Like most major sporting and entertainment events, there is always more happening than just the game on the field/ice/stadium/whatever. There are half-time shows, parties, tailgating, the list goes on.
Unfortunately, large events like this are also notorious for illicit actions as well. Human trafficking rates are known to rise substantially at large events; and while increased awareness initiatives and more careful policing does help to curb some of this evil, it still happens.
Anywhere and anytime that thousands of people are in one location, some/many of whom may be impaired, others who may personally profit from turning a blind eye – it’s a forum for the commercialisation of humanity.
A horrifying fact of human trafficking is that it is a by-demand system – meaning that before a human is trafficked, someone has already paid for that human to be trafficked. Unlike other exchanges, traffickers do not have ability or inclination to maintain surplus supply.
While the majority of people who are trafficked are enslaved in sex trafficking, there are also a large number who are targeted for labour trafficking. Globally, there are an estimated 28 million people trapped in human trafficking any day.
In Canada, February 22 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Here in Saskatoon, there will be a flag-raising, solemn walk, and panel discussion about the realities of human trafficking in our midst (February 20, beginning at City Hall). We may not be the Super Bowl, but this darkness creeps across every community.
The good news is that we are making a difference: by shining the light into the darkness, by refusing to look away when it becomes painful or awkward; by doing what we can to re-affirm the dignity and rights of every human being.
This is modern-day slavery; and as Christians we are called to stand against this commodification and exploitation of our kin. We can do this through education and advocacy; learning about what human trafficking looks like in our own contexts, and committing to respect the dignity of all – praying for those who are trapped, survivors, and for those who work with them. We pray, too, for those who engage in illicit acts, and for the traffickers – that God may turn their hearts.
May God give us the strength and courage to be informed advocates for justice.
Isa. 61.1-2 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
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