Human Trafficking and Immigration Reform: The Refugee Crisis At Our Southern Border

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".

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.

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. Here are the facts and the stories of those most at risk.

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. “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. 

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.

According to a Pew Hispanic Center report, 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". 

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.

Why the recent spike? What are these children fleeing from? The answers are deeply disturbing. This article 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."

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."

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.

Two more articles that outline the terror that these children live in: from The Guardian, and The New York Times. 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.

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.

1. Sex trafficking: young girls are brought into the US and forced into prostitution or are sold over and over again as sex slaves. A high profile case in Houston where 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.The prices for the sex acts ranged from $65 for 15 minutes to up to $500 per hour." 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.

2. Forced labor: There are thousands of documented cases of forced labor 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. Many of the types of labor exploitation trafficking victims endure are touched on in this report from Free The Slaves.

According to antislavery.org  "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."

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 (unauthorized immigrants make up 25% of farm workers (not including temporary workers)) making them vital to our economy. We continue to profit from this cheap, sometimes free labor and because of this we the people have been silent too long.

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. 

First: 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. We must at the same time always and perpetually have open doors to all those who are fleeing persecution and abuse.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."

Second: 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. 

Third: 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. This is about what is right, what is ethical, what is good. 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.

We are a nation of immigrants who once proudly, compassionately proclaimed:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

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?

I hope our collective response is a loud, resounding "No! Not on our watch, not now, not ever!"

Please contact your congressperson. You can do so here. 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 petition. And thank you for caring about justice and opening your hearts with compassion. 

The Locust Effect: Why The End Of Poverty Requires The End Of Violence

In the following quote Gary Haugen sums up the title and the premise of his new book The Locust Effect. “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.

“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.”

Here are just a few statistics from The Locust Effect that we at COH found excruciating.

-29.8 million men, women and children enslaved today

-70% of women in Peru have been the victims of rape or attempted rape.

-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.

-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.

-Worldwide there are nearly 2 million children in the sex trade.

-Every year 5 million people are the victims of forced eviction. 

-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.

-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.

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. 

Human Trafficking In The News 12-09-2012

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!

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 Shared Hope International for their tireless efforts to call the US to accountability bout this crime of crimes.

Shared Hope International has released their 2012 State by State report card 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 received.

Music and entertainment icon MTV is training young people in Southeast Asia to use social media to raise awareness about human trafficking.  It is part of a global campaign to end the practice and event organizers and participants say social media amplifies the message. 

Actress Mira Sorvino (below) on Thursday called upon a crowd of 200 state legislators to take the lead in battling human trafficking, 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.

Friday President Obama signed Senator John Cornyn's Child Protection Act of 2012 into law. The aim is to take a more aggressive stance against sexual exploitation and human trafficking. In a press release from the attorney general's office, Senator Cornyn is quoted as saying, "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."

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.

From the Washington Times: 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.

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!!

International Justice Mission's 2012 Gift catalog. 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!

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.

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)

*********************

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!