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The Unreached
People Trafficking
Child Labour & Exploitation
Ethical consumerism
The Persecuted Church
Humanitarian Aid & Development
"If the trumpet does not sound a clear call who will get ready for the battle?"
1 Corinthinans 14:8
The Unreached
 Did you know that approximately 1/3 of the world’s population, around 2.5 billion people remain without any opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus. These people are considered unreached.
This means they don't have any scripture in their language and have virtually no Christians living amongst them through whom they can experience Christ’s love.
Most people in the world today live in 'greater' Asia. It is estimated that 70% of our Asian brothers and sisters have never heard of Jesus Christ let alone heard His gospel. In spite of this, only 1 in 20,000 Christians are going to tell the good news to those who have not heard - and 80% of long term foreign missionaries choose to go to countries that are already nominally Christian.
Less than 0.05% of church income is directed to frontier missions (reaching the least reached) where it is needed most.
 Out of the 6,900 known languages in the world, only 5% have a complete Bible, 28% have portions of the Bible and 67% have no Bible in their language at all. And yet, the English language has more than 100 Bible translations and larger Christian bookstores list around 2,000 different Bibles and Bible 'accessories' for us to purchase...
Much good work is being done around the world, and we need to celebrate this. But these statistics give rise to a challenging question... "are our actions in alignment with God's plan for the nations?" Please pray and think about this, but remember... knowing the need is just the beginning of making a difference.
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved... How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news". Romans 10:13-15 NIV
(Statistics from New Tribes Mission (adaptation); Operation World 21st Century Edition by Patrick Johnstone. WEC International' Joshua Project http://www.joshuaproject.net/great-commission-statistics.php)
BE INFORMED - BE AVAILABLE - BE INVOLVED
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People Trafficking
 Did you know that William Wilberforce and Abraham Lincoln failed to end slavery? I'm sure you did, but you probably don't know that 'people trafficking' is now the second largest organised criminal activity in the world (after drugs). Global crime syndicates are increasingly attracted to the sustainability of profits found in modern day slavery. A deal of heroine can only be used once, but people can be used over and over.
Within our region (the greater Asia Pacific), the trafficking of women and children for sex is a significant concern. For the typical victim, life includes systematic rape, beatings from brothel workers and customers, severe fatigue, psychological trauma, threats of violence to family or friends, malnutrition, forced abortions, lack of basic sanitation and life threatening disease. Commonly, sex slaves are forced to service 10-15 and up to 40 customers every day. For many, their only escape is disease or death.
In other horrifying instances, kidneys and other body parts have been forcibly removed from captives and sold on the medical black market. Many of these victims die. Others are disfigured for life.
• Experts estimate that there are 27 million people enslaved around the world today.
• Slavery is defined as forced labour with no pay (or little pay) under the threat of violence.
• The US government estimates 14,500 to 17,000 victims are trafficked into the US every year.
• 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked internationally each year.
• Approximately 80% of victims are women and children.
• People trafficking yields $12 billion in profit each year.
The four most common types of slavery are Chattel Slavery, Debt Bondage, Forced Labour and Sex Slavery.
 CHATTEL SLAVERY is closest to the race-based slavery that prevailed in the Americas in the 1700's & 1800s. Chattel slaves are
considered their masters’ property—exchanged for things like trucks or money and expected to perform labour and
sexual favours; their children are expected to do the same.
DEBT BONDAGE, or bonded labour, is the most widely practiced form of slavery around the world.
Extreme poverty often forces parents to offer themselves or their own children as collateral against a loan. Though
they are told they will only work until the debt is paid off, grossly inflated interest rates often make this impossible. As a result, the debt is inherited by the victim’s children, perpetuating a vicious cycle that can claim several generations.
SEX SLAVERY is when women and children (predominantly) are forced into prostitution. Many are lured by false offers of a good job and then
beaten and forced to work in brothels. Others are sold by family members to pay off a debt. Still others are
plainly kidnapped.
FORCED LABOR results when individuals are lured by the promise of a good job but instead find
themselves subjected to slaving conditions—working without payment while enduring physical abuse, often in harsh
and hazardous conditions. Victims include domestic workers, construction workers, and even human mine detectors.
(Sources: www.iAbolish.org - www.stopthetraffik.org.au - www.theA21campaign.org - www.antislavery.org.au. See also "Not For Sale" by David Batstone, outlined on the 'Courses and Resources page of this website)
and a little closer to home....
Thailand
 Thailand is a well known source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking.
