I recently attended an incredible event called the Freedom Summit. As the founder of Looking for Starfish, my goals and dreams for helping stop human trafficking abound. One of the things that is needed is for all people interested in abolishing slavery to unify and gather together. We need to combine our efforts and act together in this effort. This Freedom Summit was one such event. It was truly amazing. There were 1700 people gathered together with one single focus and that was to learn more about fighting human trafficking and to learn more about how we can work together to achieve our goals.
This event was extremely well-organized. I have attended many other such events over the course of my career as a dentist and this event rivaled some of the best dental events I have ever attended. There were multiple, wildly informative, break-out sessions, several plenary sessions with incredible, world-class, speakers (Condoleezza Rice was one of them), and even fantastic "entertainment" with the presence of Sarah Groves and her band as headliners and another band called Jubilee. There was also a "Freedom Expo" with over 30 abolition organizations represented. Truly, this was an amazing event.
Afterwards, I found myself pondering the following situation: Most people are in one of three places with respect to human trafficking:
1. They are in complete and blissful ignorance of the entire situation.
2. They find out about human trafficking and find themselves completely overwhelmed by the darkness and the enormity of the situation.
3. In self-defense, they return to a state of ignorance, only this time it is willful ignorance.
People in complete and blissful ignorance enjoy their lives. Let's face it. I've been there. It's fun to go shopping at Target and buy all kinds of stuff I don't really need. It's fun to buy cute decorations. It's fun to buy cute tops that I can actually afford. I loved going to PayLess Shoes and coming home with five pairs of new shoes at bargain basement prices. And really, sometimes, there are people out there that this is truly the only way they can buy shoes when "baby needs a new pair of shoes!" But honestly for most Americans today, that is not the only option. But until you know better, you will be in the same boat as many, many people.
Then you find out about human trafficking. Wow. It's just so huge! It's so evil. It's so dark. Twenty-seven million slaves? Really? Little three-year-olds being forced into the sex trade? NO WAY!! You've got to be kidding me? 10-year old boys being forced to kill their friends and family as part of their induction into forced military servitude? Come on. Really? I don't believe you. No! It's true. And you come face-to-face with the sheer horror of it all.
Then comes paralysis. What do I do? What do I do? I don't know! I can't help this one iota. There's nothing I can do. I can't go to Thailand and rescue young girls and boys out of prostitution. I can't go to Uganda or the Congo and talk nicely to the military leaders there and persuade them to stop their heinous coercive acts of violence. OK, well then, I'll do nothing. I will return to IGNOR-ance. Right. Good. I'm ok. I'm allright. I won't change a thing in my life because it makes no difference at all. This is so big that no matter what I do it will continue, so I might as well just continue on in my happy American life.
So. What's wrong with this picture? I know it's a true picture, because I know it described me as recently as two years ago. Well, I'll tell you what's wrong with this picture. It's a fallacy to think that we can't make change happen just by doing small things in our lives. And that is one of the goals of Looking for Starfish. Let me bring you along with me on my journey. Come along as I discover that by changing my life and getting only just a little bit out of my comfort zone, I can make powerful changes. These changes, made one-by-one, by average Joes just like myself, add up. They add up to POWER! They add up to major shifts in the world atmosphere. The little things done when we work together cause massive force to be applied to a massive situation.
Let me bring you with me to a fourth option:
4. EMPOWERED!!!!
Ok, you say, I'm game, what CAN be done? Actually, there are quite a few things that can be done by people like you and me. (Stay with me here, I promise it's not hard.)
1. You can pray. I am Christian and I believe that God listens to people and change does actually happen because people pray. I know, it's not logical, but I've seen it happen time and time again. I believe that God listens to each person when they pray. Even if you're an atheist and don't believe in God, if you put this out there, the idea that you want this situation to change, I personally believe that God will hear you. That's some power.
2. You can write letters. OH ACK, you say, no I can't. I don't have time!! Well, wait a minute. It's been made really easy for you. Go on ChainStoreReaction.com. There are prewritten letters to a skadzillion corporations demanding in a very polite fashion that these corporations make changes in their labor policies, that they monitor their vendors for breaches in human rights, and that they have transparency in their supply chain. All you have to do to send letters is fill in your information once and then click away--this can be done on a laptop while watching your favorite TV show. See, easy!
3. You can contribute. I'm not talking about being the next major philanthropic donor to a worthy cause, I'm talking about giving small amounts on a regular basis to an abolition organization. There are many who are doing a great job. I'll list a few right here: Not for Sale, Call and Response, Stop Child Trafficking Now, Hagar Project, Trade as One. If you go Looking for Starfish's website (www.LookingforStarfish.com), you will find links to many other worthy organizations.
4. Consume wisely. I have shopped in consignment stores and have found incredible bargains. I found designer shoes for $20.00 which were essentially brand new. There are places to buy things such as a store I found off Union Square in San Francisco called a Miner Miracle. This is a non-profit store that carries designer duds which have been donated for the purpose of helping women get off the street or out of foster care and into employment. Do the best you can not to buy things from countries known to exploit human labor. Do buy items from survivors of slavery. See HagarProject.org or MadebySurvivors.com.
5. Talk about it with people. Chat on Facebook. Research it on the web and share links on your FB status.
6. There is a national hotline run by Polaris Project. If you even remotely suspect forced labor or sex trafficking (because it exists in our own neighborhoods, believe me!!), call 888-373-7888. And as David Batstone, the co-founder of Not for Sale, says, "Don't be a stupid abolitionist." Don't be jumpin' into situations you know nothin' about! Call the hotline. They know how to deal with these things: there could be a sting operation already in effect. It is very important to report suspected human trafficking and it is important not to be stupid. It's difficult to convict traffickers, so let the experts do what they know how to do and you and I need to just keep our eyes open and be aware.
Well, that might be enough empowerment for today. Stay tuned at Looking for Starfish, though, because that's what we're all about. Follow the blog for more ideas at LookingforStarfish.blogspot.com. God is good and He is on our side. Can't go wrong there.
Lastly, keep up the conversation with us, here at Looking for Starfish. We love to hear from you.
