JnjLLdhkxHf3WWTkpx_ZfipPDe6aBnVap93E9TJt8Bf7eJ20NcJ1CnzGwriISnERQzX6xzIPHNBMtR-Nxs2lT01Dk4YEqoJYIC-jzO8HE-Tbx0tQC78/s400/honor-killing-8-9-10-31.gif" height="311" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFf1u-vaa2jTtwxCBMrxTQ_GhN4M52VvOjAZBx5R6E-aryqSoicYMip_th6fnbBzbwjypR_dZFD1kvm-yADo6TMHSU7mbg6-Cz72BJZ7aqvIhaCGvqNjpZxMbFP9AFxVZzwH6XQdpB9M/s1600/honor-killing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFf1u-vaa2jTtwxCBMrxTQ_GhN4M52VvOjAZBx5R6E-aryqSoicYMip_th6fnbBzbwjypR_dZFD1kvm-yADo6TMHSU7mbg6-Cz72BJZ7aqvIhaCGvqNjpZxMbFP9AFxVZzwH6XQdpB9M/s400/honor-killing.jpg" height="282" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An <a href="http://www.mapsofworld.com/poll/is-honor-killing-honorable-facts-infographic-text.html">honor killing</a> is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members. This crime is especially targeted against women. These atrocities are often the culmination of other crimes and human rights violations including rape, incest and child abuse. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The use of the term 'honor' comes from a distorted belief held by the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family or community. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Perpetrators committing these murders rationalize their actions, blaming victims for refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their relatives, having sex outside marriage, becoming the <b>victim</b> of rape, and even <b>dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These figures from <a href="http://hbv-awareness.com/statistics-data/">Honour Based Violence Awareness Network</a>, are considered estimates and are widely believed to be severe underestimates. Due to lack of focused reporting and recording of Honour Killings internationally very little is known about the true extent of HBV worldwide. These don't figure in the large number of honour violence that may not be fatal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-5000 honour killings internationally per year</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-1000 honour killings occur in India per year</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-1000 honour killings occur in Pakistan per year</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-12 honour killings per year in UK per year</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Female Genital Mutilation</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOsa-FXRDoNDEXhv4jexYCQyQzn9FAztF8l8qC_hxcAluiSYh9f5_dxAGlxd45NBRndHLuAZisqOAV9yJH62akEEb597FDNjJi-xLw9f1_4rLj-g34uD7x0mGkRa82Z5QrDRqn_SnPTQ/s1600/Female-genital-mutilation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOsa-FXRDoNDEXhv4jexYCQyQzn9FAztF8l8qC_hxcAluiSYh9f5_dxAGlxd45NBRndHLuAZisqOAV9yJH62akEEb597FDNjJi-xLw9f1_4rLj-g34uD7x0mGkRa82Z5QrDRqn_SnPTQ/s400/Female-genital-mutilation.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBsSo8WgPwJWQVW3sq0_YYDdXnRHNvwUCuUuUOwdvPd5VQRlaM7Y0C77VN6dB2nE6dx_lepQvOhljVQnvhBWUPYBCogZPgxryj68trjl206N28PpOerbaKSv7B51usc9FfMpRgU4Gj-A/s1600/fgm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBsSo8WgPwJWQVW3sq0_YYDdXnRHNvwUCuUuUOwdvPd5VQRlaM7Y0C77VN6dB2nE6dx_lepQvOhljVQnvhBWUPYBCogZPgxryj68trjl206N28PpOerbaKSv7B51usc9FfMpRgU4Gj-A/s400/fgm2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." FGM is practiced</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> as a cultural ritual by ethnic groups in 27 countries in sub-Saharan and Northeast Africa, and to a lesser extent in Asia, the Middle East. It is typically carried out, with or without anesthesia</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, by a traditional circumciser using a knife or razor. The age of the girls varies from </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">weeks after birth</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to puberty; in half the countries for which figures were available in 2013, most girls were cut </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">before the age of five</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The practice involves one or more of several procedures, which vary according to the ethnic group. They include removal of all or part of the clitoris and clitoral hood; all or part of the clitoris and inner labia; and in its most severe form <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infibulation">infibulation</a> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">is the removal of the labia minora (inner lips) and labia majora (outer lips). When the labial tissue heals, it forms a wall of skin and flesh across the vagina and the rest of the pubic area. By inserting a twig or similar before the wound heals, a small hole is created for the passage of urine and menstrual blood. The procedure is usually accompanied by the removal of the clitoris. The legs are bound together for two to four weeks to allow the labia to heal into a barrier. The procedure is usually carried out on young girls before the onset of puberty. It is used by practitioners to render women sexually inactive, unlikely to engage in intercourse, and the visibly intact barrier of infibulation assures a husband he has married a virgin. The barrier produced by infibulation is usually penetrated at the time of a girl's marriage by the forcible action of the penis of her husband, or by cutting the connected tissue with a knife. The procedure frequently results in organ damage, urinary incontinence, obstetric fistula, and death.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLo91VTx64kY4_j7pZQe9FBCsLo2jOKChXyNP8nGRZPmwL3hs3T4Rl7xhzmZKM4v_kukk0If1YtC59Ut25KUDB6hB4G5kO0q1akA7FyJPZgNQ1KqIZ60NHmK42Vq05IIMZn3kMsuIKPs/s1600/FGM-Full-size.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLo91VTx64kY4_j7pZQe9FBCsLo2jOKChXyNP8nGRZPmwL3hs3T4Rl7xhzmZKM4v_kukk0If1YtC59Ut25KUDB6hB4G5kO0q1akA7FyJPZgNQ1KqIZ60NHmK42Vq05IIMZn3kMsuIKPs/s400/FGM-Full-size.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Around <b>125 million women and girls</b> in Africa and the Middle East have undergone FGM. Over eight million have experienced Type III, which is predominant in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. The practice is an ethnic marker, rooted in gender inequality, ideas about purity, modesty and aesthetics, and attempts to control women's sexuality. It is supported by both women and men in countries that practice it, particularly by the women, who see it as a source of honour and authority, and an essential part of raising a daughter well.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxHLFCHMjg9gofHTsZ4xOlkd4WvJNuNZpO8IOBlFKCSzH3l2bwYLgXF7UeGN5SW7uFwdmqMZEjDVsJtCEACPtViuPd1fO_80xx2FTWlaOglqJU7ivONqQHoXLLrJwDbQHPK6YyaM7xEQ/s1600/fgm-map-small.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxHLFCHMjg9gofHTsZ4xOlkd4WvJNuNZpO8IOBlFKCSzH3l2bwYLgXF7UeGN5SW7uFwdmqMZEjDVsJtCEACPtViuPd1fO_80xx2FTWlaOglqJU7ivONqQHoXLLrJwDbQHPK6YyaM7xEQ/s400/fgm-map-small.gif" height="400" width="335" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Female infanticide</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children or the termination of a female in utero through selective and forced abortions. The practice has been the cause of death for millions in China and India. In nature, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. But in India there are 112 boys born for every 100 girls. In China, 121 (with plenty of Chinese towns over the 150 mark, mostly due to the countries <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy">one child policy</a>). Azerbaijan is at 115, Georgia at 118 and Armenia at 120.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4hj4Nka1PSzHfxI082FngI9qTrJWEOJwPEcfSBGlTDXXW8w_uYDThjX63FK3RYn0fjgQJ2Y8WVOw-OExZtJcapt-o_29h4W1m1rES_juYdHo5zu0Msrj9l_MJyNCETmJ_RajrN4Ah5s/s1600/china_one_child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4hj4Nka1PSzHfxI082FngI9qTrJWEOJwPEcfSBGlTDXXW8w_uYDThjX63FK3RYn0fjgQJ2Y8WVOw-OExZtJcapt-o_29h4W1m1rES_juYdHo5zu0Msrj9l_MJyNCETmJ_RajrN4Ah5s/s400/china_one_child.jpg" height="322" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Above, Chinese propaganda poster championing its one-child family planning policy. Below the rapid increase of female infant mortality since the inception of the policy.</b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuF30BsU1812ugJr4Nr_MhfLRVONnH9m9HZ7DvXfZt-Rt_d0w6EGrgRTvn62PewSVz9cth_DecB2QA7mW4jXL5hjse7lIRkS36N-7jigmkFJxPMdoMUTQNtQ8niAVd6maOT3UqudNQRHI/s1600/sexratio1jm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuF30BsU1812ugJr4Nr_MhfLRVONnH9m9HZ7DvXfZt-Rt_d0w6EGrgRTvn62PewSVz9cth_DecB2QA7mW4jXL5hjse7lIRkS36N-7jigmkFJxPMdoMUTQNtQ8niAVd6maOT3UqudNQRHI/s400/sexratio1jm.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In her book "Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men", Mara Hvistendahl reports on this gender imbalance. By her count, gender-based abortions over the past three decades mean there are 163 million girls missing from the world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mCULa6F3Vsysl-PxVNe5I9oXLd9uRL6HPiHoRQE45cG5le9aJhRhz93lHQraSBQ9sumzPFCnzUSyb2nSKi7DCUr59rjg2AAnZr2rD3DqMKaDvUFVVr79vOcoTieoleMcC7soD-9AqZE/s1600/india_girls464x407.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mCULa6F3Vsysl-PxVNe5I9oXLd9uRL6HPiHoRQE45cG5le9aJhRhz93lHQraSBQ9sumzPFCnzUSyb2nSKi7DCUr59rjg2AAnZr2rD3DqMKaDvUFVVr79vOcoTieoleMcC7soD-9AqZE/s400/india_girls464x407.gif" height="350" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ms. Hvistendahl predicts that such a gross gender imbalance is a harbinger of very bad things to come. And rightly so, as Columbia economics professor Lena Edlund corroborates: "The greatest danger associated with prenatal sex determination is...<b>that a significant group of the world's women will end up being stolen or sold from their homes and forced into prostitution or marriage</b>."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Forced Pregnancy and Pregnancy From Rape</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Forced pregnancy is the practice of forcing a woman to become pregnant, often as part of a forced marriage, or as part of a program of breeding slaves, or as part of a program of genocide. When a forced pregnancy leads to reproduction, it is a form of reproductive coercion. The statistics are hard to come by, they are convoluted and hidden in the shadows of other crimes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pregnancy is also a very real potential result of rape. Although claims have been made to the contrary, the current scientific consensus is that rape is as likely to lead to pregnancy as consensual sexual intercourse. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rape can cause difficulties during and after pregnancy, with potential negative consequences for both mother and child. Some statistics suggest over 90% of pregnancies in children 15 and under are due to rape by family members.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Estimates by one study concluded coerced sexual intercourse causes over 32,000 pregnancies in the United States alone each year. That same study revealed that among women aged 12–45, pregnancy occurred in 5% of victims of rape. A study of Ethiopian adolescents who reported being raped found that 17% subsequently became pregnant, and rape crisis centers in Mexico reported the figure the rate of pregnancy from rape at 15–18%. These numbers will always reflect a low rate as family abuse pregnancies are almost always covered up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Forced prostitution</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution, is the act of performing sexual activity due to coercion by a third party. There are a wide range of entry routes into prostitution, ranging from "voluntary and deliberate" entry, "semi-voluntary" based on pressure of circumstances, and "involuntary" recruitment via outright force or coercion. Sexual slavery encompasses most, if not all, forms of forced prostitution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Child prostitution, is <b>ALWAYS</b> forced prostitution because it is inherently non-consensual and exploitative, as children, because of their age (18 and under in most developing countries), are not legally able to consent to sex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In many poorer countries, child prostitution is widespread, and numerous tourists from the Western World travel to these countries to engage in child sex tourism. Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil and Mexico have been identified as leading hotspots of <a href="http://www.havocscope.com/tag/child-prostitution/">child sexual exploitation</a> and forced prostitution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 500,000 women are forced into prostitution each year. Most organizations set that number at 1.2 million. with 100,000 in the US alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is also estimated that children make up 21% of forced sexually exploited labor in the private economy. And 80% of those are girls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">COH explicitly supports <a href="http://www.ijm.org/">International Justice Mission</a> in their work to end forced prostitution. And <a href="http://www.myrefugehouse.org/">My Refuge House</a> in their aftercare of girls freed from sexual bondage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Genocidal rape </b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br />Above, Bosnian woman is the victim of genocidal rape. Below, three Rwandian victims of the same, including one child.</b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWSCSNZHaZnmrXo8nE6s5biBozossEmHHfY0G-TQX38jlodDo4G_elNES1w03cxBgt_HZJO9mkcnGsNtKV6wvWPOs6YLgeOVKrcm6EastGbE7w-V7YcYikDR8xPzIw8EqWil3ZKTysf0/s1600/rwanada-child1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWSCSNZHaZnmrXo8nE6s5biBozossEmHHfY0G-TQX38jlodDo4G_elNES1w03cxBgt_HZJO9mkcnGsNtKV6wvWPOs6YLgeOVKrcm6EastGbE7w-V7YcYikDR8xPzIw8EqWil3ZKTysf0/s400/rwanada-child1.jpg" height="328" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Genocidal rape is a term used to describe the actions of a group who have carried out acts of mass rape during wartime against their perceived enemy as part of a genocidal campaign. During the Yugoslav civil war and the Rwandan genocide the mass rapes that had been an integral part of those conflicts brought the concept of genocidal rape to international prominence. While war rape has been a recurrent feature in conflicts throughout history, it has usually been looked upon as a by-product of conflict, and not an integral part of military policy. During the Rwandan genocide the violence took a gender specific form, with women and girls being targeted in a systematic campaign of sexual assault. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 were victims of rape</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) it is estimated that in 2011 alone there were 400,000 rapes. In the DRC the genocidal rape is focused on the destruction of family and communities. An interview with a survivor gave an account of gang rape, forced cannibalism of a fetus taken from an eviscerated woman and child murder. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the ongoing War in Darfur the Janjaweed militias have carried out actions described as genocidal rape, with not just women, but children also being raped, as well as babies being bludgeoned to death and the sexual mutilation of victims being commonplace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Human trafficking </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Human trafficking is the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy and ova removal. Trafficking is a lucrative industry, representing an estimated $32 billion per year in international trade. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The facts:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-Estimates of human trafficking worldwide range from 20.9 to 27 million.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 68% are held in forced labor exploitation, 22% in forced sexual exploitation and 10% in state-imposed forced labor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-The ILO estimates that women and girls comprise 55% of all those in forced labor and <b>98% of all those in sex trafficking</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-According to the ILO, 74% are adults and 26% are children under the age of 18.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is more that can be said about this issue than a library could hold, but to truly understand the devastation of this evil called human trafficking, as well as all the other forms of violence against women, it is necessary to read women and children's <a href="http://globalfreedomcenter.org/GFC/humantraffickingstories">first hand accounts</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Marital rape</b></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Marital rape, also known as spousal rape, is non-consensual sex in which the perpetrator is the victim's spouse. It can be equally, or even more, emotionally and physically damaging than rape by a stranger. Once widely condoned or ignored by law, spousal rape is now repudiated by international conventions and increasingly criminalized. Still, in many countries, spousal rape either remains legal, or is illegal but widely tolerated, with the laws against it being rarely enforced. Traditional views on marriage which dictate that a woman must be (sexually) submissive to her husband continue to be common in many parts of the world. In one study in Haiti, 100% of the women interviewed did not consider forced sex by their husband as rape. In the US upwards of 15% of women have experienced spousal rape. Worldwide the numbers are mired in traditions that view women as property and punish them for speaking out against the patriarchal hegemony in marriage and sexuality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Murder of Pregnant Women</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Murder of pregnant women is a type of homicide often resulting from domestic violence. Pregnancy-associated death has become more commonly termed as pregnancy-associated homicide. and is </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">he third leading cause of death for pregnant women. ABC News reported that about 20 percent of women who die during pregnancy are victims of murder but most sources put the rate at 10%. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A Maryland study in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Association which found "a pregnant or recently pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause". </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These killings span racial and ethnic groups. In cases whose details were known, 67 percent of women were killed with firearms. Many women were slain at home — in bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens — usually by men they knew. Husbands. Boyfriends. Lovers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">World wide the murder of pregnant women has been a function of genocide and warfare for centuries. And there are many documented cases of woman murdered and the unborn child in their womb being desecrated. Even in the event the woman wasn't killed for being pregnant, the psychological message to others is the same. No one, anywhere is safe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Pornographic Violence</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Research concerning the effects of pornography is concerned with multiple outcomes. Such research includes potential influences on rape, domestic violence and child sexual abuse. Viewers of novel and extreme pornographic images become tolerant to such images. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>89%</b> of scenes in the ten most popular pornographic videos in the US contained either verbal or physical aggression. <b>94%</b> of that violence was directed at women. Many men who view these images say that one reason they are drawn to specific types of porn is to allow them to fantasize about the things they want to do in real life. Those that abuse women in a sexual violent way have admitted to viewing porn in almost <b>100%</b> of cases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Two hundred twenty-two undergraduate males were administered an “attitudes survey” examining pornography use, attitudes, and self-reported likelihood of rape or using sexual force. Nonviolent pornography was used by 81% of subjects within the last year, whereas 41 and 35% had used violent and sexually violent pornography, respectively. Twenty-seven percent of subjects indicated some hypothetical likelihood of raping or using sexual force against a woman. Discriminant function analysis revealed that use of sexually violent pornography and acceptance of interpersonal violence against women were uniquely associated with sexual force and rape." <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>(from an abstract of a larger work entitled "Violent pornography and self-reported likelihood of sexual aggression" by </b></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Dano Demaré, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">John Briere and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hilary M. Lips)</span></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rape as corrective measure</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Corrective rape is a hate crime in which a person, usually a woman, is raped because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The common intended consequence of the rape, as seen by the perpetrator, is to correct their orientation, to turn them heterosexual, or to make them act more in conformity with gender stereotypes. The term was coined in South Africa after well-known cases of corrective rapes of lesbians like Eudy Simelane and Zoliswa Nkonyana became public. O</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ften suspected lesbians are raped by heterosexual men with a goal of punishment of "abnormal" behavior and reinforcement of societal norms.The crime is sometimes supervised by members of the woman's family or local community. Corrective rape has also been known to occur in Thailand, Ecuador, and Zimbabwe. Corrective rape and the accompanying violence can result in physical and psychological trauma, mutilation, HIV infection, unwanted pregnancy, and may contribute to suicide.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sexual slavery</span></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sexual slavery is slavery by means of sexual exploitation. Sexual slavery may include single-owner sexual slavery, ritualistic slavery sometimes associated with certain religious practices, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devadasi">devadasi in India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_servitude">trokosi</a> in Ghana/Togo/Benin, or forced prostitution. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sex trafficking is the most prolific type of sex slavery involving the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbor or receipt of persons, by coercive or abusive means for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Where that person is unable to leave through threat of violence or physical captivity, it would be considered sexual slavery in the strictest sense, but all sexual exploitation is generally considered sexual slavery. Woman are victims well over 90 percent of the time. With minor girls making up almost a third of that number.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are over 100,000 women working as sex slaves in Turkey, of which half are children, a non-governmental organization has revealed in an extensive report on prostitution in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Violence Against Prostitutes</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2004 the homicide rate for <a href="http://www.who.int/gender/documents/sexworkers.pdf">female prostitutes</a> in the United States was estimated to be 204 per 100,000. This figure is considerably higher than that for the next riskiest occupations in the United States during a similar period (4 per 100,000 for female liquor store workers and 29 per 100,000 for female taxicab drivers). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perpetrators include violent clients, pimps, and corrupt law-enforcement officers. Prostitutes themselves often take their clients to out of the way places where they are less likely to be interrupted, which is very convenient for their attackers. Being criminals in most jurisdictions, prostitutes are less likely than the law-abiding to be looked for by police if they disappear, making them favored targets of predators. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">According to a study conducted on one hundred and thirty people working as prostitutes in San Francisco, as adults in prostitution, 82% had been physically assaulted, 83% had been threatened with a weapon and <b>68% had been raped</b> while working as prostitutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This small list of terms by no means claims to be comprehensive, but is a precursor to a greater understanding of the dangers women face worldwide every second of everyday. There are no excuses that can be made for any of the violences listed above. We must choose today to protect the female species. She is and always will be the human element at the heart of the best of us, the deep tender </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">inner </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">strength of us, the compassion and conscience that makes this life more beautiful.</span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com9Titanyen, Haiti18.7122222 -72.34388890000002418.6971827 -72.364058900000018 18.7272617 -72.323718900000031tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-25220357763567610682013-04-02T18:13:00.002-07:002013-04-02T18:17:28.314-07:00Human Trafficking Of The Mentally And Physically Disabled<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9f-RivJ8IyAESpCRwoLzlleCAYD4YkhGpk3cReAwLxkQrJvxz6_naeuIRiDKqgfQFEujNgxdOZK0Iuc2LG2n3cc7-QnVFHCSAol2QexBji0RfLAQtvqR4o5A_NBop2oRadpVL2YkYPs/s1600/disabled+trafficking+victim+of+forced+begging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9f-RivJ8IyAESpCRwoLzlleCAYD4YkhGpk3cReAwLxkQrJvxz6_naeuIRiDKqgfQFEujNgxdOZK0Iuc2LG2n3cc7-QnVFHCSAol2QexBji0RfLAQtvqR4o5A_NBop2oRadpVL2YkYPs/s400/disabled+trafficking+victim+of+forced+begging.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are few facets of human trafficking that are more desperately evil than the exploitation of the mentally and physically disabled. It has been a subject that we have touched on at COH <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2010/04/nazis-action-t4-was-euthanasia-program.html">before</a>. But since that time there have been numerous documented cases of the trafficking of disabled persons. Whether this is a testament to the added scrutiny from governmental and non-governmental agencies in chronicling the phenomena or it is the rate at which these truly vulnerable people are being exploited, is not clear. What <i>is</i> painfully clear is this is one of the most gut-wrenching, cruel and horrific injustices in the world today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the <a href="http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/index.htm">2012 T.I.P. report</a> the US State Department outlines the issue this way:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"This Report includes recent reports of the abuse of deaf domestic workers in the United Kingdom, addicts forced to labor in fields in the United States, people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities enslaved in Chinese kilns, and persons with developmental disabilities forced to work as peddlers on the streets of India. Persons with disabilities remain one of the groups most at risk of being trafficked. Due to disability-based discrimination and exclusion common in many places, however, governments often ignore this risk factor or fail to make provisions for persons with disabilities as part of anti-trafficking efforts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The stigma and marginalization of a person with disabilities creates a particular vulnerability. For example, <b><i>parents who see no hope of jobs or marriage for their disabled children may place those children in exploitative situations with the intent of shedding a “burden” or seeking income</i></b>. Where schools fail to accommodate students with disabilities, high drop-out rates leave them on the streets and at much higher risk of being trafficked in forced begging or other criminal activities. The commonly held view that persons with disabilities are not sexually active increases the risk of sex trafficking for persons with disabilities, especially disabled women and girls. For example, a Global HIV/AIDS survey conducted by the World Bank and Yale University showed that <b><i>women and girls with disabilities were assumed to be virgins and thus targeted for forced sex</i></b>, including by HIV-positive individuals who believed that having sex with a virgin would cure them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Societal barriers limit the access of persons with disabilities to systems of justice. Lack of training of police, prosecutors, and judges on how to accommodate persons with disabilities (through, for example, sign language interpreters, plain language, and physical access) can leave victims with disabilities unable to provide effective statements and report the abuse they have endured. <b><i>Laws expressly prohibiting people with disabilities from being witnesses, especially those who are blind, deaf, or have mental or developmental disabilities, leave such victims excluded from processes that should provide them with redress</i></b>. Even when the justice system is not to blame, societal prejudices that devalue or discount the experiences of persons with disabilities can mean that their evidence is given less weight, and that sentences given to perpetrators may be lower than comparable cases where non-disabled people are the victims. This exclusion of persons with disabilities from the justice system in turn contributes to their being targeted by traffickers, who might assume that such victims will be less likely to raise an alarm or seek help."