International Boulevard

Since it is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and I only briefly mentioned the issue in my prior post, I thought I would share about a side of the problem close to home. Zoe Simone Yi and Rebecca Dharmapalan, two teenagers from Oakland School of the Arts, recently won the 2013 Girls Impact the World Film Festival with their 5 minute documentary on child sex trafficking in Oakland. The film in called "International Boulevard," which also happens to be the same street of the clinic / community center where I volunteer once a week.

I had noticed many young women on the street during my 3/4 mile walk from the BART each week, and I wondered if any of them were trafficked youth. Unfortunately, my intuition was likely correct. On any given night, it is estimated that 100 children participate in commercial sex work on International Boulevard alone, with reports siting some as young as 12 years old. In 2009, Oakland was labeled a high-intensity child prostitution area. Furthermore, the Bay Area as a whole, which includes San Francisco and San Jose, is believed to account for as much as 20% - 40% of sex trafficking in the United States. My understanding is that many of the U.S. citizen children that are trafficked within the country are runaways and/or foster youth fleeing from potentially abusive situations to begin with, which has particularly caught my attention as a CASA for foster youth.

A friend and coworker pointed out that the "International Boulevard" film focuses largely on police perspectives of the problem, and that bothered her. I definitely believe it is important for police to be aware of the complicated issues involved in commercial sex work, and I am happy to see that efforts are being made to get help for children trapped in sex trafficking, rather than criminalizing their circumstances. At the same time, prostitution in general is a very stigmatized profession, with an often strained relationship to law enforcement, so it would have been great to hear more from those who are able to talk about their own lived experiences, to give voice to the actual individuals affected. Of course, this may have been difficult to incorporate in this particular short film, given that (1) the producers are themselves youth, (2) victims are minors, and (3) even now-adult former victims may prefer to maintain their privacy. Alternatively, perhaps local community members or advocates from local nonprofits - both those that provide healing services and those that fight to prevent future trafficking - might have added another perspective to the mix. Although the police necessarily have an integral role in ending human trafficking, there are many other groups also working to meet the needs of youth in the context of sex trafficking. Furthermore, many of the best solutions to community problems involve community members expressing the strengths and needs they see, brainstorming interventions and preventive measures, and taking ownership and responsibility for implementing of the best ideas. My main point is that in considering the issue of sex trafficking, we should keep in mind that there are multiple viewpoints on what constitutes trafficking, a wide array of opinions on how it can best be stopped, and a host of varied experiences by the women (and men) who have lived through it.

For those looking for a little more breadth of information from a few other perspectives, I highly recommend "Oakland struggles to protect children from sex trafficking," an article from Aljazeera America.

Regardless of the above critique of the short documentary, I think it is commendable that local youth are getting involved in important problems and raising awareness. And what a testament to their hard work that they won first prize! I hope that their documentary, and all of the press that the Bay Area has received for the child sex trafficking problems here, will lead to better programs and policies to prevent trafficking, as well as an increase in awareness and action among teachers, families, friends, neighbors, law enforcement, community organizations, and activists to end this injustice!

"Emotional" Is Not a Dirty Word

Image from Google.com search

A couple months ago, in an online discussion about a complicated issue, a friend told me that if I did not have all the facts, any argument or opinion I had could "only be emotional." When the conversation was over, that one phrase really got me thinking.

Let me start by saying I do not believe that statement to be the categorical truth, as there have been many times in life when I have had to make a judgment call on what I do not know based on what I do know; as a mere mortal, it is hard for me to think of many situations when I literally know everything that could inform my opinion or decision. Basing an opinion on known facts and feelings, in recognition of many unknowns, is far from "only emotional." But my friend did have a point in some way. Sometimes having half the facts leads to incorrect and even dangerous assumptions.

But as I thought about it more, something bigger started bothering me than whether or not I needed all the facts to hold an opinion or take an action on something. I realized that the word emotional had been thrown into the conversation with a tone of disdain. As a person who majored in mathematics in my undergraduate days and has loved intellectual debate from as early as I can remember, I realized that I too have often put that which can be proven by logic on a pedestal. I too have used the word emotional as if it were an insult, as if my factual understanding of an issue were superior to any sort of emotional reasoning. Yet as I have grown older and have learned more about life, my path has increasingly shaped me into a person who relies on emotion to relate to others and make decisions. If fact-based reasoning is the pinnacle of understanding, I have to wonder why, as I have (theoretically) grown more mature, have I more deeply valued human emotion, including my own?

I have to admit that I can see many ways in which emotion can lead individuals to make poor decisions or to draw poor conclusions. Emotion has led many a person into an unhealthy relationship, supported poor public policies that seem to treat any odd scapegoat as the enemy, reinforced negative lies that people believe about themselves, preceded hurtful words spoken in the heat of an argument, and the list goes on and on. So I would never say that we should let our emotions rule our lives, or they would almost certainly take over our ability to be peaceful and patient. But does that mean we should then ignore or devalue emotions?

This is where I have to say no. Many emotions are valuable, give evidence of our purpose, and provide unique understanding of the world around us. Experiences of compassion, empathy, love, laughter, and fun are inextricably linked with emotion!

As an example, one issue that really made this clear to me is child sex trafficking. Certainly, one could try to make an intellectually logical argument why we should fight against this industry as a matter of policy, apart from using emotions. For example, perhaps one could try an economic argument about women needing to finish their education to grow their skill sets and to provide better opportunities for themselves and their children, thus improving the overall economic productivity of their countries. Of course, they are less likely to go to school if they are being trafficked for sex at a young age. So if you ran the numbers and saw a good economic result with decreased trafficking, this might prove that fighting trafficking at a policy level makes logical sense. Great! But what if the numbers said that a given country brings in more money by hosting foreign pedophiles who stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, take taxi's, and pay for sexual services, as compared to the economic potential of educating the young trafficking victims? Would it change your view on whether or not we should combat child sex trafficking? For me, the answer is a clear "no," because my primary issue with human trafficking was never about the policy logic; it is more of heart issue.

