This is reposted from April 2010 while I was in Moldova.
Thursday morning, our first meeting was with a young woman about my age who, for safety reasons, I’ll identify as L. We met her outside in the middle of the city, where she hopped in our van. I immediately liked her. She was intelligent and witty, and when we asked her where we should go for our meeting, she directed us toward a cafe in a nice part of town and said she had a surprise for us.
We took seats at a table under the patio as the sun was beginning to warm the new spring air. We ordered a round of espresso (tea for me) and began to make introductions. Tom went first. Then Brad. Then me. Then Simon, as he set up his camera so we could film L’s story and hear about what her organization does.
Our waitress, a young, pretty girl who surprisingly spoke enough English that I could actually communicate I wanted green tea instead of black, brought us our drinks. L. took a sip of her cappuccino and asked us if we were ready for our surprise.
After a day like we had Wednesday, we were ready for anything.
“The reason I brought you to this cafe is because there is a story here. When I first moved back to Moldova, I came here with a friend. It seems like a totally normal restaurant.”
I looked around. It had nice tables and chairs and the shops across the street were for designer clothes. I didn’t feel like I was in a developing country. I could have been on a street in Paris for all I knew.
“As I spent time here, I learned that this cafe is the main hub for girls that are trafficked out of Moldova.”
Our team sat back stunned. Even S., who is our driver and has worked in the social sector of Moldova for years, was shocked.
L. continued to tell us a similar story to what we have heard regarding young girls and the need for jobs. A majority of Moldovans immigrates out of the country for work because the unemployment rate here is so high. Girls out of the ninth grade (the required level of completion) when coming from abusive, alcoholic, or unattended homes, as well as orphans, will look for jobs. Foreigners actually own this cafe (amongst others) and will hire the girls as waitresses or cooks or to clean. They learn just enough of several languages over the course of a few months to a year and are promised promotions or transfers in restaurants in other European countries.
And they get trafficked.
I immediately wanted to take our waitress and throw her into our van, knowing what almost certain fate awaited her.
It’s not like this industry is completely a secret, either. Men, especially foreign men, visit these cafes for a reason. If L. and I wouldn’t have been there with the men from our team, more than likely they would have been offered a girl.
I lifted the mug of tea to my lips and wondered how many girls had filled that mug before. How many had served tea in it. How many had bussed it off the table and washed it.
I wondered where they were now.
L. proceeded to go through a newspaper and read to us ads that are ads that are intended to lure girls in. Ads for renting rooms or apartments often get young Moldovan girls and foreign university students kidnapped when they go to see if the apartment is what they’re looking for. Jobs for nannies who can travel. Jobs for waitresses.
She even told us her own story – how, when she moved to Chisinau, she was looking for an apartment. Out of the hundreds of listings on the pages, only a handful or so were legit. She almost went to look at one but had a strange feeling about it after speaking with the owner, so she had a male friend call to check on it.
It was one used for trafficking.
She could have been a victim herself.
As we sat around finishing our drinks, we took note of an ever-increasing stream of foreign men beginning to sit at surrounding tables. They came from inside the cafe and sat and stared at us.
We acted like we didn’t notice, boldly keeping our very large camera out, and kept filming L. and her story.
Before we left, I saw two young, very pretty girls walking outside the cafe. They were almost too young to be that pretty. One was maybe fourteen – the other one sixteen or seventeen. I was surprised when they walked into the cafe, and later took a seat behind us in the corner of the patio.
They didn’t receive a menu, but a husky middle aged man with salt-and-pepper hair sat down with them. He discreetly handed the older girl a large sum of money. She looked up to him laughing with flirtatious but noticeably empty eyes.
We paid our check and left, as the presence of the traffickers got to be a little too intense. L. and I stood on the sidewalk while Brad went in for a moment and we witnessed another young, pretty woman approaching the cafe. The husky man got up suddenly and began yelling at her. She managed to keep her distance on the other side of the patio railing but they were screaming loudly at each other in Romanian. I asked L. what they were fighting about.