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2011 Newsline online <a href="http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2011/04/trafficking-in-beggars/">reported</a> "a 20-year-old disabled man Sajad Chadar was rescued by the Khairpur police as he was being kidnapped. Chadar was the victim of a gang involved in the abduction of individuals with disabilities for purposes of trafficking to Iran and other Gulf countries where they are forced into beggary." What police found was over <b>two hundred</b> disabled and child trafficking victims.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sajad Chadar, 20,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">abducted from Pakistan and forced to beg in Iran.</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mujahid Shaikh, a 25-year-old disabled man was also trafficked to Iran, but managed to return to Pakistan. He recounted for police “The kidnappers are ruthless; ...[t]here are hundreds of people with disabilities, including children, living in the custody of Kashmir Jafri in Iran."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The article goes on to state: "Shockingly, often the very people who are ostensibly the caregivers of the handicapped victims are themselves guilty of complicity in their ordeal. There is a standard modus operandus. After a disabled candidate has been identified – usually hailing from an impoverished family – the trafficker will develop a link with his parents or guardian, and entice them to partner with him in a business enterprise involving their son/charge. He offers them money – that too in advance – for their compliance."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2009 Chinese authorities arrested 10 men for trafficking 32 individuals with physical disabilities and forcing them to work in brick kilns in the Anhui province. (2010 T.I.P. Report) "The report echoes a major scandal in 2007, when Chinese media found least 1,000 people forced to work as slaves in brick kilns in Shanxi province, following a father''s desperate search for his missing teenage son. Many of the brick kiln slaves were mentally handicapped people, some of whom were so confused they did not know where they had come from, media reported at the time." (DNA)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Boyle">Danny Boyle</a>'s movie <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/">Slumdog Millionaire</a></i> criminals take homeless children and force them to beg. And to add to the sympathy factor some of the children are forcibly blinded. This fictional account resembles all to closely the reality and embodiment of the philosophy behind the trafficking of persons into forced begging. A child or homeless person may elicit certain sympathies and a few pennies from a stranger but add to that dynamic a disability and the sympathy and spare change grow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In her book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trafficking-Begging-Game-Name-ebook/dp/B004J4X1AE"><i>Trafficking for Begging: Old Game, New Name</i></a> author Iveta Cherneva states that in forced begging situations a handicapped child earns three times more than a healthy child. A survey by the Stop Child Begging Project in Thailand found that disabled children earn as much as 1000 baht a day, as opposed to a healthy child beggar who earns 300 baht a day. Well over 3 times as much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While forced begging makes up a large percentage of the exploitation the disabled face around the world, sex-trafficking is also a very real, deeply disturbing reality for persons with disabilities. </span><br />
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In a sex slavery case that U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips called "among the most horrific ever prosecuted". Four Missouri men who paid a fifth man to either watch him torture a mentally disabled woman online or torture her themselves; sexual and physical torture that lasted five years, until one of her abusers induced a heart attack while suffocating and electrically shocking her on Feb. 27, 2009. You can read the full horrific account <a href="http://unforgottenangels.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/fv-a-mentally-handicapped-victim-of-sex-trafficking-and-abuse/">here</a>. It is deeply disturbing and NOT for the weak at heart. And reveals that the victim was 16 at the time her abuse began.<br />
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This March another Missouri man pled guilty to sex trafficking two women into prostitution, including a mentally disabled woman. Federal prosecutors say 26-year-old Carl Mathews of Breckenridge Hills forced the women into sex in the St. Louis area from 2010 through October 2012. Authorities say the mentally disabled woman was forced to sleep and use the bathroom in a closet, and was supplied with little food. The woman was also beaten and set on fire. ( Associated Press)<br />
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In a case study from the 2012 T.I.P. report Saeeda, a deaf Pakistani woman, was <b>ten years old</b> when she left Pakistan for Manchester, England for a job as a domestic worker. For nearly a decade, she was abused, raped, and beaten by her employers, a Pakistani couple. Now in her 20s, Saeeda told the courts that she was confined to a cellar and forced to work as a slave.<br />
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During the four years that investigative journalist Benjamin Skinner researched modern-day slavery for his book, "A Crime So Monstrous," he posed as a buyer at illegal brothels on several continents and says he is most haunted by an experience in a brothel in Bucharest, Romania, where he was offered a young woman with Down syndrome in exchange for a used car.<br />
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UNICEF reports, “[s]ocial beliefs about disability include the fear that disability is associated with evil, witchcraft or infidelity, which serve to entrench the marginalization of disabled people” As a result, these children wind up in orphanages where they are much more susceptible to violence. Women and girls with disabilities are especially vulnerable to physical and sexual violence which puts them in danger of unplanned pregnancies due to sexual exploitation.<br />
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A child who requires assistance with washing, dressing and other intimate care activities may be particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Perpetrators can include caretakers, attendants, family members, peers or anyone who enjoys a position of trust and power (UNICEF, 2007).<br />
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Not only are disabled children dumped off into the system and stripped of their inalienable human rights, but as they grow up they are blacklisted from employment. (UNIAP, 2007). In Cornell University’s 2007 Disability Status Report, they show that the employment gap between individuals with and without disabilities is 42.8%, in the United States alone (Baker, 2008). This enormous gap in employment exacerbates the vulnerability of poverty that these individuals experience by denying them access to a self-sustaining life with gainful employment. (traffickingproject.org)<br />
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Along with superstition, religious pretense has often been used as a justification for exploitation. In India the <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html">devadasi</a> are young girls given to the temple of the goddess Yellamma to serve as sex slaves. The disabled fall victim to similar practices of religious exploitation.<br />
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"Outside a Muslim shrine in a dusty Pakistani city, a "rat woman" with a tiny head sits on a filthy mattress and takes money from worshipers who cling to an ancient fertility rite. Nadia, 25, is one of hundreds of young microcephalics -- people born with small skulls and protruding noses and ears because of a genetic mutation -- who can be found on the streets of Gujrat, in central Punjab province. Officials say many of them have been sold off by their families to begging mafias, who exploit a tradition that the "rat children" are sacred offerings to Shah Daula, the shrine's 17th century Sufi saint.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Nadia, 25, and a </b><span style="text-align: start;"><b>microcephalic,</b></span><b> seen here in July 2008, sits outside the Shah Daula's shrine in Gujrat, in central Punjab province. Nadia was just a young child when she was dumped at the shrine 20 years ago in the dead of the night. Her parents were never traced. (allvoices.com)</b></span></td></tr>
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According to local legend, infertile women who pray at Shah Daula's shrine will be granted children, but at a terrible price. The first child will be born microcephalic and must be given to the shrine, or else any further children will have the same deformity. <br />
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"Some of these children, the handicapped ones especially, are accompanied by relatives," he told AFP. "But begging gangs also look for poor parents who will sell them because they are a burden to feed and shelter." Sohail said his department had busted more than 30 gangs across the province involved in exploiting street children, some of which had broken the limbs of children so that they would earn more as beggars." (AFP)<br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With current refugee crises around the world the disabled find themselves at extreme risk for trafficking. "Migrating may be particularly challenging for a person with a disability. In the context of forced migration, persons with a physical or mental disability may benefit less from early warning systems and may also be more easily disoriented during the process of flight. Assistive devices may be lost or left behind, creating another layer of vulnerability in an already dire situation. In addition, although denying an immigration application solely on grounds of disability (and leaving a disabled person isolated or permanently separated from their group) is a human rights violation , such cases have been recorded in different countries of the world." (The International Organization for Migration)<br />
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As always, from all of us at COH, thank you for being a voice for the voiceless. And when it comes to the most vulnerable among us, the children and the mentally and physically disabled, please let your voice be ever loud, ever clear, and ceaseless in its resolve. This evil must end, and in our lifetime. Please call the National Human Trafficking hotline 1-888-3737-888 if you suspect trafficking. Do not be afraid to ask questions or to speak up if something just doesn't seem right. And in the cases of the disabled remember their ability to communicate or even appreciate the severity and urgency of their situation may be severely inhibited or even totally compromised. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-71956848925287030722012-12-09T12:43:00.002-08:002012-12-09T12:44:21.828-08:00Human Trafficking In The News 12-09-2012<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Stories of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, modern slavery and human rights abuse in the news. Click the bold titles for a link to the complete story. And as always thank you for caring about justice, for being a voice for the voiceless, for not ignoring the great evils of our day and doing something about it. Thank you!</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My current home state of Mississippi received an embarrassing and unacceptable "D" in their efforts (or apparently lack there of) in combatting human trafficking. 17 other states failed. See how your state did below. A special thanks to <a href="http://sharedhope.org/">Shared Hope International</a> for their tireless efforts to call the US to accountability bout this crime of crimes.</span></b></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/state-by-state-grades/">Shared Hope International has released their 2012 State by State report card</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> grading each state on their commitment and accomplishments in fighting human trafficking within their borders. Follow the link and click on your state to see the grade they </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">received</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/raising-awarness-about-human-trafficking/1558851.html">Music and entertainment icon MTV is training young people in Southeast Asia to use social media to raise awareness about human trafficking.</a></b> It is part of a global campaign to end the practice and event organizers and participants say social media amplifies the message. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/human-trafficking-mira-sorvino-fights-against-modern-day-slavery-84709.html?hp=l12">Actress Mira Sorvino (below) on Thursday called upon a crowd of 200 state legislators to take the lead in battling human trafficking</a></b>, telling them they were on the front lines of the fight against “modern-day slavery” and repeatedly singling out Wyoming as the only state in the country that has failed to tackle the issue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.newschannel10.com/story/20293029/new-federal-law-targets-sex-predators">Friday President Obama signed Senator John Cornyn's Child Protection Act of 2012 into law.</a></b> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The aim is to take a more aggressive stance against sexual exploitation and human trafficking. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a press release from the attorney general's office, Senator Cornyn is quoted as saying, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We need to provide law enforcement with every tool they need to crack down on the most vile criminals ... And protect the innocent young people who fall victim to these heinous crimes."</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>President Obama today signing into law the Child Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6063), a bipartisan, bicameral bill authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) to better protect children from sexual predators. Chairman Smith, along with other supporters of the bill, joined the President at a signing ceremony at the White House.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/trauma-triumph-one-person-one-day-time/2012/dec/6/how-identify-victims-sex-trafficking/">From the Washington Times:</a></b> some visible signs that may be used to help identify victims of human trafficking and questions that law enforcement, medical personnel, school and shelter personnel, and even the general public can use to help to identify victims of human trafficking. Recognizing that someone has been trafficked can be the first step in saving their life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>And finally, last but not least, a great way for you to turn your passion for justice into the reality of freedom this Holiday Season!!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://secure3.convio.net/ijm/site/SPageNavigator/HGC_Home.html">International Justice Mission's 2012 Gift catalog.</a></b> For just a few dollars you can help give a child or a whole family the gift of freedom. Please let your generosity match the horror that you feel that these evils can even exist in today's society. Thank you!</span><br />
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Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-50842752425122486752012-10-10T18:22:00.000-07:002012-10-13T07:51:57.344-07:00Just Like Us: An Interview with Morgan Wienberg of Little Footprints, Big Steps.<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are those people we call heroes. Those that inspire us to live greater than the sum of our parts, to reach deeper into our hearts and pull more compassion from it then we'd ever known existed. Those whose selfless lives and sublime experiences leave us deeply humbled and yet wanting something of more substance, those who love, like someone's life depends on it. Those kind of people.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Morgan and the precious children of Haiti.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The problem with those people, when it comes to an interview anyway, is that ALL their words are compelling, all their stories inspiring. I found it very hard to ask the right questions to Morgan Wienberg. To be quite sure she is a hero. A mother to the cast-off children of Haiti. To the runaways, the homeless, the exploited street kids. But she can tell </span><a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/blog.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">her story, her children's story</a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> much better than anyone else. So what I hope to do here is just expose you to the very heart of her organization </span><a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Little Footprints, Big Steps</a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> and their work in Haiti. And to highlight the children's plights and most urgent needs, for after all it is about the kids. Please take time to read LFBS' mission statement </span><a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">. It is boundless in it's clarity of vision and it's practical and sustainable application.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tell us about your night on the streets in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Cayes">Les Cayes</a>, how it changed you, and how it engendered trust from your boys and the people you met.</b></span><br />
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Many of these boys chose a life in the streets. Yes, they felt it was their only alternative to abuse or slavery or starvation – yet after enduring this type of lifestyle for long enough, they become accustomed to aspects of it. They are not used to staying in one place. So if these boys were going to successfully reunite with their families, or live in our safehouse, they had to choose to do so. </div>
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I feel that by sleeping alongside those boys in the streets, I not only gained their trust but encouraged internal reflection among them. The boys refused to allow me to sleep in the streets again. They threatened not to speak to me. Yet in urging me not to do so, they realized something: They, themselves, did not want that life either. Judelin Meritus and Crizilov – 16 and 15 year old boys who acted ‘macho’ and silent most of the time – ended up crying in my lap, eager to free themselves from life in the streets. When that happened, I knew these boys had made a choice. They chose to leave the streets. </div>
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My eyes were opened by that night. You can imagine the discomfort of sleeping in the streets. That these children are cold, that they never truly sleep through the night. But to lay your head on the hard ground…. to be caught between chilling wind on top of you and cold that seeps up through the concrete ground below you… this is an experience that changes your understanding of homelessness. Waking up to have people around you, feeling the opposite of rested, brushing dirt off of your pants and not having anything to change – or anywhere to change – is a harsh reality. </div>
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Yet my eyes were opened to more than the suffering of those who have no home. I witnessed a compassion and affection that these ‘hardened’ street boys shared. This had been the first night I’d ever spoken to most of them… yet as I lay down beside Mickenson that evening, at least three of the boys sat in front of me. When I woke up, they’d been replaced by another 2 street boys. Without hesitation, they’d protected me. The street boys had sat guard for this crazy white girl – just as they would have for each other.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mickenson!</b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recounting <a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/1/post/2012/02/a-homeless-person-is-a-person.html">the story </a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/1/post/2012/02/a-homeless-person-is-a-person.html">of that night</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> i</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">n your blog you wrote:<span style="color: yellow;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: orange;"><i>Mickenson’s mother whispered </i>[in]</span><i><span style="color: orange;"> disbelief: “She loves him. She wrapped the sheet around Mickenson - she did it herself. She’s just like us.”</span> </i>Some passerby's called you crazy, certainly most must of been thinking it, but one person said <i>“She’s Haitian.”</i> How incredible was it to hear those words? From Mickenson's mom, from an anonymous stranger</b>?</span></div>
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You know those moments when you feel your heart swelling? This was one of them. The very reason I was sleeping in the street that night was to demonstrate to these people – these children and families who slept on the concrete, with no showers or clean clothes to change into, without the finances to put shoes on their feet or eat each day – to create an understanding among these people and among those who shunned them. I wanted to connect with them on a level where they could see me as I saw them: as equal beings. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Comments like that of Mickenson’s mom, or more privileged strangers walking by, confirmed that my message had gotten through - at least to some. They saw that although we were of different races, although we were born into different financial conditions, we were both people. We were connected. So much of the barriers that allow racism, poverty, and oppression to perpetuate are walls built up in our minds. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Mickenson's momma</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In countries like Haiti, these walls are often so ingrained in society’s beliefs that it’s difficult for people to dissolve class separations, cultural differences, and other variables. But when we do see through these walls, it becomes clear that we are all, in our truest forms, equal beings. We are brothers and sisters who should not walk past as others suffer. I feel that a change in perspective is the first step to breaking down those barriers in real life – and this night was the beginning of that. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Corruption and abuse are rampant in many of Haiti's orphanages. Many are run for profit. Tell us a little about your experiences at Bon Samaritan Orphanage (and anywhere else) and how you saw those abuses first hand.</b><br />
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Oh my. There is certainly a lot to be said about the ‘for-profit orphanage’ industry in Haiti and blatant exploitation of children in this country.</div>
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Bon Samaritan Orphanage is a business that has been the source of income for a Haitian woman and her family for over 20 years. Hundreds of children have gone through this orphanage. I’ve met adults who grew up there – their sense of self-worth & confidence is shattered, even as adults. I was introduced to this orphanage in 2010, and the dangerous state of the children, who were clearly being both physically & psychologically abuse, and being purposely kept in severe neglect, moved me on a very deep level. I felt committed to helping these children. In 2011, I returned to Haiti independently and moved into this orphanage, living alongside the 75 children who were there at the time. I witnessed children beaten for eating or helping themselves to clean water; children being forced to beat each other; religion used to manipulate the children; older children used as slaves instead of attending school; international aid such as food or shoes coming in for the children but being sold instead; negotiations being made to sell infants; parents being demeaned for visiting their children; and life-threatening health issues being ignored. </div>
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The woman running this orphanage became frustrated with me, stating that I was “here for the children, not for the orphanage.” I agreed with her: the orphanage and the children were two very different things. </div>
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I soon began to learn from the children that nearly all of them had FAMILIES. Their parents had been manipulated and deceived into giving up their children, with the impression that they would receive the nutrition and education parents were unable to afford at home. I soon began to help these children reunite with their families, and co-founded Little Footprints, Big Steps to ensure that the educational, nutritional and medical struggles leading to abandonment would be addressed. </div>
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I’ve since spoken to parents whose children have died in this orphanage; parents who’ve tried to reclaim their children, yet have been severely beaten or lied to about where their child is; parents whose children have been sold to foreigners – without the families knowing. Parents who do succeed in taking their children home, are then told they must pay to retrieve their child’s birth certificate – something which is necessary for school registration. </div>
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Yet this is not an isolated case. There is a huge industry of exploitative orphanages in Haiti. I’ve heard of others in which sexual abuse is rampant. The local authority IBESR, responsible for monitoring child care facilities, has a long list of neglectful orphanages that ‘urgently’ need to be shut down – and often takes time to act on such situations. I was involved in shutting down another orphanage in which the histories of all children were lies to cover up the fact that they indeed had families nearby. The director of this orphanage (a man named Figaro Raguel, near Les Cayes, Haiti) was pocketing 80% of funds that were sent, and providing the children with an absolute minimum.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfxkNK5LJHB4OY5WmkVTY1P-RlT4sk1XWIzc-vmWLAievz1nNbCxxJRfj-jpQ8jNmt_JVNYS1dII7od5k3M0IXctCAxRI7JjyDPo2krpsWb-bbg4U3EUh72F-wJoTHre67JKQCQIagCI/s1600/Josimene+a+haitian+restavek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfxkNK5LJHB4OY5WmkVTY1P-RlT4sk1XWIzc-vmWLAievz1nNbCxxJRfj-jpQ8jNmt_JVNYS1dII7od5k3M0IXctCAxRI7JjyDPo2krpsWb-bbg4U3EUh72F-wJoTHre67JKQCQIagCI/s320/Josimene+a+haitian+restavek.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josiméne, a restavek or haitian child slave. Picture from Gigi Cohen and <a href="http://www.childlaborphotoproject.org/cohen.html">The Photo Project</a>.</td></tr>
