2010 Human Traffic English Public Service Announcement from STOP Human Trafficking on Vimeo.

People are mainly trafficked and enslaved as sex workers but also as forced laborers, child brides and as soldiers. This is fact.

Of the 600-800’000 people smuggled over international borders annually, 75% are used for sex trafficking. So we here at ‘STOP’ thought, wow Nelly, not while we’re alive!

Being trafficked to work in the sex industry is a catch 22 situation. Here is one of the many scenarios;

You are poor and uneducated.

The only commodity your family has left to sell for food is…you.

You are enslaved and forced to work as a prostitute, but it is better than dying of hunger. Besides, they’ll probably kill me if I try escape.You can’t cope with being a prostitute, but luckily there are ample substances available to help you handle the barrage of customers you are forced to sleep with everyday.

You start using the little money you receive to support your ever increasing drug habit.You want out… but now you have no money… you already spent it on drugs. So you keep working to make MORE money.

In other words, finding yourself between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Check Out The STOP Trafficking Site, View the Videos & Share with Others: http://www.2010humantraffic.org/

We’re Launching A Campaign!

You cannot escape the soccer mania in South Africa- there are posters and advertisements everywhere you turn.  Although there is widespread excitement, many South Africans are dreading the implications of hundreds of thousands of visitors – from traffic to inflated prices.

There will no doubt be inconveniences and opportunities made available through the World Cup, but not everyone will be benefiting.  One of the dark sides to any international events is the growth of black market activity- from drug trade to human trafficking.  In the case of South Africa, there have already been reports of increased trafficking internally, to supply new brothels that will be used by soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.  As traffickers increases their operations in the region, effective and sweeping child-safety initiatives are needed. (Learn more about trafficking in South Africa here).

My grandmother, a social worker by training, has lived and worked in South Africa for over 80 years.  She has consistently been involved with young people and is also an extreme pragmatist.  When the government of South Africa announced they were going to extend the school holiday over the time of the World Cup – she decided something had to be done about childcare (and apparently we needed to get everyone in the entire country involved in the effort).  So my grandmother and I have launched a new campaign:   OurChildren2010 Campaign.

What’s It All About?

During the 2010 World Cup South Africa will be filled with visitors, most of them well intentioned sports fans. Some, however, will not be so well meaning. From 11 June to 11 July millions of children will be left at home without childcare.

Since the government extended the holiday break, children will be out of school for an entire month.  For families that cannot afford the cost of childcare, the only option will be to leave their children unattended at home, or with a watchful neighbor.  We are calling on every community to open their doors to children during this time, in order to ensure that the kids don’t fall prey to those who may want to manipulate or take advantage of them.

A Call To Action

Learn More & Help Us Spread The Word!

Learn about counter-trafficking efforts in South Africa, and  download educational and other training material from these organizations.

• ANEX CDW - Against Child Abuse
• TUG: The Ultimate Goal
• IOM South Africa
• Red Light Campaign 2010
• Justice Acts

You can watch the campaign videos on  YouTube, become a fan on Facebook and learn more at www.ourchildren2010.com

I have walked through the ring-purchasing process with several friends and know that there are many factors to consider.  Proposals are fundamentally about communicating your love to another person, so I always vote for doing something that is both you and reflects that you “get” your partner.  For many of my friends who work on human rights issues and are aware of the atrocities associated with the mining of diamonds and other precious metals, wearing a traditional diamond ring isn’t an option.

I have heard of people opting-out of all mined materials and carving their ring out of wood, one friends gave his now wife an engagement watch, and many people use jewelry that is in the family.  However, if family jewelry isn’t an option, and you think that wood might rot before your love does, then choosing a metal-based ring may be the way to go.

Below is an article written by DC-based Amanda Kloer of Change.org, which lists many of the sources that I have previously recommended to friends.  The list that Amanda provides isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a good place to start.  Hopefully you will find it helpful.