When I think about children forced to have sex with older men multiple times a day, I feel a gut-wrenching sadness and anger over this injustice deep in my soul, and I know that the logic-based arguments ring hollow compared to the emotional reality. This sense of empathy and valuing of human life far outweighs any bullet-pointed list of non-emotional logical reasons to end this evil. In fact, if I heard someone making an appeal to end human trafficking without any touch of emotional connection, I think I would find myself considering that person unreasonable and irrational.

And from that example, this is what occurred to me. Sometimes emotions are the most rational, logical, sane thing we put forth in response to this world. Sometimes our emotional relationship to an issue leads us to the best conclusion, especially in the midst of conflicting logical evidence. And just like the host of ways our emotions can lead us astray that I listed at the start of this post, sometimes our unemotional logic can lead us astray. Sometimes our unemotional logic causes us to hurt people, because we do not consider the potential repercussions of our actions or policies. Sometimes our unemotional logic decreases our ability to communicate with others. Sometimes our unemotional logic blinds us to ethical and moral considerations that need to take priority. And sometimes it doesn't.

Neither emotional reasoning nor purely factual reasoning necessarily define who is right and who is wrong on a given topic or in a particular situation. Neither provides all the right answers on its own. Rather, both are integral to understanding the world, making sound decisions, and leading an abundant life.

Today I will declare.....

"Emotional" is not a dirty word!

Berkeley Application Essay #2: Statement of Purpose

Yesterday, I posted my first application essay for the Berkeley Masters of Public Health program in Health and Social Behavior. Today, I want to post the second essay, which is the longer of the two and is called the "Statement of Purpose." I hope that these two essays can give you a sense of where I hope to go in the future and may even inspire you to pursue your own passions and dreams. The prompt for this application essay was as follows:

Your Statement of Purpose should explain what has brought you to pursue graduate training in Public Health. It should also explain your eventual career goals and why you need a degree in your specific program. It may also explain why you are pursuing this degree now, and why at Berkeley. Please be sure to check your program’s page, as some programs have specific prompts they like you to follow. If a prompt is not listed, please follow these guidelines.

My specific program in Health and Social Behavior also added the following:

[We are looking for a] Statement of Purpose that explains why the applicant is interested in HSB versus other areas, and how this program would build on prior experiences (if applicable) and contribute to his or her career goals. 1500 Word Limit.

In reality, I am not 100% certain what I want to do in future, although I hope that it will have something to do with serving people or communities who have been treated with or have otherwise lived with a sense of indignity due to circumstances related to health concerns. However, to write a compelling and concise essay, I felt that I had to focus on one potential career path that I found particularly interesting, so I chose to focus on  mental health as a result of traumatic events. In large part, this was an issue that was on my heart at the time, and I think it is highly likely that my career will take me in this direction in actuality. However, as I enter my two years at Berkeley, I am also very open to learning about other aspects of human health and wellness, and I have open hands for any calling that comes through this learning.

I also want to give a special thanks to the loved ones who read my essays, highlighting the strengths and commenting on areas for improvement, all of whom really helped me hone in on exactly what I wanted and needed to say: my husband Matthew (probably the most prolific reader of my essays), my parents, my in-laws, and especially my dear friend Christine, who helped me see which areas could be cut out and which ones needed to be elaborated, resulting in a work reflecting my own heart and interests in a much better way.

One last note: I had to remove portions of one sentence and alter a couple of other sentences below for the blog-version of this essay, in order to protect the privacy of programs and people mentioned. I included certain details about my experiences in the original essay to highlight my background and exposure to various health topics, but did not reveal personal details about the identities of those involved. However, in this version, I would like to provide further protection for those programs and individuals, since this is a public forum.

So anyway, here it is:

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Statement of Purpose: Trauma and Mental Health Justice

Throughout my life, I have had three core parts of my identity that I have actively incorporated into my activities and choices: (1) an intense enjoyment of mathematics and analytical thinking; (2) a love of creative expression; and (3) a profound desire for justice in the world. These aspects of my nature have often come into conflict, vying for my time and attention. After considering how these characteristics might cease competing and instead work together to make me a more effective agent of change, I am confident that attending Berkeley’s prestigious School of Public Health will enable me to harness my wide-ranging experiences and thrive in the promotion of health justice.

During my undergraduate career at Duke University, each of the facets of my identity was manifest in a different area of my life. When I was selecting a major, for example, I had difficulty choosing between the formidable analytical challenge of mathematics and the creative outlet of English. Ultimately, I decided to major in mathematics and minor in English, mirroring the diversity of experience I have intentionally pursued. Furthermore, I engaged these various aspects of my personality through collegiate extracurricular activities. My most meaningful endeavor was membership in a campus ministry, through which I was able to put my desire for justice into action from a spiritual foundation, by guiding a team of students in planning community service events.

In addition to my on-campus activities, I studied abroad in Ecuador. During this time, I explored the social sciences exclusively (all in Spanish) and learned about the application of justice in another society. As I studied Ecuadorian colonialism, I began to recognize how a country’s history and culture can foster pervasive systemic injustice for generations. When I traveled to the Amazon, I saw how the health and livelihoods of entire people groups were disregarded as corporations inappropriately disposed of toxic waste; I learned that virtually no Afro-Ecuadorians attain a university education, largely as a result of ongoing racism, lack of resources, and coastal isolation; I visited Baca Ortiz Children’s Hospital and was shocked that the free public facility not only had few antibiotics or surgical supplies available, but also no hand soap, so that poor families who had traveled great distances had to purchase these items independently or go without treatment. These experiences began to cultivate my passion and desire to alleviate health disparities.

