A Cup Of Tea: Spotlight On Freedom Firm

A few weekends ago I attended an event hosted by Freedom Firm, an organization that rescues minor girls from sex trafficking in India.  It was a great event with dinner and silent auction called Captive No More.  There were interactive booths where you could have a beautiful henna design done on your hand or have your picture taken in an authentic sari. 

There are 27 million slaves in the world and 500,000 of them are in India.  Extreme poverty is a factor in girls ending up in the sex trade here.  Many times they are tricked by false promise of employment.  They are often sold by a family member who thinks they are giving their child the opportunity for a better life and an education when in reality they are being sold to a brothel.

The three part mission of Freedom Firm is to Rescue, Restore and seek Justice.  They actually have investigative teams that do raids on the brothels to rescue these minor girls.  They have an aftercare home which provides holistic care for the girls and they seek justice by prosecuting the trafficker or brothel owner.

The stories shared at this event were hard to hear.  Corruption is rampant.  The police take bribes, look the other way and often times will tip off the brothel owner about a raid.  After a girl is rescued, she is placed in a government run shelter "home" which is actually more like a prison.  According to the 2013 TIP Report:

A number of government shelters were overcrowded and unhygienic, offered poor food, and provided limited services. The lack of adequate security in one government-funded home in Hyderabad made it possible for a nine-member gang to break in and kidnap four trafficking victims; two previous kidnap attempts took place in the preceding months. Some shelters did not permit adult victims to leave,  contrary to international principles on the protection of victims. In some cases, traffickers continued to re-recruit trafficking victims by approaching shelter managers and pretending to be family members to get the victims released to them. NGOs report that government processes to refer identified victims to care facilities are not followed. In investigations, police sometimes treated victims as suspected criminals and subjected them to aggressive questioning.

But the one thing that choked me up more than the stories was a picture of a teacup.  Beside the teacup were a few little white pills and this note: 

Often a girl is offered tea by the traffickers as way to comfort her and gain her trust.  Because she is in a desperate situation, she accepts the tea.  In most cases the tea is drugged.  During the time the girl is not fully conscience, she is transported and sold to a brothel.

A cup of tea is a symbol of welcome, hospitality and soothing.  It brings to mind the image of peace, tranquility and friendship.  This poor innocent child accepts a cup of tea because she is afraid.  She doesn't understand what is happening.  I picture her cold and alone and wanting to sip the tea to warm herself and calm her nerves.  But little does she know that evil lurks in her cup of tea.  An evil that knows no boundaries.  An evil that will take advantage of a little girl to exploit her and make money off of her. 

Just because this evil is happening "over there" doesn't mean there isn't something we can do.  Freedom Firm has opportunities to help wherever you live. 

• Consider hosting a jewelry party featuring jewelry that has been hand made by the girls who have been rescued. 
• Invite your friends over and host a movie screening of their documentary "Horse and Rider"
• Sign up for their real time updates and pray for the team as they are doing a rescue
• Donate to support their mission

Please visit their page to learn more about the amazing work they are doing and how you can be a part of it.  Freedom Firm