Where to Find Fair Trade Jewelry for Valentines Day

by Amanda Kloer Published February 12, 2010 @ 07:00AM PT – Change.org

If you’ve been watching any television the past couple weeks, then you’ve seen a major advertising boom by the jewelry industry pushing gold and diamond necklaces, earrings, and rings for Valentines Day. Aside from Christmas, V-Day (or National Solitary Awareness Day, as some call it) is one of the biggest holidays of the year for jewelry sales.

However, much of that jewelry is made from “dirty gold” and “blood diamonds” — terms used to describe gold and diamonds mined by children, exploited workers, and tied to violence and conflicts. But the good news is, there are a number of great places to buy Fair Trade gold and diamond jewelry without sacrificing quality. Here are some of my favorite Fair Trade and ethical jewelry resources:

Arctic Sparkle: They have a selection of fair trade and eco gold jewelry. The company is based in Minnesota and mines diamonds in Canada.

Artisan Wedding Rings: Offers primarily wedding and engagement rings, including gems and gold from small scale and family-owned mining operations in Africa. All precious metals are 100% recycled.

Brilliant Earth: Their diamonds come from Canada, where labor regulations are more worker-friendly than many parts of Africa, and where the diamond industry doesn’t fuel slavery or war. They also feature recycled gold in some of their products.

Pristine Planet: While they focus more on the sustainability and environmental impact of products, they do have a good selection of ethically-sourced diamonds and gold.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started, but the Internet is full of places to buy more ethical jewelry. And if you’re shopping at a jewelry store near you, ask lots of questions about where the diamonds, gold, and gems came from, and try and find a jeweler who offers some sort of guarantee that no slaves were used in the production of that piece.

As with all places you shop, I strongly encourage you to do your own research on these vendors and choose those which most closely reflect your values. If you’re looking for more information about blood diamonds, dirty gold, and where to find more ethical jewelry, here’s a How-to-Purchase-Ethical-Jewelry-Now on the subject.

Confused? Here is a post on TheKnot.com on some things to keep in mind when buying conflict free diamonds.  There many resources online to guide you through this process, so ask around! If you have come across other good resources, let me know and I will add them to this list.

The more customers demand slave-free and ethical products, the faster the industry will change.

At some point during the year, I had a conversation with a close and long-time family friend.  I was sharing how I was growing weary and bewildered by what seems to be a constant friction- so many opportunities and efforts that failed to come to fruition.  She gave me a word that has helped me place this past years experiences in a forward-looking perspective- Roots.

We scatter many seeds on the soil of our life – some may bring beautiful flowers that seem to grow overnight and provide joy for a moment before they fade; others are washed away, and some stick, but the largest things to grow in our lives do not grow quickly, nor is the process easy.  The things that stay, put down roots.

Pushing down roots is an uneasy process- It’s finding a way through the hard ground, navigating past rocks too large to break and seeking nutrients, essential for life, in a seemingly barren landscape.  As the roots grow and expand they become stronger and more entwined in the earth they inhabit but remain predominantly invisible to the external world.

Much of this past year was about navigating unmarked pathways within my soul and about discovering and pressing in to new avenues.  I have run into many walls, came to many dead-ends, but I have also found new spaces where growth seemed possible. The process has not been linear or contiguous in nature.  Like roots hidden underground, the year was marked by a type of isolation and darkness, but it was within this unknown space that I was forced to negotiate and create new paths.

I often stop and marvel at trees. I find them exceedingly beautiful, but as I stand under their giant arms with my eyes turned to the sky, I seldom think about the labyrinth of spider web like veins running beneath my feet.  It is these roots that give life and anchor the towering beauty in storms and droughts alike.

2009 was about putting down roots in my life.  There isn’t really any visible evidence of this effort yet, but believe me, they are there. Now when I see a massive old tree I get excited about what could possibly sprout from this new foundation in the years to come.

The hope of what will come from the struggle kept me going through many dark days.  I know from experience that hope isn’t always enough when you cannot see any light in front of you, but I trust that you too will soon see what has taken root in the soils of yesterday.

Here’s to 2010- the process, and seasons of growth!

So, I booked a ticket.

