Mental Post-Its

Thoughts, Notes, and General Mental Mayhem

Tag Archives: human trafficking


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2013 As An Abolitionist

photoIt was a big year to be an abolitionist. I really wish I’d been ready for it! There were milestones and celebrations and remembrances—some worldwide, some national and some just for me. Over and over, I was given opportunities to honor the work that has been done, rejoice in the part I’ve played, and prepare for the fight still ahead.

Here’s a look back:

  • 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
  • 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address
  • 50th anniversary of the March on Washington
  • 50th anniversary of the death of JFK
  • Passing of Nelson Mandela
  • Got more involved with Not For Sale Georgia.
  • Took Out of Darkness training, and began volunteering for Solomon House.
  • Attended Lobby Day.
  • I heard Jason Russell speak for the first time.
  • I heard Mary Francis Bowley speak for the first time.
  • I heard Rebecca Stevens and John Richmond speak, both new to me.
  • Gave $25 to Kiva to help lift someone out of poverty, a factor in those at risk for slavery.
  • Saw Lincoln in the theater
  • Release of the movie, The Butler
  • Release of the movie, 12 Years a Slave
  • I read a lot of great books on the movement.

Overall, it was a good year to be an abolitionist. I feel really confirmed in playing a role to end slavery.

Looking forward to see what 2014 has in store.


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We sit.

113723895Today was my first time volunteering over at Solomon House. What did I do? I sat. I watched a movie with the newest resident, a sweet girl in need of love, care and a fresh start. I’m really good at watching movies, so I fit right in. And turns out we both like Will Smith.

It wasn’t glamorous or full of deep life-changing conversation. We exchanged a few words, but not much. After a little time passes, she might not even remember I was the one there with her. And all that’s ok. She is beginning her time of restoration, and it’s a slow process. She needs to take baby steps, and if that means sleeping in and getting up to a movie, that’s totally fine. It sounds a lot like my Saturday mornings, in fact, so I highly recommend. For her, it’s a move toward normalcy and there’s a lot to be said for that, especially coming out of prostitution.

As we were sitting there, a scene from the movie Lars and the Real Girl came to mind. If you’ve never seen it, you must do so immediately. It’s a darling of a movie, and more people should know about it. There are probably easily 100 lessons that could be learned from that film, but this one has popped into my head on a number of occasions.

In the scene, it’s a time of mourning for Lars. A few women from his church come over to bring him some food and be of comfort to him. To be honest, it’s not a big part of the movie. Most people probably wouldn’t remember it. It’s this tiny, little conversation before and after bigger incidents. but it’s the one that stuck with me the most for some reason.

Sally: We brought casseroles.

Lars: Thank you.

Lars: [Lars looks around the sewing circle. The three ladies are knitting and doing needlepoint] Um, is there something I should be doing right now?

Mrs. Gruner: No, dear. You eat.

Sally: We came over to sit.

Hazel: That’s what people do when tragedy strikes.

Sally: They come over, and sit.

On the way over to the house this morning, I prayed that God would give me the words to speak that would encourage and comfort her. It turns out, all I needed to do was sit. I wasn’t at a loss for words, they just weren’t needed. I only needed to be present. She’s been lonely, and needs to know people care about her and believe she can make it through this difficult transition. I think sometimes we try too hard to come up with the right things to say when people are hurting, but mostly, the best thing we can do is be there for them. Sometimes our intentions can make the most difference.

Other women will be visiting her throughout the upcoming week. I imagine every visit will be a little different. Some of those may very well be the deep, life-changing conversations. They may be encounters that she remembers for the rest of her life. They may be done by women who will stay in her life for years to come. But this morning she wanted to watch a movie, so that’s what I did.

I was there. I was present. I was there if she wanted to talk, and I was there if she didn’t. And I’m really looking forward to going back and doing it all over again. If needed, I’ll sit again.

(By the way, if you care to donate to Solomon House, the items most needed at the moment are: PJs, bras, Celebrate Recovery Bibles, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, His Princess by Sheri Rose Shepherd, and gift cards to things like grocery stores, movies, restaurants, etc.)


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You’re Invited! (Not For Sale GA Quarterly Meeting)

Not For Sale Georgia Quarterly Meeting

Thursday, November 15, 2012

7-9 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

M. Rich Building in Downtown Atlanta (Parking will be validated for the adjacent garage only.)

Please RSVP

 

You may think you only vote during election season, but that’s not true. You vote every day with the choices you make, including the products you buy. You have significant purchasing power, and what you do with your dollars tells companies a lot about what is important to you.

Join us at our next Not For Sale Georgia quarterly meeting as we focus on ethical shopping just in time for the holidays. Ethical shopping is done through a safe supply chain, which simply means that the items you buy were made without slave labor. From the raw materials to the finished product, all workers were treated fairly, paid a livable wage, and not forced or coerced to perform their job. Sadly, with over 30 million slaves around the world living today, you may find yourself surprised to know the reality of how your chocolate, clothes, soap, lamps, toys, electronics and anything in-between came to be.

