Trafficking Meeting

"For Rent" when we see a sign like this we think of apartments, houses, or a building for business. For some women "For Rent" is a sign they carry around on their chest, placed there by a pimp.
Saturday I went to a meeting that was held by a group of evangelical women from different back grounds. Some were social workers, others were lawyers, some were Americans and many were Bulgarians. Some were from Sofia and others traveled to Sofia from outside cities but all had a common interest: How does the Christian community help prevent trafficking in our area and help restore the women who want to get out? With every suggestion that was made, there were laws to be considered, there were financial burdens to be considered, and there was the topic of safety to be considered for workers and for the women who would flee.
Here are some of the things I learned and have taken away from this meeting:
Trafficking is a well organized network and most women are not taken by chance, it is planned or they are given to the network by family or friends who sale them. Some women, most with a back ground of childhood abuse, go into this field willingly with the expectation of doing it for a short time until they financially change their lives and can get out. Unfortunately for these women who willingly volunteer for this they don't get out and they don't make the money that is promised. They like the picture says they are "for rent" and will continued to be owned by someone else.

We learned of a 37 year old woman from northern Bulgaria that went to have coffee with her friend and he slipped something into her drink. When she woke up at the border of Greece, she had been sold by her friend to a pimp. This woman had a 13 year old son at home and was past the age that you would assume a victim would be taken. After some time she was able to escape and she came to a church in northern Bulgaria for help. The church did not know how to help her or how to provide the emotional restoration she would need and so a member of the church was at the meeting looking for resources. While the woman was sharing this story, another woman raised her hand and asked "Is this the same woman who escaped and seven men came and kidnapped her a second time?" My translator stopped and I didn't get to hear the answer but I was left with a deep sadness for whoever this woman was. I can't imagine how hard it would be to escape one time, much less ever get the chance to do it again.
Another woman raised her hand and was at the meeting looking to advocate help for a grandmother who had a grand daughter taken and exported to Germany on January 1. The grandmother had been to the police and to lawyers but had received no help. The meeting provided information on how to help this grandmother who had been previously told that "Your granddaughter is 21. She is of age to travel and should be able to take care of herself".
It was explained to us that many times police do not help and often close their eyes. Sometimes the police are given payment to close their eyes. The underground network of trafficking is well organized, well financed and supplied with lawyers and other officials that help keep the organization functioning.
Here are ways you can pray:
1. Pray for the laws to be changed in Bulgaria. Currently 14 is the age of consentual sex. This gives an older man the right to engage in activity that she would then have to prove is not welcomed. This age increase would also put a block on the child marriage market amongst the Roma.
2. Pray for churches in Bulgaria to see this problem and act. Many of the churches across all denominations turn an eye to this problem and don't believe it to be a problem until a prostitute comes to them for help or until it is one of their family members.
3. Pray for the court systems to not drag their feet when a woman is willing to testify and for the law to better define trafficking so loop holes can be minimized.
4. Pray for a Christian center to open in Bulgaria that will provide a safe house and rehabilitation emotionally and spiritually. There is currently only one place like this in Sofia and they only offer one month of free shelter and counseling.

It is my goal to attend these meetings and gather information and know how God can use me amongst the Roma to help prevent girls in the community from becoming potential victims.