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In addition I’ve encountered, in working with street children in Haiti, severe abuse of authority from police forces. These children are being beaten for sleeping in the streets, or arrested (without food and water) for no reason – with no one else aware of their confinement. The issue of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restavec">restaveks</a>, or slaves, in Haiti is also alarming. MODERN SLAVERY EXISTS! I consider the children living in Bon Samaritan Orphanage to be slaves. Often, people like the woman running this orphanage will deceive parents with promises of education and nutrition for their children. She mentions that she is supported by international organizations. This encourages parents to trust her. These families – usually living in the South of Haiti/ in the countryside – give up their children, who are typically taken to the cities. Yet when these children are used as slaves, deprived of the right to an education and food, and severely beaten or kicked out on the streets miles away from home, how are their parents to know?</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>You outline very poignantly how Haitian families are susceptible to these bad orphanages, you said </b><i><span style="color: orange;"><b>"Haitian families are often very large. Many have only one parent, who is unemployed. These parents become desperate for a way to feed, clothe and educate their children. They feel trapped in the web of poverty. So when a spider, such as a corrupt orphanage or a child trafficker, walks by and offers to take children to a place with more opportunity, parents are eager to believe this is true. They give away their child. Yet child abandonment such as this allows children to be placed directly in the mouth of the spider. Thousands of children in Haiti are being beaten, burned, sold, used as slaves, kicked onto the streets and completely exploited...and their parents have no idea."</b></span> </i><b>In a country with very little regulation what can be done about these "spiders"?</b></span><br />
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When you see abuse, exploitation or neglect… DON’T ACCEPT IT. Don’t witness it only to walk away. If a child is being mistreated, that is not “just the way things are” and it is not alright – regardless of where you are. </div>
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Report abuse to local authorities. Try to work with them. How can we expect local child protection authorities to act on these issues, if we act as though those authorities do not exist and we do not even try to support or encourage them? </div>
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IBESR is the Haitian authority responsible for child care centers such as orphanages, and BPM is the child protection police in Haiti. You may also turn to the Haitian national police (in Port au Prince) and Commissioners of the Haitian Government regarding exploitation such as human trafficking. </div>
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Also report it to international authorities. Make people working for child protection aware of what is happening. What have you got to lose? Be persistent. Speak for those victims who cannot. We have the great privilege of communication and connections – these should be utilized! Connect with others who have been advocating for children in similar situations: we can find power in numbers, and gain the attention of authorities, if we demonstrate that these are not isolated cases, but examples of a widespread problem that must be acted on.</div>
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This might include organizations such as Save the Children, UNICEF, Sow a Seed, Beyond Borders, Respire, Little Footprints Big Steps, or individuals who have witnessed or advocated for similar violations of human rights. If you have witnessed similar exploitation of children in Haiti, please contact me at morgan.2.2@hotmail.com!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan holding one of LFBS' staff member's baby.</td></tr>
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Take care not to perpetuate the problems. Think about the individual victim’s needs, but also think about how that victim arrived where he or she is, and about what causes these issues on a larger scale. </div>
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This is so important: be aware of your impact on the ‘bigger picture’. The Bon Samaritan Orphanage was being supported by numerous international organizations which thought they were helping these children by bringing the orphanage food & materials. When they visited the orphanage, they saw starving children – it seems logical to bring food. However, consider the message this sends to parents as they struggle on their own: they are seeing aid given to orphanages. That must be where children are best taken care of; where they will have the most opportunity. WRONG! Consciously make an effort to have your actions empower and encourage parents to look after their children, instead of idealizing the institutional care system.</div>
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Push for accountability and pay close attention to the children. If you are working with children in an orphanage or institution (because some children do truly need this), measure your impact not by how much resources you’ve provided to the orphanage, but by the result you see in individual children. If you’re providing food, monitor children’s weight for more transparency – ensure the resources are truly reaching the children. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Morgan with some of her beautiful family!</b></td></tr>
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Be aware of where each child has come from. If their parents are dead, have you met their aunt or uncle? Do you know if they have siblings? This can also help you understand why the child has developed certain behaviors, insecurities or challenges. Get to know the children – if you’re working with an orphanage and communication with the children is discouraged, or they seem afraid to be seen speaking to you, this is a sign that they may be hiding abuse and corruption. If they demonstrate separation anxiety but become frozen and silent when adults are near them, look for more signs. That is not normal. </div>
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Strengthen and empower local communities! If the families of these children were self-sufficient, capable of enrolling their own children in school, able to rely on a support network within their community, and aware of child exploitation issues their country faces… spiders like this one would not be successful in luring children into their traps. </div>
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There are so many causes that contribute to child exploitation & abuse in countries like Haiti; but this means that there is a lot that can be done to prevent or combat such issues! For example, these ‘spiders’ thrive because families feel trapped in a web of poverty. So free them from that web! Creating employment, more available nutrition, accessible medical care and increased access to education will reduce child abandonment - therefore making it harder for ‘spiders’ to feed. </div>
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Also, it will be more difficult for these ‘spiders’ to prey if vulnerable children and families know they are coming! RAISE AWARENESS – not only on an international level, but also among those incredibly impoverished communities in the countryside or slums, who are most likely to feel comforted by the deceptions presented by criminals trying to take their children. Make parents aware that slavery and child trafficking exists in their country. Teach them how to be good parents, and why they are so important to their children. Make sure that if a spider shows up in their community, these parents will say NO and hold their child close. </div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Why do you think so many other organizations in Haiti stick to the traditional orphanage model when what LFBS is doing seems to make so much more sense?</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think that it can be a more difficult model, perhaps, to support families instead of orphanages. It seems easier to put all children in one place where we can ‘control’ their environment. Orphanages also seem to be the traditional model, and are more widely used. I think there is often a lack of awareness about the way that this affects local perception of child care and family dynamics… indeed it makes it more appealing for parents to give up their children instead of struggle to improve the home environment. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbx9O-Qk1ZxBaV5rpQH4S0eSOoirXiyJMdxWAIA-LrhIeeKxJQESyBq85fzmvKutWe5hacSrhvS3h39mjexmcygnroT_gyd7bUkcXwsEo6Ekko6laUWnBEawG0-k_XR40jAcIn7b9k8GA/s1600/les+cayes+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbx9O-Qk1ZxBaV5rpQH4S0eSOoirXiyJMdxWAIA-LrhIeeKxJQESyBq85fzmvKutWe5hacSrhvS3h39mjexmcygnroT_gyd7bUkcXwsEo6Ekko6laUWnBEawG0-k_XR40jAcIn7b9k8GA/s400/les+cayes+map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The reality of the situation is that most children who live in Haitian orphanages are not true orphans. I don’t feel that many organizations make a great enough effort to connect with families of these children, and address the issues that caused their abandonment or caused them to run away from home. Yet this is SO IMPORTANT. It is evident that a child who is starving or homeless is being deprived of their rights…. Yet the Convention of the Rights of The Child also emphasizes that every child has the right to Identity, and to Family. We must take this into consideration. </div>
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There are children who are in need of institutionalized care – yet not all of them do! I think that when we see a child who is not taken care of the way they are in North America, we immediately want to change this. We want to take in that child and care for him or her the way we would our own. Yet me must consider that this is a Haitian child, and he does have a family. He is part of a Haitian community. Removing him from that family and community may be necessary in some situations, but in others this is likely to encourage other parents to give up their children; or other children to run away from home. I have seen street children leave home because they’re seeing friends make so much money by begging in the streets and it becomes appealing. </div>
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To sum things up, I feel we need to make a greater effort to include cultural sensitivity in our aid efforts. Dig to the roots of the problem, and instead of applying a band aid that might actually cause problems to fester and become worse… medicate the body from which that problem has stemmed. Work with the family and community of that needy child.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24dFTKSCVWR-6DCAYbA7UwsnhAVUw_1mWbf_8Yvi5KWmxyRFpZEptI8wwkjkHUSdt7otV8P-5-UAWYStw26_ojQgEbfObSJ-x3a8FFEjBKJPR_1idCDQl5F_sQf0Qo5tcdmFFpPgwEiQ/s1600/Safehouse+boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24dFTKSCVWR-6DCAYbA7UwsnhAVUw_1mWbf_8Yvi5KWmxyRFpZEptI8wwkjkHUSdt7otV8P-5-UAWYStw26_ojQgEbfObSJ-x3a8FFEjBKJPR_1idCDQl5F_sQf0Qo5tcdmFFpPgwEiQ/s400/Safehouse+boys.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The boys playing in front of the safehouse, a transitional child care center,<i> not</i> an orphanage. In the event that it's not safe or possible for LFBS to reunite children with their families, they rely on relationships with trustworthy orphanages to place kids! Wherever their children end up, after an intensive period of mental and physical growth within the safehouse, LFBS follows up with them.</span> </b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Reading LFBS' <a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/blog.html">blog</a> I was instantly struck by how almost every word was about the kids, how every story was deeply empathetic and managed to keep the child's dignity intact. You tell the story of Claude who lost his mom in the 2010 earthquake and my heart was broken again for the kids of Haiti. Is there a story of one of your kids that is the most personal to you?</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank you – this is a great compliment. My goal in spreading these children’s stories is to help people see them the way I do: to understand the extreme suffering they've endured, yet not to see them as anyone less capable or intellectual than us. To recognize that each of these individuals has developed an indescribable strength, that each could thrive if given a fraction of the opportunity and support most of us receive. Each of the children I work with still has an ongoing story, but the one I’ll share with you in particular….still fills me with pain and passion – simultaneously.</span><br />
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There is a girl named Giguermaie. When I first met this 7 year old girl in 2010, I was stricken by her emaciation, juxtaposed with her gregarious energy and an infectious laugh. Giguermaie was starving, yet spent all of her time caring for her 2 year old brother Johnny. Amidst 75 children who were almost all near-death from starvation, Johnny was one of the healthiest – and Giguermaie one of the most frightening. Yet Giguermaie would share the single plate of rice she had as her daily meal with this boy. Both siblings lived in an orphanage. Both were beaten daily, used to lure in international aid that was sold instead of given to the children, and both had living parents. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDI-62X60mmraTYISCEAZE1aH9_RmZVGr7pN5jJf_riEt7hG5CA8PQJtJYchGwiyLN4XzsoUr-EBg5a-5yIV8lyh4BPGg84-SrJLcNE_r4e5qLAcKbbnv7NN8UcM99EPjv79keomt7ko/s1600/Giguermaie+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDI-62X60mmraTYISCEAZE1aH9_RmZVGr7pN5jJf_riEt7hG5CA8PQJtJYchGwiyLN4XzsoUr-EBg5a-5yIV8lyh4BPGg84-SrJLcNE_r4e5qLAcKbbnv7NN8UcM99EPjv79keomt7ko/s400/Giguermaie+2010.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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The following year (2011) I joined these children and lived in the orphanage for 5.5 months. As I learned Kreyol and got to know each child, I developed a special relationship with Giguermaie. She loved attention. She was also in desperate need of it: her chest rattled with each breath she took; her body was terribly fragile; malnutrition had turned her hair red; scabies and a puss filled, green infection plagued her hands as well as her backside with painful open wounds that spread each time she scratched them. Forceful coughing convinced me to have her tested for tuberculosis but this came back negative. Without any panties, Giguermaie’s backside stained her dress each night – with blood and puss. I began taking Giguermaie aside each night, giving her vitamins & protein bars while I cleansed, treated and bandaged her open wounds. I put clean underwear on the girl & had her take asthma- reducing medicine before bed. She wore socks on her hands to prevent scratching. </div>
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The forty youngest children in this orphanage, myself and one other (enslaved) adult slept in a military tent. It was large and green with no floor. On the dirt ground inside the tent, we laid a plastic tarp each night. The children and I laid on that tarp, sharing about 5 sheets among us. Every night, there was one girl who slept directly on my chest: Giguermaie. </div>
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At first, adults would pull the girl off of me while we slept, assuming she made me uncomfortable. When they saw that I pulled her back onto me again and again, this eventually stopped. Often I would lay awake, watching the other children as they peacefully slept, listening to the alarming wheezing Giguermaie made with each breath. She coughed all through the night. I felt the rocky ground on my back and was broken by the thought of it bruising Giguermaie’s fragile body, of its coldness seeping into her and chilling her to the bone. So, on my chest she slept. </div>
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One night, I accidentally tripped while playing with Giguermaie and some other children. The ‘spider’ woman, who ran the orphanage, saw that I was bleeding and saw that Giguermaie had been nearby. Before I could say anything, she took the petrified girl and made her kneel alone under the tarp that was used as a church. I watched as the woman yelled at the fragile, crying girl – because of me. “There is a demon in you,” the woman told Giguermaie. “There is a demon in you and you must pray for forgiveness. Your evil spirits have made you hurt Morgan.” </div>
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I begged the woman to stop this cruel punishment, telling her it hadn’t been Giguermaie’s fault. “That child is possessed by a demon,” the woman told me. If only it could be so simple as to take the punishment for this child – I felt such would have been less painful than watching her endure it because of me. I knew Giguermaie would be beaten. </div>
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It took a day or two before Giguermaie felt safe enough to cuddle up to me again, but her resilient love came through as her infectious, happy energy returned. </div>
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Eventually, it became time for me to leave this orphanage – I would not be able to shut it down or help these children if I simply sat there cuddling them, though that was all I wanted to do. Two days before my flight out of Haiti, I came home to the orphanage to find that Giguermaie was sick. It was the last Sunday in July 2011 and everyone else went to church: Giguermaie had been lying alone in the corner of a concrete room for 3 hours before I found her. Curled in the fetal position, she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even whisper or cough. Although she hadn’t eaten anything for over 24 hours, Giguermaie had vomited that morning. I took the 8 year old’s head in my hand and told her, “Hold on one second and we’ll go to the hospital, okay sweetie?” Her eyes were distant, yet full of panic as she attempted to nod.<br />
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I quickly changed my shirt. As I turned back to Giguermaie, I saw that she was unconscious. Grabbing a puffer and my wallet, I held the delicate child in my arms and began to run out of the orphanage. The orphanage owner stopped me. “Giguermaie isn’t wearing socks,” she said. “Her hair isn’t braided. You can’t leave the orphanage with her looking like that – what will everyone think of me?” I was not even shocked by these statements, but ignored them and left. This child was not breathing. </div>
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As I raced down the road with Giguermaie’s limp body against me, I spoke anxiously to her. At one point I realized her eyes were open and she was looking around, confused, but listening to me. As we hopped onto a motorcycle taxi, I began giving Giguermaie the inhaler. As she puffed, she gained consciousness but was still limp against me. She shook her head when I asked her to cough or whisper, panic in her eyes.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NpH_r2xN59dBCLO-1KxAiS8yqXJZCvjsOVpAP1nK0KoxB_GsEtF2xNKflmd_lOI7bREJ-ZPVFRQ6HoGeuQz_eMZq_NWTkAMoTknunuO4j7W3nQ7LvEKXDCeBfbJgUNJQ-hy-R5evC1I/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NpH_r2xN59dBCLO-1KxAiS8yqXJZCvjsOVpAP1nK0KoxB_GsEtF2xNKflmd_lOI7bREJ-ZPVFRQ6HoGeuQz_eMZq_NWTkAMoTknunuO4j7W3nQ7LvEKXDCeBfbJgUNJQ-hy-R5evC1I/s400/12.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Giguermaie in Morgan's arms at the Samaritan's Purse clinic right before they left for the hospital.</span></b></span></td></tr>
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We soon arrived at the Samaritan’s Purse clinic. Although it was a Sunday, their incredible nurses and doctor came to see Giguermaie. Once she had some steroids and an oxygen tube, Giguermaie began to breathe. We transferred her to an MSF hospital in Port au Prince. Nurses examined her in the intake area, stating that “she may not be bad enough to be admitted.” I just about collapsed with fear – she couldn’t breathe! Giguermaie was indeed admitted to the hospital, where she was put on oxygen and very well taken care of. Even in the hospital, Giguermaie slept on my chest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uPnCahj9C6XkjyQLFojOj1Wdvz09lI8lKr3Te8gg8ssvuAo7fd-AIaylJ-WT1Dk_Jf_wNbdBp1cEt9h4FfHsATzOsj8SSF0bH77aG5ENA-Xb6OQYyasngaMSRPOtN1HhqyzUjGa9k70/s1600/c+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uPnCahj9C6XkjyQLFojOj1Wdvz09lI8lKr3Te8gg8ssvuAo7fd-AIaylJ-WT1Dk_Jf_wNbdBp1cEt9h4FfHsATzOsj8SSF0bH77aG5ENA-Xb6OQYyasngaMSRPOtN1HhqyzUjGa9k70/s400/c+(8).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Giguermaie at the hospital and on oxygen.</span></b></span></td></tr>
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I spent most of that night staring at the beautiful girl, astounded by her strength yet terrified by how easy it would have been to have lost her. It seemed that every 15 minutes, she pushed the itchy tubing away from her nose – yet I would hear her breathing change, and frantically replace the oxygen tube. As Giguermaie gained strength, her energy returned. She drew a giant red flower and laughed, looking at photos we’d taken of her friends. </div>
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The next morning, I had to leave. I asked Giguermaie who she’d like to have come and stay with her, to look after her during her recovery in the hospital. She thought for a moment. “Laurana!” Giguermaie responded, suggesting her 11 year old friend. That was the only person she felt comfortable trusting to care for her. There were no staff in the orphanage, so 17 year old Eluckson ended up joining her and taking incredible care of the child. Giguermaie was in the hospital for 2 weeks before she could breathe on her own. </div>
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Since that day, I have not yet been able to see Giguermaie in person. Yet her photo is my screensaver; each time I send nurses or others to visit the orphanage, they check on her. I have come close to shutting down that orphanage, and each time I thought this would happen… Giguermaie is the first child I imagined seeing, holding, and hearing again. I can so vividly remember her laugh, her embrace, her little nose.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwKe6YwdZoNXM8odQwuOyUpsZYUMnvF5Aq5meqIumUw_-Uq0TCaTCP_sCOT_Tbws_5Aazodghm5OovLf9yorHh07xUwxDeaSAoGa1ojxdVjkkJql21HP7WuoN3RVUdWNZscV6efdxAvw/s1600/227517_10150202764758493_1599585_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwKe6YwdZoNXM8odQwuOyUpsZYUMnvF5Aq5meqIumUw_-Uq0TCaTCP_sCOT_Tbws_5Aazodghm5OovLf9yorHh07xUwxDeaSAoGa1ojxdVjkkJql21HP7WuoN3RVUdWNZscV6efdxAvw/s400/227517_10150202764758493_1599585_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Morgan's favorite picture of <span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Giguermaie. Photo by Miriam Geer.</span></span></b></td></tr>
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Giguermaie’s story represents that of so many children: the abuse, the manipulation, the slavery, the neglect and near-death experiences she’s somehow endured. The overwhelming generosity and love she expresses for those close to her, such as her little brother Johnny. Although each child’s story is unique, they’ve each endured shocking horrors and come out of them with stunningly genuine qualities. </div>
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In addition, I’ve come to learn that Giguermaie’s father actually tried to reclaim his children. He went to the orphanage, demanding that he have his children back. Yet this father was told he could not see his children – and was severely beaten until he left. I can personally testify that this is not the only parent who’s endured such appalling abuse. And Giguermaie, in the meantime, has no idea her parents are fighting for her. I like to think she knows that I am.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2H_I6jO3bJ6OqB5gL1iv335ZnDkGbRd0241yspdWu86LDcGnPbcKjmalXHyzhKa0IcT53vlzRD7cAfxhlaS1S1St4FRT9xRY1Ac04PQKDUU9dluBBk1Hvv3vPJtaYr5tGweLiLFgRtM/s1600/226497_10150202762458493_752215_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2H_I6jO3bJ6OqB5gL1iv335ZnDkGbRd0241yspdWu86LDcGnPbcKjmalXHyzhKa0IcT53vlzRD7cAfxhlaS1S1St4FRT9xRY1Ac04PQKDUU9dluBBk1Hvv3vPJtaYr5tGweLiLFgRtM/s400/226497_10150202762458493_752215_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Precious <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Giguermaie</span> always looking after her little brother Johnny.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>You use the Jimi Hendrix quote "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" as your web banner. Is there a personal significance to that quote for you?</b></span><br />
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I suppose this quote is the theory by which I’d like to live my life. What will striving for money and power achieve? Striving for love, for togetherness, for deeper understanding & affection… has already enhanced my life more than I could have imagined.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAe9LawoO4JeQf3PIgdJPZJeomgTWstGDFbPlcM8pCAoKnx11HX1U756vO3wduUOfP82mwKSr8UFz9eyFyjh0ACnuCdJiy-qr9uEB1tLVfY3dn66DYjMEr28MwgfHaZMAs01DbDRyd9Dc/s1600/jimi+hendrix+peace+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAe9LawoO4JeQf3PIgdJPZJeomgTWstGDFbPlcM8pCAoKnx11HX1U756vO3wduUOfP82mwKSr8UFz9eyFyjh0ACnuCdJiy-qr9uEB1tLVfY3dn66DYjMEr28MwgfHaZMAs01DbDRyd9Dc/s400/jimi+hendrix+peace+sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also feel that this quote addresses the violation suffered by ‘my’ children. A blind, destructive greed for power and money has driven people to become spiders and prey on each other. It has taken the peace and childhood of so many, turning their world into torture and trauma. Yet the power of these children’s love – for each other, for life, for music, for God – has been enough to overcome that oppression. It has been enough to get them through to a more peaceful, real life. I feel that each of the children I work with is living proof of Jimi Hendrix’s words. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Is there a book that has profoundly inspired you in your work?</b></span><br />
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I was incredibly moved by the book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Child_Called_%22It%22">A Child Called It</a>, which I read and cherished during high school. I am so pained by the concept of a child having his rights and identity stripped from him, to the point of being referred to as an object – yet this is also what happened to the child slaves living in Bon Samaritan Orphanage, and to many of the boys living in the streets. This book may have played a role in building my deep empathy and powerful desire to help those children who are victimized at the hands of those who should protect them, who have no one, but who have an inconceivable strength.<br />
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There is also a quotation I recall, which I try to implement in my work. It is something along the lines of, “If you are working in a developing country, ask yourself: Could a local be doing my job? If the answer is no, ask yourself: Could I be teaching a local to do my job?” This particular quotation has inspired me to consider the sustainability, empowerment and culture of locals as much as possible. </div>
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Although I only recently discovered this novel, I also recommend Tectonic Shifts. This is a compilation of writings regarding the lives of Haitians – half of which are written by locals. It addresses some issues about foreigners’ impacts in Haiti that I feel more North Americans should be aware of. I’m also reading a novel called Creative Therapies for Traumatized Children – which has enhanced my understanding of the development and challenges of street children or abused children as well as family dynamics… and, just as importantly, how to help them heal! </div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Favorite Haitian food? The thing you miss most about Haiti (besides your kids!) when you're back in the first world? Anything you miss about Canada when you are in bel Ayiti?</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think my favourite foods are Haitian coconuts and pikliz, a traditional spicy salad made with shredded cabbage and carrots. When I’m not in Haiti, I miss the children more than I can express – but also really miss Kreyol. When all I hear around me is English, it feels as though something is missing! So I start speaking Kreyol to myself, listen to Haitian music, or become excited each time I hear someone speaking Haiti’s national language. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pikliz!! Spicy Kreyol slaw! With a recipe <a href="http://laeticia.tumblr.com/post/1707654163/recipe-pikliz-spicy-haitian-slaw">here</a>!</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I also find myself longing for the togetherness of Haitian society, and the rich, artistic culture that is demonstrated everywhere in the country. Where are the people dancing in the streets? Why is everyone so isolated? It feels a bit ‘cold’ when strangers are hesitant to talk to each other, or interact with technology instead of those around them. Haitian communities live in a very open, connected way that I feel other countries could learn from. To me, the first world often feels… detached from reality and from others. </span><br />