Hear first-hand from companies who strive for a safe supply chain, and learn easy steps that you can take to purchase with purpose. We’ll also debut our Ethical Buying Guide featuring 250+ local, regional and national brands. And we’ll recap member’s of our core team’s experience to the Global Forum.

Driving Directions

Enter 115 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 into your GPS or Google maps.

Follow directions to the address. You will need to park in the adjacent Underground Atlanta Parking deck. This deck is at the corner of Pryor Street and MLK Jr Dr. Be sure to note where Pryor Street is relation to your directions. Enter into the deck from MLK and park. Exit the parking deck onto MLK and go to your right. The building will be at your right, we will have a sign outside the door. We will have parking validation for this deck only available for all event attendees.

MARTA Directions

Alternatively you may use MART. Get off at the Five Points Station, and take Peachtree Road South to MLK Jr. Drive. Turn left and walk down to 115 MLK (building will be to your left).

About Not For Sale

Not For Sale is a campaign of students, artists, entrepreneurs, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, skilled professionals, and all justice-seekers united to fight the global slave trade and end human trafficking.
The campaign aims to recruit, educate, and mobilize an international grassroots social movement that effectively combats human trafficking and modern-day slavery through “Smart Activism.” It deploys innovative solutions for every individual to re-abolish slavery–in their own backyards and across the globe.


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Not for Sale Quarterly Meeting

This morning I attended Not For Sale Georgia‘s quarterly meeting. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the three-day conference they hosted just a few weeks ago because it was opposite Orange Conference. But this quarterly meeting was a way to catch up on what’s happening here locally. There was a lot of really great information presented, as always, so I thought I’d recap a few points here for any of my fellow abolitionists who were unable to attend.

  • The Global Forum on Human Trafficking will take place on November 1-2, 2012. I’m really hoping to be able to attend this year as I think it would be an unforgettable experience.
  • Think slavery doesn’t touch your community? Take a look at slaverymap.org to see cases reported all over the world. Of course, these are only some of the cases that people have taken the time to input. There are thousands of others that go unreported or unrecorded on this map.
  • A guest speaker from Tapestri in Tucker spoke on their organization, mission, victim tragedies and survivor stories. It is an amazing organization doing incredible work. I need to look into them a little more. There seems to be a lot of great information on their site local to Atlanta and Georgia.
  • Orange Label Denim will be coming to Atlanta this year. It’s a sustainable denim company that will have fair labor practices. I’m excited to hear more about them as they launch. And they need to be at The Orange Conference with us next year!
  • There is a Trafficking in Persons app that you can download as an info source. This App is intended to provide training and reference material about the realities of Trafficking In Persons (TIP). This training was created by the Office Under the Secretary of Defense (OUSD) and is intended to increase public awareness of TIP, and to help serve to end it.
  • Out of Darkness was mentioned again, and it reminded me to check them out. I absolutely hate that Atlanta and Georgia rank so high in modern-day slavery incidents, but I’m always excited to hear how many organizations we have here dedicated to ending it.
  • Buying power was discussed as it has been before. We are all encouraged to “buy differently” meaning to support socially conscious brands. I have been trying to do more of this since working at Captain Planet Foundation but have incorporated it even more after becoming aware of modern-day slavery. One place you can check isFree2Work. Granted it is just getting off the ground so it’s a little limited now, but it’ll grow. Sometimes you just have to do a little leg work and research to trace a product’s supply chain. I have even sent emails to stores I frequent asking about their products and policies, as well as encouraging them to stock more of these items. It takes some getting used to, but it does get easier with time…just like taking your own grocery bags into the store. If you aren’t sure where it comes from and how it’s sourced and made, try not to buy it. It’s always a good rule of thumb to buy fair trade or organic products, though. I realize this action also takes getting used to because it is more expensive. But if it’s cheap, there may be a good reason for it. It could very well be exploiting the laborers. Chocolate is a great example. It’s taken a lot of effort to make this switch in my life because anything that contains cocoa or chocolate may be harmful, and that includes A LOT of items, speaking as a chocoholic. I know I spend a lot of money on groceries and other items comparatively due to these choices, but I really want to not only feel good about the products, clothing, etc, that I use but I also want to do good with it. I want to know I’m not harming another individual’s life due to choices that I can control. My purchase power gives me a big voice.

I also recently finished listening to Not For Sale, the book by David Batstone that launched the organization. You can read an excerpt here: NotForSale_Introduction. It’s a remarkable and eye-opening book. I highly recommend. The organization’s main website also serves as a great resource and also has a small store of products that support them. I’m really proud to support this group, and count myself as an abolitionist among them.

Ok, that’s it! There was more but these are the highlights in my opinion. Read up and get involved! We could use your help!


