Like those who heard Wilberforce’s speech, Batstone so exposes the pervasive presence of the modern day global slave trade, and the profound suffering of those caught in human trafficking, that, after reading his book, one cannot not see it. With 27 million people worldwide subjugated to the modern slave trade that operates as a multi-billion dollar industry, we cannot turn aside. As a pastor, I simply cannot have my conscience quickened and go back to business as usual, focusing only on the things close at hand, such as convincing our youth to come to the St. Patrick’s Day party or tracking income versus budget receipts. Reading Batstone’s book has changed the way I see the world; it is reshaping my sense of call to be Christ’s faithful disciple. It can do no less.
Batstone masterfully weaves the horrifying stories of children caught in slavery with inspiring stories of ordinary people who feel called to fight human trafficking and provide comfort and rehabilitation for its victims. We meet Srey Neang, a seven year-old Cambodian, whose parents sold her because they felt they could not care for their five children in a refugee camp. She is mentally and physically abused as a house servant until she flees, only to fall prey to someone who sells her into sexual slavery. Interwoven in Srey Neang’s hellish story is the journey of Pierre Tami, who moves to Cambodia and establishes a ministry called Hagar, a full range of support services for people coming out of slavery. Thirteen years after her descent into the nightmare of slavery, we celebrate when Srey Neang finally finds freedom and begins the process of recovery at Hagar.
Batstone continues this blending of stories of horror and violence with stories of compassion and justice. In Africa, we grieve as young boy soldiers are forced to torture and kill loved ones and young girls become the sex slaves of rebel military officers in Uganda. In Eastern Europe, we agonize as Nadia accepts an opportunity to provide for her son with a “waitressing job” in Italy, only to fall into a mob-run sex syndicate. In Peru, we meet Sandra, kicked out of her home at age eight; she finds shelter in a ministry for street children, but is later seduced into being a pimp. Most surprising of all, we hear numerous stories of women and children in the United States who fall into forced labor or sexual slavery. But in each case, there is someone who is shining light in dark places and bringing hope and opportunity to victims. Without demonizing the perpetrators, this book examines the complexity of the economics of the modern slave trade, as well as the underlying structural forces, such as armed conflict and poverty, that make people vulnerable to exploitation.
Batstone does not leave us stranded in hopelessness at the enormity of this pervasive global issue. The book culminates with an invitation to join the modern abolitionist movement. He puts us in touch with organizations, Web sites, and strategies for being involved in eradicating slavery in our lifetime. Batstone calls on the memory of Jesuits who fought Spanish conquest in the 1600’s, French resistance to Nazi genocide in 1942, and Harriet Tubman establishing the Underground Railroad in 1855. He links us to them by saying: “We live right now at one of those epic moments in the fight for human freedom. We no longer have to wonder how we might respond to our moment of truth. It is we who are on the stage, and we can change the winds of history with our actions. Future generations will look back and judge our choices and be inspired or disappointed.” (p. 18). Read this book and be inspired to action!
David R. Taylor is co-pastor of Eastminster Church in Greenville, S.C.
* Not For Sale… is the Official Book of the Amazing Change Campaign, which is the movement growing out of the movie “Amazing Grace.” For more information, see http://www.theamazingchange.com/.
i Metaxas, Eric, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery. HarperSanFrancisco, 2007, p. 136.
