June 2010 | Love146.org

29
Jun

From Nashville to New Haven - Can I really make a difference? Posted by Love146 Intern

Justice. Can it really even be defined by the simple words we’ve come up with in our language? We discussed this around a table today in the Love146 office and while I was overwhelmed with more questions than I had answers, I could not help but feel empowered. I was surrounded by people who cared so much for the same cause that I too cared about. Being there as a collective whole made the seemingly impossible task of defining this word not so defeating when we ended with no specific conclusion.

It was just over a week ago I arrived in New Haven, CT from a distant land, the South. Nashville, TN is where I call home and am currently in the process of getting my Master’s degree in Community Development and Action. When I made it here, I didn’t know what to expect from this foreign city or from my new internship in the U.S. Prevention and Advocacy department at Love146; I walked into that office on Monday morning asking myself a question that I ask often, can I really make a difference? Love is powerful and was felt exuding from the office the moment I stepped in. In my short time I have been here, I have already learned an important lesson from them.

Yes, I, can make a difference but even more importantly, people working together can make an even greater difference. St. Francis of Assisi said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” Well, imagine how much harder it would be to extinguish several candles; how much harder it is to silence many voices as opposed to one.

In November, Love146 is hosting the Collective Shout Conference where we will be talking about how love changes the story. Love can change any story and has proven to do so over the course of human history. The conference is going to bring together people from all over the anti-trafficking world, from those working against it, to those who have survived it and all in between. This is our opportunity to identify how we can work together to not be a bunch of chatter but emerge as one collective shout against slavery and the injustices that occur far too often in our world. Everyone is welcome, even if you are asking the same question I am faced with often… Can you really make a difference? Come and feel empowered by being surrounded by people who share that same passion and leave fueled and ready to make a difference in your community. Add your voice to the mix and join me and several others in November so our collective shout can be that much louder and we can come even closer to the day modern-day slavery ends!

Learn more and register for the Collective Shout Conference today!

Nicole

22
Jun

Taking Daddy Back Posted by Rob Morris

I am a Father. I have six children who call me Daddy. It is one of the greatest joys of my life. Some days I’m good at it. Other days…not so good. I continue the daily journey, bumbling toward becoming a better man, father and husband.

Last year I saw a documentary called Very Young Girls, made by GEMS, one of my favorite organizations working to end the exploitation and trafficking of girls.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the film was seeing pimps recruiting and coercing young girls by pretending to initially take on the role of a boyfriend or worse…a father.

So many children have never known the love of a good father. Some have been hurt, abused, or abandoned by a father, while others continue to live with a father who is not really there.

Capitalizing on vulnerability, pimps and traffickers move right into that vacant place, even insisting at times, to be called “Daddy.” Luring girls with promises of “I’ll protect you.” “I’ll provide for you.”etc. And saying things that a real father was supposed to say but never did, like; “You’re special.” “You’re beautiful…”

While watching the documentary, I began to seethe inside. Through clenched teeth, I was saying under my breath; ”You are not a Daddy!” “You are a lot of things…but one thing you are definitely not…is a Daddy.” The idea that a pimp would claim and taint a word like “Daddy” honestly pisses me off. It is a word that I treasure because my children call me by that name. And when they do, it melts my heart, humbles me, and scares me with the responsibility that it carries.

During the documentary, I found myself asking questions. “Where are the fathers who will stand up to protect and defend the vulnerable?” Where are the fathers who by example, will raise sons who respect girls instead of abuse and objectify them? Where are the fathers who will cherish their daughters and empower them? When I see the daily devastation that men (and I use the term “men” very loosely here) have unleashed on children, I am undone.

The reality is, there are good fathers out there. I meet them everywhere I go. They come up to me with tears coming down their faces after I speak at an event. They approach me with angry voices, wanting to break down brothel doors…because they have daughters of their own. They give of their time, energy and finances to protect, defend, restore and empower. Some have even chosen a vocation that directly intervenes on behalf of vulnerable children.

So yes, they are out there. We just need more. We need to be brave enough, deliberate enough, loving enough…to take the name, “Daddy” back.

16
Jun

I want gifts! Lots of them! Posted by Rob Morris

“To journey for the sake of saving our own lives is little by little to cease to live in any sense that really matters, even to ourselves, because it is only by journeying for the world's sake - even when the world bores and sickens and scares you half to death - that little by little we start to come alive." -Frederick Buechner

As a child growing up, I had two favorite times of the year. Christmas and my birthday. Mostly because of the gifts. I remember digging through the Sears Toy Catalog around Christmas time, picking out the “stuff” I wanted for Christmas.

Then…weeks before my birthday, I would not so subtly hint to my parents, grandparents, and any other potential gift-givers of what I wanted for my “special day.”

Well, are you ready? Here comes the hint. I will try to be subtle. Today is my birthday!! And I want gifts! Lots of them! And I want them from you! I guess some things never change. Well…maybe they change a little. You see, I actually don’t want, or need “stuff” anymore. But I know someone who does. I know children who want and need to be protected from those who seek to enslave and exploit them.

14
Jun

It's Official: Safe Harbor is Law in CT! Posted by Kathy Maskell

09
Jun

12 Hours with a Sex Tourist Posted by Gaz Kishere

Having taken a roadtrip from the UK through Eastern Europe in January, I'm now on the road (or the air, more accurately) towards the Love146 Round Home in Asia. I have to move quick while the Icelandic volcano is on lunch break. I found myself in a window seat next to a couple of what my dad would call ‘hard working lads’: sun drawn skin from a construction site causing an unnaturally furrowed brow, one in his 50’s the other mid 20’s.

I'm flying out of the UK at a time where the first 3 pages of most tabloids are still the story of the Cumbria shootings of Derrick Bird which left 12 dead. On the morning I leave the headline is "Gunman's Double Life as a Sex Pervert" accompanied by images of a Thailand sex bar with scantily clad girls dancing. My neighbour for the flight introduces himself by showing and tapping his finger on the page stating, ‘Now that’s got to be a bar we need to find.’ Our destination for this flight is Bangkok, Thailand.