I have now held two roles at Aetna, a national health insurance carrier, most recently as a medical economics consultant. When I began working full time three and a half years ago, I knew that I would develop my analytical skills and business acumen. What I did not anticipate was how my newfound broader understanding of health care would make me increasingly distressed by the gaps in care that plague our world. The injustice I first glimpsed studying abroad has been even more starkly highlighted through my career, as I work in health insurance, volunteer locally and internationally, and conduct research to write my health issues blog (www.mindbodymusings.blogspot.com).

Although I have enjoyed the challenge and success of my time at Aetna, I now realize that my work is almost exclusively focused on the use of my analytical skills and not on the other aspects of my identity. And more importantly, my current role is many steps removed from the insurance members I am serving, even more isolated from the fifty million Americans without health coverage today (before the landmark health care reform bill takes effect), and still more remote from the billions of people receiving inadequate health care worldwide. I am now certain that many health concerns need to be addressed at the community level. And this is where I would like to be involved.

In particular, I have seen that mental health is a crucial part of overall well-being that is not given the priority it deserves. The Mental Health Parity Act was signed into law in the United States in 1996, yet sadly, recognition of the importance of mental illness is still in the process of gaining traction in our culture; many other parts of the world have no such laws, offer fewer services, and/or lack a conception of mental illness as a public health concern in general. Therefore, my husband and I have a vision to go abroad for at least two years to work with an international non-governmental organization, assisting women who have mental health afflictions as a result of traumatic experiences, such as rape, abuse, war, or trafficking.

On a recent two week trip to Cambodia to work with Agape International Missions on the issue of child sex trafficking, I learned that the Khmer Rouge government of the 1970’s killed one fourth of the population of the country, including nearly all health care professionals. For the last forty years following this traumatic period, Cambodia has had virtually no mental health services and retains many scars from the time of the regime. Children who were once persecuted by the Khmer Rouge, or even those who were recruited to torture and kill, are the parents of today. This backdrop has contributed to a high prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder and to cultural views about human life that feed into the pervasiveness of human trafficking. After my experience in Cambodia, I am confident that community-focused mental health programs have the potential to alter the course of this nation.

Locally, I have volunteered for almost two years as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused youth in San Mateo County. Through this role, I have spent time mentoring and advocating in court for a child -------[rest of sentence removed for privacy]--------. I have seen the overwhelming consequences of trauma on the mind – and this in the lives of a children receiving intensive health services.

What happens, then, to women who have no such support?

In their book, “Half the Sky,” Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn share the stories of women who have endured great tragedy. I was particularly moved by their chapter about obstetric fistula, in which the authors explain how women without access to emergency obstetric care may endure life-altering injuries which they call the modern day leprosy. Many are then rejected by their families and communities, with no access to the surgery necessary to repair their bodies, nor to the mental health services that can mend their unseen wounds. As a first step to end this injustice, I have written about the issue on my health blog to raise awareness. But what I desire more deeply is to develop solutions that can help communities deal with the mental health consequences of child sex trafficking, obstetric fistula, or other such injustices.

A public health degree from Berkeley will equip me to take action that empowers women and communities to heal. Moreover, the health and social behavior concentration will enable me to understand how violent, neglectful, or discriminatory behaviors take root as accepted norms in communities, and to evaluate which interventions are effective in changing these practices or attitudes. I see a dearth of leaders engaging in community need-finding, researching what has worked elsewhere, formulating creative ideas, implementing programs, and analyzing the efficacy of steps taken. I want to stand in that gap.

On a longer term basis, I envision myself playing an ongoing role, either locally or internationally, in helping people and communities respond to traumatic mental health problems. I have seen first-hand that there is a continuing mental health crisis in the United States and the world, and I want to be a pioneer in creating solutions.

The health and social behavior program at Berkeley is among the best in the nation, and it is uniquely suited to help me evaluate and intervene in the social climates that contribute to traumatic mental health concerns. I am especially intrigued by the research of Professor Ozer, which spans mental health topics as diverse as maternal depression, relational violence, PTSD, and even “Micro-credit and mental health” in South Africa. I am also impressed by the work of Professors Herd, Corburn, and Holmes. Additionally, attending Berkeley will enable me to continue volunteering as a CASA with abused youth, and the Bay Area offers a plethora of local opportunities to help victims of trauma (such as human trafficking) or others suffering from mental illness.

In the future, I envision programs that acknowledge the importance of both physical and mental health needs. I envision communities that work together to overcome traumatic histories and unite to prevent trauma from afflicting multiple generations. I envision women who are empowered by freedom from the health consequences of traumatic experiences and who are actively engaged in changing the patterns of abuse in their communities. I desire to use my analytical skills, creativity, and heart for justice as catalysts in designing such social interventions. And I believe that my admission to the Berkeley School of Public Health is critical to making this vision a reality.

Berkeley Application Essay #1: Personal History Statement

I thought it might be fun to post the application essays I submitted for the MPH program at Berkeley to give anyone interested a small glimpse into where I hope to be headed through this degree. (Yes, they let me in!) This first essay I am posting is the shorter of the two and is called the "personal history statement." The prompt was as follows:

Your Personal History Statement gives you an opportunity to add some individuality and depth to the basic information contained in your Statement of Purpose. You may write about who you are as a person, about your family, your ethnicity, and the experiences that make you unique. This essay will play a large role in consideration for fellowships.

There is also a "personal statement guide" that lists other suggestions, such as discussing non-traditional educational backgrounds, cross-cultural experiences, ability to articulate the barriers facing women and minorities, etc. The limit for this essay was 4800 characters (which amounted to 649 words in my essay).

