What Can We Do? Thoughts on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Hopefully you have read the Tribute to Nimmi I just posted on this blog, and the photos I posted on Facebook. I could not have received the sobering news of her passing on a more poignant day: National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

You probably know by now that 100s of 1,000s of women, girls, and innocent children (boys and girls alike) are trafficked for sex slavery and other forms of inhumane labor all over the world, every day, every hour, every moment. Finally, the media has latched on to this issue and the outrage that is long overdue on this issue is growing.

But beyond the head knowledge, and after the outrage, what can be done? Many of us have spent time thinking about this issue, perhaps even spilling tears over it. But what next? Have you stopped yet to think about how we can change the reality of these staggering statistics?

The sheer numbers projected about human trafficking in this day can have a paralyzing effect. Some feel too far removed to reach out and save the Nimmis who are chained to brothels in India. Some may quiver at the thought of the dangerous and elaborate criminal networks in place that are masterminding and driving the sale of humans with a bloody iron fist, motivated by a greed most of us cannot comprehend. Others just may feel too overwhelmed by it all.

Take heart! Jesus came to remind us that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) Together, we can do so much to take a stand on behalf of our brothers and sisters who are in chains. We who are free are tasked to hold out hope to the hopeless, and to be a voice for the voiceless. (Prov. 31:8) And remember that in this task, we have the Great Redeemer fully on our side -- for "the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." (Ps. 34:16) Rejoice, because if He is for us, who then can be against us! (Rom. 8:31)

Don't waste time feeling guilty or burdened over what you can't do, which is a great temptation and trick from the enemy. Instead, focus instead on what you can do, which is always something! There are many ways we can shine a light for those in the darkness:

1. PRAY -- I encourage you to cry out to the Lord using Psalm 34 in specific prayers for the victims of human trafficking, those who have been rescued and those who wait for rescue, for the traffickers themselves, and for those who do the Lord's work in saving those who are crushed and brokenhearted. Examples:

• Oh God, deliver the victims of human trafficking from all their fears;
• May Your angels encamp all victims of human trafficking;
• May Your ears be attentive to their cries for help;
• May those who are rescued from slavery be able to "taste and see that the Lord is good";
• We know Your face is against those who do evil;
• May you cause the hearts of those traffickers who buy and sell the innocent into slavery to "turn from evil and do good";
• Condemn the foes of the righteous & bring swift justice to the oppressed;
• Be close to the broken-hearted and save all those who are crushed in spirit;
• Deliver the righteous from their troubles, and protect their bones so that not one will be broken;
• Redeem all those who take refuge in You, and bless them so that they lack no good thing.

2. GIVE -- Whether it's your time, talent, or resources, there are over 500 anti-human trafficking organizations (and growing) across the U.S. and even more globally. Chances are there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer with a local organization in your area -- by donating clothing to victims, answering a help line, helping at a fundraiser, or anything in between! What's more, by way of donation, you can mobilize the hands that rescue & restore victims of human trafficking even when your own hands are too far, or too busy, to reach out. What a privilege that we can participate in equipping this good work, even from afar!

Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Bombay Teen Challenge -- the organization I visited in India that rescued and restored Nimmi before she went on to be with the Lord. I have seen first-hand the amazing work these passionate people are doing, and love the fact that many of the staff have been rescued and restored themselves. I fully support Deveraj in his "Good Night, Red Light" vision to "work himself out of a job" by eradicating sex slavery in India, and I hope you will too! Bombay Teen Challenge is financially supported in part by it's U.S.-based partner, Jubilee Campaign USA, and donations can be made online or through the mail.
• Tiny Hands International -- I've had the privilege to meet some of the passionate people behind this faith-based organization that does some really innovative (and dangerous!) border-prevention work along the Nepal-India border.
• Shared Hope International -- founded by U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith back in 1998, SHI has a long history of fighting against human trafficking. Recently, SHI joined forces with the ACLJ, a constitutional law firm I clerked for during law school.