“Something didn’t happen right…something didn’t happen right at all,” is what she said. She nodded over my shoulder.“Those men behind you. They’re not Moldovan. They’re here for something.” I slowly turned around and pretended to look at the cafe door. Two very well dressed middle-eastern men were behind me and seemed to be negotiating with one of the cafe traffickers.
It was surreal. We were standing in the middle of trafficking deals going down all around us and at the same time, families sat at the patio eating brunch. Maybe some of them knew, maybe not.
But the darkness that was now exposed to us was almost blinding.
Here we were.
In broad daylight.
In a nice part of the city.
…buying coffee at the same time girls and sex were being sold.
We walked to our van talking about how we couldn’t believe what just happened. The five of us said goodbye to L. and she went to wherever it was she was going. What an incredibly brave woman to know exactly what would happen where we would be and to show us exactly what we needed to see.
We waited a few moments and drove around the block, passing the cafe again. The eight or ten men that had been keeping an eye on us were all gone in the five minutes it took us to circle back. The patio, except for a few maternal-esque women and the family, was empty.
I always assumed that sex trafficking went on in the brothels and the strip clubs. In Moldova, there are none. When we’d ask around where this trafficking took place, it seemed like nobody knew.
But when we did find it, it would be like watching a girl get sold outside at a Panera in your nicest suburb.
As I continued thinking throughout the day, I realized that it doesn’t matter what my perception is on how or where or what sex trafficking looks like. I can pretend to be shocked (and honestly still am) that it happened in such an open location.
But the bottom line is this:
We all know it happens.
It happens.
It.
Happens.
It may have been dangerous for us to be there. It probably would be if we went back. But this is a subject we must continue to stare in the face and say – dangerous or not – this can not happen.
This cannot happen on our watch.
Because if we know about it, if it’s happening on our watch, we’re responsible to do something about it.
Today, we’ll meet a girl who was trafficked from this exact cafe two years ago and is now in the care of L. and her organization.
I can’t help but wonder if, when she worked in this cafe, she served somebody tea from the same cup I drank from yesterday.
—
How can you help?
Fight Sex Trafficking (Part 1)
Comments
105 responses to “The Sex Cafe: Where Women and Coffee are Sold”
Thank you for bravely bringing the truth to a very large problem. I personally give to the A21 campaign that fights the monsters who traffic women and children.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..Google is for Single Girls =-.
Wow that sounds so intense. It must have sucked to see a girl being sold right in front of your eyes and in that moment you could do nothing about it. Being exposed to that kind of reality is like ripping off a band aid. You know a scab is there but in the end still tend to be stunned by how it looks.
thank you for sharing this.
as someone who grew up in 2 different worlds…one in a 3rd world country (Philippines)…and here in America…its heartbreaking to know that most people in america are not aware of the severity of sex trafficking that happens in other parts of the world. in the philippines, young girls sell themselves, parents ready their daughters to go to japan to be “japayukis” just so that they can send money back to feed the rest of their family. it’s a sad reality.
thank YOU for exposing the enemies tactics to destroy the lives of countless of women. i pray that the church will rise up and do something…
you guys are brave for doing what it is you do. know that i am PRAYING for you. (as you know already).
i hope you feel better.
.-= patricia´s last blog ..3.7.10 – letters. =-.
Wow. Overwhelming.
.-= Vince´s last blog ..U2 – Desire | from our Easter experience =-.
Anne,
What a day! I can’t wait for you to share how we can help get these girls out. My heart is totally breaking. I hate that I can’t physical stop all of this from going on around the world. It makes me scream out to God WHY? And why do people have a blind eye to this? Do they really not see it going on? All I can say in the thousands of questions is my heart breaks, everyday and some how I will be part of the solution.
Thanks so much for going on this trip and the eye opening posts. Know that you and our team is in my thoughts and prayers.
FW
Anne this is just amazing – in an eye opening kinda way. Praying for you and your team.
.-= Chrystal´s last blog ..Pro’s and Con’s… =-.
I’m praying for you all. Light in the darkness shines pretty darn bright, which makes you a target. But more than that, I’m thinking of all the targets out there, all the young girls victimized. Jesus, Jesus, heal the land.
Thank you for allowing others to be honest with you.