Rural Thai and Hill Tribe women and girls are trafficked to Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, Bahrain, Australia, Singapore, Europe, Canada and the United States for sexual and labour exploitation. Many women and girls are trafficked by international criminal syndicates. Many Thai women are lured to Taiwan, Malaysia, the United States, and the Middle East by labour recruiting agencies and are forced into involuntary servitude because of the high debt owed to the agencies.
Within Thailand, many women and children are trafficked from the impoverished North and Northeast (Isaan) to Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai for sexual exploitation. Women also are trafficked to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bahrain, Australia, South Africa, Europe, and the United States chiefly for sexual exploitation but also for sweatshop labour. Men are trafficked into the country for commercial fisheries and farm, industrial, and construction labour. Prosecution of traffickers of men has been complicated by the lack of coverage in the law.
There are many causes of human trafficking in Thailand. Many argue that Thailand is a destination for human trafficking because of its relative affluence in the Greater Sub-Mekong Region.
The Thai Government was placed in Tier 2 in the 2007 U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report for not fully complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but making significant efforts to do so. There are reports of local government officials who are complicit in trafficking. Since the September 2006 military coup, Thai government efforts to combat trafficking remain uncertain.
 Penalties for trafficking women and children in Thailand range from imprisonment for a year to life and fines of $50 to $1000. There are no laws that criminalize labour trafficking and the trafficking of men. A draft law which allows for prosecution of all forms of trafficking was finalized in 2006 but awaits passage in the legislature.
The Government of Thailand reported 88 arrests in cases brought against traffickers in the period from September 2005 through February 2007, involving a total of 100 victims. No public officials or law enforcement officials were arrested for being complicit in trafficking in 2006.
In 2006, IOM returned 343 people to their home countries, including 245 Laotians, 85 Cambodians, and 13 Burmese. Trafficking victims receive some legal assistance from NGOs and the Department of Welfare.
(Source: www.humantrafficking.org. Article references: 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report; 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report; ILO-IPEC: Thailand, the Situation. See also, www.rahabministriesthailand.com and www.nightlightinternational.com).
Cambodia
"Cambodia's Thriving Child Prostitution Industry" by Al Jazeera - www.humantrafficking.org
October 28, 2008
 An investigation into Cambodia's Child Prostitution Industry has found underage girls as young as 14 working in brothels' around Phnom Penh, and while the industry is often shown as serving predatory foreign tourists, local men have been found to be the mainstay of clients. Thousands of children are bought and sold for sex every day in Cambodia the investigation found.
Al Jazeera filmed secretly at several brothels, and in each case found much the same thing - rooms full of young women in their early twenties, as well as teenagers. "For my virginity they gave me $200," Ya Da, a 16-year-old former prostitute, said.
Ya Da worked in a brothel for two years before she ran away. Now, she lives in a safe house with other former prostitutes and abused children. "There were just a few foreign customers [at the brothel]," she said. "I never slept with any, I slept only with Cambodian men."
Mu Sochua, a former minister for women's affairs, told Al Jazeera that most of Cambodia's sex industry was supported "by local customers".
"And some of these local customers are high-ranking officials. You have the military, the police and civil servants, you have rich businessmen who have lots of money," she said. The involvement of high-ranking officials has been one reason that the sex industry has thrived in Cambodia.
 "Very often these brothels and criminal networks are being supported and protected by high ranking officials," Mark Capaldi, from Ecpat International, an organisation working to eliminate child prostitution, said. "The problem is not just as abusers but also the impunity and lack of law enforcement in closing down these brothels and karaoke bars." Daniela Reale, an advisor from Save the Children, told Al Jazeera: "The reality is that we do know local demand is the force driving this abuse. "We also know it is around 70 per cent of local demand rather than sex tourism."
In 2002, Gary Glitter, the British pop star, was expelled from Cambodia amid child-sex allegations. But while the arrest and conviction of foreigners make the headlines, most child sex trafficking supplies local demand, Mu Sochua said. "It is easier to catch a foreigner and also the government wants to have showcases to make itself look good - that Cambodia is actually taking care of this problem of human trafficking, which is really not the truth," she told Al Jazeera.
Reale said that governments need to "...tackle the poverty that forces girls into prostitution", She said that governments must provide support systems to help families match their needs.
(Source: "Cambodia - Child Sex Trade Soars in Cambodia." by Al Jazeera 21 October 2008. Go to
VIDEO Direct Link (Article/Source: www humantrafficking.org/updates/811)
Stop the Traffik is a comprehensive web resource. It outlines compelling case studies of human trafficking within our region and highlights the work of many unsung heroes - rescuers and abolitionists that are striving to stand in the gap and bring an end to modern day slavery.