3. EDUCATE YOURSELF & OTHERS -- Something really struck me in India when Erin and I asked the director of Bombay Teen Challenge what needs to be done to fix the monumental problem of human trafficking in India. He said simply that nothing will be done until the hearts of the people of India are outraged, and thus motivated to change. If ignorance is bliss, it's education that fuels outrage.

Rev. Deveraj pointed out to us that the average taxi driver in India on any given day can tell you precisely how many Bengal tigers are left in their country, thanks to a billboard campaign to save the endangered species. They will even get misty-eyed over the dwindling numbers of tigers . . . while speeding through the red light districts, where thousands of their own daughters are dwindling each hour thanks to the pillaging of their bodies and the spreading of HIV/AIDS. Oh, the bitter taste of irony.

So whenever you find a website, read an article, or hear a story -- e-mail it, post it, Tweet it, Facebook it . . . you can even talk about it (the old-fashioned route!). The bigger and louder the buzz about human trafficking, the more people will start to take notice -- and eventually, act.

And if all else fails, do it for them:

We have to remember these kids are way more precious than a Bengal tiger, right?!

A Tribute to Nimmi

Nimmi is a beautiful young woman I met in March 2010 when I visited Bombay Teen Challenge just outside Mumbai, India. Her smile could light up a dark room. Bright joy and quiet peace radiated from her very being, almost casting a literal glow. Of all the women I met and interviewed at Ashagram, the facility where BTC houses, educates, and rehabilitates the precious lives rescued from the streets of Mumbai, Nimmi is the one I’ll never forget. In fact, when I reflect back on my 2.5 weeks of travel across India, Nimmi jumps straight to my mind, and it’s usually her story that I recount to friends or family.

Nimmi and I are close to the same age and share an active, healing relationship with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We are sisters in Christ Jesus. Our life circumstances, however, could not be more different. Hers could not be more tragic.

With a soft and beautiful voice that seemed to float across the air, Nimmi volunteered to tell us her tale. To most people, the horrors she recounted only exist in our worst dreams or the most twisted movies. But for Nimmi, it was all too real – a living nightmare, one that lasted for most of her life.

Nimmi grew up in Nepal, a country that borders India to the north. Like her neighbors, Nimmi’s family was desperately poor. Nimmi was the oldest of the six children in her family. Each day presented a fresh new struggle to eat, to survive. One day, around the age of 12, Nimmi was boarded onto a train to Mumbai, India. Nimmi expected she was being sent to work as a housekeeper and send money back to her family. She was right that the purpose of her being separated from her family and sent away was to earn money for her family. But she had no idea that for the next five years of her teenage life, she would be confined to the caged walls of a brothel in the bustling red light district of Mumbai and her body would be used and abused in unspeakable ways by hundreds of men.

Nimmi discovered that her mother had sold her for 50,000 Rupees (a little over $1,000 in U.S. currency). Nimmi would never see her father or brothers and sisters again. I asked if she ever saw her mother again. She said yes, that her mother came every year to the brothel in Mumbai. “To visit?” I asked. “To collect the money I was earning,” said Nimmi.

When she first arrived at the brothel, Nimmi resisted, crying and screaming, “No! No!” But she was pulled by her hair, beaten, and forcibly raped. She even tried to escape once. After that, she was locked in her room. Any time she resisted, she was beaten.

“Did the police ever come?” we asked. Sometimes, she said. But the girls would hide. Some would be taken to the station and punished. And sometimes, the police would come in to sleep with them.

At some point during her years of slavery at the brothel, Nimmi contracted HIV/AIDS. She did not discover that she had the deadly disease until she was able to escape and taken to a clinic for blood testing by Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC).

Nimmi explained she came to know about BTC when they came to visit the brothel and share with them. She learned about the church downtown led by Rev. Deveraj and she attended with a friend, where she learned to sing and pray. The brothel owner found out and threatened, “If you leave this house, I will break your leg.” So Nimmi stopped going to church until she was finally able to escape the brothel three years later with the help of BTC.

