You\u2019ve seen them, the storefronts, or 2nd floor windows that say, \u201cMassage \u2013 \u2018Vaguely Asian Sounding Name\u2019 Spa, the neon sign says Open, the hours are 10 AM to 2 AM with no appointment is necessary.\u201d Of course some of them dress it up a bit with a reflexology chart in the window, but really now . . . These things dot the American landscape; and not only in the \u201cred light\u201d districts in our big cities.<\/p>\n
Before I go any further let me say this: It is not the presumed sexual contact taking place in such establishments that bothers me. No, it is the treatment of the girls who have been ensnared by evil men who would steal their lives and enslave them for profit; that is what I hate and that is why when asked to review a book on the subject, I jumped at the chance.<\/p>\n
In Our Backyard, a Christian Perspective on Human Trafficking in the United States, is self-published by Nita Belles. In it she outlines the appalling breadth and depth of a crime that lives in the shadows and corrupts our society more each day. Ms. Belles puts a human face on the \u201cissue,\u201d by telling stories. More importantly, she then gives us a sense of what we might do to address the tragedy that exists all around us.<\/p>\n
United States with promises of money, education, good food, and the opportunity to perform in churches all over the country.<\/p>\n
They went on tour, but that was the only promise that was kept. They received no education, no money, were given disastrously little nourishment and stayed in a trailer. They were kept with the threat of deportation and the humiliation of being \u201csent home\u201d as a failure. While on tour, the boys stayed with host families. This was happening right under the noses of fine church-going folk.<\/p>\n
United States under false pretenses to train as a chef. She was forced to work 6 days a week 12-15 hours a day. Her \u201cemployer\u201d held her identification papers.<\/p>\n
United States, then kept locked up in the home of the family she worked for, a story about companies that provide \u201ccheap labor,\u201d to farms and factories, all of it right here in our country.<\/p>\n
Each time Ms. Belles describes the false promises, the threats, intimidation, and the humiliation that keeps so many people enslaved, she tells the story of how the person was freed from slavery. It was a church member who blew the whistle on the Zambian Boys Choir. It was a restaurant patron who happened to be a retired cop who rescued Charito. A neighbor who freed the housekeeper. Belles\u2019 point is clear: People like you and me need first to be educated on the signs of slavery, her book goes a long way to accomplishing that, and then keep our eyes open. Only we can do that.<\/p>\n
We can also pay close attention to what we buy and what we use. We can purchase fair trade products and keep asking questions at the stores we patronize. Awareness is key. And speaking of awareness, the next time you\u2019re watching porn on the Internet, you might ask yourself, \u201cWhere did this actress come from? How \u2018free\u2019 is she really?\u201d Then let me ask you: do you really want to be involved in that?<\/p>\n
In Our Backyard, I could end this review with only praise. But her subtitle promises a Christian perspective on human trafficking in the United States. And this is where the book seems weak. Yes she throws biblical reference in from time to time, or tells stories about how Christian groups have challenged the modern-day institutions of slavery. But a \u201cChristian\u201d perspective on this topic would need to address the nature of slavery in the Bible. It is a thoroughgoing motif throughout the Scriptures. From that perspective human trafficking occurs because we live in a society enslaved to its desires, its fears, and its drives. Freedom comes when we live for something more than ourselves, when we live for a God whose very being is love. Still, I\u2019m glad she wrote the book.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You\u2019ve seen them, the storefronts, or 2nd floor windows that say, \u201cMassage \u2013 \u2018Vaguely Asian Sounding Name\u2019 Spa, the neon sign says Open, the hours are 10 AM to 2 AM with no appointment is necessary.\u201d Of course some of them dress it up a bit with a reflexology chart in the window, but really […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theological-musings","tag-first-presbyterian-church-san-rafael-california-marin-rev-sam-alexander-progressive-integral-christianity-evolutionary-5thande-org-bible-sermon-gracecomesfirst-patheos-expert"],"yoast_head":"\n