Fight or Flight

We've been wearing them all week. Brilliant and vibrant, emblazoned with the number 27, bright orange armbands.

Are we that into the Broncos (and whichever player is #27)? No. The 27 represents the number of slaves in the world today. But not just 27, 27 million.

That's right. 27 million slaves in the world today. Documented slaves. So in reality, there are far, far more.

This week is Justice Week at DU (flier a few posts below) and our theme is the color orange and the number 27. We want to raise awareness, because more people than you'd think don't even know slavery exists in such large numbers today.

It's in America, too. There are about 1 million slaves trafficked in the United States. And Denver is a huge trafficking area because of I-25. Bet you didn't know that one.

I've been asked by numerous people about the bright strip of orange cloth tied around my arm. I've had a few great conversations, and I've had a few not-as-great.

During one conversation a woman told me that when she was flying to Thailand she had a conversation with two men on the plane who told her they were flying there for a "sex vacation." I naively thought she meant they were gay and going to Thailand to have a vacation full of lots of sex with one another (an awkward thing to tell a complete stranger, but still). No, they meant they were going to Thailand to have sex with the abundance of prostitutes and sex-slaves there, and they were that cavalier about it. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one.

At another point in the day my armband was questioned and I responded with my usual spiel about it being Justice Week and raising awareness for the millions of slaves in the world today. The response was, "really? Where can I get one?" Again, my general believing the best in people thought they were wondering where they could get an armband. As I was about to pull one out of my backpack, someone else said, "that's terrible!" I realized they meant, "where can I get a slave?" They were joking, of course, but a little part of my heart just sank.

I am so heartbroken for these people - men, women, and children - who are enslaved around the world. I don't see how anyone can stand by and see such incredible injustice and not want to fight it. I don't understand how people can make light of such tragedy. I can't comprehend not wanting to do something, not wanting to change things, not wanting to fight for freedom for all people.

Tonight I watched the film Call + Response again. It's an incredibly well made documentary about human trafficking. It was made by Justin Dillon, a singer and guitarist (I believe) of the band Five For Fighting. A year ago I saw the documentary for the first time (see blog post from a year ago) and it changed my life. Since then I've been passionate about fighting against slavery, and though there isn't tons I can do at this point in my life, I'm doing what I can. But the movie reminded me why I'm so passionate about this, why I care. When I see and hear stories of girls who are six, seven, eleven, thirteen, or even seventeen, being sold as sex slaves, my heart rips in two. I can't help but think about how my sisters are eleven, thirteen, and seventeen. Seeing the young boys forced to be child soldiers in Africa, I remember that my brothers are eight and fifteen.

What if those were my siblings in the brothels or the army? I would have flown over there a thousand times over and wrestled them out of the hands of whoever had them in captivity. With no regards for my own safety, I would do anything to get them out of that situation. And I mean anything.

What would you do, if your friends or family were enslaved? You would fight for them, fight with every breath in your body, because you love them.

If you love someone, you fight for them.

I love the people in slavery. I may not know them, I will probably never meet them, but I love them because they are fellow human beings, and I'm going to fight for their lives.