.-= Kathy C´s last blog ..Everyone else in the world posts their preggo pics, so I thought… =-.
Thank you for sharing this. Just…wow, yeah, the things we try not to see from our much more comfortable locations in life. Keep shedding light on it.
.-= C.L. Dyck´s last blog ..The Neon Voice =-.
Wow..I can’t begin to imagine how it must have felt to see these things happening right in front of you. You are right–we can’t be okay with it. We can’t shed a few tears, and then stop. I don’t want to just have an eye-opening experience…it’s about doing something about it. I like what Francis Chan said…the more you know, the more you’re held accountable for it (paraphrasing)…We know sex-trafficking is issue…let’s not just stop there.
.-= Jonathan Jacob´s last blog ..Every fiber of my being =-.
I can’t believe what a dangerous situation you put yourself in. What amazes me even more though are the men who would harm–maybe even kill–you to maintain the “business”. Sick.
I’ll be praying for you and your team.
Injustice is more despicable than danger, methinks. Thanks for the prayers. :)
That’s profoundly true.
.-= Amy Sorrells´s last blog ..Bone against stone =-.
Oh my gosh Anne that makes me sick. To hear about trafficking is one thing. But to actually witness a deal is quite another. It makes me sick.
.-= Tiffany´s last blog ..Growing Up =-.
my heart is breaking and i felt ill.
ill.
thank you for your bravery.
.-= purejoy´s last blog ..embrace life =-.
I was praying for you, your team and the situation over there this afternoon while I was baking cookies for my kids and folding laundry. A whole other world…wow. Thank-you for getting in there and bringing this to light. We will continue to pray, and am looking forward to helping in whatever practical ways you come up with as well.
God bless.
.-= Danica´s last blog ..Catch-up Chat =-.
wow. thats heavy. eye opening. the injustice and the human condition continues to blow my mind. how humans can treat other humans like that. like a thing to be sold and traded.
.-= Lynse Leanne´s last blog ..Mallory and Eric =-.
wow…I am speechless. Praying for you. Asking God what we can do to help. Thank you for being so brave and going into the dark places. Asking God to cover all of you.
Yes…. but what?
What can we do? I SEE it, and I still don’t know what I can do to help.
.-= Bethany Smith´s last blog ..Would You Rather… =-.
I know Anne is working on ways we can tangibly fight this – and I’m sure she’ll let us know. But I also know of two organizations, She Dances and Love146, who are actively and righteously fighting this battle. IJM also does incredible work rescuing girls in danger. All three of these organizations offer ways for you to get involved. :)
.-= Elora´s last blog ..cheaper than leather shoes =-.
Bethany-
Children’s HopeChest gives you the answer to that question. President Tom Davis is in Moldova with Ann and has found solutions. To get involved please go to this link and spread the word!
http://www.hopechest.org/support-moldova/
I must be honest and say that I’ve never thought this much about sex trafficking. My heart just breaks for these young women
Kelli–
It is definitely an issue that, sadly gets swept under the carpet. Here’s away for you to get involved with what you read: http://www.hopechest.org/support-moldova/
Wow, Anne! blown away, and at the same time so heart broken for these women..praying for you and your crew as you move and learn, and find ways to help, not just for you but for us. Stay close to the LORD, he is your shelter and stronghold.
.-= darla´s last blog ..gave a fortuneteller a ticket… =-.
The reality is…sex trafficking in Moldavia is like the pediphiles here in the US…they look and act like normal people. Movies and Hollywood have given everyone the preconceived notion that anything and everything to do with sex is dark and dirty…and the reality is just the opposite. I love that you are showing everyone the truth about sex offenders…they are not monsters and aliens…they do not look or act any different than anyone else in broad daylight or in public!
.-= Roberta´s last blog ..Everything is GREEN around here… =-.
I have no words. Thank you for being a light and sharing what you are experiencing.
.-= Karen Hammons´s last blog ..Rejection =-.
Wow. It is truly shocking this sort of thing continues to go on and even more startling when you are witness to it. I’ll be interested to hear what you learn of how to be a light in the darkness in the world of human trafficking.