So without further ado, here is my personal history statement for the Health and Social Behavior concentration:

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A Cambodian proverb: Men are like gold; women are like white cloth. 

The implication of this axiom is that women have little intrinsic value, and once a woman is “dirty,” there is no way to redeem her. Men, on the other hand, are portrayed as naturally valuable, and their transgressions are easily erased. Some read this proverb and see a concise explanation for gender-based injustice in Cambodia; I perceive a complex set of circumstances, of which this is but a single layer. Recognizing the complexities of a problem, however, falls short of a plan to restore dignity. My passion is to help those regarded as “dirty cloth” realize their infinite worth, and I believe a graduate degree in public health will equip me to develop solutions that change lives. 

I recently had the opportunity to volunteer in Svay Pak, Cambodia, a destination village for pedophiles. Looking into the faces of young children, some of whom were sold nightly for sex, I saw a juxtaposition of beauty and human depravity. While the injustice of trafficking is evident, one of my greatest gifts is an ability to see the hidden complexities in a problem; Cambodia’s challenges are no exception. Let me explain. The issue of child sex trafficking is a mosaic with roots in dictatorial oppression, war, culture, poverty, and a lack of mental health resources. Among other factors, attitudes of disrespect for women (as described in the proverb) have contributed to the prevalence of trafficking in Cambodia, as well as the inability of victims to reintegrate into communities. These attitudes have allowed exploitation to perpetuate as a societal norm, creating a public health crisis. 

A simple-minded approach is to outlaw underage prostitution. But historically this alone has done little to change the environment. I believe a complex problem necessitates a multi-faceted solution, and it gives me hope that an organization such as Agape International Missions (AIM) has fostered change by taking this requisite seriously. Through victim recovery programs, job creation, community-building activities, and even a gym where perpetrators can interact with aid workers, AIM is having a transformative impact in Svay Pak. AIM’s efforts reveal that my eye for complexity need not lead me to despair, but can be a valuable tool as a public health professional in discerning how to assist women in mental health recovery toward becoming advocates of change in their own communities. 

I also recognize that complex situations resulting in disregard for human dignity are not unique to Cambodia. During my time studying in Ecuador, I saw my classmates disrespect their indigenous heritage, and I learned that few Afro-Ecuadorians attend college. In reading “Half the Sky,” I have been deeply troubled by indifference for women’s reproductive rights worldwide, including poor prenatal and emergency obstetric care. Through my job in health insurance, I have become critically aware of the millions with inadequate healthcare here in the United States. Locally, as I have volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, I have been grieved by the roles of mental illness and poverty in the child welfare system. I have even personally experienced the effects of being a “lesser-viewed” person, as a woman in the male-dominated field of mathematics. 

I believe my diverse experiences are not random, but have coalesced to uniquely shape my heart for all cultures, to open my eyes to intricacy, and to develop my desire to serve. As long as any person is perceived to be lesser than any other, or is held captive to unjust institutions that remain from such views, I feel called to dedicate my life to restoring human dignity through public health justice. Graduate school at Berkeley is a critical step in transforming my eye for complex problems and love for people into an ability to create adaptable solutions. One day, I hope to see the “white cloth” of the world revalued based on the “gold” inherent in every human spirit.


Update: Be sure to check out my second application essay, the "Statement of Purpose."

Human Trafficking Prevention Month Continued

Since it is National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention month, as I mentioned in a previous post, I would like to continue sharing about trafficking in my own back yard. This news report sheds some light on the problem as it is growing and changing today:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/on-air/as-seen-on/188795071.html

I find it especially heartbreaking that, as Betty Ann Boeving states, 60% - 70% of domestic trafficking victims are foster care youth. (Note: the phrase "domestic trafficking victims" here refers to trafficked individuals whose trafficking experiences originate in the United States, so these statistics would not include individuals who were brought to the U.S. from other countries.) Foster youth are much more likely to run away or may not have anywhere to go once they age out of the system. They are vulnerable to being kidnapped, or more commonly, to being picked up by someone on the streets who can "protect and provide for them." I also learned during my Court Appointed Special Advocate training that LGBT youth are more likely to be in the foster care system than their non-LGBT peers, due to a variety of factors, including conflicts with family over sexual orientation. They are also often vulnerable to being "kicked out of the house" by families and are therefore at higher risk for trafficking.

This is a real problem that is truly right down the street from many of us. One thing you can do to help is to become educated about the issue and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious (for example, many different men going to and from a home at all hours of the day and night - this type of observation has been how some trafficking rings have been uncovered!) If you are being trafficked, know of an instance of trafficking, or even have suspicions about something you saw, you can call the confidential Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline. You can also support organizations that are combating trafficking locally, such as the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition and the groups they work with. Or find organizations near you in other parts of the country through The Polaris Project. For additional information on international human trafficking issues, I would encourage you to check out International Justice Mission.

Human Trafficking and Slavery Prevention Month

January is National Human Trafficking and Slavery Prevention Month in the United States. In light of this, I thought it would be good to provide some additional information on what trafficking is.

What comes to mind when you hear the word "traffic?" Probably the highways on the way to your place of employment. And that would be a good start to understanding the meaning of the term "human trafficking." The word trafficking literally means the transportation of goods, and the common usage is typically for items which are intended to be used or sold illegally, although the word can also be used to describe legal trade or general commerce. For example, when someone smuggles guns into another country, we call that weapons trafficking, or when organizations transport drugs from a farm to a place of distribution, we call that drug trafficking. In the case of human trafficking, the language refers to the illicit transportation of people, and in the context of the modern day abolitionist movement, the trafficking being referred to is for the purposes of forced labor, sexual exploitation, or any other form of bondage. In other words, human trafficking is modern day slavery.

