I had a friend ask me why I am doing this. Why I am blogging about modern day slavery. My response to her was because this is what I can do. I don’t have a lot of skills or resources or connections to make a huge impact in the fight against slavery like some people do. I am not famous; I am not a politician; I am not an attorney, or a movie producer, or an great journalist. I am a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a neighbor, and a friend. I work part time when my kids are in school to make some extra money for my family and in any free time I like to read and watch some TV shows with my husband. I’m pretty much the cliche of a soccer mom. And I love it.
But over the past couple some things changed. I had heard of the organization International Justice Mission and had heard of the term human trafficking, but didn’t know much. Then a couple of years ago I was invited to attend a screening of the rockumentary film Call + Response. I actually didn’t do too much afterward except to invite my sister to see the film when it came out in a theater in a near by city. Eventually I found myself spending my limited free time on the computer reading whatever I could about human trafficking/modern day slavery. I created a bookmark folder just for organizations that were addressing this problem. I began to read books about the issue to learn more and I even attended the first Global Forum on Human Trafficking, sponsored by the organization Not For Sale to learn more. It was like learning about Modern Day Slavery was becoming my hobby – weird I thought. I didn’t know what I was going to do with what I was learning. I felt like I didn’t have anything to offer to the cause and felt a bit powerless.
About a year ago I got sick of myself just reading about the injustice of slavery in our world, I had to act. At first, I didn’t know what to do. That first movie I watched, Call + Response, haunted me as it leaves the viewer with the phrase, “Be the Response.” What will my response be to what I was learning? I don’t know exactly how or when it happened, but I just decided – that I can’t do much, but I can share what I am learning.
Sharing what I am learning. That is it. That is what this blog is about.