.-= Kristine McGuire´s last blog ..But I Want to be a Princess and Eat BonBon’s! =-.
Praying for you, sis. For the girls, for L…. praying that your words here would raise up people to care, to see, to do something in the name of Jesus to be a light…even in this cafe.
Love,
Holly
.-= Holly @ Crownlaiddown´s last blog ..Search for Truth? =-.
Thank you for sharing this!! Praying for you safety as you venture forward. Praying for more girls to be freed.
The extent of the trafficking is overwhelming. You are right, this should not be happening on our watch.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..A Snack and A Nap =-.
i cannot breathe. i am horrified even though i knew this existed. but in broad daylight, in a cafe. i am so horrified and feel absolutely ill. please tell us how to help…as we pray, BEG God to save these sweet girls, to stop this nightmare and bring justice to the monsters that traffick these women and girls. thank you for telling this story.
it is surreal, your story, it makes me wonder if this same kind of thing is going on under our noses in America too…
.-= Jenny´s last blog ..Repeated, confirmed, and delivered: Still Speaking… =-.
Yes – sadly. This past week, a trafficking ring was busted in San Antonio, Texas. The ring was found on a prominent street in the city.
Last year, a girl busted a window out of the house in which she was captive in a run-down neighborhood in Austin. Also, my friend stumbled on a brothel on 6th street. Middle of downtown. Her experience was much like Anne’s at the cafe.
Also: Disney World is one of the top destinations for human trafficking in the US.
.-= Elora´s last blog ..cheaper than leather shoes =-.
Wow… wow. That is terrible. Disney World?
Anne, thank you for sharing this… just another reminder that THEY NEED OUR PRAYERS. I will always pray for those girls… who knows? Maybe God will send a way for me to help them…
blessings!
Chare @ Her Price is Far Above Rubies
.-= Charity´s last blog ..A Many Sub-Titled Post… =-.
It does, Jenny. Sadly, tragically, it does. And it is epidemic.
.-= Amy Sorrells´s last blog ..Bone against stone =-.
Wow! Anne thank you so much for bravely sharing these stories. You are so right. We have a responsibility to do something. Thank you for bringing awareness to this atrocity. May we hear the cry and respond as we should.
Makeda-
We do have a responsibility to do something– and it’s hard not to want to after reading that!
President of Children’s HopeChest, Tom Davis is in Moldova with Ann has found solutions. To get involved please go to this link and spread the word!
http://www.hopechest.org/support-moldova/
Praying for your influence and your safety.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
WHAT DO WE DO? I feel so helpless…
Wow…so brutal. Thank you to you and your team for putting yourself in dangers way to tell this story. I’m praying for you as well and looking forward to hearing how we can help.
.-= Jenn?s last blog ..Olympic Trip =-.
Unbelievable.
To all who are wondering what to do about this, I would suggest to simply start talking about it and raising awareness. So many people brush it off as “not a huge problem” but it’s quite the opposite. There are also several organizations who are fighting sex trafficking. Giving to those are important as well, but it has to start with awareness.
.-= Josh?s last blog ..He Will Respond =-.
Praying for Christ’s presence for every moment of your journey and for these young women–these children of God. May they find His grace and mercy.
–Godspeed, Elizabeth
.-= Elizabeth Laryn?s last blog ..Living the Life Set Before Us =-.
heart-rending
.-= Mark Meynell?s last blog ..An Easter Cryptic ? a first attempt at going solo =-.
As a mother to four precious little girls, this post shreds me. Thanks, Anne for taking me out of my land of butterflies and buttercups and reminding me of the desperate, broken hearts and bodies of those precious little girls. My prayer this morning is for the human butchers….flesh traders that are oblivious to the eternal consequence of their actions. May their revelation come quickly.
.-= Julie?s last blog ..Happy Birthday to Me =-.
Anne, thank you for this post and for the stories. Very, very sad. However, you are helping to remind all of us who are your readers just how real this is. As the father of two daughters, what you witnessed in the cafe really saddens me.
.-= Jim Martin?s last blog ..How to Regain Your Energy and Endurance =-.
