Seek Justice

On Saturday night, I attended the International Justice Mission's Benefit Dinner in Los Angeles. I have not been able to stop thinking about it since. I am not the sort of person to jump without reservation on a "cause bandwagon" but I am going to unabashedly plug IJM today, because I absolutely believe in the importance—and necessity—of the work in which they are engaged.

To put it as simply as possible. IJM is an organization that fights to free people from slavery. (And for those of you who think slavery ended with the Civil War in the United States, I have some bad news: it didn't.) In the non-profit organization's own words, "International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery, and oppression."

I think we can all agree that's a good cause, right?

But IJM does not stop only at rescuing people. As I learned from the presentation on Saturday night, they also seek justice on behalf of victims. That means bringing charges against the victims' oppressors whenever possible, to hold them accountable for their crimes.

That determination to make sure perpetrators receive just punishment is one of the reasons I decided to support this group. Another reason is the fact that many of those who are rescued by IJM are young girls and women who have been sold or kidnapped into the worst kind of slavery imaginable: sexual slavery. I read an article not too long ago on CNN, about a 6-year-old girl named Srey sold by her family into a brothel. Look at this quote:

"Passed from man to man, often drugged to make her compliant, Srey was a commodity at the heart of a massive, multimillion-dollar sex industry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia."

Believe me when I say that Srey does not represent a horrible exception to the rule in places like Cambodia, Thailand, and many other countries. I saw first-hand on my travels in Thailand several years ago the prevalence of the sex trade. In Pattaya, for example, where I stayed for several days, there is no red-light "district"—unless by "district" you mean "pretty much the whole city."

Abuses like slavery and sexual exploitation of any kind should not be tolerated, but when helpless children are the victims... there is nothing more reprehensible. This has to stop. Period.

I know the problem seems overwhelming. But Sharon Cohn, one of the speakers at the Benefit Dinner and Senior VP of Interventions for IJM, pointed out that even if we help just one person at a time, the cumulative effect can make for a lasting change. As more people are brought to justice for their crimes, as laws are upheld and applied more consistently, others will perhaps think twice before committing the same sins. And the bottom line is, if it's not profitable, people will stop doing it.

I hope you'll consider supporting the International Justice Mission. If you want to know more about what they do, go to their Web site and read some of their case stories. They also have a page where you can find links to articles written about them in the news media. To find out how they allocate funds, check out their standing as a charitable organization at give.org or review their financial information here.

Thanks for listening.

Note: Opinions, etc., expressed above are mine alone. International Justice Mission should not be held responsible for any of them. Also, they did not ask me to ask you for your support. That was my idea. If you don't give anything, it's not like I'll hate you or stop being your friend. Just think about it, OK? That's all I'm really asking.