Among other things, I spent 2009 looking for full-time employment, a task that is as draining on ones emotions, as it is on ones bank balance.  I was in need of a break.  Over the fourteen months of job searching I had questioned most, if not all, my dreams, life goals, passions and aptitudes.  It was a fruitful process, but it increased my desire to find and hold onto the core aspects of my identity and heritage.

I was born in Cape Town to parents who had grown up in the same beach-side community.  Since I was a child, I have always felt South African.  However the longer I have been in DC the less I have felt connected to this heritage.  This may be because I no longer have daily contact with my South African family and friends, but whatever the reason, feeling less connected to this part of my identity is worrying.  I needed to go home and spend time with my family and see my childhood home again.

It had been approximately fifteen years since I spent the holidays with my family in the Western Cape.  I remember fondly that Christmas on the farm.  My cousins and I swam and played on the foofy slide until we were covered in dirt and grass stains. We painted go-carts and wore matching lime-green Snoopy outfits my grandmother had sewn for us to wear in our race against the cousins living next door.  I remember the creaky iron gate and the long dirt road that lead up to the property.

This year, I returned to George, but not to the farm.  It was sold after my aunt and uncle got a divorce over ten years ago.  There were no go-cart races and no matching outfits. There wasn’t hours of careless play in the yard.  All but two of the cousins have grown up and moved out of their parents homes and are living in different parts of the country.

However, on Christmas day, the cars rolled up and the laughter began.  MJ and his girlfriend Kerry-Lee brought cases of champagne and began managing the last details of the kitchen.  The cousins who we used to race on the farm joined us for drinks on the veranda and the youngest cousins played with their new toys. Guy and his new wife Lollie pitched up just in time for Guy to carve the lamb and all twenty-two of us sat down for a meal…

My time in South Africa was not flashy or full of tourist destinations, but it was just what I needed.  Most of my family members have faced their own challenges this past year.  From divorce to cancer and everything in-between, the hard realities of life were as evident as the strength that has always manifested itself in the women of our family.  I was exhorted and encourage by the honesty and tenacity displayed over cups of tea and glasses of cheap wine.

Family is never perfect, but it is the space where we learn about ourselves and, on a good day, are given the grace we need to get through tomorrow.

I saw this type of engagement while spending time at Life Community Services in George, South Africa.  This relatively small local NGO starts with providing the most basic need – food and then continues to engage the children intellectually and emotionally while getting to know their individual situations.

Each morning, dedicated staff sort through food donated by local grocers, and begin to prepare meals for 3,000 children.  The meals are not elaborate, but are often the only nourishment the children receive during the week.  In a country where 57% of the population lives below the poverty line, basic amenities are frequently scarce and food not taken for granted.  The meals are distributed to the children at centers (often houses or shacks similar to the surrounding buildings) in the neighborhoods where the kids live.  The only rules are that the children must show up on time and bring a utensil and a receptacle from which to eat their food.

These decentralized distribution centers allow for more personal interaction with the kids.  It is easier for the teachers to know when a child has been missing for a few days.  They know which children live in child-headed homes due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.  They know where and with whom the children live. This knowledge is powerful- it means that the staff at Life can walk with the children through difficult times, and lift them up whenever possible.

I have seen this dedication first hand.  My aunt Sally, who helps run the Life Community Center, has poured her time and energy into all the children, including a young girl named Nissi whom she adopted a few years ago.  Nissi’s mother, who lives in the neighboring township, struggles with many of the vices of poverty including alcoholism and substance abuse.  When these issues led to Nissi being locked in their shack without food or water for days, and to violent abuse, the staff of Life stepped in to help.  Unable to find Nissi an adequate safe home, my aunt made the decision to become her legal guardian.  Nissi has been part of the family for several years now, and she is an utter joy.  It has been amazing to see her learn and grow and become a star athlete at school.

Not every child faces the types of challenges that Nissi did but the hurdles that poverty creates are immense.  Without really knowing the circumstances in which a child lives, we will never be able to resolve the root of the problems or provide timely help in an emergency.  This is why the dedicated staff at Life make a huge difference.