In recent years, the word trafficking has also been used to describe any form of slave-based commerce, even if it does not involve "moving people," including any child in the commercial sex industry. For example, in Cambodia, some children have been kidnapped or purchased from other countries (like Vietnam) to be prostituted for sex with pedophiles. Yet in many other cases, parents sell their children locally for sex on a nightly basis. In the case of the former, these children have been literally "trafficked" over a border, and in the latter case, these children remain local and may even go home to their families during non-working hours, but the term "child sex trafficking" is applied to them, as well, since they do not have the autonomy to make the decision not to engage in commercial sex work. For more information on child sex trafficking in Cambodia, visit www.agapewebsite.org, or read about my trip to Cambodia this summer here and here.

Adult men and women can also be forced into prostitution. For example, in Eastern Europe, one common tactic is for traffickers to recruit women for employment as waitresses or hostesses in other countries, only to sell them to brothels upon their arrival in the destination country. They are either physically locked up or are kept in brothels through other coercive means. These women are forced to perform sex work until they can pay off their travel and housing expenses, or are not given a future "out" at all.

Human trafficking occurs not only in the form of forced prostitution, however, but also in forced labor. For example, families may migrate from a poor rural area in search of employment and end up working in a factory under dangerous and threatening conditions. One way this can occur is through bonded labor, when families borrow money from a factory owner for initial expenses or food, but the system is set up such that their wages will never be enough to pay back the money owed, and they are therefore never able to leave. Often, the working conditions, hours worked, etc. are extremely unhealthy, and there may be a threat of violence if they try to escape. Some of the workers may be children.

Calimlim home, valued at $1.2M
http://www.jsonline.com/news/
waukesha/29322709.html

This can also occur with domestic or farm labor. A young man or woman may be promised a job on a farm, cleaning a home, or watching a family's children, but upon arrival, may be forced to work without pay and under the threat of violence. If they have been taken to work in another country, their passports will usually be held by their captors. With the threat of violence, no money, no identification, no network of friends or family, the threat of jail and deportation upon escape (whether real or made up by their employers), perhaps even little knowledge of their location or the native language, they are held in bondage. In 2009, for example, a Wisconsin husband and wife, both of whom were medical doctors, were prosecuted for bringing nineteen-year-old Erma Martinez to the United States from the Philippines in 1985 and forcing her to work in their home for years. According to the Department of Justice, "The victim testified that for nineteen years, she was hidden in the Calimlim's home, forbidden from going outside and told that she would be arrested, imprisoned and deported if she was discovered."

Erma Martinez
http://www.jsonline.com/news/
waukesha/29322709.html

Many countries have laws against human trafficking and slavery, yet little enforcement. Consider the dysfunction in the enforcement of even simple laws in some countries or cities. Have you ever driven in a city where there is no one enforcing driving laws, such that cars careen through intersections and veer in and out of lanes in a haphazard way? Similarly, in some places, there are often few, if any, officers enforcing human trafficking laws, or there may be corruption and bribes hindering the enforcement.

Trafficking is not something that occurs exclusively in foreign countries, however, as evidenced by the story of domestic servitude above. Nearby my own place of residence, San Francisco is considered one of the largest centers for sex trafficking in the world, with many massage parlors secretly operating as locales of forced prostitution. These businesses use a variety of methods to evade the law. Because trafficking is primarily "underground," it is unknown how many victims actually exist. According to a 2006 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, "Although it's not known how much money the San Francisco market generates for sex traffickers, federal agents confiscated $2 million in cash from 10 Asian massage parlors during a San Francisco raid in summer 2005."

Here is another excerpt from the 2006 article. (Note that these specific facts may be different by 2013, but this gives you an idea of the scope of the problem):

There are at least 90 massage parlors in San Francisco where sex is for sale, according to the online sex Web site myredbook.com. The site has been around since 1997 and has more than 55,000 reviews of Northern California sex workers. It is used by johns, yet is also a main monitoring tool for law enforcement. On average, there are about eight women working in a massage parlor, police say. That would mean more than 700 Asian sex masseuses working in San Francisco, based on 90 illicit parlors listed on sex Web sites and on police interviews. 

But the scope of sex trafficking in San Francisco is much larger -- women are also forced to work as escorts, outcall girls, erotic dancers and street prostitutes. Women are also placed in "AAMPs" -- Asian apartment massage parlors -- which are little more than apartments rented by traffickers who staff them with one or two sex workers. Business is done by word of mouth, and only customers approved by the owner are allowed in. 

Police in Livermore, Concord, San Mateo and Santa Clara have all found residential Asian brothels in their neighborhoods in 2004 and 2005.

One of the difficulties is that a brothel cannot be shut down unless money is proven to have changed hands for sex services, which may be difficult to show. Even the simple fact that someone is seen by an undercover officer in the middle of performing a sex act is not enough to demonstrate a commercial exchange. The massage parlor can be cited for other infractions, such as providing housing in a commercial building or inadequate ventilation, but that is only a short deterrent. Furthermore, it is difficult to prosecute traffickers, because women are often told by their captors that they will go to jail for confessing to prostitution (even forced prostitution) or for being in the country illegally. Sometimes the doors are not even technically "locked," but the threat of violence is so severe that women feel they have no choice but to stay. Jurors may have trouble understanding why a woman did not just walk out. Women are often too afraid of their traffickers to testify, and indeed, some who have testified in the past have disappeared, had their families threatened, or been maimed at a later time. Many of these "massage parlors" end up paying trivial fines for trivial violations and continue running.