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While in Ayiti, I definitely have a greater appreciation for Canada’s open space and trails that lead you through forests where you can walk for hours, without running into anyone. Running, yoga and long walks: I don’t take much time for these while in Haiti, so I miss them. And I miss gala apples!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>What are the most urgent needs your kids have right now? School has started and that entails fees and uniforms etc... How can people help and what is the very best way to give?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ooh I appreciate this question! School has indeed just started, and we have over 80 children we’ve enrolled in school. We still need long-term sponsors for at least 40 of these children, to ensure that their educational fees are covered each year ($200 - $300 USD annually). Please visit the sponsorship page of our <a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/">website</a> for more info!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In addition, many of the children we work with are illiterate or beginning school late due to the neglect and slavery they’ve endured for years. For instance, 15 year old Crizilov has never been to school before – yet is gaining so much confidence and personal growth through the opportunity to join his peers in receiving an education. We have a tutoring program in which children (both those in the safehouse and those reunited with their families) receive one on one mentorship for several hours each day. We hire educated locals in the child’s neighbourhood, thereby building the child’s relations within his community and providing employment to locals! It costs an average of $25 USD monthly to provide a child with a tutor – and perhaps to empower him to pass this school year! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In addition, if you have expertise in non-violence, family planning, languages, vocational skills, human rights education, or any other subjects that will help shape our children, staff and families into educated, loving individuals with the desire & skills to engage in their community… we’d love to have you visit us in Les Cayes, Haiti and share your knowledge! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every donation can have such a great impact in the lives of these children and families. Never underestimate that. $6 USD can buy a family a chicken – and help them take a step towards self-sustainability; a step away from child abandonment and hunger. $50 USD can purchase a goat for a vulnerable family. $80 USD can provide one of our children with a bicycle, giving them a personal possession and a way to ensure they don’t miss a day of school! $200 is enough to enroll a child in an extra course such as English or Information Technology, OR to empower a single mother to begin her own business and support her children instead of giving them up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please consider helping – every bit is meaningful. You can donate online <a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/">here</a>. Or sign up for monthly giving to LFBS <a href="http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s104717">here</a>. Feel free to contact me at morgan.2.2@hotmail.com, and to visit us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/littlefootprintsbigsteps?fref=ts">Facebook</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please spread the word about the suffering of these children, as well as the impact we all have on ‘developing’ countries. We are all connected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Anything else you'd like to add?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please be in touch if you have any questions or are interested in learning more! I love to share these children’s and families’ stories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wanted to take a minute to write a more personal note along with my continual thanks to our readers and activists who refuse to let the injustices of trafficking, slavery and child exploitation remain hidden. I desperately love Haiti, n</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ever has a country opened its heart so wide to me. I adore this place and believe with all my heart </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in what Little Footprints, Big Steps is doing and the way they are doing it.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> For all it's chaos and poverty Haiti is beautiful beyond words. But Haiti is a battleground for her people. It is so hard here for them and especially so for children. I have seen such violence, heard so many firsthand stories of brutality and devastation as to make the soul wither. With recent statistics placing Haiti as the poorest nation in the world it is easy to understand how the pressures of poverty can and will lead to more child exploitation. What is not easy to understand is how a country, an hour and a half flight from Miami, our neighbor, our friend Haiti, can be so easily forgotten about. Please don't forget about Haiti. I love her so much. Thank you all, again, from the bottom of my heart. P</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">lease <a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/contribute.html">support</a> LFBS, you will never, ever regret it and you will be changing the future of Haiti. XOXOXO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> -Mark</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A special thank you video from the boys to all of you amazing people who have and are going to <a href="http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com/contribute.html">support</a> Little Footprints, Big Steps in the life changing work they do.</span></div>
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<br />Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com5L'acul, Haiti18.4497853 -72.669811318.4422538 -72.679681800000012 18.457316799999997 -72.6599408tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-53329152159550891422012-08-25T13:27:00.002-07:002012-09-29T10:17:43.758-07:00Flooding In Haiti From Tropical Storm Isaac<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tropical Storm Isaac cut across the beleaguered nation of Haiti today and left behind a very tired and anxious people. Winds that gusted to hurricane strength knocked down tents and temporary houses and poured rain through the openings of roofs still damaged from the 2010 earthquake. Flash-flooded rivers shot over their banks and into every low lying area sending Haiti's poorest and most vulnerable fleeing for higher ground. Above, a family from the Fuji community near Cite Soleil braves waist deep water </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in search of somewhere dry. Below, the main bridge into Cite Soleil from Route National is very close to being flooded. Our truck struggled to keep traction as we made our way in to check on our friends at a tent community called Tapis Verte. Police have now closed the road as vehicles are stalling out and motorcycles are being swept away by the rapidly rising waters. Foot traffic continues on but treacherously so.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These residents of Fuji Community struggle to make their way to their houses to see if any of their belonging or even their houses survived.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tapis Verte is a tent community that marks the entrance of Cite Soliel proper. There are hundreds of internally displaced persons living in makeshift structures of tarp and tin and bailing wire that have been there since the earthquake. Below a young girl, her arms in her skirt to keep warm, stands in front of her fallen house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Above, a mother of three stands in disbelief in front of her home. She asks "What will I do?" The resilient but tired residents of Tapis Verte wait for an answer. Until finally a man throws his arms hopelessly into the air and says. "This is our misery." Below, children navigate the narrow muddy paths between tents. Mud sticks to everything along with the very real fear that another cholera epidemic may hit this and other communities much harder than this storm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The book of Isaiah holds the promise that "When you pass through the waters, God will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you..." Praying this for the people of Haiti today. They could sure use your prayers too. And if you can, if you will, please donate to organizations that are responding to this natural disaster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com4Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti18.5777778 -72.331944418.5702523 -72.3418149 18.5853033 -72.322073899999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-88369521563573424392012-07-17T17:24:00.000-07:002012-07-21T05:25:30.372-07:00Human Trafficking In The News 7-17-12: Hollywood Edition<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A special Hollywood addition of human trafficking in the news highlighting actresses who are speaking out against sex trafficking and the dark scourge of modern slavery. The victims of human trafficking in all its many evil incarnations have had some very passionate and dedicated Hollywood advocates the past 5 years. Among them </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Demi Moore, Daryl Hannah and Lucy Liu. This week several more women have stepped forward to vocalize why they are demanding</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> justice for these exploited women and care for those that have been rescued.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Below, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Walking Dead's</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Laurie Holden (pictured above) talks about the charity she works with, <a href="http://www.somaly.org/whoweare">Somaly Mam Foundation</a>, which fights to stop child trafficking all over the world.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Below, actress and activist </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Victoria Pannell and Andrea Powell of <a href="http://fairgirls.org/">Fair Girls</a> discuss the campaign targeting backpage.com, a site that child advocates charge is openly facilitating sex trafficking online.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Visit NBCNews.com for <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;">news about the economy</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can sign the campaign <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-village-voice-media-to-stop-child-sex-trafficking-on-backpage-com">here</a> which has already produced 250 thousand signatures!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcY6U6YFC-I3PcWGNG3QvfT1FtgfWNEzrptzyeQf_pkVjFaozLQm3z9OLFBZdOBWnouL3-uwb_oFs5Ywht4TdhYbsQD61W3w1IgBb2ZdAoYtSj0ElmdaDrresngjxmdZEGkIWC3ISjjs/s1600/ap_slavery_court_mr_120717_wblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcY6U6YFC-I3PcWGNG3QvfT1FtgfWNEzrptzyeQf_pkVjFaozLQm3z9OLFBZdOBWnouL3-uwb_oFs5Ywht4TdhYbsQD61W3w1IgBb2ZdAoYtSj0ElmdaDrresngjxmdZEGkIWC3ISjjs/s400/ap_slavery_court_mr_120717_wblog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Jada Pinkett Smith on Capitol Hill with her husband, actor Will Smith, and their daughter. She also brought along three trafficking survivors.</b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Wearing a T-shirt that declared “Free Slaves” actress Jada Pinkett Smith testified before Congress today to draw attention to human trafficking and forced labor, not only in the United States, but around the world.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“This old monster is still with us,” Pinkett Smith told the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. “This is an ugly, and too often invisible, problem.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">She continued, “Fighting slavery doesn’t cost a lot of money,” she said. “The costs of allowing it to exist in our nation and abroad are much higher. It robs us of the thing we value most — our freedom. We know what that freedom is worth.”</span></span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And finally, last but not least, Mira Sorvino (above) stars in the movie <a href="http://www.tradeofinnocentsmovie.com/">Trade Of Innocents</a> that comes out in September which co-stars Dermot Mulroney and is about the slave trade of children in Cambodia.</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-50540384225648815772012-06-28T16:57:00.000-07:002012-06-28T16:57:35.727-07:00Human Trafficking In The News: 6-27-2012<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is the latest installment of Human Trafficking in the news where we highlight stories of sex trafficking, forced labor, child exploitation and other human rights abuses. Thank you for keeping yourself educated on this subject, for actively pursuing justice for the victims of trafficking, and for never giving up as long as one person remains a slave. Click on the bold heading of each story for the entire articles.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/26/actress-battles-human-trafficking/">Jada Pinkett Smith joins the human trafficking fight:</a></b> The actress talks to CNN Freedom Project about her crusade to end human trafficking and how her 11-year-old daughter spurred her into action. Watch the interview <a href="http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/26/actress-battles-human-trafficking/"><b>here</b></a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/chocolates-child-slaves/">Another major chocolate maker pledges to be slave free:</a></b> Up to 75% of the world’s cocoa beans are grown in small farms in West Africa. In the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields. Chocolate maker Ferrero has pledged to eradicate slavery from farms where it sources its cocoa by 2020.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Young boy carrying a heavy bag of cocoa pods. Many of these boys do not know what chocolate is, nor have they ever tasted it.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fbi-rescues-79-minors-sex-slavery-major-nationwide-raid-article-1.1102760">FBI rescues 79 kids from sex slavery in major nationwide raid:</a> </b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of the 79 minors rescued, all but two were girls, and the youngest who was 13, had been a sex slave since she was 11.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/index.htm">The TIP Report released this week from the State Dept.:</a> "</b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. In the TIP Report, the Department of State places each country onto one of three tiers based on the extent of their governments’ efforts to comply with the “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking” found in Section 108 of the TVPA."</span></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Read the entire report </span><a href="http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuGjQrL4F_l7ob3gLpsee0D1hstkuV5Qf_mBh0pgahyzLV6T5S4R7tN62PgmIifrdXjayCzQ0yeOOz30pBaTVuytBTK7iEveLzmhyphenhyphenCqdpuhO_glFv450WAFZ1JAjUh9Uj4xbrza_BakQ/s1600/shabir+ahmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuGjQrL4F_l7ob3gLpsee0D1hstkuV5Qf_mBh0pgahyzLV6T5S4R7tN62PgmIifrdXjayCzQ0yeOOz30pBaTVuytBTK7iEveLzmhyphenhyphenCqdpuhO_glFv450WAFZ1JAjUh9Uj4xbrza_BakQ/s400/shabir+ahmed.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shamir Ahmed, child rapist, who blames western for allowing young girls to 'parade on the streets' where they could be preyed on by men like himself.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2162725/Ringleader-Rochdale-sex-grooming-gang-guilty-30-counts-child-rape.html">59 year old man and his sex-grooming gang convicted of 30 rapes:</a> </b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Shabir Ahmed, 59, was the leader of a child exploitation ring who raped vulnerable teenage girls - who he told to call him 'Daddy'. He would befriend his teenage victims and ply them with alcohol before carrying out his attacks and then hepassed them around for sex. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ahmed was one of nine Pakistani men jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for a total of 77 years last month for the horrific sex attacks. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One victim said she couldn't remember how old she was the first time Ahmed raped her, but she knew she was so young she still had to stand on a chair to reach the sink.</span><br />
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<br /></div>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-79960518527641971172012-04-26T20:04:00.000-07:002012-04-26T20:04:09.188-07:00Human Trafficking and Women's Rights in the News 4-26-12<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are stories of human trafficking, child exploitation, gender based violence and human rights violations in the news for the week of April 26, 2012. Click the bold heading for the original story and thank you for being a voice for the voiceless.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7I_oOTWF5lut2WHl5rdo16ns8kPjLI61fMO9vz3qIcXsxTVyfNWXvPzc-Ia3po8f7HQmzjY5MBr9wObZ2t_aODGAdLIuL4dGzg7l34q0w0i45F10Ya4RdNqIulZC4In-tnuOr8JkuRs/s1600/i1a21824440bd9098fc8ebbe4813060d4_egypt-sex-dead-wife.n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7I_oOTWF5lut2WHl5rdo16ns8kPjLI61fMO9vz3qIcXsxTVyfNWXvPzc-Ia3po8f7HQmzjY5MBr9wObZ2t_aODGAdLIuL4dGzg7l34q0w0i45F10Ya4RdNqIulZC4In-tnuOr8JkuRs/s400/i1a21824440bd9098fc8ebbe4813060d4_egypt-sex-dead-wife.n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Egyptian women speaking out against horrifying new legislation introduced in the Egyptian Parliament that would legalize necrophilia.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://rt.com/news/egypt-sex-dead-wife-054/">Egypt plans 'farewell intercourse law' so husbands can have sex with DEAD wives up to six hours after their death</a></b>: The controversial new law is part of a raft of measures being introduced by parliament. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It could also see the minimum age of marriage lowered to 14 and the ridding of women's rights of getting education and employment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133427/100-000-women-undergo-brutal-sexual-mutilation-illegally-Britain.html">100,000 women undergo genital mutilation illegally in Britain with some victims as young as ten</a></b>: "Investigators from The Sunday Times said they secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform circumcisions or arrange for the operation to be carried out. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14 year prison sentence." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/national-sweep-targeting-human-1426492.html"><b>National sweep targeting human trafficking nets 15 in Atlanta area</b></a> and <a href="http://www.kens5.com/news/ICE-Agents-bust-more-than-600--for-gang-activity-149150085.html"><b>36 in Texas</b></a>: Fifteen people from the Atlanta area were among more than 600 arrested this month as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on gangs involved in human smuggling and trafficking in 150 cities and in Honduras.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135467/Gang-trafficked-victim-UK-organ-harvesting.html?ito=feeds-newsxml">Woman trafficked into Britain by gang who wanted to harvest her organs</a></b>: An unnamed woman was brought into the UK by criminals operating a black market trade in body parts for transplant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201204260320.html">More good news from Africa as Nigerian police break up Human Trafficking syndicate and rescue five children</a></b>: A source told police that the traffickers ringleader, a woman,</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> normally steals children on Saturdays when they are at home alone and often times she pretends to be a relative. She then</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> takes the children to Imo where they are sold to unsuspecting couples looking for a child to adopt. The</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> five </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">rescued </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">children ranged in ages from six months to two years.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-72447066834838719462012-03-09T17:10:00.000-08:002012-03-09T18:55:41.066-08:00International Women's Day 2012<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today is International Women's Day (IWD). It has been celebrated every year on March 9th for almost a century now. And celebrate women we should. As the Chinese proverb says "Women hold up half the sky". But now, more than ever, there is a <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2011/06/war-on-women-gender-based-violence-and.html">war on women</a>. All over the world women suffer the worst of atrocities and exploitations, often solely because of their gender and societal relegation to second class or classless citizens. But woman are invaluable. They are the heart of every society, the tenderness that makes this life worth living. That is not to say they are weak, that they are fragile, for in most countries all over the world women outwork men. And much of that work, invisible when it comes to wages and recognition, is a matter of survival for them and their families.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly 40lbs, and the walk can be up to ten miles as water sources become polluted or over taxed women spend more and more time, an estimated 200 million work hours annually, merely to maintain their family's water supply. Girls as young as ten help carry the burden with their mothers but as the distance to water increases so does the number of school days missed until the girls fall so far behind they drop out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also, according to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">waterproject.org, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Women are at a high risk for infections due to their frequent contact with </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">unsanitary water. Trachoma, a water-washed disease that can lead to blindness, is </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">transmitted through contaminated water where women gather. Women and girls collecting water </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">are also susceptible to diarrhea, hepatitis A, and leptospirosis, a bacterial infection from </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">water that is tainted by animal urine." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And yet women in these cultures rarely if ever complain. The carry on in such grace and noble character, always putting their family first, always going without so that others can have more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">According to most statistics one out of every three women will suffer a violent, usually sexually motivated attack in their life. The UN estimates the worst nation in the world for violence against women is Zambia where 60% of women have suffered such attacks. All over the world millions of women</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> also experience a different sort of violence, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">often as children</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, the culturally and religiously sanctioned horror of forced genital </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">mutilation. The </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">countries of Guinea and Egypt have the highest rate at over 90%.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The statistics are unending, the brutalities unimaginable, and they must be brought to light so that the rest of the world wakes to defend our mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends and especially are daughters. But today we wanted to take a few moments to highlight some of the amazing women that hold up more than half of their sky. Woman who not only survived horrific abuses or gender based injustice, but who fought back, who sought change and who are making the world safer for our daughters.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDEGvF9zl8_Egztyp-VUN7CtL-eDsoJDgxZmJzWZnKBOyoOP-cvX2gegMePwxfY9dPpkTDbXFl0kTfUBPpqhRBIdwe0TIH15348nFqN-SsEusVi-PuWBo_Sg6hv99aqrPeU-lJN3_TfU/s1600/Mukhtar-Mai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDEGvF9zl8_Egztyp-VUN7CtL-eDsoJDgxZmJzWZnKBOyoOP-cvX2gegMePwxfY9dPpkTDbXFl0kTfUBPpqhRBIdwe0TIH15348nFqN-SsEusVi-PuWBo_Sg6hv99aqrPeU-lJN3_TfU/s400/Mukhtar-Mai.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Mukhtar Mai (above) was a victim of gang rape in Pakistan. She took this tragic and horrible situation, gathered her strength and went to authorities putting her rapists in jail. She received compensation money from the government, which she did not use for herself, but instead opened a rape crisis hotline, and opened up a girls school. Mai has received countless death threats, attacks on her school, her local village, and against her family. She remains vocal, stands strong by her school, and refuses to close it down along with the hotline she opened. Mai was awarded Bravest Woman of the Year in 2005, and praised by the UN, having been honored her for her incredible activism, heroism, and bravery." (Deborah Cole)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsn7eFbRz8Eh3WlnbajjoaAR8lhpAyL4ZH17OCv2AEQNcQznHJD8_S-MtJXv3-K2KvlAXxze0iFO_JD9njw87oPScIqFPyB82PqzQGPVhvgG__MlpDh2CfTl7qeLMrTD9ZXhHVY5TTqo/s1600/aayanhirsiali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsn7eFbRz8Eh3WlnbajjoaAR8lhpAyL4ZH17OCv2AEQNcQznHJD8_S-MtJXv3-K2KvlAXxze0iFO_JD9njw87oPScIqFPyB82PqzQGPVhvgG__MlpDh2CfTl7qeLMrTD9ZXhHVY5TTqo/s400/aayanhirsiali.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Ayyan Hirsi Ali (above) is best known for publicly denouncing violence against women in Islam. Fleeing an arranged marriage in Somalia in the nineties, she sought amnesty in the Netherlands. There she learned Dutch, English, received her BA degree in Political Science, and became a member of Dutch Parliament. She left the Netherlands when Theo Van Gogh, her co producer for the documentary “Submission”, was killed by an extremist for helping her make the movie. She speaks out today all over the world, and refuses to “submit” to the death threats and multiple attempts on her life by extremists and terrorists that try to silence her." </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(Deborah Cole)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ruEecJCoM7n7L-0To0n_7hc5hiZBj0gzjoyxZtlXWvX8dOV1Dnb7N-GB2kmd_2tjblkpMnZ06OwdrRBpywqPph6NdA9Y2sVaq2qDkXTPvMMAM2wh-9TkG82QCtOJ-lJoJGzQsxSgO7E/s1600/somaly+mam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ruEecJCoM7n7L-0To0n_7hc5hiZBj0gzjoyxZtlXWvX8dOV1Dnb7N-GB2kmd_2tjblkpMnZ06OwdrRBpywqPph6NdA9Y2sVaq2qDkXTPvMMAM2wh-9TkG82QCtOJ-lJoJGzQsxSgO7E/s400/somaly+mam.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Somaly Mam (above) was born into a tribal minority family in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia. She began life in extreme poverty. With limited options as a severely marginalized ethnic group, and living in unimaginable despair, her family often resorted to desperate means to survive. Somaly was sold into sexual slavery by a man who posed as her grandfather. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Forced to work in a brothel along with other children, Somaly was brutally tortured and raped on a daily basis. One night, she was made to watch as her best friend was viciously murdered. Fearing she would meet that same fate, Somaly heroically escaped her captors and set about building a new life for herself. She vowed never to forget those left behind and has since dedicated her life to saving victims and empowering survivors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In 1996, Somaly established a Cambodian NGO called AFESIP. Under Somaly's leadership, AFESIP employs a holistic approach that ensures victims not only escape their plight, but have the emotional and economic strength to face the future with hope. With the launch of the Somaly Mam Foundation in 2007, Somaly has established a funding vehicle to support anti-trafficking organizations and to provide victims and survivors with a platform from which their voices can be heard around the world." (<a href="http://somaly.org/">somaly.org</a>)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZjANq63d3bl_nWwaBrxk0ezFpm2TfLch6SPFMyBuM94fuvFIKskdayAwA2Mun0ZsKONlfeGsESjTQ_kzUZkVEpz6JBlGwS00zKsCLJx2qSRwSd1MMva-CkJ3pj_85ctTPvVa85WmkLI/s1600/Chari+Maya+with+Hilary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZjANq63d3bl_nWwaBrxk0ezFpm2TfLch6SPFMyBuM94fuvFIKskdayAwA2Mun0ZsKONlfeGsESjTQ_kzUZkVEpz6JBlGwS00zKsCLJx2qSRwSd1MMva-CkJ3pj_85ctTPvVa85WmkLI/s400/Chari+Maya+with+Hilary.jpg" width="357" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In December of last year when the American government named the years international ‘heroes’ for their efforts to End Modern-Day Slavery a</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">lmost all of the ten people who received the award were renowned lawyers and bureaucrats. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Only Charimaya Tamang (above) from Nepal knew what it was like to be a slave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Charimaya comes from Sindhupalchok, a remote district of Nepal. In 1994 her neighbors sold her to a brothel in Kamathipura, the red light area of Mumbai. She was just 16.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“I was cutting grass in the jungle that day. The four people came to me and asked me if I wanted to go with them in town. I said 'No'. They forced me and put something in my mouth. It must be drugs. I was unconscious after that. When I woke up I was already in India. I cried, begged for help. I looked out of the window of the taxi and cried for help. But no one helped me. I tried to escape but nothing worked.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Charimaya was forced to work in the brothel for 22 months. She says she was mentally dead. “I was made naked for the first time in my life. After that I had no more personal life. I had to do what they wanted me to do. That place is a hell, where women breathe, but they are not alive. I tried to hang myself from the ceiling, while no others were around. I used my shawl as rope. But unfortunately, the shawl frayed and I fell on the ground. I couldn't die.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Indian Police raided the brothel in February 1996 and Charimaya was released with 400 other women under the age of 18. 200 of them were Nepalese. They were all placed in a transit home in India and six months later they were returned to Nepal with the help of seven different Non-Governmental organizations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Charimaya travelled home with joy and happiness. But she was shocked by how she was greeted. “The courtyard was full. Everyone was yelling at me. "You are sinful. Why did you come back? Why didn't you die or commit suicide? You will spoil our village.” All those sentences are still roaming in my ears. Some shouted, beat me and kicked me out of the village. I couldn't stay there for two hours. I was hurt, but I can understand that's what they learnt.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her story is not isolated one in Nepal...most trafficking victims are treated the same. But Charimaya was not shamed into silence. For the first time in Nepal she filed a criminal case against her neighbors who abducted her. Four people were jailed for 10 years. Charimaya with other trafficking survivors formed the group Shakti Samuha to help others.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“We have been helping trafficking victims to file the case into the police. We have been visiting door to door of rural villages to raise the awareness against trafficking. Now all women’s organizations and campaigns have come at one place to end the human trafficking.” And now victims themselves are demanding justice. In 2009 174 traffickers were convicted and 119 cases tried in court.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whenever Charimaya shows off her award her eyes sparkle. She has a dream to end trafficking in Nepal. She says “Trafficking is expanding day by day. Now women are not only taken to Mumbai or in India. Now traffickers are taking them to other countries too. Even women are sold to an illegal prostitution center in Kathmandu. I want to see all these victims have justice. And I will fight for them.” " (Rajan Parajuli of Asia Calling)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">As always from all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thank you for being a voice for the voiceless and on this day of celebrating women let us all renew our resolve to fight for justice and freedom for the amazing women of our world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-13353052626635553832012-03-07T14:57:00.001-08:002012-03-07T14:57:40.143-08:00Human Trafficking In The News 3-7-12<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is the latest installment of Human Trafficking in the news where we highlight stories of sex trafficking, forced labor, child exploitation and other human rights abuses. Thank you for keeping yourself educated on this subject, for actively pursuing justice for the victims of trafficking, and for never giving up as long as one person remains a slave. Click on the bold heading of each story for the entire articles.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8BUg7zvHf6nFr_5KugfVsa7Kgt6HhkieaePp_B2gXu2roIxIr3_egihHKVC9Kn0u7KAUpdCTnXCxLVw0CU3gaXoBj2XegxfhbrHO-1P_ZcFzQYLoCgnXQR07hZfsWgdxUpyghfECRTQ/s1600/madame-anna-scotland.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8BUg7zvHf6nFr_5KugfVsa7Kgt6HhkieaePp_B2gXu2roIxIr3_egihHKVC9Kn0u7KAUpdCTnXCxLVw0CU3gaXoBj2XegxfhbrHO-1P_ZcFzQYLoCgnXQR07hZfsWgdxUpyghfECRTQ/s400/madame-anna-scotland.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Anna Gristina, soccer mom and brothel owner.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/hot_mama_is_kink_link_to_rich_da_2yIysmtqJBcVqISduA6r5M"><b>Soccer mom runs multi-million dollar brothel in New York</b></a>: Anna Gristina, 44, an Ugg-wearing mother of 4 was caught on wiretaps claiming “to have made millions over the 15 or so years she has been in business as a madam". And according to the report, a</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">t least once, the married mom, who lives with her family in upstate Monroe, arranged a sexual encounter for a client in which “minors were involved".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95013/UGANDA-Women-trafficked-into-sex-work">Ugandan women being recruited into forced sex work in Malaysia</a></b>: </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hajah Noraihan, the honorary consul of Uganda in Malaysia, says more than 600 Ugandan women have been trafficked into the sex trade there. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“They are conned into coming to Malaysia for high-paying jobs, which are non-existent,” says Noraihan “And when they go there, they are informed that they have to sell their bodies.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-wilmington/somali-sex-slave-ring-faces-trial-tennessee">Somali immigrant gang kidnapped children, then trafficked them into the horrific world of sexual slavery in the very heartland of America -- Minnesota, Tennessee and Ohio</a></b>. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Real Clear Politics reports that in the indictments handed down, "the Somali gangsters who ran these sex trafficking rings (with girls as young as 12) used them to finance their lifestyle -- and to provide for their own sexual satisfactions as well."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvJwcJXIRp33FsOrF-7NKRbQo2adWUBHM51DXtp86xWoerdOTkHKrNUtAZ4oXRGRuNmSSRRFM1OQpR8AGRmiMZ4gf1fxqRp2OjHiZ5B1Nx8jHt064pKEFai5TMr2GhxIWbRqOcEUXt30/s1600/somali-sex-trafficking-2010-11-9-12-10-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvJwcJXIRp33FsOrF-7NKRbQo2adWUBHM51DXtp86xWoerdOTkHKrNUtAZ4oXRGRuNmSSRRFM1OQpR8AGRmiMZ4gf1fxqRp2OjHiZ5B1Nx8jHt064pKEFai5TMr2GhxIWbRqOcEUXt30/s400/somali-sex-trafficking-2010-11-9-12-10-0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">12 of 29 Somalis arrested for underage sex trafficking.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://vimeo.com/37119711">KONY 2012 the new film and campaign by Invisible Children</a></b>: The film aims to make child murderer and rapist <a href="http://www.invisiblechildren.com/history-of-the-war">Joseph Kony</a> famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. Watch the film below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="335" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/37119711?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=d13030" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="560"></iframe></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/37119711">KONY 2012</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/invisible">INVISIBLE CHILDREN</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/320785">Moldova legalizes chemical castration for convicted pedophiles</a></b>: "Moldova's parliament has voted in favor of compulsory chemical castration for pedophiles convicted of assaulting children under the age of 15. The law, which will come into effect on July 1, applies to foreign nationals as well as Moldovans. The Republic of Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. Sex slavery and organ trafficking are rife as mainstays of the economy, and prostitutes are the country's top export. According to Topix Moldova holds a rather dubious world record as the leading haven for pedophiles and sex traffickers. International sex tourists flock to the country but will now face chemical castration if caught and convicted of abusing children." (DigitalJournal.com)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-57330654422404717722012-02-14T05:25:00.000-08:002012-02-14T05:25:59.147-08:00Valentine Cards From The Philippines!<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Our first <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2011/02/valentine-from-philippines-interview.html">interview</a> with Crystal Sprague, director of <a href="http://www.myrefugehouse.com/">My Refuge House</a> in <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2011/01/cebu-philippines-focus-on-human.html">Cebu, Philippines</a> was exactly one year ago today. Since that time MRH has experienced exciting growth in its capacity to care for girls rescued from the horrors of sex-trafficking and other sexual abuses. One of the highlights and deepest honors of our year here at Conspiracy Of Hope was a package we received from those precious girls. Inside were so many beautiful handmade cards teeming with colors and joyous thanks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the starkest realities of the anti-trafficking movement is the rate of recidivism for freed victims. No one is more psychologically vulnerable to the lies and coercion of traffickers than girls who have been rescued but have no one on the other side to help them heal and reintegrate back into society. And without the testimony of these girls evil people can continue to commit these atrocities unabated and with complete impunity. In some areas known as hotbeds for sexual exploitation, only 1 in 9 girls stay free. It is for these reasons and so many others why aftercare facilities such as MRH are the lifeblood of the anti-trafficking movement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Crystal, since our last interview you guys are in the new building? What has that meant for the girls?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are so thankful to have completed construction and opened our brand new building in May 2011! Thank you Conspiracy of Hope for your contribution in making that possible!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The new building is incredible. It has allowed us to change our entire program and provide so many more needs for the girls. The location is secure and provides us protection and space to take care of 12 girls, enough room for all areas of our program (education, counseling, livelihood, recreation, health, spiritual), while still feeling like a close knit family environment. It is situated in a beautiful, serene location, which by itself provides a therapeutic element that we prayed for, but couldn't really imagine. It also gives us ample space to do livelihood activities like gardening and raising chickens and recreational activities on the grounds. We have been eating fresh vegetables from our garden almost every day now, thanks to the productive tropical atmosphere and the diligent work of the girls! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Besides the new building what has been the greatest accomplishment for 2011?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Seeing the remarkable transformations in the lives each individual girl that is in our care is the most amazing accomplishment that we could ask for. Watching the former victims transform as they come to believe that there are people who care about them and believe in them. Being able to offer the girls opportunities like education and future careers that they never dreamed possible, and watching them grab ahold of those opportunities and begin to soar, no longer held down by the chains of their past. Seeing the survivors stand up against their perpetrators in court. Watching them find power in their own voice, healing in their own story and hope in a God who rescues them from their past and gives them a future. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Those are the things that make this work worth it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>What do you see as the biggest hurdle for 2012?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I recently went on a tour with someone who has been instrumental in enforcing trafficking laws here, and he was showing me all the establishments that have closed down, and all the areas that still need intervention. We asked him “what is the greatest need you have to be able to continue doing your job well?” He responded with “More aftercare. More quality homes to put the girls in once they are rescued. Without those, trafficking will never end, the cycle will always repeat itself.”</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>MRH girl getting tutored above and below the house favorite, "The Slipper Game".</b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kx_TBBRzH7wTHyRe2aKYC6wf1S6XZtVJk8BQzKFdQqdHgi7V0sxwGgmq6twdUclJLHzeOk3h9mkISVSXwyzNz-5N06s7bF2pg-7zb1o3nK_oEZ__05GP2r60GJCeue3vg0BpY9JCjvY/s1600/playing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9kx_TBBRzH7wTHyRe2aKYC6wf1S6XZtVJk8BQzKFdQqdHgi7V0sxwGgmq6twdUclJLHzeOk3h9mkISVSXwyzNz-5N06s7bF2pg-7zb1o3nK_oEZ__05GP2r60GJCeue3vg0BpY9JCjvY/s400/playing.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.myrefugehouse.com/">My Refuge House</a> provides great care, and we are seeing the evidence of it in the lives of the girls who live with us. But providing good care is expensive, and we always have financial needs. The majority of our finances is spent on staff. People who love the girls and can provide structure and stability to them. And we have plans to continue building, to increase our capacity so that we can care for 45 girls instead of 12. The blueprints are already approved and ready to be build. But we don’t yet have the funds to make that dream a reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>So finances is definitively your biggest need?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finances and more quality staff. Finances to keep providing good care, and increase our capacity to take in rescued girls, and good staff who are able to care for them and provide the stability that they need to recover from all they've been through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thankfully we were just able to purchase a vehicle which is such a huge blessing and will allow us to have more security and safety when our girls go to hearings and doctor’s appointments. Thanks to great partners, <a href="http://www.angelicum.edu.ph/root/index.html">Angelicum College in Manila</a> and <a href="http://redwindow.org/">Red Window Project</a> we are able to offer our girls high quality education and Job Readiness training and placements. And thanks to our staff, all of our other program needs are met in house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But the thing that we need most is definitely finances and advocacy. Raising awareness about the work that’s already being done, and partnerships from individuals and churches and organizations that will allow us to continue to do this work!</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As compared to this time last year, do you feel that the city of Cebu is headed in the right direction as far as anti-trafficking efforts?</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The great thing about <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2011/01/cebu-philippines-focus-on-human.html">Cebu</a>, is that in many ways it still feels like a small town. Although there are approximately 3 million people in Metro Cebu, everyone is willing to work together and cares very much about their city. There are more organizations and great partners springing up every day birthed out of churches and government organizations. If any city has the capacity to eradicate trafficking, I think it will be Cebu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is still a long way to go. There are still unimaginable numbers of girls and women being trafficked in and around Cebu daily. However, in the last year we have seen formerly “untouchable” establishments raided and closed and remain closed, as well as at least two completely separate cases of qualified trafficking given life imprisonment judgments. The tides are changing, and my hope and prayer is that it will continue to pick up momentum! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>What are some things interested parties can do stateside to raise awareness and support for MRH? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We currently have a brochure and a couple of short videos. Also, we are available to assist in any way with doing events or speaking at events if you would like to raise awareness about this pertinent issue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of our goals for 2012 is to develop educational materials that can be used in small groups and youth groups/school setting, so stay tuned for that! Please email info@myrefugehouse.org for more information or if you are interested in getting involved further. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>In one of your recent blogs you beamed with pride at a young girl facing down her trafficker in a court room. What a feeling!!! Obviously you must respect the confidentiality of your client, but is there more you can tell us about the lead up to that day?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As you can imagine, the emotions that our survivors face leading up to the trials are wide-ranging. The battle that they face as they prepare themselves for that moment can only be understood by those who have gone through similar battles. The girl that I mentioned wrestled with her testimony and her resolve to give it for months before her court date. She sought the safety of a witness protection program, but was turned down and that’s when she came to us. I’ll never forget though, a couple of days before her trial date, she was going back and forth, debating what to do, scared to face her perpetrator, still angry about what had happened, and in a fleeting moment of clarity she said “I don’t want them to ever have a chance to hurt someone the same way that they hurt me.” From that point forth, she never wavered in her resolve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For those of you who haven’t read the incredible story, here it is on Crystal's <a href="http://crystalssprague.blogspot.com/2011/11/bravery.html">blog</a>.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From the pictures and the smiles upon smiles it seems like Christmas was extraordinary at MRH this year. Is there a moment that stands out from that morning?</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://crystalssprague.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-gifts.html">Christmas</a> was a huge blessing for us and for the girls. One small youth group in Georgia, primarily made up of girls the same age as the girls in our home (13-18 year olds), dedicated themselves to raise money to sponsor gifts for our girls to open on Christmas Day. They were able to provide two full outfits for each girl: dress, underclothes, shoes and sandals, pants, shirts, bags. A few of the girls said that they never expected to receive so much. One girl said that it was best Christmas she had ever had. There were a few moments of sadness when the girls wished that their families and brothers and sisters could also receive similar blessings, but for the most part the girls were amazed, thankful and felt very loved. They played games and had contests and had a feast of food. It was a great day. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Christmas, Cebu style.</span></b></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If the girls of MRH could tell the world one thing what would it be?</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Thank you. Thank you for making it possible for us to have a future.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>How can we pray for MRH, the staff and the girls this year?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Our most common prayer, among the staff, is for wisdom. God, give us wisdom to address the needs and hurts and frustrations that rise up, and wisdom for the questions that have no good answers and wisdom for our own lives, how to be most effective, how to love well, how to teach well, how to be God’s hands and feet daily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For the girls, please continue to pray for their healing processes. In the next few months, many of our girls will be allowed to go home and rebuild their lives again. Pray that they are able to find the support that they need, emotionally and financially, as we work alongside them and help their families with community partnerships and resources as well as family counseling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Anything you'd like to add...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thank you again for your support. Check out My Refuge House's <a href="http://www.myrefugehouse.com/">webpage</a> for more information!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As always, thank you from all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope for being a voice for the voiceless victims of human trafficking. Please continue to support My Refuge House in their incredible work. You can donate directly <a href="http://www.myrefugehouse.com/online-giving/">here</a>. And please follow <a href="http://crystalssprague.blogspot.com/?z">Crystal's blog</a> where amazing stories and deep insight always inspire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Below the girls of MRH have made Valentines to share with the world. You can see the rest of them on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MyRefugeHouse">MRH's Facebook page</a>!</span></div>
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<br />Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-31978367990569759062012-01-28T00:12:00.000-08:002012-01-28T05:43:13.005-08:00Human Trafficking in the News 1-28-12<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Stories of human trafficking, child exploitation, child prostitution and forced labor in the news.</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As I checked the days headlines for stories related to these topics it seemed to me there were 5 times as many stories of exploitation each more grotesque, more horrifying than the next. I hope it is because of the concerted effort to expose these evils, but if anything it shows that the work to be done is great and that it will take all of us being deeply committed and tireless, to end these evils in our lifetime. Thank you for educating yourself and caring about justice. (</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Click the bold headings to go to the full articles.) </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>An African witch-doctor. </b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/01/27/sex-trafficking-victims-reveal-horror-of-witchcraft-and-torture-being-used-to-enslave-women-in-scotland-86908-23722132/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Witchcraft: The demonic realities of human trafficking</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: African and South American girls flee their captors and live to tell of their harrowing escapes and the sadistic rituals that their traffickers tried to use to enslave the young girl's minds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/rights-so-divine/2012/jan/17/worst-form-human-trafficking/"><b>Human Sacrifice in Uganda</b></a>: 'In Uganda, traffickers buy and sell children to use their genitals, heads, and blood for ritual sacrifice. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The U.S. Department of States recently reported 9000 children missing in Uganda over the last four years. Traffickers transport children both inside Uganda and to other countries for use in ritual sacrifices. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In 2008, police arrested a witchdoctor couple and a real estate mogul, Godfrey Kajubi, for trafficking 12 year old Joseph for ritual sacrifice. According to the police, Kajubi promised the witchdoctor couple $4021 in exchange for the heads of four children, which he planned to use for ritual.'</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX1wMPaIMB9QnCkSYj4QC3lf3TolkohPrEz9sAIxmgPvEVQ-MGb2TE_jsNRUcundnCrOkxDaR3HMmQPSROzyOBNcJ1WSUhbaBnxpZ0EKxFe4A5IMMqJxfGM_ZBfBRZ-e3ltIV1Z9Iwkw/s1600/child+working+at+gold+mine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOX1wMPaIMB9QnCkSYj4QC3lf3TolkohPrEz9sAIxmgPvEVQ-MGb2TE_jsNRUcundnCrOkxDaR3HMmQPSROzyOBNcJ1WSUhbaBnxpZ0EKxFe4A5IMMqJxfGM_ZBfBRZ-e3ltIV1Z9Iwkw/s400/child+working+at+gold+mine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Young child working at a gold mine.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/burkina-faso-ganzourgou-gold-mine-and-child-exploitation"><b>Forced child labor in Gold mines and young girls raped for good luck</b></a>: In Ganzourgou Province new gold veins are found and t</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">housands of young children are exploited in these mines. B</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">oys 'dig, crush, and carry rocks, facing great risks on a daily basis. The young girls are responsible for carrying water, crushing stones and rebuilding. Some of them look after their younger siblings while their mothers are at work. Owing to various superstitions linking sex to finding gold, the little girls also become victims of sexual exploitation or prostitution on the sites.'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/27/43400.htm"><b>New York Author trafficks girls from Brazil, Hungary and France</b></a>: 3 women promised gainful employment and green cards get instead coercion and sexual deviancy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=10&ved=0CF4QqQIwCQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.39online.com%2Fnewsfix%2Fos-sex-trafficking-teen-prostitution-20120126%2C0%2C2482524.story&ctbm=nws&ctbs=qdr%3Ad&ei=D6sjT9TdOsm3rAe7meiVCA&usg=AFQjCNHDGD-YB0c9SwIJpEyfTaFAa0Hw5w&sig2=Jaf1iA9vqvqbm9ZfJEpPaQ"><b>Woman trades sexual favors with a child for painkillers</b></a>: Below, Debra Annmarie Blackmon, 25, and Tony Marcel Hammond, 23, face sex trafficking and other charges. The couple even gave the child marijuana to help her complete the act.