I read this first last night while holding my three month old daughter, and I didn’t make it all the way through. I found myself just looking at my innocent baby daughter sleeping in my arms, wondering about all those little girls that started off with the same innocence, only to be told by the world around them that they are worth absolultely nothing.
It broke my heart.
The best way to fight this is to shine a light into those dark corners. Thank-you for being a part of that light.
jj
This is an issue that has been tugging at my heart and mind for the last several months. After reading your experiences, doing nothing is no longer an option. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but I just can’t sit on the sidelines and pray that “somebody” does “something.” Now I start praying and talking people in my faith community about who we can partner with and what we can do.
Thanks Anne for shining some much needed light on this tragedy.
Thank you, Anne for exposing this story. Those pictures…I’m going to processing this post for a long, long time. Praying for you guys – for safety, discernment, wisdom, and for light to shine into the dirty crevices of this disgusting trade.
.-= Elora´s last blog ..cheaper than leather shoes =-.
Wow.
.-= Brandon Sneed´s last blog ..Todd’s story: “Unwanted” [Entry 1.1 – REJECTION, Part 1] =-.
I’ll probably have the same thing to say for every one of your posts, but I’ll still say it: Thank you for reporting and God bless you all and keep you safe.
.-= cool dad?s last blog ..Getting to know you: What do you do? =-.
I applaud you going after the “big’ things of life and bringing a voice to these important stories and lives. Thank you.
.-= Eazy Wanderer?s last blog ..ICA Facts on Human Trafficking =-.
Thanks for making this trip and for sharing the experience with us. Your team and L. and the girls connected with these cafes are in our prayers.
.-= JD?s last blog ..What Music Puts You in Mood…for Repentance? =-.
Wow. Can’t wait to hear more about L’s organization tomorrow.
For anyone who is heart-broken over the issue there is another great group called Exodus Cry you could check out. They’re currently wrapping up work on a decumentary that’s taken them all over the world.
.-= Lex?s last blog ..Baby Makin? =-.
Wow.
Incredibly eye-opening, and even more heartbreaking!
.-= Kyle Gilbert´s last blog ..Sixty-Six. =-.
Thanks so much for sharing this information. My nephew is adopted from Romania, but the adoption agency told us they suspect he may have been from Moldova, or his parents were Moldovan. This is something very near and dear to me and I feel very compelled to help in some way. Once your trip is over, I hope you can share ways we can help. Thanks.
so, just as i suspected, my heart rate was higher after i read this post.
i have known for years now that justice is a high-value issue for me, and it often is hard for me (even as a redeemed child of God) to blend appropriate justice with grace. i can’t help but think that i would have gotten myself in trouble were i sitting at that cafe. i also was thinking about the movie Taken; how Liam Neeson’s character’s pursuit of his daughter is – in a sense – not unlike God’s pursuit of these girls and women in Moldova.
proud of you, Anne, and all the others on this trip, for shining a bright light on something so dark.
blessings…
I can’t help but burn with anger at this. Like many on here, I want to physically stop this filth from continuing! It hurts to know this happens in broad daylight. I’m thankful for the people on here who have posted organizations that work to end this, and I am thankful for you, Miss Anne Jackson, for opening our eyes to this reality. I’m looking forward to what you say about how to help. I’ll be praying for the rest of your trip.
-@los-lupe
Un.be.lieveable. But at the same time, so believeable. THANK YOU for the risks you are taking. For your courage. And for opening the eyes and hearts of everyone who reads these stories. I think the thing that makes me most nauseous is the level of disrespect . . . no . . . it is outright hatred . . . traffikers and sex offenders/abusers have for women–precious little girls–there and around the world. Even in America, as I speak out more and more about my own childhood sexual abuse, I find that it happens to so many. Too many. In our suburbs. INDEED in the booths and on the sidewalks of American Paneras. This level of human carnage that you show us starts small, and in the homes of even the most seemingly upstanding people. But praise God, change starts small, too. It starts with one voice. One camera. One “L.” And God, in His loaves-and-fishes style, can use that one to change the world. May it be so, dear Jesus. May it please be so . . .
.-= Amy Sorrells?s last blog ..Bone against stone =-.