One of the more detailed accounts I have read regarding this issue is the four-part series/special report, "Diary of a Sex Slave" in the San Francisco Chronicle. The first part of the report is the article quoted above. The full series details the increase in trafficking in the Bay Area and the specific account of a South Korean college student, You Mi Kim, who was trafficked to San Francisco and forced into sex work. If you have time, I would highly recommend reading parts one, two, three, and four. They are challenging readings and complicated by You Mi Kim's culpability in her initial financial difficulties from credit card debt, but the deception that led her to originally believe she would be working in a non-sexual industry represents the harsh reality for millions of people worldwide.

To learn more about personal stories and work being done on human trafficking in the Bay Area, consider attending the Freedom Summit in Fremont, CA January 25-26, 2013. Register here!

I believe that human trafficking is a true public health crisis affecting nearly every part of the world. I discussed a couple of ways to get involved in my previous posts about International Justice Mission's "Freedom Commons." See those posts here and here. For other ways to make a difference in the fight against trafficking and for more information on trafficking resources in your specific state, check out The Polaris Project.

Final (Belated) Cambodia Update

Letter co-written by Matthew & Kristen Campbell

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Bay Area! We wanted to (finally) write to give an update about our trip to Cambodia this past summer. We really appreciate your prayers and support and want to let you know about how God is working in Cambodia and in us.

Our experiences on this twelve-day trip included some light-hearted ones in which we experienced some interesting aspects of Cambodian culture, and others which broke our hearts as we learned about some of Cambodia’s violent history.  On a lighter cultural note, we both tried fried tarantula (Matthew popped a whole spider in his mouth just like the picture of our friend Mark to the left!), and we each had a bite of durian cake, which is made from a notoriously stinky fruit. We also learned how silk is made by hand!

Perhaps the deepest impressions, however, were left by our visits to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the killing fields, as we learned that around 25%-35% of the population of Cambodia was killed during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970’s. At the start of the regime, all of the cities were evacuated, with people being told they could return home in a few days. In reality, families were forced into years of agricultural labor in the countryside, with the hope of developing a Communist agrarian society. Intellectuals, doctors, teachers, monks, even those who wore glasses (which were believed to represent education, wealth, or elitism), as well as anyone who opposed the regime leader (Pol Pot), were killed as enemies of the state. At Tuol Sleng prison (a former school), people were interrogated and tortured, sometimes by soldiers as young as twelve years old, and then taken to the countryside to be brutally murdered and left in mass graves (which are known as the killing fields). Out of nearly 20,000 people that went through Tuol Sleng, there were only seven survivors. Moreover, Tuol Sleng is just one of many interrogation prisons that were located throughout the country. Many other Cambodians who were not killed directly died of disease or starvation due to harsh working and living conditions in the countryside. The individuals who lived through this experience are now the parents and grandparents of today, and we learned that this historical backdrop is an important part of understanding the problem of human trafficking in Cambodia.

So what did we actually do in Cambodia? We primarily partnered with Agape International Missions (AIM) to run “Kids’ Club” at the Rahab’s House community center in a town called Svay Pak.  This town is known to be a “destination location” for pedophiles. At Kid’s Club, we sang songs, danced, told Bible stories with puppets, and did arts and crafts with the children. We were told that five years ago, nearly every one of the of the children in Svay Pak was being trafficked (sold for prostitution).  The very community center where we were holding Kid’s Club was a former brothel of underage prostitution that AIM and International Justice Mission (IJM) helped to shut down. Today, due to the work of a variety of nonprofit organizations, children in this town are much less likely to be abused; however, more work is left to be done.  The pastor at a new church in this village knew for certain that 17 girls in attendance at Kids’ Club were being trafficked. This represents tremendous progress, yet it was still heart-breaking to know that some of the six to twelve-year-old girls sitting in front of us were being forced to have sex with adult men (many of them “sex tourists” from the West) on a nightly basis.

In addition to Kids’ Club, we had time each day to use our individual gifts to assist AIM in a variety of ways. AIM recognizes that child sex trafficking is a complex issue requiring a multi-faceted solution, so they have a wide variety of ministries attacking the problem. For example, AIM runs a gym where pimps and traffickers can mingle with aid workers. As a result, some of these pimps and traffickers have renounced their former ways and are helping to turn other perpetrators around. Some of the men from our team got to spend time at the gym with the traffickers and have conversations with them.

Another important aspect of AIM’s ministry is the development of fair trade factories that provide formerly trafficked women (once they are sixteen years or older) with training in a trade.  One of the problems with child sex trafficking is that those who are rescued may feel that they have no skills besides prostitution, and ultimately believe they have no choice but to return to sex work for “good pay” or find work in a sweat shop for insufficient income. AIM is providing an alternative by opening factories that pay fair wages and provide a work environment which is much safer than most alternatives. These factories provide a living wage, family-style lunch, free child care, and one hour of education to workers each day. So far AIM has opened one factory and is aiming to have ten factories running within two years. Many members of our team had the opportunity to visit the first factory, and some members of our team used their experience in fashion design to consult on the clothing patterns being used, the methods of sewing being employed, the quality check processes, and the layout/design ideas. We also feel hopeful that over time, through both national economic change and through the education AIM is providing to the rescued women and to the children of Svay Pak, young people may have (and create) an even wider variety of economic opportunities in future. Perhaps some of the children we met will fill the vast gaps left by the Khmer Rouge regime's systematic extermination of the nation's professionals decades ago.

AIM also runs a school for grades K-12 and pays for the most promising students to attend local private schools after grade six. The students and teachers were eager to learn, and this is where we were able to help! It is a special treat for the students to attend arts classes between all of their academic study time. Matthew taught guitar classes every day for several hours, and Kristen taught a liturgical dance class. The Sunday before we left, one student played a guitar song during church, and the dance class (equal parts male and female) performed a worship dance in the Sunday service.