When we asked Nimmi what she wanted to do with her life now that she was free and living safely at one of the shelters run by BTC, her face lit up. “I want to work with kids and give mother love to the children in the street.”

Nimmi had a son herself, who lived nearby at the Jubilee IV home run by BTC – a special facility set up for the children rescued from the streets or from the brothels where their mothers suffered in slavery. Most of these children are HIV positive. Erin and I stayed at this home with the children, where we read stories, shared meals, and learned lots of lively dance moves.

Until she could get herself on her feet and afford her own house for her and her son, Nimmi was learning a new trade through BTC – sewing. She worked alongside other women with similar stories of rescue and redemption and made beautiful clothing. She learned a lot more than how to sew, too. She talked about how her relationship with Jesus Christ has changed her life and brought healing – she used to be very thin, but said now she’s gained weight. “I am very happy,” she told us. An unnecessary statement, I thought, because her smile said it all.

When I think about the thousands upon thousands of human trafficking victims across the world, I think of Psalm 34 and take comfort in the fact that "the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (v. 16) When I think of Nimmi, I recall verse 5: “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”

Truly, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (v. 18)

Today, I received the following e-mail:

Dear All,

I am grieved to share this news with you. One of our girls, Nimmi Tamang (25 years old), has gone to be with the Lord. We had the privilege of having her with us at Ashagram for the last 4 years. She was one of our bright girls and graduated from our TC program in 2008. She also received an award from us for 'Best Girl in Campus Life'. She then continued to study God's Word and was walking closely with the Lord. She was loved by everybody and has truly been a role model and a blessing to all of us.

The heartrending part of her life story was that she became a victim of human trafficking at the tender age of 13; she was brought from Nepal and sold in Mumbai's red light district. By the time we found her and rescued her she was already HIV+. However she fought a good fight for the last 3 years but during the last several months Nimmi was in and out of hospital. Recently her health suddenly deteriorated and her body stopped responding to medications. Sadly, she breathed her last yesterday.

There are many more Nimmis out there in cages (red light areas) and if we do not move with a sense of urgency, by the time we find them, it will be too late for some of them. This is the reason we have launched the Stop Sex Slavery campaign on 8 November 2010 to say "Enough is enough; we cannot tolerate this anymore. They are our daughters!"

Today we conducted a proper funeral for Nimmi. Her friends and BTC staff were present and we had a Spirit-filled service with a message of eternal hope.

We will never know how many more girls have died in the red light district and were discarded even without a proper burial. Tonight, as I am writing this to you, not far from my house, the dreams of a little girl like Nimmi are being shattered. This very night, not far from my house, the innocence of a little girl is being violated again and again. This very night, not far from my house, a girl has stopped hoping and believing that anyone will ever come to rescue her. She has hoped for too long and no one has come and now it hurts to hope any more. She has accepted the fact that no one cares. Is she right? If we do care, then why have we allowed the wheels of human trafficking and sex slavery to keep turning and turning so smoothly? The traffickers bring the girls in and we fight to get them out and the traffickers continue to bring them in. I will continue to fight to get them out as long as there are innocent lives being taken. But we have to break this vicious cycle.

I want to work myself out of this job. We must stop sex slavery and must stop it now. There is only one word for this - STOP! Let us free our children to be children. Let them run and laugh and dream and grow. Let us free them from the chains of sex slavery.

I write this with a very heavy heart. Dear friends, please keep us in your prayers. Thank you for all that you have done for Nimmi for the last 4 years and also for the other girls. Your prayers and support has helped us to move on.

We thank God for Nimmi's life and her commitment. We believe that we will surely see her one day.

In Christ's love,

Devaraj and the BTC family

I rejoice in the fact I got to know Nimmi and that she trusted me with her story. I took these photos of Nimmi during our interview (see more here). Like Deveraj and all of BTC, I feel blessed with the knowledge that I'll see her again in heaven.

Even the righteous have many troubles, but take heart --

the LORD delivers her from them all. ~Ps. 34:19