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Q5dyK36SsoWBfgQ0b6GsflTW-p0zPMBIxDZUaq3atL7SVkpqwcW4mh6zBnlNAiYuG1_adRxokwlVhfbfzhqB0ezkVGsWCrZNHP6FcNH31uIf_TrXOkkO_AXpy3AvlSCCWjQP91j2uVc/s1600/Debra+Blackmon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Q5dyK36SsoWBfgQ0b6GsflTW-p0zPMBIxDZUaq3atL7SVkpqwcW4mh6zBnlNAiYuG1_adRxokwlVhfbfzhqB0ezkVGsWCrZNHP6FcNH31uIf_TrXOkkO_AXpy3AvlSCCWjQP91j2uVc/s400/Debra+Blackmon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/how-pimps-use-the-web-to-sell-girls.html?_r=1"><b>Selling girls on the web, Nicholas Kristof takes on Backpage.com</b></a>: The classified ads for The Village Voice have been used all to often to sexually exploit minors. The magazine claims it is a matter of censorship vs. free speech. Pulitzer Prize winning author Kristof takes them to task.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/womens-rights/dangerpoll/"><b>The world's 5 most dangerous countries for women</b></a>: Incredible resource from Rueters as published on trust.org that highlights the most dangerous places in the world to be born female. The map below. Please click the link to read about the most egregious crimes against woman. From the 1152 women and girls raped everyday in the Congo, to the 70-80% of young women in Afghanistan in forced marriages.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVprKPdy7rYcMyUgjPgMn1PLB532eo4g1C-N-arhRMPwAeA3m-wEFqfoTnWemdqOD9ekNrOJlTrv_ZLd3HILR4v2s8prQ63agFZ0w7519QBMKkH18RdBuQ8wBHrvnzEGXy5pGMLXZQSiA/s1600/image-one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVprKPdy7rYcMyUgjPgMn1PLB532eo4g1C-N-arhRMPwAeA3m-wEFqfoTnWemdqOD9ekNrOJlTrv_ZLd3HILR4v2s8prQ63agFZ0w7519QBMKkH18RdBuQ8wBHrvnzEGXy5pGMLXZQSiA/s400/image-one.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Other heartbreaking statistics from the Rueter's chart:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1000</b> honor killing in Pakistan every year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>95%</b> of woman in Somalia face forced genital mutilation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>50 million</b>. The deficit of women in India to men. Mass infanticide of baby girls has eradicated a whole generation of women equal to the population of Texas, Florida and Tennessee combined. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope. Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-88567019861192018292012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-11T06:00:40.598-08:00Human Trafficking Awareness Day 1-11-2012<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Human Trafficking Awareness day is today. A day when we as a nation stand in solidarity with the 2 million people sold into slavery each year. With the 27 million people enslaved in the world today. A day when our national conscience is once again offended by such a great evil. A day when we say no more!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This past year has seen an unprecedented reaction against the demonic plague of trafficking. I would like to take a few moments to encourage you with how far we've come, to show you what we can accomplish with first world resources and the resolve to never tolerate this madness on our watch. These stories and links are in no order of importance. Nor are these the most important stories of the year. Every single act of anti-slavery is ever important, every voice of every abolitionist is ever powerful to bring about change. No one should ever feel that their accomplishments are less than anothers, it WILL take us all to win this fight. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuEDCVJUw31j1Ko40sFhg9vf3BLzbjB8CUGvY6CrzFLU9T2hO5FUXZdbjFtno6R2sxp4jQBbqeY9PiqHUC_zWFlxCkQbDyBmxn1TDglXJDkDlPunex7jzHybRSWM9ZHk3G5uzB9Petlc/s1600/sex+trafficking+victim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuEDCVJUw31j1Ko40sFhg9vf3BLzbjB8CUGvY6CrzFLU9T2hO5FUXZdbjFtno6R2sxp4jQBbqeY9PiqHUC_zWFlxCkQbDyBmxn1TDglXJDkDlPunex7jzHybRSWM9ZHk3G5uzB9Petlc/s400/sex+trafficking+victim.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sex trafficking victim Dai gives a fellow resident a tearful hug goodbye as she graduates from her year-long stay with the Transitions Global victim aftercare program. Dai is returning home to her family.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Click on the bold headers for links to the entire story!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/17/more-about-the-cnn-freedom-project/">CNN Freedom Project</a></b>: One year of anti-trafficking features by one of the largest News channels in the world. From their site "This year CNN will join the fight to end modern-day slavery and shine a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of the victims, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life. A PROBLEM THAT CAN'T BE IGNORED!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://nefariousdocumentary.com/">Nefarious: Merchant Of Souls</a></b>: A big budget, big production documentary about sex-trafficking. From their website: "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, exposes the disturbing trends in modern sex slavery. From the very first scene, Nefarious ushers you into the nightmare of sex slavery that hundreds of thousands experience daily. You’ll see where slaves are sold (often in developed, affluent countries), where they work and are confined. You’ll hear first-hand interviews </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">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." Trailer below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397617,00.asp">Google donates 11.5 million dollars to combat Human Trafficking</a></b>: PCmag.com reports about the search engine mega-brand's donation: "The money will go toward the creation of a coalition between various advocacy groups, led by <a href="http://www.ijm.org/">International Justice Mission</a> (IJM), a group that works around the world to rescue people from forced labor and sexual exploitation. IJM will partner with other groups like <a href="http://www.polarisproject.org/">Polaris Project</a>, <a href="http://slaveryfootprint.org/">Slavery Footprint</a>, and others for a multi-year project, beginning in 2012. Funds will be used to improve the infrastructure and resources that enforce anti-slavery legislation overseas, promote awareness of the problem domestically, and help push for laws against it in other countries."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.13wmaz.com/news/georgia/article/160383/52/Passion-2012-Unites-42000-College-Students">42,000 college kids unite to end sex-trafficking</a></b>: a Christian Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center has drawn 42,000 students from all 50 states and 30 countries.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSN7Iu4GEvSrY_ncbOdQ7jU16EYR8OVu65UXgWNicOop5ooUShIBKyagun-PJxGl5P8UMkG_WV52UgVJEnbmdzDj2cFq_hEdHz_0d9Zk8_ipgXTcDrOL5-zFaJzEsqZDSk2913IDmZZK4/s1600/Passion-Opening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSN7Iu4GEvSrY_ncbOdQ7jU16EYR8OVu65UXgWNicOop5ooUShIBKyagun-PJxGl5P8UMkG_WV52UgVJEnbmdzDj2cFq_hEdHz_0d9Zk8_ipgXTcDrOL5-zFaJzEsqZDSk2913IDmZZK4/s400/Passion-Opening.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 42k college kids at Passion 2012</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"There's 27 million slaves in the world today, that's men women and children forced to work," said Bryson Vogeltanz with Passion 2012. "The sex trafficking issue is here in Atlanta and all over the world."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In lines that snaked down the hallways of the Georgia World Congress Center, students waited their turn to give their own money that will go toward organizations working to prevent, rescue and restore those who've suffered. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The goal was a million dollars. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> By 3:30 Wednesday afternoon the goal had already been reached with thousands still in line to give. Total donations reached the 3 million dollar mark!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202537492744&Californias_antislavery_law_new&slreturn=1"><b>New California anti-trafficking law</b></a>: From the Law.com story: "The new California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, effective as of Jan. 1, applies to any company with $100 million in worldwide sales and some connection to California — which could be a statewide chain of stores or a single processing and distribution plant. The law commands businesses to make full disclosure about their supply chains and whether they regularly check them for possible slavery or trafficking conditions — and if so, what they do about it." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How California and the rest of the US states are performing based on <a href="http://www.sharedhope.org/Home.aspx">Shared Hope International</a>'s <a href="http://www.sharedhope.org/Portals/0/Documents/Report%20Cards_FINAL/PII_ChallengeReport_FINAL2.pdf">report card</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thank you for taking a moment to look back on 2011 with us, at what we've accomplished as a nation. And thank you for joining the fight to end this evil in our lifetime. From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thank you for caring about justice, thank you for being a voice for the voiceless victims of human trafficking. Thank you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-7097506017101378692012-01-03T17:39:00.000-08:002012-01-06T17:07:37.355-08:00Human Trafficking In The News 1-3-12<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is the first installment for 2012 of our regular updates about the international crisis of Human Trafficking and the exploitation of children. It is with renewed determination that we find ourselves at the beginning of this year, recommitting our voice in both passion and volume for the voiceless victims of human trafficking. We are asking you to join us, and we would be deeply humbled to work shoulder to shoulder, arm and arm, to end this scourge once and for all. Thank you. Click on the bold headers of each section for the link to the full stories.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">President Obama addressing the nation on Jan. 1, the 148th anniversary of the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation.</span></b></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/12/obama-declares-human-trafficking-prevention-month/1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">President Obama names January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: In his remarks the US President recommitted the nation "to bringing an end to this inexcusable human rights abuse."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106357">Forced Marriage in Afghanistan, trafficking by a different name</a></b>: 60 percent of the trafficking in Afghanistan is internal and much of this involves forced marriages, many that result in the young girl prostituted by her arranged husband. And in a related story...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=447721">8 year old Yemeni girl is now legally divorced from her 28 year-old husband</a>:</b> I</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">n response to a question from Judge Mohammed al-Qadhi</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> if the "couple" had </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">consummated</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> their relationship </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">28-year-old Faez Ali Thameur said</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> yes BUT that he "did not beat her".</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> As if that clarifies it for us, makes the whole child rape issue a moot point. Just a technicality for the Yemeni court system, file the necessary paperwork and then the child can go on about her 8 year-old life, happily divorced, and oh yeah, intimately </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">acquainted</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> with a FRICKIN' 28 year old pedophile!!!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6KDXK2a7MrjO8Gul7QSLG40rbrlLkf0T9gueHPuXVLFDnKS80u9jcgu9r5LyMsAYGfKodfXNLmLmgGZpR_x3erDatHSaeG2VjYP4obN16bBGxvk-JtFX4Hg220vTVwShB7lXRQC270c/s1600/Yemeni+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6KDXK2a7MrjO8Gul7QSLG40rbrlLkf0T9gueHPuXVLFDnKS80u9jcgu9r5LyMsAYGfKodfXNLmLmgGZpR_x3erDatHSaeG2VjYP4obN16bBGxvk-JtFX4Hg220vTVwShB7lXRQC270c/s400/Yemeni+girl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">"I am happy that I am divorced now. I will be able to go back to school," eight year old Nojud Mohammed Ali said, after a public hearing in Sanaa's court of first instance.</b>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/01/mesquite-man-pleads-guilty-to.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Texas man pleads guilty to possession of child porn</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: Authorities found 120 gigs, or about 20 thousand </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">pornographic</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> videos and images of young children on 29 year old </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jonathan Ryan Vittitow's computer. Including messages where he solicited undisclosed individuals to drug three children so he could rape them. He faces 15-30 years in jail.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news-media/clarisse-kambire-victorias-secret-child-labor-cotton-picker/"><b>Victoria's Dirty Secret</b></a>: "</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In Burkina Faso, where child labor is endemic, paying premiums for organic and fair-trade cotton has created fresh incentives for exploitation. A program there has attracted subsistence farmers who say they can't grow "ethically sourced” cotton without forcing children into their fields. Bloomberg News spent more than six weeks reporting in West Africa to capture the plight of Clarisse Kambire, below, a 13 year old who is kept out of school, malnourished and beaten."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKdRDMLiaMYyxYVZEba3YAW09woEXsxWQPjyI07Zk9uPouugTM2rvdsu7JR-cMBHoE_CPRXAdiRmJH3Pwt9_mXhlmoEi2o1bwUb09NRFvqdZynhm5_tLOLzCD8wwE6n2Tqi27JqfnCx8/s1600/clarrissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKdRDMLiaMYyxYVZEba3YAW09woEXsxWQPjyI07Zk9uPouugTM2rvdsu7JR-cMBHoE_CPRXAdiRmJH3Pwt9_mXhlmoEi2o1bwUb09NRFvqdZynhm5_tLOLzCD8wwE6n2Tqi27JqfnCx8/s400/clarrissa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"By the time Clarisse picked her first harvest in 2010, Victoria's Secret was becoming the fair trade program's only buyer instead of the most prominent, according to Georges Guebre , the program's leader. An executive for Victoria's Secret’s parent company says the amount of cotton it buys from Burkina Faso is minimal, but it takes the child-labor allegations seriously."</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/29/leveson-inquiry-should-address-media-sexism?newsfeed=true" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Sexism in the British Press</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: The sexual objectification of women and children and the </span><a href="http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Leveson Inquiry</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'s response to it. Women's rights groups are documenting for the Government inquiry the irresponsible nature of reporting when it comes to sexual violence against women and the overall bent in British tabloids to present women and girls as sexual objects. A recent story involving 6 soccer players gang-raping 12 year-olds had the victims referred to as "lolitas" and the demonic act itself was called an 'orgy'. Subsequently, to prove the pandemic nature of sexism in British society, all six of the defendants were later freed after an appeal to court judge Lord Justice Moses. Judge 'Lord Justice Moses', who perhaps has the most pathetic and disgustingly ironic name ever, ruled that the 12 year old girls 'wanted to have sex'. Um.....What?!?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">HOW THE HELL IS THAT A RULING!!???!! Either the age of consent in Britain is 16 or it's not. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Either rape is a statutory offence- created by section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Which <b>CLEARLY</b> states that a</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> person commits the offence of rape if</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(a) they intentionally penetrate....you get the idea....without consent AND/OR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(b) <span style="font-size: x-large;">the other person is under 16!!!!!!!!!!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-Or its not!!!! Dear Judge </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'Lord Justice Moses' you are now complicit in the reckless endangerment of a minor. You have enabled other over-sexed, meat-headed men hopped up on testosterone to make sport of the violation of children!!!!!!!!! By English law and all other moral codes you too are a rapist. Lock yourself up and throw away the frickin KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stop the planet....I want off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thank you for caring about justice and child's rights, and have a Happy New Year!</span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-79571496577824104622011-12-21T09:15:00.000-08:002011-12-21T19:22:09.940-08:00Un-Real Estates...<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Something to bear in mind....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <b>There are 100 million homeless in the world.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On December 9th, 2011, a single dwelling apartment in Miami, Florida sold for 21.5 million dollars.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw9Lk_adbONXIiXiKsJMjuYfKyQLqnDvlSCeyHz3UWu43Z0LbxvfLTKIt_M6KO5NpLJwLCIDcTz3Up7kGnGH5lQvcosAIwlBrL0ZwheFZOrWj7lzxXtcBEd5HQSKXbL_3oKieSY2aXbk/s1600/miami+ph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw9Lk_adbONXIiXiKsJMjuYfKyQLqnDvlSCeyHz3UWu43Z0LbxvfLTKIt_M6KO5NpLJwLCIDcTz3Up7kGnGH5lQvcosAIwlBrL0ZwheFZOrWj7lzxXtcBEd5HQSKXbL_3oKieSY2aXbk/s400/miami+ph.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 21.5 million dollar penthouse (above), and it's roof view with private pool below.</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOsae01lyBJEOLM-b2ucqQF0e_0yxB-l9Wn3WKBe3v5mAqcumU3-8P_z-jyHk0mjsH7V6lgqGVU5akX0lbh0OWq2F3Kz9tXiI9xfFJQw7o66s3gyOm6miHaqwL9lmjNkEYrD7OSxLcnc/s1600/miami+ph+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOsae01lyBJEOLM-b2ucqQF0e_0yxB-l9Wn3WKBe3v5mAqcumU3-8P_z-jyHk0mjsH7V6lgqGVU5akX0lbh0OWq2F3Kz9tXiI9xfFJQw7o66s3gyOm6miHaqwL9lmjNkEYrD7OSxLcnc/s400/miami+ph+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUiprE0gTl7LavctOUeCoYnwJ7mQj-wiSkFNQMFi-9mtsPS3DzXOioEUi3LdmHjGnynA9C8AR7HyvcrRUWuKxC-ZT_MJJxJTmdN4lKCNJRWUGLqRselCitVAqelXWNXrmPbYeWPhHwpZI/s1600/miami+living+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUiprE0gTl7LavctOUeCoYnwJ7mQj-wiSkFNQMFi-9mtsPS3DzXOioEUi3LdmHjGnynA9C8AR7HyvcrRUWuKxC-ZT_MJJxJTmdN4lKCNJRWUGLqRselCitVAqelXWNXrmPbYeWPhHwpZI/s400/miami+living+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The living room of the colossal Miami penthouse, above and below.</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9REFD8xa6NeJqJDpD7ek6EO0bdZDNmFtSD7sRFBQn1lREeOVuDpBE0ga4fC3zCb7CpOgNQAF0DB2uSgIRPL6bs3uxErzUQNSvOjH-4yhqgniNmYGWjKUEghXiVV_kuZa8ljWPkYh1eXA/s1600/miami+living+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9REFD8xa6NeJqJDpD7ek6EO0bdZDNmFtSD7sRFBQn1lREeOVuDpBE0ga4fC3zCb7CpOgNQAF0DB2uSgIRPL6bs3uxErzUQNSvOjH-4yhqgniNmYGWjKUEghXiVV_kuZa8ljWPkYh1eXA/s400/miami+living+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> A couple of things to remember....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1. There are 100 million homeless in the world.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2. As many as half of these are children.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Not to be outdone. This week Russian billionaire </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Dmitry Rybolovlev bought his 22 year old daughter </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Ekaterina</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">an 88 million dollar apartment in New York.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Just pennies shy of the house he bought for himself in 2008 for 95 million dollars cash...oh, and the 300 million dollar yacht. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">The sellers of the new property are former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill and his wife Joan, who bought the apartment themselves for a then record $42.4million. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">Mr. Weill said when it went on the market that the proceeds would be donated to charity. Dear Mr. Weill, I hope it is not too presumptuous on my part to ask you to donate the remaining 18 thousand and some change that <a href="http://www.prishanfoundation.com/">Prishan Foundation</a> needs to finish <a href="http://prishanfoundation.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-orphanage-design-and-estimation.html">this home</a> for the orphans in Rayagada. To our readers, if anybody knows Mr. Weill could you pass on that message. Love you. Mean it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWdVP3i5_Bt7UL5q9AxvSEksvPSLvRmhpDejPmyBUTsQUu27IC2i8RUr2mdXynh6CCzjCp9r8cl1FivVzH9yGMEhQKAOQ5x0B3mfZEr_WAIwu1b_gZJRr7W9Z3-wF7cviThNLooEmvjg/s1600/billionaire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWdVP3i5_Bt7UL5q9AxvSEksvPSLvRmhpDejPmyBUTsQUu27IC2i8RUr2mdXynh6CCzjCp9r8cl1FivVzH9yGMEhQKAOQ5x0B3mfZEr_WAIwu1b_gZJRr7W9Z3-wF7cviThNLooEmvjg/s400/billionaire.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rybolovlev above and his daughter below.</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RXrGlzjzg790TQdbcnK8lpS44TM2CNhsO6-I3ooG293XJTf_BQSk7kIvsDxRnN5Hox2JX35hr0dri-loGiqaq3ZByw1snORIiR07uM3m80A9rnc2BDXQbqo1dJp9XESNrCvef4fKcok/s1600/billionaires+daughter+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6RXrGlzjzg790TQdbcnK8lpS44TM2CNhsO6-I3ooG293XJTf_BQSk7kIvsDxRnN5Hox2JX35hr0dri-loGiqaq3ZByw1snORIiR07uM3m80A9rnc2BDXQbqo1dJp9XESNrCvef4fKcok/s400/billionaires+daughter+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzLIL7-ZdORE2CCsPPtyiW7ue_1GI8BtWQoCYJogy02F_hZWUz0xzL90hHBFXQXZt_um0f-gFsf2I5k4UwJKGQ9LgdbzYEu8aIbfUS9sDEHLEYEfoQ5HOfwQMwRxWe1hqpB5RHsLi2Kc/s1600/central_park_view_with_dining_room_and_gallery_area_flkkh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzLIL7-ZdORE2CCsPPtyiW7ue_1GI8BtWQoCYJogy02F_hZWUz0xzL90hHBFXQXZt_um0f-gFsf2I5k4UwJKGQ9LgdbzYEu8aIbfUS9sDEHLEYEfoQ5HOfwQMwRxWe1hqpB5RHsLi2Kc/s400/central_park_view_with_dining_room_and_gallery_area_flkkh.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Above and below, the views from the billionaire daughter's apartment. At 88 million dollars the almost 7 thousand sq ft dwelling will be the largest dorm room ever for the 22 year-old who will be attending college in New York.</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFwIPXeUqJLuFrGhgIpYf0R7JPZBf9TCUObH_s-bPT6vtcjopYjt0ZpltLxJMu82_MVjZe5a3_6Vx4Yh8itPzsln-5C6l6MTCjO8cYhmpfYMD1oke4I-WqOhEI97YUn-KR4cNJTzf-88/s1600/terrace_library_and_hall_tqvho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFwIPXeUqJLuFrGhgIpYf0R7JPZBf9TCUObH_s-bPT6vtcjopYjt0ZpltLxJMu82_MVjZe5a3_6Vx4Yh8itPzsln-5C6l6MTCjO8cYhmpfYMD1oke4I-WqOhEI97YUn-KR4cNJTzf-88/s400/terrace_library_and_hall_tqvho.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_MsSleR-lOgiXRdYbfmxfKXHFkys1JhF5cd9yH6jaF2G5Woad8c9iUnToH63115yjW2DWfAmbHgamEw472maXuWmDn4admb30tQ7Xiyq3gwM064-nClQk45gt32H5-Atnfi_Dwivt14/s1600/billionaires+yacht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_MsSleR-lOgiXRdYbfmxfKXHFkys1JhF5cd9yH6jaF2G5Woad8c9iUnToH63115yjW2DWfAmbHgamEw472maXuWmDn4admb30tQ7Xiyq3gwM064-nClQk45gt32H5-Atnfi_Dwivt14/s400/billionaires+yacht.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 300 million dollar yacht above and it's internal parking garage below.</span></b></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S__6I2emvMOVv1rbF3nEBeziER70RgxIAfKP5mc_XK2_lIzmjOs7bNA4bp30BaC-3bqsb2WfQG_TLP_0PTMn60oKtUbahgQ8odNSDVjHFVBiRWsTgUnWBzfZx0deuUPuvcTpV8HQArI/s1600/yacht-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S__6I2emvMOVv1rbF3nEBeziER70RgxIAfKP5mc_XK2_lIzmjOs7bNA4bp30BaC-3bqsb2WfQG_TLP_0PTMn60oKtUbahgQ8odNSDVjHFVBiRWsTgUnWBzfZx0deuUPuvcTpV8HQArI/s400/yacht-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Several facts to place in that important file in your brain:</span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1. There are 100 million homeless in the world.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2. As many as half of these are children.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>3. And half of these are orphans.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh and then there is another billionaire heiress Petra Ecclestone, who earlier this year bought the Spelling mansion, which was listed at a selling price of $150million - America's most expensive home.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 22-year-old is said to have bought it for a mere $85million. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Petra is the daughter of British Formula One exec Bernie Ecclestone, whose worth is estimated at $4 billion.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Petra Ecclestone and pop, </span>Bernie Ecclestone. Below her house/resort.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Four desperately important things to keep ever close to your heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1. There are 100 million homeless in the world.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2. As many as half of these are children.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>3. And half of these are orphans.</b></span></div>