To learn more about their work go to: http://www.lifecomonline.org/

It can be confusing – most of your parents want you to do well, to be successful… They want you to love, and be loved, and find peace, and laugh and find meaningful work.  But they also – some of them, a few of them (not yours –– yours are fine) – they also want you to chase the bunny for a while.  To get ahead, sock some money away, and then to find a balance between the bunny chase and savoring your life.

But you don’t know whether you’re going to live long enough to slow down, relax and have fun, and discover the truth of your spiritual identity.  You may not be destined to live a long life; you may not have sixty more years to discover and claim your own deepest truth….

It might be helpful if I go ahead and tell you what I think is the truth of your spiritual identity… Actually, I don’t have a clue.

I do know you are not what you look like, or how much you weigh, or how you did in school or whether you start a job on Monday or not.  Spirit isn’t what you do, it’s….well, I don’t know.

I know that you feel it best when you’re not doing much –– when you’re in nature, when you’re very quiet or, paradoxically, listening to music.

…You can close your eyes and feel the divine spark concentrating in your, like a little Dr. Seuss firefly.  It flickers with life and relief, … It’s magic to see Spirit, largely because it’s so rare.

…But you are not your bank account, or your ambition. You’re not the cold lump of clay you leave behind when you die.  You’re not your collection of walking personality disorders.
…You are Spirit, you are love, and even when though it’s hard to believe sometimes, you are free. You are here to love, and be loved, freely.  If you find out next week that you are terminally ill – and we’re all terminally ill on this bus – what will matter are memories of beauty, that people loved you, and that you loved them.

So how do we feed and nourish our spirit, and the spirit of others?  First find a path, and a little light to see by.  Then push up your sleeves and start helping. Every single spiritual tradition says that you must take care of the poor, or you are so doomed that not even Jesus or Buddha can help you.

You don’t have to go overseas.  There are people in this country who are poor in spirit, worried, depressed, dancing as fast as they can; their kids are sick or their retirement savings are gone.  There is great loneliness among us, life-threatening loneliness.  People have given up on peace and equality.  I would recommend that you take a long deep breath, and stop; Just be where your butts are and breathe.   Take some time…

Refuse to cooperate with anyone who is trying to shame you into hopping right back up on to the rat exercise wheel.  Rest, but pay attention.  Refuse to cooperate with anyone who is stealing your freedom, your personal and civil liberties, and then smirk about it.”

-    Anne LaMott, Plan B

I know quoting someone else isn’t considered writing, but there is so much in this speech, by Anne LaMott to a graduating class, that resonates with me.

I am about to board a plane to South Africa to visit my family.  I have ‘a little light to see by’ and I am going to push up my sleeves and hopefully do a little helping.

But more then caring for the poor, this trip is about refusing to chase the bunny, about being with people that I love, and breathing because no one lives forever.
It’s about the things that you cannot buy, you cannot rent, and you cannot apply for.
It’s about exercising the freedom that we have, that sometime fades into the status quo.
It’s about loving the people in our lives with more than birthday cards and the occasional phone call.
It’s about sharing a cup of tea, rather than a facebook message, because no emoticon can teach me the expression of laughter on my grandmother’s face.
It’s about jumping, because I know that my wings are strong.
It’s about going home to walk the blurred streets of childhood dreams and about making peace with the unforeseen road ahead.
It’s about acting out of who I know I am, instead of waiting for someone to give me permission.

I hope that wherever you find yourself this holiday season that you will reflect on the fact that what you are looking for is already inside of you- and if you stop long enough, you may just find that it is magical…

As I sat with her at a local coffee shop, she read me e-mails from friends and strangers.  People sent flowers and Thai food.  Friends of friends sent her stories about their battles with cancer, their struggles through dark places in their lives and how their faith and their families carried them through.  We talked about how lucky we are to be alive.  How lucky she was to get sick enough to go into the hospital, or the tumor could have gone unnoticed.  We talked about Jesus.  She reflected on how blessed she was and how so many people suffer.  We browsed random websites, and read a blog about a couple who had quadruplets – Anything to keep her mind off her cell phone.