Wow. How surreal. To think of it happening so blatantly. I like what you said at the end of your post. Now that we know about it, we have to do something about it. You are so right. We can’t pretend these things aren’t going on around us.
Thank you for your bravery to fight this fight.
Jennifer
I have been having a hard time reading this all week, but have forcing myself to continue. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Kyle Reed´s last blog ..Why I Wish I Worked For a Book Publisher or Magazine Publisher =-.
Thank you to you and your team for being brave enough to share this and bring despicable things that cannot be happening in our world today into the light. These and many other “organizations” and “businesses” or “industries” like this must be exposed and shattered. I pray that it will happen somehow.
Thank you for sharing. It’s heartbreaking.
.-= Elaina?s last blog ..Plan B… =-.
Anne, this just breaks my heart. I can’t imagine being in your shoes and seeing what you’re seeing. I can’t even fathom girls being so brazenly trafficked right in the middle of that cafe. Praying for protection for you and your team and for justice to all those girls who are in ensnared in this horrible reality.
.-= Brad Ruggles?s last blog ..The Kind Of Post You Don?t Want To Read =-.
This makes me sick to my stomach.
And yet at the same time, I feel distant from it; but it is there and not here.
I know that it happens here (USA) too, but I just don’t hear the stories about it.
.-= Evan Courtney´s last blog ..Easter Creative Element – Rescue =-.
Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately, I’m not surprised at all. I’ve been traveling the country speaking on this issue for the past 2 years. This not only happens overseas, but here in Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Portland, Las Vegas, New York, LA, Chicago – you name it. Sex trafficking is huge in the US. Ready my blog “I’m an Abolitionist” for ways you can get involved to stop slavery in our lifetime.
I’m proud you were able to maintain some sense of control, Anne. I don’t know how I would have reacted if I were in the same situation. These girls are close to my daughter’s age.
The fact this is happening angers me beyond words and I feel so utterly helpless.
.-= Dawn Nicole Baldwin´s last blog ..Catalyst One Day =-.
Many people have said they feel powerless to help but want to do something. There is something tangible that all of us can do….SPREAD THE STORY shining light on the problem and educating others. Issues like this continue because enough light has not shined to force the darkness out. We need to tell others about the problem.
Some other key areas that Anne may share more on: medical care, counseling and spiritual care, physical shelter, legal support for immigration/visas/refugee status, travel logistics to help return people to their homes, political/social/educational/economic support structures to improve issues in the areas where victims are trafficked from. Some areas need special skills/training (medical & legal), but many of the others just need caring people who are willing to work, give, pray, and care.
At one time slavery was a huge issue in our world. The issue before us now is this trafficking. Will we allow this to continue?
.-= Sherie?s last blog ..An empty tomb or living proof? =-.
Speechless. Thank you for bringing this to light.
Thank you for sharing this story. It, and countless others, need to be told.
I notice a lot of commenters saying they’re praying. Well and good to pray, but what about combining that with real action?! There are numerous organizations that actively work to stop trafficking and to help those rescued from these hellish lives to heal and live free. Love146 was one mentioned, Stop the Traffik is another, GEMS is another still… a quick Google search will reveal them and many more.
It’s easy to feel powerless, or to think that praying alone is enough to make it go away. But you CAN do something, even if you don’t have a dime to your name. Look into these organizations, follow them on Twitter, share the stories and the informations with your friends and family and congregations. Raise awareness–and if you can, money. With prayer all things may or may not be possible; with money, a hell of a lot more is.
Thank you for posting. Praying for you and your team.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Anti-Trafficking events =-.
This is so heartbreaking. Scary too. What can we do?!
Wow…how do we pray for this? Do we pray for people to rescue, do we pray for open eyes, do we pray for the capture of those at the forefront? Wow. I’m just at a loss for words or thoughts….
.-= Ed Barnes´s last blog ..Train Hard! Work Hard! Expect the Blessing! =-.
Wow- thank you for sharing!
Wow. All I can saw is wow. I can’t imagine what it was like to sit there while that was going on all around you.
.-= Jacklyn?s last blog ..Hello. My name is Jaye and I am a news junkie. =-.