In between the Kids’ Club activities each day at AIM, our team also drove to several factories in the area, which manufacture bricks, to distribute clothing we had collected for the children. Some of these kids take a van to Kids’ Club every day, and they are easily identified by their extremely dirty clothing and their penchant to fall asleep, even during loud singing. These children live in one-room shacks and squalor, and many help their families make bricks in dangerous working conditions. Their joy at receiving the packages of clothing was tremendous, yet our hearts were heavy to know that their needs remain great each and every day.

Towards the end of our time in Cambodia, we had the opportunity to visit Agape Restoration Center, a home run by AIM for rescued victims of child sex trafficking. We planned a luau-themed party for the girls there, including a lunch together, nail and face painting, games, and more. It was a lot of fun, and it was very special getting to see how resilient these young women are!

Throughout the week, we also dropped in on some other organizations that are fighting trafficking in Cambodia, including Hagar International, International Justice Mission, and Bloom Asia (a cake business in Phnom Pehn—the capital city—employing formerly trafficked women). They explained some of the ongoing challenges, such as underage prostitution moving “underground” in recent years as a result of the success in shutting down child brothels. While the brothel closings show progress is being made, the underground activity is much more difficult to prosecute, and corruption remains rampant in Cambodia’s law enforcement. Despite these difficulties, we also felt encouraged as they shared about how each of their organizations is uniquely contributing to end child sex trafficking.

Overall, we feel that God showed us a lot about what He is doing in Cambodia and how much is left to be done. After returning home and pushing through traveler’s sicknesses, we have had more time to process; indeed the experience was very inspiring and eye-opening. We feel confident that God is calling us to serve abroad for about two years when Matthew finishes his graduate school program, although at this point we are still not sure in what part of the world that might be.  As part of our discerning process, our plan is to make a short-term trip to another country this coming summer. Perhaps God will ultimately point us to a new place for our longer term service, or He may send us back to Cambodia!

Our team also shared responsibilities for keeping a group blog throughout the trip, which details our daily events: http://www.mppcmission.org/trips/cambodia/2012aug/index.htm Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, and thank you again for your prayers and support!

In Christ,

Kristen & Matthew Campbell

Human Trafficking Hotline Flyer

A while back, I wrote about International Justice Mission's launch of the "Freedom Commons" webpage. This is a website showing steps that you as an individual can take to combat human trafficking. For example, the site provides form letters that you can send to your representatives in Congress regarding upcoming votes on trafficking-related legislation.

One thing I did recently from this site was to print out and post flyers in my community for the National Trafficking Hotline. These flyers provide information about what trafficking is and the phone number for a confidential toll-free hotline that you can call if you are a victim of trafficking or have suspicions about an instance of trafficking. Download the flyer here!

Also, after you print out the flyer and put it up, you can tag your efforts in an online interactive map here!

This is such an easy thing to do, yet it has the potential to change someone's life. So try it! Put up flyers at your workplace, church, community center, or other local establishment, and become a modern-day abolitionist!

IJM Launches "Freedom Commons"

Hi friends!

You may be interested to know that International Justice Mission (IJM) just launched a website to help us regular folks take action against human trafficking. Among the many resources on the site are opportunities to email the presidential candidates and/or your congressmen to make the issue of human trafficking a priority.

Check out the site, and please forward to others: http://freedomcommons.ijm.org/

Cambodia Trip Update #3

We leave tonight for the airport and depart at 1:40am on our way to Cambodia. We are very excited! If you would like to follow our progress throughout the trip, you can read our team blog here: http://www.mppcmission.org/trips/cambodia/2012aug/index.htm

Also, for anyone still interested in supporting our trip financially, Matthew and I are fully funded. However, one of the members of our team, Kasey Van Ostrand, is still raising support. She is a recent graduate still looking for work, so I know that any financial support raised will be very helpful for her. To support her, go to this link and click "donate here." Then select her name from the drop-down. http://www.mppc.org/calendar/cambodia-mission-trip

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Cambodia Trip Update #2

It is hard to believe that Matthew and I have about one month left until our trip to Cambodia. Needless to say, we are getting tremendously excited!

We were very encouraged at our Cambodia team retreat by the relationships being formed, the information we learned, and the planning for our service to the community. There is still a lot of work to be done, as some of our members prepare original child-geared lesson plans, games, crafts, and skits for the week of kids' club. Matthew and our friend Joyce So are also leading the musical worship, so they are in the midst of choosing songs and learning them. (I am getting annoyingly familiar with the YouTube versions of a number of child songs as Matthew picks them out on his guitar nightly.)  Personally, I am part of the team that is planning a party for rescued girls at the rehabilitation house and have been put in charge of decorations. (I would love suggestions for how to play up our Hawaiian Luau theme!) Once we get to Cambodia, all team members will participate in the various activities, but these are just the groups that have been assigned to do the preparation work. We got a good start on planning activities during the team retreat, but we all have to step up our game to make sure everything is ready before we go!

Please pray for continued team unity, effectiveness in planning and ministry, full financial funding for all of our team members, and growing hearts for the people of Cambodia.

We were also recently blessed by our bible study small group when one of our members/friends organized a get-together to share our hearts, discuss the details of the trip, and gain additional supporters. Our friends asked a lot of good questions and prayed over us in a meaningful and special way. We also had a lot of fun sharing a delicious potluck dinner and just hanging out with the people we have come to love in the Bay Area.

And in other news....Praise God! Shortly after the dinner with our friends, Matthew and I got word that we are fully funded at $5,800! Thank you so much for making this mission trip possible with your generosity and prayers!