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Be Passionate

I think a lot people are bored with their lives. I think there are a lot of people not living a good story. I think a lot of people just coast through life, trying to make it from one goal to the next. They may not even understand why they are always looking to the next “thing” but trying to get there because society, or their friends, or their family, or some external source tells them it’s what they need to do. Maybe it’s a promotion. Maybe it’s a significant other. Maybe it’s a child. Maybe it’s a new career. Maybe it’s just one day of peace. Sadly, I think this describes an overwhelming number of people. Sometimes, I think it even describes me.

And it’s not terrible to have those days, except when you have them. But if you have them a majority of time, do something about it. Become passionate.

I just finished watching the movie, “Trade” on human trafficking. I’m kinda circling more of those movies right now because I just finished the book, Not for Sale. My stomach was in knots the whole time, and it wasn’t because of the plot turns or the characters, it was because of the issue. I wanted to jump through the screen and do something about it. A few years ago, when I was first introduced to the concept of human trafficking, and the fact that slavery still exists, I was left speechless and hurting. It gripped my heart like almost nothing else, and has not let go.

If you read this blog or talk to me, you know I have a real passion for the issue. I’m always trying to learn more. I support organizations that fight the issue. I give money. I share my knowledge with others. I want to do more. I need to do more. I’m compelled to do more. And now that I know about the issue, I must. I can’t turn away from it. My heart and my God won’t let me.

But this isn’t a post about human trafficking. It’s a post about passion. My point is that the days I invest time in this issue, I’m not coasting. I have purpose, and a fiery passion. I swear my red hair even gets redder! I want this trafficking to be a non-issue, and I’m doing my part to make that happen, in my lifetime or in the future. The point is that I’m involved.

What are you passionate about? What are you actively doing about it? What breaks your heart? What makes you happy? What cause can you give yourself to in order to live a better story?

There are lots of great ones out there. I know people who have a passion for clean water…adoption law…mentoring…literacy…fatherlessness….homelessness…autism…poverty…foster care…human rights…the elderly…hunger…or even just the betterment of one individual person at a time.

There is no shortage of problems, just of people willing to help. One reason I absolutely love the Millineal generation is because they are doers. They want to be in the thick of things solving problems. I find that not naive, but admirable. We could all learn from that.

I am a Christian first and foremost. And Jesus gave us the example of helping others. I want to be like Jesus. He doesn’t call us to an easy life filled with safety, security and comfort. He calls us to a radical life. Safety, security and comfort are not the reward. They were never promised to us as believers. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a promotion, or a spouse, or a nice home, or any of that stuff we’re supposed to want as part of the American dream. But if that’s my focus, I’m missing the mark. I may have a excitement over some of those things, maybe even passion. But they are still all external. They are not in themselves going to cause me to live a better story. I want to do radical things. I want a radical life.

We all crave to be a part of something bigger. God is written on our hearts, and that means that craving is part of us. But what will we decide to do with it? I imagine some people just bury it, stuff it down. Or dull it with some sort of substance. And then, unfortunately, too many people go looking in the wrong places to satisfy the craving, whether it be something more (or less) taboo like sex or drugs…or even as simple as affirmation from people we admire. We want to belong. There’s nothing wrong with that. But we are all given gifts to use for something. What are you using your gifts for? It’s a great feeling to use your gifts for something great and meaningful. It’s a tragedy to waste them.

What do your days look like? Are they filled with excitement and adventure? A lot of us really desire that. Or are you just passing your days, getting from one to the next, hoping the next will be better. Looking forward to the weekends, or the game on TV, or going to the bar with friends.

I have a theory. Well, I have a lot of theories, but just one for today.

I think the people who pay for sex (the “John’s”), whether legally or illegally, are bored with their life. I think they do what they do to feel excitement or even to dull a pain that’s inside them. I think if they had a real passion, and would give themselves to a cause greater than themselves, they’d do things differently. Believe me, I know it’s not that cut and dry on either side, but I think it’s a start. I think if they actually started living with a passion, instead of trying to manufacture a false sense of it, it would change the way they live and think.

I have some friends, Rocio and Jose, who are half Puerto Rican. I used to laugh at them both all the time because Rocio would say how passionate Perto Ricans are, and let me tell you, the two of them are walking references. I can’t imagine what they’d be like if they were full Puerto Ricans! They are bundles of endless energy who throw themselves into whatever they are doing and supporting. Luckily, they have really great mission fiends to channel that energy. But it was just fun to watch them. Those are the people you are drawn to. Those are the people living life.

Passionate is compelling. Passion is overwhelming. Passion gets things done. Passion is worth living each and every day for.

So, I ask you, why would you want to live a life of anything else? It just seems so meaningless. Keep your Mercedes. Keep your stock options. Keep your two-story home. I want passion. And you can’t buy that. But you know what, you can access it. It’s within you. God has placed it within all of us. Give it a try. (And let me know how it goes.)

Find out what you love. Find out what you hate. Tap into it.

Be passionate.

Edmund Burke once said, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”