The sale and distribution of “people” is a global issue like so many. Describing the problem in compelling ways is easier than fostering durable long term solutions. The “church” needs to be on the front edges.
I am here with people who are developing relationships for just that purpose. I’m not a strategy person–just a story teller taking people here with me so they can see the need and be inspired to act when those sustainable relationships are moving forward. :) More on that very soon. A few details to iron out.
WOW…
My heart is broken in a thousand pieces! I read this and I just sat here and cried… I have two girls and I give 11$ a month to the Home Foundation but it doesn’t seem like anything at this point… I am so thankful for God placing you in the midst of such evil because you have opened the eyes of many! THanks for your voice and speaking for those girls who can’t speak! I am praying for girls of all ages and women to rise up against this and fight for girls all over this world including the ones right here in the US. Thanks again for a mind blowing post:) You inspire me beyond words..
Holly:)
@unboundholly
http://www.simplyholly.wordpress.com
http://www.unboundministry.com
Praying while you travel. Thank you. For being brave. So brave.
“But the darkness that was now exposed to us was almost blinding.”
Thank you for sharing this journey.
Opening eyes and hearts.
Sharing truth.
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..My Backyard =-.
Oh, Anne! Praying for you and your team. I’m overwhelmed with nausea over this, and it seems overwhelming to fight. But our God is in the overwhelming business. Bless you.
.-= Sandra Heska King´s last blog ..My Cups Overflow =-.
We will have a very strategic action plan for those wanting to get involved posted Monday US. Heading to Moscow early tomorrow AM and are ironing out details of intentional partnerships with long-term help and care programs.
More to come soon.
LOVE YOU GUYS. And I mean that. Thank you for sharing all this.
-Anne
My skin is crawling.
God have mercy.
I’ve been working with a group to help raise money for the organization NotForSale. I’ve done a lot of mission work and consider myself pretty well informed about different issues going on around the world but over in trying to get more info to be able to fundraise the last couple months my eyes have been opened to the horrific fact that sex trafficking is going on everywhere, all the time. As soon as people hear these stories they are moved to act, to help in some way. I think the biggest issue is that the info is not out there. The more awareness we can create, the better. Keep blogging!
Incredible. Well told, Anne. I appreciated Tom’s perspective, too.
.-= Jeff Goins?s last blog ..It’s Hard to Love… Over and Over Again =-.
I spent some time in Moldova in November with an organization doing AMAZING things within the orphanages and with young girls and boys living in these vulnerable circumstances and are bring so much life, light and hope to the people…check it out here http://www.philip-cameron.org/index.php/missions/stellas_house
Thank you for sharing this story, this is a very sad and sick problem in our society today, and one that we all have an obligation to help stop.
Wow. Thanks for taking the time to paint that picture, Anne.
It makes me feel so helpless.
A part of me wants to walk into that cafe with a machete and a Jack Bauer attitude and make every one of those pathetic excuses for a man regret their choices.
But I know that would barely change anything.
I can pray though. And that can change things.
The song “God of This City” comes into my head: party because I just listened to it… but also because I read that it was actually written in a bar in a city in Thailand that some people consider to be the sex trafficking capital of the world.
And He’s still the Light in the darkness… the Hope to the hopeless… the Peace to the restless.
So even though this is devastating, it’s also encouraging. Keep us updated!
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Anne, thank you for posting this. I was recently in a nice jewelry store (here in America) and two of the girls working there were Russian. I talked to them, having a connection with Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. An eerie feeling came over me. Their english was too good. They were too beautiful, too polished. They talked to the men in the store too smoothly. They had been trafficked.
It does happen anywhere and everywhere-where you least expect it. Thank you for sharing this story, painful as it is.
I leave in a couple weeks for Kolkata, India to work with former sex workers who are now freed. I would like to blog about this journey. Any tips you can give would be welcome.
I salute your team. Deeply saddened by what i read.
.-= Patrick Ng´s last blog ..Urgent – Electric Guitarist and Bassist Needed =-.
