A Beginning

Speak up for those who can not speak up for themselves;

Ensure justice for those being crushed.

Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,

And see that they get justice. Ps. 31:8-9 NLT

Welcome to the first posting on our new blog - Help Stop Human Trafficking.  About five years ago I started researching the coffee, tea and chocolate industries in preparation for purchasing a coffee shop. As I did research I discovered a lot of information on how coffee, tea and chocolate are grown and produced. I was dismayed to realize that coffee and tea are both products that are connected historically with poor treatment of the labor that produces them and that chocolate is connected with child labor and slavery. Over the last year or so I decided to revisit my original research and also branch out to looking at other facets of slavery and forced labor. This blog is my attempt to share the research, links and news releases of ministries and groups that work to stop slavery.

There are over 27 million people trapped in some form of slavery as I write this. I know that 27 million is a number too big to comprehend as written so let me put it another way; there are about 27,000,000 people living in the states of North Carolina, Virgina, Tennessee and South Carolina. Somewhere in the world; here, and probably in every other country on earth men, women and children are trapped in slavery (trafficking) - If we believe that as Christians we are placed in our generation for a purpose might it not be that one of this generation's callings is to work at bringing release to the captives literally? 

FYI - in the blog I will use the terms slavery and trafficking interchangably. More often lately the term trafficking is used to describe modern slavery. Both are defined by forced servitude that includes the belief on the part of the one enslaved that they have no choice but to obey. This obedience may be obtained by threats of physical violence or curses, threats against family, belief that there is no choice but to submit or physical restraint.