By Tuesday night the doctor had called.  The tumor was benign.  Later that week some friends met for dinner to celebrate the news.  We listening to her talk about how much she loves Jesus and how grateful she was for this miracle that so many others have not been granted.  Over dinner six women reflected on the gift of health and of the days ahead.  We recounted stories of loved ones who had battled cancer- some who had won and others who had left this world for a better one. Although all of us are under thirty, good health is not a given.  Nothing in life is a given.  We do not know what tomorrow will bring.

You must know that this friend already lives life with a vibrant enthusiasm.  She travels around the world to tell the stories of children who face poverty, abuse, hunger, slavery, homelessness and war.  She makes the world a better place whether she is in the Congo or sitting with me at Tryst.  I guess the question posed to all of us by this experience is, are we living life to the full? Are we the kind of people who go to bed each night content with how we spent our time- what we learned, how we treated others, who we invested in.  If all we had were these 26 years, would they have been all we wanted them to be?  I am not sure.

I am lucky to have good health, a caring family and a community that encourages me to stay centered while still looking to the stars.  I have a roof over my head and resources to pursue an education.  I am very blessed, yet how content am I?

I believe that life should be more than monetary success, the pursuit of academic accolades or even being a supportive and loving family member.  So, I am going to spend some time processing (and maybe writing) about what it means to me to live life to the full.

I want to be more than grateful for the things in my life.  I want to move beyond my blessings to live a life that is truly transformational – A life where I am confident that I am living each year given to me to the fullest.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

…
I am really excited about this new division of Invisible Children, an advocacy group based out of California. Mend is a project that connects consumers to the people who are making the products that they purchase. By using technology and a bit of creativity, Mend allows you to ‘meet’ the woman who put her skills to use to make you something beautiful.

The video clearly explains how we as consumers have been increasingly removed from the process of production. Not very long ago, we used to grow our own food, trade with our neighbor for basic commodities and know the tailor who sewed our suit. Our grandparents and even our parents, just one generation removed, can tell stories of making their own clothes and knowing the proprietor of the corner market so well that they would get treated to a free Coke on hot days.

Advances in technology and the boom of mass production, however, have created processes that cut many of the links that tied producers and consumers together. The assembly line, advanced machinery, sprawling factories, flashy advertising, and the recent phenomenon of globalization have created a less costly, more convenient market for the exchange of commodities.

The human connection that we once had in our consumption of goods and services gave us a reason care about these things. Today, without a face-to-face exchange, it is easy to forget about the people who make our food, clothes and other products. In blind consumerism like this, our ignorance is bliss.

Distorted Costs:

No one I know would ever intentionally harm another human being to get a pair of jeans or a good cup of coffee; however in today’s economy we seldom know the real cost of what we buy.

Human capital, especially labor, is one of the most costly commodities in a production cycle. The cheapest labor, of course, is free labor. In the worst-case scenarios this means the use of slave labor. Slavery has a long history, from the pyramids of Egypt to the cotton fields of the old south. Today, most slavery is underground, but the use human life for profit remains prevalent around the world.

In many cases, it’s not the use of free labor that keep costs down, but rather it is the common practice of exploitation through inequitable pay, unsafe working conditions and cutting corners. It’s not about simply paying factory workers a lower wage than they would make in the US. It’s about people being chained to machinery and refused bathroom breaks, the use of child labor in the rug industry and conflicts funded by profits made from the mining industry.

Conscientious Consumer:

It isn’t always easy to identify where things come from, or who is affected by our purchases. We may be far removed from the other end of the assembly line, but we can still take steps to be more conscientious consumers. As we increase our awareness about the products we buy, it becomes easier to make informed, principled choices regarding how we spend money. The more we seek to know about the persons at the other end of the production chain, the better equipped we will be ensure that the human cost doesn’t outweigh the sticker price.

What are some ways you can build a human connection back into your consumption habits? Intentional, informed and creative choices abound. Think about buying a bag from MEND. Find out if there is a local farmers market where you can meet the people who grow the foods they sell. Ask about clothes designed and made by people within your community. Maybe you will make a friend or two! You may even find a new trade or skill that interests you and change more than your purchasing habits.

MEND