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<b>4. An estimated 18 million orphan girls are homeless.</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Two 22 year olds, both have won life's lottery, both born into unimaginable riches and 18 million homeless orphan girls susceptible to every sort of abuse. 110 million dollars for two properties that house just 2 girls while 18 million other girls are on the streets! Stop the freaking planet!!! I want off!!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is not a rich vs. poor rant. Come to think of it, hellz yes it is!!!!!!! I do not believe the government should tell billionaires what to do with their money. They own the governments anyway. Who do you think will be on that yacht when the bombs drop? The point is this: to all the billionaires and millionaires and thousandaires and hundredaires out there....what would you want someone to do for you if you were homeless and hungry, cold and alone? Better question, what would you want for your own daughters????</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And if Mr. Weill's check to us doesn't come through....could you out there, the ones who care enough to read this, please help us keep these girls off the streets, out of the grips of the evil that would destroy them. Thank you! XOXOXO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="1" height="400px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.indiegogo.com/project/widget/48907" width="210px"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-22065831424501069522011-12-18T13:42:00.000-08:002011-12-18T13:45:54.267-08:00Leave The Girls Alone!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The headlines are full of woman being battered today. A woman protesting in Egypt stripped and stomped on the street. Another was set on fire in a New York elevator and <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/prospect-heights-woman-burns-death-set-ablaze-a-apartment-building-elevator-article-1.993226">burned to death</a>. But not to worry, the same web page that carries the gruesome story of an unimaginable horrible death has several links to stories in their right hand column scroll about Kate Upton's sexy curves, about Sofia Vergara's sheer tights, about FHM's nude front cover model. So simultaneously we are supposed to be shocked at the dehumanization of women and then to see them as objects of sexual desire. Leave them alone!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGGXDHjF16fdJbT81CUHeId-NwgcDr6Ia2mE2-vU66q6PPTv7PRUtCVi4RnlXNNBf06K-Dsoko59Jho0Jd8iQW3TOQ6xrGhT4o3zY3FGQQpmq0wIsGlW-uMuo9UmccaHa_Z_61pU8wrA/s1600/woman+stomped+in+egypt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJGGXDHjF16fdJbT81CUHeId-NwgcDr6Ia2mE2-vU66q6PPTv7PRUtCVi4RnlXNNBf06K-Dsoko59Jho0Jd8iQW3TOQ6xrGhT4o3zY3FGQQpmq0wIsGlW-uMuo9UmccaHa_Z_61pU8wrA/s400/woman+stomped+in+egypt.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A 42 year old Helena, Montana man was arrested today for </span><a href="http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20111218/NEWS01/112180315" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">videotaping young girls</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. A 35 year-old Phoenix, AZ man was arrested yesterday for hundreds of images of </span><a href="http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/local/hundreds-of-child-porn-images-found-in-mans-home-12172011" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">child porn</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Same story for Athens, GA. A 54 year-old man who gets off on the the sexual </span><a href="http://onlineathens.com/blotter/2011-12-17/child-pornography-leads-charges" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">exploitation of tiny kids</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">! It is perfectly legal to have in your possession child porn in the entire nation of Japan! While all the while the ad execs of major companies are titillating the buying public with child sexuality to separate you from your dollars and your heart from your conscience. Then a French Fashion magazine proffers this type of anti-innocence, hyper-sexualization of an EIGHT YEAR OLD!!!! Leave the girls alone!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhq29fv5XhAc6_Cl-gst9FSSPYD2Al0-a0SqYmaoMpAeLb5TxfG_F4__x6mzdS4_rs5VW-vxnV2RGBA0afYvZ00WBGhcvf-dnwRieRvL52bchRW2a56UNDxs5nz2tfjMFK3rjab5mQX8/s1600/thylane-blondeau-vogue-31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhq29fv5XhAc6_Cl-gst9FSSPYD2Al0-a0SqYmaoMpAeLb5TxfG_F4__x6mzdS4_rs5VW-vxnV2RGBA0afYvZ00WBGhcvf-dnwRieRvL52bchRW2a56UNDxs5nz2tfjMFK3rjab5mQX8/s400/thylane-blondeau-vogue-31.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thylane Blondeau, at 8, her childhood being stolen, the flames of lust being fanned in the minds of perverts everywhere.</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last week a nine year old girl, was raped by a man in the district of Samundari Tehsil, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The child is still in a state of shock and suffering both physical and psychological trauma.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"On December 10 the third grader returned from school to bake chapatti bread with her sister-in-law. She went with her 7-year-old cousin to collect firewood in a nearby sugarcane field. After a short time, the cousin came home and reported that Gulfam had been dragged away by a man. When relatives arrived at the scene, they caught the rapist red-handed, who then immediately fled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gulfam's mother took the half-naked girl home. Then the parents went to the police to report the rape, who then arrested the suspect. But the family is still terrified. The relatives of the rapist have already tried to intimidate Gulfam's family withdraw the charges. The girl said when she refused the rapist's offer of money, he then taped her mouth and assaulted her. The assailant reportedly told his victim “not to worry because he had done the same service to other young girls.”"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_FhiY0HynJsQYGUYqVXtGGx5XRZQpdzf4YIb9QHkvZUJD_J4AmNQQE4Vtjnw-TIliIo4811OD30QMjPrihAfXSm6NcESQ9TPMeL_0rKfVysBiDrTN0AiH4i1eC9rnEpfJCjnvR6Tef4/s1600/jorelys-rivera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_FhiY0HynJsQYGUYqVXtGGx5XRZQpdzf4YIb9QHkvZUJD_J4AmNQQE4Vtjnw-TIliIo4811OD30QMjPrihAfXSm6NcESQ9TPMeL_0rKfVysBiDrTN0AiH4i1eC9rnEpfJCjnvR6Tef4/s400/jorelys-rivera.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Or what about precious 7 year old Jorelys Rivera (above) who was <a href="http://sandrarose.com/2011/12/autopsy-7-year-old-georgia-girl-raped-stabbed-beaten-to-death/">raped, stabbed and then beaten to death on December 6</a>. LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everyday in India girls are the victims of gendercide. This story from the International Business Times suggests that number is 50 thousand a month and that the total missing from this generation are 40 million girls. The article goes on to state, "Since 1980, Elizabeth Vargas reports that an estimated 40 million girls are "missing" due to sex-selective abortion, neglect or murder. Vargas spoke with Ruchira Gupta, a women's rights activist, who said, "It's an obliteration of a whole class, race, of human beings. It's half the population of India." He said, "We put very little value to girls or to women. So they are always in danger, from birth to death. If they are born, then they might be murdered just because they are girls."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The main reason for the gendercide is money. Families must pay expensive dowries to marry off daughters. When a boy is born, he will bring in the money; when a girl is born she is a steep expenditure. This is the main reason families promote abortion of daughters. Dowery expenses increase year after year. Once a girl weds, her family is required to pay this fee. If they do not, the girl is "often beaten, tortured, even burned to death. And while dowries have been illegal for decades, the law is often ignored."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Despite the fact that one might assume the gendercide tactic is practiced by the poor and destitute, it is the rich and educated who use sex-selection abortions most frequently. Vargas reports that census data shows that the problem is becoming more severe in the most elite areas. In some neighborhoods, there are only 300 girls for every 1,000 boys.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Vargas spoke with a female doctor who described her harrowing tale of struggle and torture when her family discovered she was pregnant with twin girls. The doctor's husband's family demanded she get an abortion, but she refused. Because she did not give her husband a son, she was deemed a "useless wife." His family then tried to force her to miscarry by denying her food and feeding her eggs, which she is allergic to. When her daughters were born, the grandmother pushed one of them down the stairs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This woman is not alone. Her story is familiar to many. Yet, for others forced to give up their daughters, there is hope and salvation. In the northern region of the country, Vargas traveled to orphanages, known as "Cradle Houses." Unwanted daughters are brought here, dropped down into a drop box and given over to those willing to shelter and care for the discarded."Mostly these girls are half-dead," said one volunteer, "because their mother take [sic] so many medicines for the killing, to try to poison them."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE!!!!!!!!!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Below the original ABC news story from reporter Elizabeth Varges. Please watch these both, the story starts after a 30 second commercial and is incredible. Both are worth the few minutes of your time!!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMjQyNDIzNjU3MDMmcHQ9MTMyNDI*MjM3NDI5NiZwPSZkPSZnPTImbz*2ZmI*NWY5OThmYWU*YzE*ODdmNDZhOWJj/MDgxYmI5OSZvZj*w.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" data="http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_3386o86t/uiconf_id/5590821" height="340" id="kaltura_player_1324242324" name="kaltura_player_1324242324" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="540"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Throughout this world there are millions of women trapped in the illegal sex trade. 100's of thousands of them are young girls, some as young as 4 years old. They are brutalized ten sometimes twenty times a day. For as little as a couple of dollars so disgusting men can get a few seconds of perverse pleasure, leaving these babies scarred for a lifetime. There are no excuses. There is no apology that will suffice. We must stand as a united front of loving people and end the mentality of second class citizens and gender imbalance. We must celebrate the differences between the sexes, we must champion the rights of women. We must demand the laws be enforced. We must get on top of our soapboxes, at work and play and church and we must scream from the top of our lungs:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Please before another generation of women is systematically erased. Please for your daughters, your mothers, your wives and yourselves. This is the fight of our lives. If you would like to help Conspiracy of Hope and </span><a href="http://www.prishanfoundation.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Prishan Foundation</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> with our current project to protect 34 precious orphan girls from a life of homelessness you can do so</span><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/A-Home-For-The-Holidays" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> here</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> or more preferably directly to Prishan Foundation </span><a href="http://www.prishanfoundation.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope thank you for caring about justice for women, for being their voice when they are silenced by brutality, enslavement and draconian law. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For NKA</span></div>
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Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-52178679711384867152011-12-13T19:18:00.000-08:002011-12-13T19:20:31.046-08:00Human Trafficking In The News: December 12, 2011<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Homeless girl on the streets in the US.</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Human trafficking, modern slavery and child exploitation in the news. Click the bold headings to link to the full stories. As always thank you for caring about justice and for being a voice for the voiceless.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20111213/NEWS12/111213018/Homelessness-among-children-rise-New-York-nation?odyssey=nav%7Chead"><b>Homelessness in the US on the rise</b></a>: According to the National Center on Family Homelessness the amount of homeless children in the US has risen 33 percent to 1.6 million children compared to 1.2 million in 2007.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Missing children in China</span></b></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/video/tech-15749651/india-s-deadly-secret-27566497.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Gendercide in India</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: Watch the 2 part video by ABC about the rise of infanticide and gendercide in India. As modern technology collides with Indian tradition it is girls that pay the ultimate price. A sonogram to determine a child's sex is much cheaper than the dowry a girl's parents will have to pay to her future groom. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57338345/178-kids-rescued-in-china-human-trafficking-bust/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>178 kids rescued in huge anti-trafficking sting in China</b></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">: </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">BEIJING - "Chinese police arrested 608 suspects and rescued 178 children in busts of two separate child trafficking networks, authorities said Wednesday. 5,000 police across 10 provinces cooperated for six months on the investigation and moved in to arrest the suspects last week. Child trafficking is big problem in China, where traditional preference for male heirs and a restrictive one-child policy has driven a thriving market in baby boys, who fetch a considerably higher price than girls. Girls and women also are abducted and used as laborers or as brides for unwed sons." CBS/AP</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.sharedhope.org/WhatWeDo/BringJustice/PolicyRecommendations/ProtectedInnocenceInitiative.aspx">Shared Hope International releases state by state report card on anti-human trafficking</a></b>: The state of </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Maine has been given an F by the national advocacy group for its laws dealing with sex trafficking of minors. Mississippi got a "D".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-37981103788598512642011-11-13T17:17:00.001-08:002011-11-28T09:11:24.141-08:00Human Trafficking In The News: 11-13-11<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Human Trafficking in the news. Stories of forced labor, sex trafficking and child exploitation. Click the bold headings for links to the whole story.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://human%20trafficking%20in%20the%20news.%20stories%20of%20forced%20labor%2C%20sex%20trafficking%20and%20child%20exploitation.%20click%20the%20bold%20headings%20for%20links%20to%20the%20whole%20story./">20,000 girls sold in the last 8 years</a>: </b>'Over 20,000 girls belonging to Chhattisgarh's tribal region have been sold by human traffickers in the last eight years in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, Congress leader Ajit Jogi said on Sunday. These girls mainly belonged to Jashpur, Surguja and Raigarh districts and were taken away by human traffickers in the name of jobs and trainings, the former Chhattisgarh chief minister said in a statement.' (Hindustan Times)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.modernghana.com/music/16624/3/hollywood-feature-film-bleeding-sunshine-stars-adj.html">Hollywood set to release ant-trafficking film <i>Bleeding Sunshine</i></a>: </b>"The best actors and actresses on the African continent have been brought together to feature alongside Hollywood actors in a new movie 'Bleeding Sunshine', which is set to hit the theatres soon. 'Bleeding Sunshine' is about the “illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, and human trafficking." The film tells the harrowing tale of a young Ghanaian girl [Suzzy Nabor] whose life is turned upside down when she is plucked from her humble fishing village and thrust into the gritty world of international human trafficking." (Modern Ghana)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Coach Joe Paterno, what did he know, and when????</span></b></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/middle-class-guy/2011/nov/13/its-not-about-penn-state-its-about-pedophilia/">The Penn State Child Abuse scandal:</a> </b>Great article from the Washington Times on the reality that the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060914/Jerry-Sandusky-Penn-State-sex-abuse-Why-did-Jerry-wife-abuse-victim-weeks-testimony.html">sex abuse scandal</a> is not about Paterno or Penn State, this is about pedophilia. Those at fault will be punished but the victims remain and the cycle is unending without addressing the root causes. Thanks to retired Chicago Police Officer </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Peter Bella</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> for such wise words.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/11/09/perfume-ads-featuring-teen-star-dakota-fanning-banned-for-sexualizing-a-minor/">Dakota Fanning ad is pulled in the UK:</a> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yet another instance of the sexual objectification of children. Miss Fanning, though seventeen in the ad is featured in a dress that was made for her when she was twelve and made up to look much younger than her age.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Somaly Mam, once a a victim of child trafficking herself, now rescues children like the one above, from brothels.</span></b></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/kristof-fighting-back-one-brothel-raid-at-a-time.html">Fearless woman raids brothel to rescue children:</a> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Great op-ed piece in the New York Times by Nicholas D. Kristof about </span><a href="http://www.somaly.org/about-smf/somaly-mam" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Somaly Mam</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. "Somaly dedicates her life to battling forced prostitution, for she herself was sold as a child to a Cambodian brothel. After enduring torture and rapes, Somaly escaped and reinvented herself as an anti-trafficking activist."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As always, from all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thank you for your passion for justice, thank you for being a voice for the voiceless, thank you for making the world a safer place for children. Please support our newest project to build a home for 40 precious orphans in Rayagada, India. To keep them from the evils that would seek to ravage them. You can donate <b><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/A-Home-For-The-Holidays">here</a>.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-71083236182332061172011-11-04T18:52:00.000-07:002011-11-28T09:12:21.716-08:00A Home For The Holidays.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In India there are 30 million child laborers with some estimates approaching 100 million, the highest concentration in the province of Andhra Pradesh, where almost 20% of the school age population are working. A very large percentage of these children, perhaps upwards of 40% find themselves in the very worst forms of child labor including child prostitution and bonded slave labor. As always there are none more at risk for this type of exploitation than orphans and street children. Nestled near the Andrha Pradesh border is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rayagada, just south of Orissa. It</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> was in this small town that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2011/08/over-moon-with-narges-ashtari-of.html">Narges Ashtari</a> of the <a href="http://www.prishanfoundation.com/">Prishan Foundation</a> met 40 little orphans that would change her life forever. Narges has dedicated her life to keeping kids such as these out of harm's way. We spoke with her about her current project and the beautiful girls of Assist Orphanage she is helping.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Narges K. Ashtari and the sons of Assist Orphanage's caretakers Abraham and Jainy.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Tell us about the children you are fundraising for.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They are amazing! They are all little princesses with so much love and affection to give. They have all been through the worst things imaginable. They have seen and felt things that no one deserves to have felt and I had such an amazing connection with all of them. I would wake every morning cuddled up between all of them. I loved it and I loved every single second I spent with them. They allowed me to get so close to them and leaving them was SO incredibly difficult. I left promising them I would come back and build them their own home. I am more determined than ever. I send them letters every week and they send me drawings and little cards. My backpack has more letters and cards in it than clothes or anything else.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Some of the 40 little princesses at Assist Orphanage.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All girls, wow. Is there one little princess that stands out?</b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Gosh, it's so difficult to just tell you about one because they are all so special and have their own unique personalities. Without a doubt the little girl I spent almost all of my time with was Emi. She was the youngest in the orphanage so I felt like she needed more love and care. She's the little girl on my back (below). Every morning, around 6am, she would come and stroke my hair until I woke up. So gently and lovingly. She is 4 years old and lost her parents to Malaria, I don't think she remembers them and thinks of Abraham and Jainy, the orphanage caretakers, as her parents. I love them so much for that. For allowing her to call them mummy and daddy and not making her feel anything less than a daughter. After 2 or 3 days of living with her I became aunty Narges. Kids at that age have that CUTTEEEE voice and every time she wanted a bit of attention she would come and find me, pinch my leg, say aunty Narges in that adorable voice and then she'd be sorted for a couple of hours. We'd play until it was bedtime. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dL-fi7YBbqsauM5hAY5dQrFlIVOsODNWo9cClm3zzt09n6TsdM5OtZ3z9AS56xxHTo4OQnX990LKlfGFPpmejJNOSEaJiGOMvvh1KkriJNEUnnHsDw3MxdR8QJxg6-T7WNUsGh9GPUM/s1600/DSCF3464+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5dL-fi7YBbqsauM5hAY5dQrFlIVOsODNWo9cClm3zzt09n6TsdM5OtZ3z9AS56xxHTo4OQnX990LKlfGFPpmejJNOSEaJiGOMvvh1KkriJNEUnnHsDw3MxdR8QJxg6-T7WNUsGh9GPUM/s400/DSCF3464+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Emi and Aunty Narges.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her parents died when she was a baby and the villagers had pretty much kept her until they found Assist orphanage. Abraham had told me that when she first came to the orphanage she would often speak about her village people, her little friends so I wanted to take her back to her village. I think that she understood that she hadn't said goodbye to them properly and you could see that sometimes she would just be thinking so deeply about something. Me, Abraham and Emi got on a motorbike and after 3/4 hours got to her village. It was tiny, dirty, not a place for children. It just made me realize how much Abraham and Jainy changed this girls life. She would have still been in this area, miserable, not going to school... She had her new dress and shoes on and she walked with us through that village with the biggest smile on her face. </span></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Emi in her new dress (above), and Emi and Abbi goofin' below.</span> </b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After coming back from her village I could tell she was so different. She wouldn't wake up as much during the night, wouldn't be so lost in thought sometimes. It was the closure she needed. She understood everything. I miss Emi so much now! Ahhhhh!!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>What is the current situation of Assist Orphanage and the children?</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I was there the landlord of the home they had lived in for over 10 years told them they had 2 weeks to leave because his daughter was giving birth and he wanted her to live there. We literally knocked on every single door in Rayagada after that to see if they had space or an empty room for the girls to move into. Finally we found a 2 bedroom apartment. But that was SO small and so expensive to fit all the children into. We convinced the landlord of the orphanage to let half of the girls stay on the first floor of the house and we moved the other remaining 20 into the new home. Thankfully he agreed. So now, half of the girls are living on the first floor of their previous orphanage while the top is occupied by the landlords daughter and husband, and the remaining girls are in a small apartment 20mins walk away. Right now we are paying rent for 2 homes, money we could be using for other things! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Abraham and Jainy, their new orphanage will be more than a house for orphaned children, it is a home, it is family.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The orphanage was given a piece of land 5 years ago by a charity but just never had the funds to build anything on the land. Abraham never even told me about this piece of land because he thought it would never be possible to build anything and said he didn’t want to burden me with it. It was either the day I was leaving or the day before that he mentioned it to me. I rounded the girls up, took them to piece of land, took some photos of it with them and I promised them I would raise the money in 6-12 months…</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Do you talk to your princesses while you are back West?</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I call the children all the time telling them how much we have raised, I see myself as one of them but the one who is lucky enough to be able to go to the West and raise the money. I really do believe we are all the same, no matter where we are from or what we look like. At the end of the day we all just want to be happy right!?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>How much will it cost to build the orphanage? </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">20 lakh rupees. This is the cost of building permission, to dig 200m underground to pump up fresh water, to have an electricity line, labour charges and materials. All of it together comes to $43,000. If not a little more.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Who will oversee the building?</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I will oversee the whole thing. It will take 3 months to build, I will be there for the entire process.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>How much have you raised so far?</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">$9557 Raised, $33,443 to go!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Last year you raised over 7000 dollars by shaving your head, what types of fundraisers are you doing now?</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We do bake sales every Sunday morning in downtown Vancouver. I spend the night before, my Saturday nights in style, wrapping 200+ cookies in plastic wrap. I wouldn’t change that for the world. I enjoy it because I know how many donations we get from each one, <i>plus</i>, those ‘broken’ cookies aren't going to eat themselves! I know that sometimes I may upset the people around me because I do not spend as much time with them but I feel like if they were my genuine friends they should understand. These children are my life now. Last year there was a lovely girl who baked cookies for us, it is just too much work, it takes so much time, time that we could spend doing other fundraisers so I buy the cookies this year. Superstore has an amazing deal, 20 cookies for $5.99 so I buy 6 or 7 packs, if it’s going to be a sunny day then I will buy more… </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Life at Assist Orphanage....</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Right now I have around 6 people helping every week. We have a great time trying to sell them, we joke around with people as much as we can. We stand at a great location as well, right behind a busy Art Gallery, in between two busy roads and next to a road always packed with cars… sometimes we even stop the cars and sell them cookies! We raise around $400 every time. I am trying to find more volunteers so we can start doing it on Saturdays too! I love the bake sales, we get to meet so many people who share their stories with us. We meet many people who have been to India and have fallen in love with the country just as much as I have. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also I sell jewelry that I purchased while in India. A lovely friend of mine donated around 100 brand new t-shirts for me to sell. I babysit as often as I can, ‘babysitting children for children’ the parents make a donation on my website every time. What ever time I have left during the day I spend it by sending out as many emails as possible to who ever I feel could help us in the fundraising, every business, charity, humanitarian worker or celebrity you can think of, I have emailed! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Where do you see yourself in 5 years?</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In 5 years I want to have already lived in India for a couple of years, surrounded by children, a few perhaps adopted by me and be working to fund raise. Instead of having to come back to the west once in a while to raise money I want to stay there and find a way to do it there. Find a way to support myself and the children… That’s my dream.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b> ****************************************************************</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This holiday season, when we have so much to be thankful for, so many reasons to give let's remember the 40 girls in Rayagada. Let's give them a home for the holidays. Conspiracy Of Hope is donating all of our funds raised until Prishan Foundation reaches their goal for the building project. Below is a short video highlighting that campaign. Please donate with boundless generosity. And as always, thank you for being a voice for the voiceless and Happy Holidays!