*** This article contains topics that some may find difficult to read and discuss sensitive topics***
I remember going to my first auto auction and seeing the cars brought in one by one. The auctioneer was doing his fast-talking thing to get the prices higher and higher, then saying “Going once, going twice, SOLD for the price of …”
After watching the movie Sounds of Freedom, I know that both children and adults are being auctioned off and sold into slavery. Let us be honest, they are being sold into sex slavery, not slavery. I am not trying to politicize this issue; this site is not about politics. I also think this is a spiritual issue. This form of evil is a debauchery that is intricately deeply evil. This is an evil I would not have thought of or considered had I not heard about it while I was in military service and in my career as a Law Enforcement Specialist when I was in the Air Force. Furthermore, it seems the evil is getting worse and more depraved. I think about the bible scripture in Romans 1: 29 – 32
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
If there is not enough evil in the world, people have to go around creating new ways and new forms of evil – as bolded above “inventors” or “inventing” new evil and new ways of doing evil things or performing evil acts. Human Trafficking, Child Trafficking, Sex Slavery, and Child Sex Slavery are some of the worst forms of evil.
I can hear people saying that slavery has been around since the beginning of time. Slavery is something I would not wish on my worst enemy.
In Roman times slaves were taken from conquered countries as prizes of war. These captured/conquered people were then sold to Romans to be used as labor – whether it would be in harsh conditions under strict supervision or in the household as butlers and maids. Some would also be in the shops and others were the slaves who supervised other slaves. And there were those slaves that were taken for sexual pleasures as well. However, slaves in the Roman Empire were considered more as possessions than human beings in servitude. Many were mistreated and abused openly. If a slave committed a crime against their master, Roman Law dictated that all the slaves in the household pay the penalty which often ended in death to all the slaves in the household. Some of the slaves in the household were expected to perform sexual acts.
The Israelites in the Old Testament had commands on how slaves were to be treated. They were not taken as spoils of war. Slaves usually were taken to pay off a debt. There were rules in the Old Testament of the Bible for the treatment of slaves. If a person had a debt that needed to be repaid, he could sell himself into slavery to repay the debt. The time frame would be for six years and on the seventh year he could be freed, unless he wanted to stay as an indentured servant to the family. At that point, there was a ceremony for the person to stay as an indentured servant. The slaves were to be treated as a part of the family but still be indentured. If they wanted to be freed in the seventh year, they were to be released and provided provisions and payment to get them started back in life. Slaves could not be mistreated, otherwise, the family of the slave could obtain some sort of restitution from the slave owner – meaning if the slave died then the family could avenge the death by taking action against the responsible person. Even if a Hebrew person was a slave they are still considered a brother and must be treated accordingly.
Today slavery is much different. Some are sold for labor purposes. Most are sold into the sex industry.
The facts are staggering. In 2020 alone 2,198 people were referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution for Human Trafficking, up from 1,360 people in 2011 (62% increase). It is estimated that Human Traffickers of slave labor, not including the sex slavery industry, have increased its revenue to over 150 billion dollars in 2021, (yes, Billion with a “B”). And that figure is increasing every year.
24.9 million people are trafficked every year into some sort of forced labor. 16 million people are trafficked into forced labor in the private sector – this does not include Sex Trafficking. 4.1 million people are trafficked into forced labor camps that are state-imposed or state-sponsored – it can include child labor for the mining of diamonds or cobalt mining for the batteries of electric vehicles.
4.8 million people are trafficked for the Sex Industry. Of the 4.8 million people that are trafficked for the sex industry, 3.8 million adults and 1 million children a year are sold into the sex slavery industry.
What is even more surprising is that 71% of those that are trafficked are women and young girls. These are people who are trafficked across all forms of Human Slavery (forced labor, sex exploitation, etc.). All of the victims are lured into slavery with promises of opportunities for a better lifestyle or opportunities to make more money for their families. Once they are captured, they are sold into any of the human trafficking/slavery industries. They are forced to live in subpar living and working conditions; often abused, intimidated, and threatened with violence against themselves or family members (even though the family is back home searching for them and doesn’t know what happened).
The best scripture I believe would fit the situation for the children is found in Matthew 18:5 – 6 which says: “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
I remember in 2015 when ISIS created a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. They took a lot of young Yazidi Christian Women from their families. I saw a photo of a young Yazidi girl around 18 years old who was blindfolded and crying because she was being auctioned to one of the depraved adults who would abuse her sexually. My heart went out to that young girl I had hoped that all those men would be captured and forced to endure the terrible things they inflicted on those young women and young girls. My stomach was agitated thinking about what this young girl was going to experience, the terrible things that were about to come upon her, and how her family was feeling knowing that she was forcefully taken from them and forced into human sex slavery.
“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” (Matthew 16:7)
I believe those who are involved in Human Trafficking will have to answer for their actions in the afterlife. Those who turn a blind eye away from Human Trafficking and do nothing will face the same consequences. If there is an opportunity to stop it, take it.
I love the line from Sound of Freedom in which Vampire says, “When God tells you to do something, you cannot hesitate.” I honestly believe we are being called to save others. I feel I am being called to do more, but don’t know what I can do. I am starting with writing this and praying for God’s revelation in my part of the fight against Human Slavery and Sex Trafficking.
John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” I believe those who are being trafficked are our friends, brothers, and sisters. They are God’s Children – all of them. We need to step up and protect them, save them, and prevent this from happening. We also need to rise up to identify any predators and place them on notice that this will not be tolerated. We need to find ways to stop the trafficking of people regardless of age. And we need to increase the penalties because those people are robbing the trafficked people of their lives.
As Christians, we need to protect those who cannot protect themselves. As humans, we need to prevent the trafficking of those who have been taken from their homes against their will – regardless of age. And as a nation, we are called to protect the liberty of those who are supposed to be free – not allow slavery to exist in any form.
Sound of Freedom touched my heart in many ways. And the movie still affects me to this day. I believe we are called to help in our way. That can include dialing 9-1-1 when you suspect abuse (spousal, child, elder) when you suspect trafficking (Human, Sexual, Child), or when you think a crime is being committed. Or when you see a hate crime (Against minorities, antisemitism, etc.). We need to say, “This will not be tolerated anymore!” We are better than this. And we cannot allow any of this to continue any longer.
Heart for Jesus 