Anne – Obviously this resonated with many, many people, not just me. I was shocked to know such places like the Sex Cafe exists. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been shocked, but I was. Thank you for being the VOICE for these girls that are being treated as slaves. I know change is on the way, not only through you, but through HopeChest. I will continue to post links & updates on what we can do to help on my blog & FB pages. You are in my prayers.
Wow, really powerful post. I am going to be in Thailand this summer and will be working wth http://www.vgcd.org/ who rescues children from the sex industry. Not For Sale (David Batstone) and To Plead Our Own Cause (Kevin Bales) are two must-read books. I have lots of info on my blog as well- http://www.onetinystarfish.blogspot.com
Is it okay if I share this post on my blog and link to your blog?
Absolutely! Thank you.
Anne, thanks for this post. We are here in Thailand running an orphanage for girls who are targets for the sex industry/child prostitution. It has been amazing to watch how “normal” it is for this culture to buy and sell sex for both the local and tourist men. I was just in a pool today with a man who visits Thailand several times a year. Single. Been coming for a week for over twenty years. Twenty years. And he didn’t say it (of course), but it’s so incredibly sickening and so incredibly sad to know the reason he keeps visiting is for cheap sex. It breaks our hearts–for men who are sick in their souls and for girs who have no other options.
Thanks for continuing to speak loudly and clearly about this very present issue, and I totally agree–
It must not happen on our watch.
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Wow…just wow. Thanks for this eye-opening post and your brave work in this area. Much of the world’s evil must be carried out in places like this. They appear ‘civilized’ and decent and otherwise fit into their local surroundings, but are fronts for greed that destroys lives on a global scale.
Hello Anne, thank you for your post. As a survivor, I am humbled each time I read, or hear when someone brings awareness to this horrific crime. Furthermore, that it is right here in our own backyards, not just in 3rd world/foreign countries. Again, thank you, and may you be blessed for being a voice to the voiceless….
Thanks so much for writing this! More and more people need to know what’s going on in the world. As one who’s done rescue work in the brothels in Thailand, I am DESPERATE for others to catch the vision, and to realize that, as you said, if we know it’s going on and we do nothing to fight it, we’re actually enabling it!
Please shoot me an email, justin[AT]destinyrescue.org
I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing to help fight this horrible problem!
Thanks!
I recently saw sex trafficking in Thailand. Thanks for stirring this message in my heart again. I am compelled to do more.
This is a huuuuuge issue. Thanks for being an advocate. We work with churches in Moldova that run transition homes for girls like this. It’s amazing to see the response that Moldovan Christians have to the problem. It’s a huge privilege to work with them in this endeavor.
Hello Anne,
My brother has built a web relationship with young woman in Moldova. I think he met her through an organization called Global Ladies or something like that. Several months ago I went to a writers conference and ate a meal with a man who works with an organization in Moldova. He told me this country is hell on earth and shared what is happening to children and young women there. He guessed that my brother’s friend is too old to work in prostitution and is in a desperate situation. I told my brother about that conversation back in March. Today my brother called and asked if I could connect with that man and get his friend some help. He is very worried about her. I just shared a meal with that man. Now, I don’t remember his name or the name of his organization. I came online to try to find it. I found you. Is there any way someone could talk to this young woman? Is there any way we can get her help? Thank you. God Bless your work.
Head over to hopechest.org and search or find the Moldova link. Those are the organizations I was working with when I was there.
Thanks for bringing this issue up, it’s something I’ve devoted some time to, volunteering for an organization that stops trafficking in Thailand and other Asian countries this past summer. As much as we want to be ignorant about us, or say ‘No, that’s not really what happens’, the truth is there staring at us.
This is a terrific post on trafficking, Anne. I also browsed the other posts you wrote on practical ways to fight sex trade. Love your heart to engage with injustice.
Looking forward to hopefully meeting you for real at Allume! Laura Parker and I will be there for The Exodus Road, an international non-profit coalition which fights sex trade through covert investigation. ‘Very relevant to this post.
Again, nice job capturing the complexity of this issue, here.
Kelley
Thank you, Kelley! :)
good story
I have been to Chisinau twice for mission trips. As I was reading, in my mind I was sitting in that cafe, taking in the smells and sounds around me. We need to stand for justice for these girls.
Amen.