Flooding In Haiti From Tropical Storm Isaac

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Human Trafficking In The News 7-17-12: Hollywood Edition

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 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 justice for these exploited women and care for those that have been rescued.

Below, The Walking Dead's Laurie Holden (pictured above) talks about the charity she works with, Somaly Mam Foundation, which fights to stop child trafficking all over the world.





Below, actress and activist Victoria Pannell and Andrea Powell of Fair Girls discuss the campaign targeting backpage.com, a site that child advocates charge is openly facilitating sex trafficking online. 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You can sign the campaign here which has already produced 250 thousand signatures!

Jada Pinkett Smith on Capitol Hill with her husband, actor Will Smith, and their daughter. She also brought along three trafficking survivors.

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.


“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.” 


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.”

And finally, last but not least, Mira Sorvino (above) stars in the movie Trade Of Innocents that comes out in September which co-stars Dermot Mulroney and is about the slave trade of children in Cambodia. 

Human Trafficking In The News: 6-27-2012

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.

Jada Pinkett Smith joins the human trafficking fight: 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 here.


Another major chocolate maker pledges to be slave free: 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.

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.

FBI rescues 79 kids from sex slavery in major nationwide raid: 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.


The TIP Report released this week from the State Dept.: "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." Read the entire report here.

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.

59 year old man and his sex-grooming gang convicted of 30 rapes: 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. 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. 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.

Human Trafficking and Women's Rights in the News 4-26-12

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.

Egyptian women speaking out against horrifying new legislation introduced  in the Egyptian Parliament that would legalize necrophilia.

Egypt plans 'farewell intercourse law' so husbands can have sex with DEAD wives up to six hours after their death: The controversial new law is part of a raft of measures being introduced by parliament. It could also see the minimum age of marriage lowered to 14 and the ridding of women's rights of getting education and employment.



100,000 women undergo genital mutilation illegally in Britain with some victims as young as ten: "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. 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." 


National sweep targeting human trafficking nets 15 in Atlanta area and 36 in Texas: 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.


Woman trafficked into Britain by gang who wanted to harvest her organs: An unnamed woman was brought into the UK by criminals operating a black market trade in body parts for transplant. 


More good news from Africa as Nigerian police break up Human Trafficking syndicate and rescue five children: A source told police that the traffickers ringleader, a woman, normally steals children on Saturdays when they are at home alone and often times she pretends to be a relative. She then takes the children to Imo where they are sold to unsuspecting couples looking for a child to adopt. The five rescued children ranged in ages from six months to two years. 

International Women's Day 2012

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 war on women. 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.

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.


Also, according to waterproject.org, "Women are at a high risk for infections due to their frequent contact with unsanitary water. Trachoma, a water-washed disease that can lead to blindness, is transmitted through contaminated water where women gather. Women and girls collecting water are also susceptible to diarrhea, hepatitis A, and leptospirosis, a bacterial infection from water that is tainted by animal urine." 


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. 


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 also experience a different sort of violence, often as children, the culturally and religiously sanctioned horror of forced genital mutilation. The countries of Guinea and Egypt have the highest rate at over 90%.


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.

"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)

"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." (Deborah Cole)

"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. 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.


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."  (somaly.org)

In December of last year when the American government named the years international ‘heroes’ for their efforts to End Modern-Day Slavery almost all of the ten people who received the award were renowned lawyers and bureaucrats. Only Charimaya Tamang (above) from Nepal knew what it was like to be a slave.



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.


“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.”


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.”


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.


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.”


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.


“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.


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)

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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.

Human Trafficking In The News 3-7-12

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Valentine Cards From The Philippines!

Our first interview with Crystal Sprague, director of My Refuge House in Cebu, Philippines 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!

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. 

Crystal, since our last interview you guys are in the new building? What has that meant for the girls?


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!

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! 


Besides the new building what has been the greatest accomplishment for 2011?


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. Those are the things that make this work worth it. 


What do you see as the biggest hurdle for 2012?


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.”

MRH girl getting tutored above and below the house favorite, "The Slipper Game".

My Refuge House 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.

So finances is definitively your biggest need?


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.

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, Angelicum College in Manila and Red Window Project 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.


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!


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?


The great thing about Cebu, 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.


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! 


What are some things interested parties can do stateside to raise awareness and support for MRH? 


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.


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. 


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?


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.


For those of you who haven’t read the incredible story, here it is on Crystal's blog.


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?



Christmas 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. 

Christmas, Cebu style.

If the girls of MRH could tell the world one thing what would it be?


“Thank you. Thank you for making it possible for us to have a future.” 


How can we pray for MRH, the staff and the girls this year?


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.


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. 


Anything you'd like to add...


Thank you again for your support. Check out My Refuge House's webpage for more information!

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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 here. And please follow Crystal's blog where amazing stories and deep insight always inspire.

Below the girls of MRH have made Valentines to share with the world. You can see the rest of them on MRH's Facebook page!