For anyone who is still interested in partnering with us, please let me know, and I can add you to our list of prayer partners. Additionally, any extra funds raised by us above and beyond our personal fundraising goal will go to other members of our team who do not meet their respective fundraising goals.

We also have a dear friend, Joyce So, who is going on the trip with us, and she is still raising support. (She is the friend I mentioned above who is in charge of the music with Matthew. She is also a former teacher and is largely heading up the curriculum design for the kids' club.) If you had been thinking about donating but missed the boat before we were fully funded, please prayerfully consider directing funds her way! If you would like to make a contribution online, you can do so through our church's website. (Go to this red link, select "Donate Here," and choose Joyce So from the drop-down names.) Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check, please send it to MPPC Mission Dept. / Cambodia STM Trip / 950 Santa Cruz Ave. / Menlo Park, CA 94025 with a note indicating that it applies to Joyce So.

We have our vaccines done, our funds raised, and our detail planning in process. Now, we are just getting very excited to be on the ground in Cambodia! Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement, and financial partnership. And thank you for continuing to support us; we could not do this without you!

Cambodia Trip Update

Hello Friends!

Matthew and I wanted to provide an update on our progress toward the Cambodia Mission Trip, which I wrote about in more detail in a previous blog post. To summarize, we will be traveling to Cambodia August 15-17 to work with Agape International Missions around the issue of child sex trafficking in Svay Pak.

This weekend we are meeting with our team for a retreat to plan out activities for the trip and to spend time in prayer. As we pull away to prepare this weekend, you can be praying for us. Please pray that we would be productive in terms of planning, that the Lord would soften our hearts for the people we will be serving in Cambodia, and also that He would build a spirit of unity among the members of our team.

As far as support raising goes, thanks to generous donations from friends and family, we are funded at 27% of our $5,800 total goal, and we have a little over one month left to go. If you are considering partnering with us financially but have questions or concerns, please reach out to us. We are trusting the Lord to raise up a team of individuals who are passionate about justice and who long to see God's love reach all corners of this world.

Just to repeat some earlier information, our deadline for contributions is July 31. If you would like to make a contribution online, you can do so through our church’s website (go to this red link and then select “Donate Here”). Alternatively, if you would like to mail a check, please send to MPPC Mission Dept. / Cambodia STM Trip / 950 Santa Cruz Ave. / Menlo Park, CA 94025 with a note indicating that it applies to Matthew and Kristen Campbell.

Thanks again for your partnership and continued prayers!

Sincerely,
Matthew and Kristen Campbell

Cambodia Mission Trip

Dear Friends,

I am writing to tell you about an incredible opportunity my husband and I have to go to Cambodia this summer.

After Matthew has completed his degree (likely 2014), we believe that God is calling us to spend a couple of years serving abroad in missions. In the meantime, we are hoping to learn more about various parts of the world that interest us and to explore important issues that move our hearts, so that we can discern where God wants us to go and what He wants us to do when the time comes.

From August 15 - 27, we are thrilled to be taking a break from our typical routine to go on a short term mission trip to Svay Pak, Cambodia with a group from Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. We will be partnering with Agape International Mission in Svay Pak, a humanitarian organization founded in 1989 that focuses on preventing child sex trafficking and restoring hope to its victims. This is done through a holistic strategy of preventing the problem, rescuing the enslaved, restoring the broken, and equipping the Church so that sex-trafficking can be eliminated forever. You can learn more about the organization at http://agapewebsite.org. 

As you may know from previous blog posts, I believe that human trafficking is linked to human health in a profound way, affecting both the physical and emotional well being of its victims, particularly if those exploited are children. Svay Pak, the village where we will spend most of our time, is considered a notorious brothel district and a "destination location" for pedophiles, located a short drive outside the capital of Cambodia. Over the last five years, the government of Cambodia, assisted by a number of NGO's (such as International Justice Mission), has successfully shut down some of the brothels in the area that exploit children as young as five years old. Yet much is left to be done to eliminate this practice and to restore the community. It is believed that approximately one third of the prostitutes in Svay Pak are under age 18 and that as many as half are infected with HIV. Our friends who have gone to Svay Pak in past years have reported that pimps could sometimes be seen openly waiting outside the kids' club for the songs and games to be over in order to pick up the girls they traffick.

Our group will work with Agape to put on a daily kids’ club for the children of Svay Pak (where kids can just be kids), to plan a celebration at Agape’s safe house for recovering victims, to teach computer or other skills with which we have been gifted, to encourage those who are ministering in Svay Pak already, and to otherwise meet any needs of the community as we are able during our stay. And of course, we will be traveling not just to give to the community, but also to learn from the community - to build relationships, learn about the culture, understand their struggles, celebrate their strengths.

In order for us to go to Cambodia, we need to find a faithful group of people committed to praying for us before, during, and after the trip, in addition to raising approximately $2,900 each ($5,800 total) to pay for travel, lodging, and other ministry expenses. We would be honored if you would consider partnering with us on this mission to fight against human trafficking.

Would you be willing to join our prayer team and/or to support us financially? Donations are tax deductible, and any amount you are able to contribute is significant in helping us reach our fundraising goal. Donations can be made online at www.mppc.org/calendar/cambodia-mission-trip, or checks can be made out to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and mailed to:

Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

Cambodia Missions Trip

950 Santa Cruz Ave.

Menlo Park, CA  94025

For checks, please include a separate note in the envelope indicating that it should be designated towards Matthew & Kristen Campbell for the Cambodia mission trip. All donations are non-refundable and must be received by the church before July 31, 2012 to go towards our trip. Any donations received after that date will not go towards our trip and will instead be used for other mission endeavors at the church.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Kristen Campbell




Photo credit: http://renewalfellowship.presbyterian.ca/channels/r10061-1.html