Australia
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has recently identified Australia as a ‘high destination' country for trafficked people (UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 2006). Victims come from East Asia, South East Asia, and Eastern Europe, particularly the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand. There are several reports of migrants, particularly from India, the People’s Republic of China, and South Korea, who voluntarily migrate to work in Australia but are later coerced into exploitative conditions. Australian authorities believe that traffickers are primarily individual operators or small crime groups that often rely on larger organized crime groups to procure fraudulent documentation.The Australian Crime Commission reports that deceptive practices in contract terms and conditions appeared to be increasing among women in prostitution, while deceptive recruiting practices appeared to be decreasing. There are no reliable estimates on the number of trafficking victims in Australia. However, the Australian NGO Project Respect estimates up to 1,000 victims are currently under debt bondage, not including those who have been trafficked but already paid off their debt. A recent US Government report suggests that approximately 1,200 people are trafficked into Australia annualy.
 Human trafficking is a crime in Australia (Commonwealth Criminal Code). The penalty for sexual servitude is up to 15 years of imprisonment; the penalty for slavery is up to 25 years of imprisonment; the penalty for deceptive recruitment is up to seven years of imprisonment. Australians can also be prosecuted under the Child Sex Tourism Act for travelling abroad to engage in sex with minors under 16.
Since 2004, the Australian Federal Police has opened 112 investigations and charged 22 people for human trafficking. Since October 2006, Australia has had four convictions for sex trafficking, four convictions for child sex tourism, and there are currently six sex trafficking and two labor trafficking before the court.
The Australian Government provides assistance for trafficking victims, their families, and witnesses in the prosecutions.
(Source: www.humantrafficking.org The Australian Institute of Criminology also has good reference materials on human trafficking (as it relates to Australia). See www.aic.gov.au)
1 Corinthians 7:22 ... he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman...
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Child Labour & Exploitation
 Did you know that an estimated 158,000,000 children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour - thats one in six children in the world. Millions of children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring behind the walls of sweatshops, making bricks in quarries, hidden from view in plantations.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa around one in three children are engaged in child labour. Thats represents 69,000,000 children
- In South Asia, another 44,000,000 are engaged in child labour
 Children living in the poorest households and in rural areas are most likely to be engaged in child labour. Those burdened with household chores are overwhelmingly girls. Millions of girls who work as domestic servants are especially vulnerable to exploitation and sexual abuse.
Labour often interferes with children’s education. Ensuring that all children go to school and that their education is of good quality are keys to
preventing child labour.
(Source: UNICEF/Child Labour http://www.unicef.com.au/. See Table 9 of UNICEF's annual publication The State of the World's Children for latest national estimates)
Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
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Ethical consumerism
Shopping ethically
 We all love a bargain when we go shopping, but the true cost of consumerism is often hidden and alarming. Did you know that the products that we buy and use in Australia can affect people in other countries?
Many of the goods we use are made or grown in developing nations. Sometimes the workers producing these goods receive extremely low pay or are forced to work in dangerous conditions, and sometimes, the workers are child labourers or people that have been trafficked.
Cocoa, used to make big brand chocolate, is often produced on the backs of child labourers in Africa. In Southeast Asia, men are too often exploited for their labour in the fishing industry. Coffee growers in South America are underpaid for their crops, victims to crop dumping by subsidised and wealthy nations. Carpets are woven in Indian sweatshops by children as young as 5 years old working in gruelling conditions. Women and children enslaved in the sex trade endure lives of torment and disease. Sadly, the list goes on.
As a consumer, you hold the power. Every dollar you spend is analysed. When you shop ethically, you send a message to sellers, to manufacturers, and to other shoppers.
So please consider doing this:
 Look for the ethically produced alternative – the Fairtrade label is a guarantee that exploitative labour and practices have not been a part of that product’s manufacture. The more we buy ethically, the more others will realise we won't put a price on humanity
- Ask your favourite retailer to stock ethically produced tea, chocolate and coffee
- Call your local supermarket and ask them to use ethically produced cocoa in their home brand product range.
- Support ethical production in your home, school and workplace by campaigning for ethically produced products.
- Encourage your local MP to champion against labour exploitation with policies, ethical procurement and action.
- Consider whether your consumption is necessary. Remember to ask yourself: “Do I really need this?”
Your choice DOES make a difference. Supporting ethical businesses and rejecting unethical businesses is a form of voting. You are saying NO to human, animal and environmental exploitation and YES to good working conditions, fair prices, humane animal conditions and preserving the planet - God's creation!.
(Source: www.worldvision.com.au)
Why choose Fairtrade Chocolate and Coffee?
