Aquila Network Blog

Throughout Scripture, God makes it explicitly clear that he “loves justice” (Ps. 37:28). We cannot, as followers of God, turn a blind eye to the acts of injustice that are being committed across the world.200 years ago, William Wilberforce could not turn a blind eye to the slave ships that were kidnapping Africans and taking them across the ocean to make them plantation slaves. Wilberforce spent his entire political career in England fighting to abolish the slave trade within the British Empire.

Fast forward to the 21st century and the problem of slavery is still with us. It may not be as blatant as a ship full of people in chains or a slave auction at the town square, but it is just as serious and even more pervasive than it was two centuries ago.
A recent article in Foreign Affairs sheds light on just how extensive this new global slave trade has become. The article states that “more people are being trafficked across borders against their will now than at any point in the past.” Here are some frightening statistics from the article:

• 80 percent of today’s slaves on the global market
• Up to 50 percent are under the age of 18
• Individuals are being trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries
• 43 percent of “slaves” in the global market are used for sex
• 32 percent are forced into other forms of unpaid labor
• The remaining percent are forced into a combination of the two
• The UN estimates that human traffickers earn around $10 billion per year

Many of the most heinous acts of injustice are fueled by a lack of economic prosperity. Just look at the young girls that are sold into sexual slavery across may parts of Asia. Parents in these areas are so desperate that they are willing to send their own flesh and blood into a lifetime of sexual abuse for just a handful of dollars.

Watch this video from an episode of Anderson Cooper 360. In this clip the show follows NY Times reporter Nicholas Kristof as he investigates the sex trade in Cambodia. Four years prior to this video, Kristof was in Cambodia and paid $200 to a brothel to purchase the freedom of one of the girls who was held their. In the video, Kristof returns to Cambodia to check up on this girl. Sadly, she had returned to her former life to feed the drug addiction she had picked up during her previous time in the brothel.

While Kristof’s motives were pure, simply buying a girls freedom from one of these brothels is not a solution. It is really no surprise that she returned to her former ways. This is where Business as Missions comes in…

Consider the work that Hagar International is doing in Cambodia. This amazing organization not only shelters and counsels women who come out of the sex trade, but they also give them job training. Hagar has created several companies that will employ these women, giving them a means to provide their own support and breaking the financial chains the sex trade has over them. You can purchase goods made from the women of the Hagar Project at www.shopinlight.com.

The formation of Kingdom Companies across South East Asia has the potential to play a serious part in curtailing the human trafficking epidemic the region is currently experiencing. By bringing both the Gospel and economic alternatives to prostitution, Kingdom Companies can provide social, financial, and ultimately spiritual freedom to countless women who are currently faced with few opportunities.

WHO WILL BE THE WILLIAM WILBERFORCE OF THIS GENERATION?

Just as Wilberforce used political means to fight against slavery in his time, so to should we use the power of entrepreneurship to help fight in one of the noblest of causes.
GET INVOLVED

• Read John Piper’s recently released biography on William Wilberforce. It is available online for free at Desiring God.
• See the movie “Amazing Grace“, which tells the story of Wilberforce’s struggle to end the slave trade in England. It comes out in theaters on February 23.
• Donate to organizations like International Justice Mission. IJM uses legal channels to fight human trafficking across the world. IJM looks not only to simply free women who have been forced into slavery, but also prosecute the individuals responsible for their enslavement.
• Support organizations like Hagar International.
• Go to Southeast Asia and start your own Kingdom Company!