Five Weeks for Freedom: Fighting Modern-Day Slavery

By Clara Caruthers, published December, 2010

Until about three years ago, when I heard the word slavery, I would think of the past. But then I learned that 27 million children, women, and men are held in slavery today (Bales, Disposable People). This amount surpasses the total number of people enslaved during 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. Nearly two million of these 27 million individuals are children who have been sold into the global sex industry (UNICEF). Now when I hear the word slavery, I think of the present, and I wonder about the future. When I was first made aware of modern-day slavery, my initial reaction was paralysis. What could I possibly do in the face of an atrocity that looms so large? I am thankful that I was exposed to the reality of this problem at the same time that I learned that there are people who have devoted their lives to eradicating it. Namely, I learned about International Justice Mission (IJM.org), a human rights agency headquartered in Washington, D.C. that secures rescue for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression. These acts of violence are already illegal in the countries where IJM operates; the laws against them are just not enforced. According to the U.N. Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, four billion people are not adequately protected by their own justice systems. Working in thirteen countries, IJM lawyers, investigators, and social workers partner with local authorities to rescue those affected and provide aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators, and to ensure that local laws, police, and courts sustainably protect the poor from abuse. They bring freedom to families who for generations have been forced to labor in rice mills or brick kilns. They rescue children and women from forced prostitution. Through perpetrator accountability, IJM works toward structural transformation. The results theyve seen in numerous communities attest to the fact that combating violent oppression does not hinge upon arresting every criminal, but instead on arresting enough of these perpetrators to establish a credible deterrent to committing these crimes. This summer I had the opportunity to be a part of International Justice Missions efforts to seek justice for the oppressed. After Jim Martin, the Director of Church Mobilization for IJM, visited Stanford in February, I visited IJMs Facebook page and read about an awareness campaign that the organization was preparing to launch. In partnership with a nonprofit called Venture Expeditions, IJM was gearing up for Five Weeks for Freedom, an 1800-mile bike ride on the route of the Underground Railroad, from Mobile, Alabama to Buffalo, New York to raise awareness of human trafficking and to move people to action. I had been planning on applying for summer internships at other organizations, and I had never been on a road bike before, but I felt gripped by the feeling that this was the chance to do something about an issue that had been gnawing at me ever since I heard the number 27 million. I decided to apply to participate that night. When I went home for Spring Break, though, I began to second-guess my decision to be a part of the ride. My biking experience consisted of riding a pistachio-colored Jamis with a basket to and from class at Stanford, and I was going to have to train indoors on a spin bike since I would be studying abroad during Spring Quarter. Sure enough, the day I got a road bike, I proceeded to crash in the parking lot of the bike store when I tried to ride with clip-in pedals. What in the world had I gotten myself in to?

It turned out to be an experience that gave me a new perspective on modern-day slavery. Sean Litton, IJMs Director of Field Operations, biked with our team for the first week of the ride. As we pedaled up Alabama he shared stories of his experiences witnessing the conditions of slavery firsthand. Hearing the names of young girls who had been trafficked into brothels changed the way I perceived those 27 million. It made me think about specific individuals who were enslaved, which in turn rendered the monstrosity of the number that much more real. Yet while the horror of slavery intensified in my mind, the hope that surrounds this issue became even more real. A vivid example of this took place one day during lunch. The conversation that our team was having at the time reflected the fact that many of us were feeling the way we did when we first learned about modernday slaveryoverwhelmed and saddened. Then Sean got a phone call, and when he returned to the group he told us that he had received news that a group of girls had just been rescued from a brothel that they had been held captive in for years. Our spirits soared. This is the kind of rescue that is possible if we are willing to take a stand. Biking along the route of the Underground Railroad reminded me that 200 years ago, the abolition of slavery in the United States must have seemed like an overwhelming task to those who were against it. But the vastness of the problem did not stop individuals from becoming conductors along the Railroad to help slaves escape to freedom. As part of a modern-day abolitionist movement, IJM has secured rescue and provided relief for more than 14,000 people, and has helped thousands more by facilitating structural changes in public justice systems that preempt future oppression. A story about a village in Thailand stands out in my mind. After operating for a few years in this particular village, IJM investigators went undercover to the village brothels, posing as individuals looking to purchase children. In brothel after brothel, the owners told them that they no longer kept children because the police would shut them down. In an area in which numerous children had once been exploited, the number of minors trafficked into brothels had dropped 70%. For me, this village in Thailand will always be a concrete reminder that hope can transcend the horror of modern-day slavery, if we are willing to make the commitment to do something about it.