 The production of our favourite treats can be a nightmare for workers. With plummeting crop prices, many farmers are subject to poverty and forced labour in an attempt to increase their crop yield. Some media reports have claimed that in the worst cases children as young as six are being forced to work 80-100 hours a week, enduring beatings and malnutrition on top of back-breaking work.
You can make a difference
There is an alternative. Fairtrade is an accord to pay farmers a fair price for their crops in agreed humane and sustainable conditions. The Fairtrade movement empowers farmers, giving them back their autonomy and independence as producers.
In order to have stores stock ethical chocolate, including Fairtrade chocolate, they need to know there’s a demand for it. Tell your local department store and supermarkets that you’d buy ethical chocolate if they stocked it.
(Source: www.worldvision.com.au)
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The Persecuted Church
Did you know 176,000 Christians were martyred in 1 year?
Bob Unruh,
WorldNetDaily. Posted April 20 2010
 A new ministry partnership has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the fact that an estimated 176,000 Christians around the world were martyred – killed for their faith – in a one-year period from the middle of 2008 to the middle of 2009. That's 482 deaths per day, one every three minutes.
Martyrdom didn't go away with the Middle Ages, according to reports from Open Doors USA which now has combined efforts with actor Kirk Cameron of "The Way of the Master" Ministry as well as evangelist Ray Comfort of Living Waters Ministry to focus on those who are being persecuted for their faith.
Emeal Zwayne, executive vice president of Living Waters, said that few Christians in the U.S. are even aware "that an estimated 176,000 Christians were martyred from mid-2008 to mid-2009. "It's so hard to believe that in this day and age so many Christians are losing their life for their faith. It's as though we in the U.S. live in a different world from the rest of the Body of Christ," he said. "We want to ask the question that is on a few people's lips – will persecution ever come to America? And if so, what can we do about it?" he said. Zwayne said the ministries have been working together "to try and draw attention to the plight of the Persecuted Church, because Scripture tells us to remember those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ." "Open Doors is a wonderful organization, and together we want to do all we can to highlight this often forgotten cause," he said.
Earlier this year when Open Doors USA released its 2010 World Watch List. The report cited North Korea, which reportedly uses Christians as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons, as the world's worst persecutor of Christians.
 The report said Iran, which may be using Christians as scapegoats for internal opposition to its president, is No. 2 on the Open Doors 2010 World Watch List. The report said Iran is among eight nations in the top 10 of the group's ranking of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians in which Shariah, the Islamic religious law, is dominant. A total of 35 nations on the list are under some form of Shariah.
"We can classify that as a growing trend," Jerry Dykstra, a spokesman for the ministry that works to serve persecuted Christians around the globe, told WND. "We've seen more countries (on the list) from the Muslim world."
The World Watch List located on the Open Doors website was started by the Open Doors Research Department in 1991. It seeks to understand the unique persecution fingerprint of each country.
The ranking is derived from a questionnaire of 53 questions sent to Open Doors workers, church leaders and experts in 70 nations. It examines every aspect of persecution, including the degree of legal restrictions, state attitudes, how free the church is to organize itself, church burnings, anti-Christian riots and the murders of Christians that make headlines. Open Doors is positioned uniquely to provide the research as it is the world's largest mission agency working on behalf of the persecuted, operating in more than 45 countries worldwide.
Iran, at No. 2, is the highest-ranking nation in the top 10 in which Islam is the dominant religion. Following are No. 3 Saudi Arabia, No. 4 Somalia, No. 5 Maldives, No. 6 Afghanistan, No. 7 Yemen, No. 8 Mauritania and Uzbekistan, which ranked at No. 10. Laos, another communist nation like North Korea, is ranked No. 9. Open Doors estimates there are 100 million Christians worldwide who suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation.
(Source: http://www.crossroad.to/News/Persecution/index.html; Open Doors)
1Peter 4:12-13 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
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Humanitarian Aid & Development
 Did you know that
- half of the worlds population live on less than $2 per day?
- 30,000 people will starve to death today, tomorrow and the next day?
- There are around 13,000,000 orphans worldwide - and the number is increasing?
and did you know that during the next hour:
- 1,625 children will be forced to live on the streets
- 1,667 children will die from malnutrition and disease
- 115 children will become prostitutes, and
- 257 children will become orphans because of HIV/AIDS
But what can I do? you are probably asking...
Each of us has a role to play. Some of us can go. Most of us can give and support the work of Christian Aid & Development agencies in the field. All of us can pray...
Jesus said "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me". Then the righteous will answer when did we do these things (summarised response)? The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me". Matthew 25:35-40
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