Since my last post, I’ve received some fascinating words from the Lord and revelation. But you’ll have to get my next book if you want to read it! So I think this week I’ll refrain from preaching reformational philosophy surrounding my country’s rapidly escalating amoral trajectory. Instead, guess what – this month of January is Anti-Slavery and Anti Trafficking month. So, I have two special stories for you:
- Here’s an inspiring live VIDEO in which one of our anti-trafficking partners, Wesley Campbell and Be a Hero and I provide practical tips as well as inspiring stories of rescue.
2. Below is the account of our most recent rescue in Asia, through our organization WIN (We Ignite Nations) !
(NAMES AND PLACES CHANGED FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)
In October one of WIN’s anti-trafficking teams in north India rescued 21 victims of trafficking, including seven teenaged girls.
The First Rescue Gone Awry
Gupta was a high-ranking politician in the north Indian town of Baragaon. In 2019 she was imprisoned for forcing women and girls into prostitution. The victims were living in a government-run “shelter home” for underprivileged girls, where they were supposed to be receiving good care and nurture. Instead, under the criminal directorship of Gupta, the girls were organized into groups of 25. One group was transported to a certain location and secretly used for sex. Then they were sent back and another group was sent by systematic rotation. These activities were found out and the bogus shelter home was seized by law enforcement. The victims of Gupta’s illegal sex trafficking, which included many underage girls, were sent to a different shelter home in the town of Jambri.
WIN’s Raid and Rescue
Having previously done a great deal of research into this case, our activist Azadi visited the shelter home in Jambri. She sat down and talked with one of the residents, a girl named Hope. Hope realized that Azadi really cared about her and was there to help her. So she opened-up her heart.
Hope revealed the horrible dark secret that for months she had no one to tell; even after being moved to a different shelter home, her torture and abuse had continued! Just like the fake shelter home in Baragaon, this one in Jambri was also a brothel. The misery of the girls had not ended and they were still being sexually exploited, only at a different location.
Azadi and her team meticulously planned-out a raid with the objective of rescuing all the girls from this second bogus “shelter home” which actually was a type of brothel. Two days before the scheduled date of the raid the team visited the town of Jambri disguised as tourists. They met with people in order to fine-tune the plan based on details from locals.
The local people informed our team that most of these women had been forced into the network due to sheer helplessness arising out of poverty. Many of the girls’ parents actually consented to the forceful exploitation of their daughters in exchange for money. There were over 100 families who were thus willingly allowing this horrific exploitation of their own daughters.
It was impossible to proceed with a raid without the cooperation of the local law enforcement, so the senior police officer and the District Magistrate, who also served as the anti-human trafficking officer, were appraised of the situation. As a result, the authorities dispatched 50 women constables to conduct the raid along with Azadi.
As soon as the police constables surrounded and entered the building, those operating the institution began to fight back. They tried to attack Azadi and her team, while the girls attempted to flee, as they had been brainwashed by their pimps to believe that the people raiding the bogus safe home were bad. The ensuing scuffle between the police and the brothel/shelter personnel lasted for hours, during which some of the police force were injured. In the end, the police and our team prevailed. 21 girls were rescued.
The girls were sent for a medical check-up as mandated by law. Three days later, the reports revealed that many of the 21 girls were pregnant due to repeated rape. Fake identity cards had been forged for each of the victimized girls and since their factual dates of birth were not known the authorities found it challenging to determine which girls were actually minors. Eventually seven of the 21 were acknowledged to be minors.
There is still much to do to ensure these girls do not end up in a vulnerable situation again. The girls who are pregnant will NOT be getting an abortion. We desire to open a safe home to care for the girls and their babies. Please consider standing with WIN so that we can provide Christ-centered healing, nurture and rehabilitation to Hope and girls like her.