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/A-Home-For-The-Holidays?a=89567&i=addr">Donate here!!!</a> Thanks!!!! XOXOXOXO</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-3576994863643463032011-09-20T16:38:00.000-07:002011-09-22T18:18:04.497-07:008 Reasons Why You Should Support Respire Haiti.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Here are eight reasons why we at Conspiracy Of Hope think you would love to support <a href="http://respirehaiti.org/">Respire Haiti</a>'s work in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gressier">Gressier, Haiti</a>. In no particular order, the following reasons highlight the methodology, the core beliefs, and the ongoing commitment of RH to the people of Gressier. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qQy43-m4bOLobbOfSFEXXoeyGk5Diu2o8i2Vn2o3JVdXCItteXIBL_-buhQuDFy9Cdhxg4H8e2WaL6yGgUK01_V49nVXdbeFzEVp8wauXwlK-BqiDxh9QFPXcEgnO5wymJazaaOmUO8/s400/Haiti+210.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654625084591963442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>From Bellevue Mountain. At the heart of Respire Haiti's story and at the heart of Gressier itself. The story of Respire and Gressier's future will always be inextricably linked to this pristine peak.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Stability and Strength: </b>The earthquake of 2009 devastated Gressier, destroying 70% of the homes and leaving many vulnerable people and especially children at the mercy of the elements. It was in this post-apocalyptic landscape that Respire's founder <a href="http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2011/05/megan-boudreaux-fights-for-heart-of.html">Megan Boudreaux</a> found herself. That reality stayed with her, the fragility of life, the realization that more storms would come. For that reason, RH is building a school and a community hub that can withstand another earthquake of similar magnitude and be ultra resistant to hurricane force winds. The attention to detail in this respect has been painstaking and sometimes slow, but the reward is safety and security for the impossibly gorgeous children of Gressier.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_mjaOuqjpiw7qi_uDsvsS8DDfC9ed9ysRtOquM0YAWmxTICXpUYl7X5CMgNzNAgFCw6ZxETDwXEcxihMWk3x57lZ7pIt9GRdF3OwAixhMOOOclrtj4oIj55JcZJHO_LbMhXvGrpX2JU/s400/Haiti+070.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654620083058755810" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>The deep footings and steel re-enforcement that will help the Gressier school withstand another major disaster. Cutting corners is not an option when the lives of children are at stake.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Social Justice: </b>One of the most exciting things about the school RH is building, and the most compelling for us at COH is that many of the students will be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restavec">restaveks</a>. In a country of 9 million people there are an estimated 300,000 restavek children. Through education, opportunity, and a true sense of community that the school will afford these kids, RH hopes that tolerance of this injustice will quickly become a thing of the past in Gressier. There are 300 thousand children with no voice in Haiti, Respire is deeply committed to being a voice for those voiceless kids.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Stewardship: </b><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Part of every NGO and non-profit's reality is limited resources. Respire Haiti is ever mindful of this. When many other humanitarian orgs in Haiti ride around in new Landcruisers, the staff of RH takes a tap tap or hires a driver for longer trips. This keeps them intimately connected to the community, engenders respect and doesn't foster mistrust, and besides costing less, it also keeps money in the community by using these local businesses. RH shops locally, buys building supplies locally, and in every sense is committed to helping the local economy by buying Haiti first. The majority of RH's staff are Haitian, in fact other than RH's founder Megan Boudreaux, the only other resident non-Haitian is Kyle Fishburn the general contractor who oversees the day to day construction on site. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1d2YCf026NjbztOB176z1RN2qgGszfo5oBrDn9ICdDMdhP6eDw228-awu3wmN4-vmo0Y9gKBpKnIgPoKyqgvarp-uF3oD6LcmRfmuJ25Dx4XNc-Qn9rpOM8WFkSmi1_4HOt5vs-kFx8c/s400/Haiti+225.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654621716267453042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>Kyle the contractor and Bernard, translator and backbone of so much of Respire Haiti's day to day operations.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Sustainability: </b><span class="Apple-style-span">One of the keys to self-reliance for the Haitian people and one of the tenets of stewardship for RH is sustainability. This means that even as they provide food for local orphanages they also facilitate those same orphanages in planting crops and raising livestock. RH will also use solar panels and wind power at the school and surrounding buildings to lower the communities dependence on an ever temperamental power grid and keep utility costs affordable.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Self-reliance</b><span class="Apple-style-span">: </span><span class="Apple-style-span">The reality of humanitarian aid is that sometimes helping hurts. The best intentions of the kindest people often provide immediate relief but do permanent damage or provide no lasting change. Respire Haiti understands this implicitly. In every sense they elevate the people of Gressier by staying out of the way. From the construction of the school to the weekly feeding programs, Haitians serve Haitians. There is no breeding of dependence on foreign hand-outs, no heavy American footprint, only the desire for the Haitian people to be self-reliant. Respire knows that the people of Gressier want to work, and that they work extremely hard when given the chance. Every day 60-70 Haitian men and women walk to the top of Bellevue Mountain and build the future of Gressier: a school for their kids, and soon a church, a medical clinic, a computer lab, a market, a library, and more. The residents of Gressier are pouring their blood and sweat and prayers into these buildings and beautifully taking ownership of the project in their hearts and minds. And, they are being paid almost double the average worker's daily rate! Money that goes back into the local economy and stimulates growth for all of Gressier.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9xalVv3-KTPxOR6GnMb9UrIrbACKSU8KVz4GXAcuuYg8rExLLfm6sZCslxVEGATJxCrsrP6R71i6G_Z2OMhb9EkGoDBq2dsF1gK1AbBIsts3cAAMHkAZOTWkyyw6f3_e2wRm1WuUyKk/s400/Haiti+193.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654620590953888530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGF-FYLdFkoeg7cU4myiaYweH5TMORCg5eYqpw8Vik2ISF694DFItTMKo85S358k-_SwgbLq2EiAbiy68LhyS-DbAj128-7ty8knxM3R_yGjb6n5UyXnJ4YHG0iE3FHkBuD1nnx6Uj-iY/s400/Haiti+204.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654621712388972482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>Above, the residents of Gressier, men and women, build a school for their children and their brothers and sisters in the Haitian sun. Below, food is prepared on site everyday.</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTlRK1b7VqinPeyCbpKOXs7JkvHInf3wQiVasNkp2tx2u8xZ49kxeNqS9fsot8G6EegQ155NDKhEArPBEvgpWECOaXoaCPiOBy93pnQFiiMRaRar8jJi3hxIVLh-_GNMnIA11kwFoMK0/s400/Haiti+222.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654622800897925010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Scholarships: </b>One of the realities of poverty is that sometimes even a free education is unaffordable. RH partners <a href="https://www.egsnetwork.com/gift/gift.php">sponsors</a> with impoverished children to put education within their reach. This means smart new uniforms for children who have never had a brand new piece of clothing. This means two meals a day for a child who </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">would </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">otherwise be hungry and restless, unable to concentrate on learning. This means school supplies and books in the hands of children like Floencia (below), who at 8 will be attending school for the very first time. She was one of the last children to register and I had the deeply humbling honor of walking with her and her precious mom to the little concrete church house that glorious Monday afternoon to sign her up!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMI5N9anrXMlWlNtEInp3qneVnzojbeTMj9rmtrIgprZ5T-HnCBPspMFuE9SLLCxBACePrC0HVEBwbuOel57kUzwXxIp9Qqd4uvVEQSfRzr7ajVg4jH5_YRCLFr_MjROzhz8vUoJYgM_g/s400/Haiti+102.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654623872862622482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>Floencia in pink pants!</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Sublime Beauty: </b>The Caribbean Sea and the mountains of Gressier are the stuff of poems but their majesty pales in the presence of the Haitian people themselves, especially the children. What a noble people, unconquered in spirit in spite of the deluge of despotic rulers and natural disasters. And what hard workers, what gentle souls, what deeply passionate people are the Haitians. No wonder they so captured Respire's heart. No wonder they have rebounded so quickly with just a little help from their friends. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRLI422BFQhwVMpLDvG5kiMYMM0XFTbjpjw8jIJi1KJ1iU-hdoA6b8IlD6MmhbtnW_QonAe_8Q3nWyHNl7IMN3LYJRpLWllpI82Gv9XcO4pwvu3O1HA9Zxh5mKHPTmtZPHdciU_RnMoQ/s1600/Haiti+158.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYRLI422BFQhwVMpLDvG5kiMYMM0XFTbjpjw8jIJi1KJ1iU-hdoA6b8IlD6MmhbtnW_QonAe_8Q3nWyHNl7IMN3LYJRpLWllpI82Gv9XcO4pwvu3O1HA9Zxh5mKHPTmtZPHdciU_RnMoQ/s400/Haiti+158.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654591319648852642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljcJ9gccphPEIE-P5piy-GNGyHJKHMXbTGvMGtFhnGuZ2zpm0U8a0lNF6mdiX5jonYYhRV4vbWN7ZJZu65bPFvKqMiOSoUKxFiic-UInm1XNYum8idt9igHnFtAVXLnmRXaKd2dOq0uM/s1600/Haiti+148.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljcJ9gccphPEIE-P5piy-GNGyHJKHMXbTGvMGtFhnGuZ2zpm0U8a0lNF6mdiX5jonYYhRV4vbWN7ZJZu65bPFvKqMiOSoUKxFiic-UInm1XNYum8idt9igHnFtAVXLnmRXaKd2dOq0uM/s400/Haiti+148.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654591313600448338" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Haitians are hard workers, from the fisherman and farmer above, to the lovely girl below who helps her mom collect bottles for a recycling program that cleans up the cities and countrysides while putting money in the pockets of Haitians facing an 80% unemployment rate.</span></b></span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtimWKor_aCA6vox9XcZp3RH6RnSETsA1z2_7bBwpyYXsj1INYkLUYXq_afJ7ccw3UI7PXkZd27pTjed_g_Zz3buCc1UAA6jKPk75WJpc7hHYq-nxK_yHnnxXQkozgN1jG-mUj0zAB7qA/s1600/Haiti+138.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtimWKor_aCA6vox9XcZp3RH6RnSETsA1z2_7bBwpyYXsj1INYkLUYXq_afJ7ccw3UI7PXkZd27pTjed_g_Zz3buCc1UAA6jKPk75WJpc7hHYq-nxK_yHnnxXQkozgN1jG-mUj0zAB7qA/s400/Haiti+138.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654591310642546690" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Below, some of the beautiful children of Gressier. The future of Haiti.</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aAhXpq7_4236NtmxitP2FVoehBW4hpoWNZeEt8ICMZ6P85Zv00Nuc8WD1lqiHTUJ2RkeCW_bFKEm0cAqnVYRIEnoCd4tA24b19_qDGOVeRswJ0MhuOmNH7xxf09Ke4Ildvg8dmtV144/s400/Haiti+134.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654591323361269122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZoLnsLp83VPlvjQJs2IazgIrHL4c8z_JgVz38Hs9Nl-JRdDfE9KaDDVE-d1KiefQ6ha-MkMB7hO01lVxT_OIdoF7tWACryO2Q_4dYad45Fq3yxSVe3GCK4xKfryX5rWl3zB9db9QuAo/s400/Haiti+096.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655331704303933394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzWTBHNK7fH9eWx1-pmlqHY_YZa-d4nsbvY31Vdl5tfruvd1DbZMaf6lV0pycFlV33yEZcl_2XE56cQrwExjGESz1zV6cudrdI4CoSwTh_sPrMA8Qm9bzF6IviUW7tIVRvmtmN2aLBF8/s400/Haiti+083.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655331697187824002" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Sisters: </b>RH began in the heart of Megan after she met a little girl on Bellevue mountain where the school is being built. <a href="http://blessedwithaburden.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/meet-michaelle/">Michaelle</a> was throwing rocks in the air trying to kill a bird to eat, such was her hunger and her relentless determination. Megan was deeply affected and through a whirlwind of events Megan now has legal guardianship of Micha and her younger sister Jessica. These two girls have become the lifeblood of Respire and the endless stream of guests that come to Gressier to see what God is doing. These girls change everyone they meet with their indefatigable smiles and constant mischief. I have never loved a child other than my own more than I love Michaelle. There is a look she gets in her eyes that reveals a hint of the hurt she still holds but then that unsinkable smile breaks across her face, joy dawns, and the whole world is brighter because she is loved, because now, Michaelle is free.</span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRXxiLBdzeXZlGLLcQsxo8xq6zLbP_6RXW-2L1YGU5ScWy10OAIqMbfwvzD-Y-IOfEFtrLUQJhNoUSdd2YlkWVEuRlYXDKN_0G1-i4Et2SWPXG2oIeZF1WwcW_95PIVEEoU03rUn2sWg/s400/girls1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655337043385527474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxE7knQZV9YQoU-QYSN0iJc1pckuc6Sn5pJnmT8wWltp6W06NA8fS6xuc12BCoNBrP38CfxwCsQGhUy83vZuOoBZlbvmDmr5uqWVybQQ_YYcIezz3fZUa0lvRZcbxmvJtNhqaYguj1bII/s400/micha+close+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655337048253826050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 312px; " /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CDP0s1HmFd0MlWm8JRi5R8mTSqu99FoaYnKkUkjIsJXdigyBdM6phhLtdY8dOJlNqvEO0lZCTDeuRP7TmBiWJGRx7anVRve95eGi4tpN7xdNr_rHquw6HqUEu5P3SSD2LmGLuJ-ZFEs/s400/boots+crop.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655334732038700354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div></span></span></div>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-34323980405443439362011-09-03T17:48:00.000-07:002011-09-04T06:07:29.986-07:00Human Trafficking In The News 9-03-2011<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFs_DMHjOzq1Mq8N_tPQzTBcAxKc0GceSJCvhmlgOzqvPHfwMsoRInI6XQ5NG8DD2ihsyO5U_zfJoATs7tti1JomF4uiZxSCa6NFu7UcTyvvgWp3iyfCnvxgEtqHllKel-F49cMujcy2I/s400/ChildLabor.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 370px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648304906178442930" /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Human Trafficking in the news. Stories of forced labor, sex trafficking and child exploitation. Click the bold headings for links to the whole story.</span></div><div>
<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><a href="http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2011/09/02/backpage-com-accused-of-facilitating-sex-trafficking/">45 states bring lawsuit against The Village Voice's Backpage.com</a>:</b> Backpage.com makes an estimated $22.7 million per year from ads in their “adult” section. Backpage.com vice president Carl Ferrer acknowledged the company identifies more than 400 “adult services” posts that may involve minors.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/31/international/i082740D66.DTL&type=business"><b>Dutch probe uncovers child porn sites in US:</b></a> Investigators found some 220,000 child pornography photos and videos. One of the hidden sites police discovered was called "Violent Desires". Along with child pornography, it also contained "a discussion forum that included chats about abducting, abusing and killing children," prosecutors said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/15261224/article-Woman-gets-life-plus-20-in-child-sex-for-sale-case?instance=secondary_story_bullets_left_column" style="font-weight: bold; ">Woman gets life plus 20 in child-sex-for-sale case</a><b>: </b>Rebecca Wiggins (pictured below) took $10,000 in payment from an east Cobb man, David A. Ray, in exchange for providing access to her 7-year-old niece, who was in her custody. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKuve2P5Js0mccBJ7xWb1c63_SV1GEgzWCDItfKEZVRfUOfqEbxLsJ2pGgjLPaJONhs1k9lOAsSzpNL9DTczisi7U7U3BD5BbSh8JcNygCN_N-kCHUOkropPn-tMomQLMKitnNcGv22A/s400/JRWH_08_15_11_Wiggins_Rebecca.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648306759935257586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 360px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">
<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><a href="http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/bills/112/hr2830">House introduces H.R.2830!:</a></b> The bill will re-authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Read the entire text of the bill <a href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-2830">here</a>. National call-in day to voice support for the bill is Sept. 8th. <a href="http://www.ijm.org/national-call-in-day">Info here</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.xfmnewscenter.com/news/news.php?cat=Entertainment&title=Justin+Timberlake+Shaves+Using+Chainsaw+in+Anti-Sex+Trafficking+PSA."><b>Justin Timberlake featured in new anti-trafficking ad:</b></a> The 30 year-old actor for Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore's "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" campaign.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
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<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">As always, from all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thanks for caring about justice and for being a voice for the voiceless victims of trafficking. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
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<br /></span></div>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1795350303788569150.post-73241233545063400472011-08-30T16:23:00.000-07:002011-08-30T18:29:48.068-07:00The Dancing Boys Of Afghanistan.<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">There is a tradition in Afghan society called Bacha-bazi, literally "boy-play". Bacha boys are 8 to 15 year olds who put on make-up, tie bells to their feet and slip into women’s clothing, and then, "to the whine of a harmonium and wailing vocals", dance seductively to smoky roomfuls of leering older men. This wretched practice that ends with the boys being auctioned or rented out for rape is an old tradition in the northern and southern provinces of Afghanistan.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
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<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL9ZkXMY30GcfUPK0FJ3OeXSHcN3XVvFfZJXmDElXlY0okoJSha20cVnjuCFIkbhZ_WvFaOsOtMvS2GcY92YcNq2htSbEiheU02XBJRo4cmRF1vMR9nM6QXNQ3BFnqjhQUTn40g6Y4kDI/s400/flndancingboys_photo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646805109343014738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Above, an Afghani teen dances for a roomful of men. </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">According to Senior Afghan journalist Musa Khan Jalalzai,</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">“The interior ministry has failed to arrest powerful rapist warlords in northern Afghanistan, as the police administration has long been involved in many illegal businesses like drug trafficking, prostitution, and playboys. Corruption in the Afghan justice system is another problem. Courts are helpless before war criminals. Judges are the most corrupt people, who bail out or release criminals and receive millions in Afghan currency."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">He goes on to say, “Local residents now have demanded for a crackdown against these elements, but are skeptical because criminals are powerful and well-armed. War criminals have representation in Afghan parliament and in government institutions."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Unemployment, poverty and repressive sex laws have been cited for the recent resurgence of Bacha-bazi in Afghanistan but whatever the reason, recruitment of young boys is on the rapid rise.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4xH0qvBvrKA_seMo_Dk-a0EhtT_VguWnnwTUIRi_EmotJ_iqTGSAqMC4L4vzgKYzFqXGOCTDkwmvKlYXHc67RVM3D3Ysyt7zLr-R-gKb1dLcFegE5BrPu1kGWHBvBh0nyRLsX0fiUh8/s400/AfghanDancingBoysx390.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646822959907578578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 285px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>A "dancing boy" and his "master".</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">According to press reports "Wealthy warlords in northern Afghanistan, recruit young boys for sex and dance, while local authorities remain powerless in stopping the practice. Bacha-boys dance all night, and then are abused by several men.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Jalalzai continued, “A former warlord in Kunduz province told Afghan press that normally criminals first select boys in the village and later trick them into coming with them. The boys get a monthly allowance, and in return [the criminals] can have them any time they want. Last week, an Afghan student from northern Afghanistan informed this author (Jalalzai) by an e-mail that at midnight when the dance is over, the boys are frequently shared by war criminals with close friends for sexual favors.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><object width="560" height="365"> <param name="movie" value="http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf"> <param name="flashvars" value="width=560&height=365&video=1474778660&player=viral&chapter=3"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="width=560&height=365&video=1474778660&player=viral&chapter=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="365" bgcolor="#000000"></embed></object><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #808080; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 512px;">Watch the <a style="text-decoration:none !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#4eb2fe !important;" href="http://video.pbs.org/video/1474778660" target="_blank">full episode</a>. See more <a style="text-decoration:none !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#4eb2fe !important;" href="http://www.pbs.org/frontline/" target="_blank">FRONTLINE.</a></p></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>Above, part of Najibullah Quraishi's documentary titled "The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan". Please watch this entire documentary.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>
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<br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Boys without beards who are intelligent are a status symbol for their masters. Mohammad Zaher Zafari, head of the Northern Branch of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, said: "Sexual abuse and even the sale of boys has been going on for years; the boys involved are usually poor, underage or orphans, and they are forced into it by their economic circumstances."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Another senior official, Hafizullah Khaliqyar, head of the prosecutor’s office for Baghlan province says the teens "are sexually abused, even bought and sold. Fights take place over these Bacha-bereesh (literally boy with-out a beard). It’s increasing day by day, and it’s catastrophic," he said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
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<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNbik9AXvH9dwam7epMwr3HoSG8Y45GZ_gBJ1HFsyOFBGGpSTnN530zxY7ulOVHjB4SFCabGsPXcFXF6_YMVu67vHaR9Ue4gUgnrecBNy3svaCQb7pZO2r9-yfgAlGMVlt5QB1FXYrOs/s400/Ms-Radhika-Coomaraswamy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646803490096224514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 270px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><b>Above, Radhika Coomaraswamy, one of the first and bravest international figures to speak out about this crime. Read her PBS interview <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/dancingboys/etc/coomaraswamy.html">here</a>.</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Jalazai quotes another Afghan reporter, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, who recently interviewed some warlords saying that they play with dogs, boys, and love teenage girls. "Some men enjoy playing with dogs, some with women. I enjoy playing with boys," warlord Allah Daad told Ibrahimi. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">According to Jalazai, after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, Bacha-bazi increased tremendously and is still on the rise. He says, “Local officials in northern provinces of Afghanistan admit the practice is prevalent but show no specific interest to intercept it. The authorities are in much dismay about the police officers’ involvement in this business. Members of Afghan police in various provinces are deeply involved in male prostitution. The interior ministry in Kabul has received thousands of complaints from locals regarding sexual attacks by police on young boys.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">Reuters, in its November 19, 2007 report and Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan [RAWA], quoted a 42-year-old landowner, Inayatullah, of Baghlan province as saying, ‘Having a boy has become a custom for us. Whoever wants to show off should have a boy.’ In his short interview with Reuter’s reporter, Mr. Inayatullah vowed: ‘I was married to a woman 20 years ago; she left me because of my boy,’ he said. ‘I was playing with my boy every night and was away from home. Eventually my wife decided to leave me. I am happy with my decision, because I am used to sleeping and entertaining with my young boy,’ He told Reuters.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; ">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><iframe width="560" height="365" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wYwyYDPiEF0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>The video clip above is graphic and blood-chillingly cavalier in its description of rampant pedophilia in Afghanistan.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">According to Jalalzai, “There are thousands of young boys who have undergone ordeals. But the actual numbers of these vulnerable boys are not known." In Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan, Panjshir, and Herat bazaars, Bacha-bazi CDs and DVDs are widely circulated serving an audience who can’t afford the real thing. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">In every documentary clip or interview the story is the same, whether it's corporate or private pedophilia, young boys are talked about like food, like dessert. The men are completely disconnected from the child's will and rights, they objectify the boys past the point where they exist on a similar plane with their own children. To them these pre-teens are no one's child. They do not have dreams, they are for sport, for pleasure. To be devoured, a perverse banquet of innocent flesh. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">These men are sub-human. How else can they recount with smiles and wistful nostalgia a night of drunken revelry where each man had his turn with a 13 year old boy in a car. The boy who just laid there, presumably frightened for his life, shamelessly raped by one sick twisted man after another. And no one denies, not on any level of Afghani society or Government. They may question the veracity of the numbers but they never question the truth of the accusations. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">This must stop. These poor boys, destroyed by lust and demonic control. Tricked, coerced, brokered into short but painful lives of exploitation only to be thrown out like yesterdays meal. This must end now. My heart is breaking tonight. My mind reeling. My spirit cries out for justice. They are just little boys!!! They are not sex toys!! They are not the playthings of the perverted and powerful. They are the future of Afghanistan. Her brightest and best. They are her sons and they have become the food for vultures. No not even vultures, for even vultures wait for death before they desecrate flesh. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">God save us.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">
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<br /></span></div>Mark Langhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03661141836736474743noreply@blogger.com0