“A note clearly states her belief of never being able to see her child
as the cause!!! Extremely sad!!! Guys we need to help rescue these people!!!”
-FNI undercover
operative and ENA partner, 9/5/14.
This month I received some very sad news from an undercover
operative at one of our partner organizations, FNI (Freedom Now International).
This person told me that the mother of a child who was kidnapped and trafficked
to the Middle East had tragically committed suicide. This was very sad and difficult
news for all of us to hear because both our organizations have been trying to
rescue this mother’s daughter for quite a while. Plus, FNI recently was able to
locate her child in Egypt. We had an experienced and professional rescue team composed
of former law enforcement and Special Forces operators all ready to go and they
had located her child. However, there was one major problem preventing the
rescue..... MONEY!
Even after reducing operational costs as much as possible it
still was not enough in the end to launch the rescue. Operations are not cheap. They require airplane tickets
and other travel expenses, investigations/logistics, equipment and personnel
with highly specialized skills and expertise capable of working in difficult,
dangerous, hostile, corrupt and sometimes lawless countries, not to mention
executing the actual rescue mission of a real human life.
Lengthy delays occurred and eventually we had to shelve the
Op as we desperately worked to raise funds. Also this mother’s personal hell
began years before we ever came in contact with her and learned of her child’s
abduction. All the mental and heart wrenching circumstances were finally just too
much for her to take. In fact, her own suicide note stated never being able to
see her child as the reason. It’s just
very sad. Lack of money prevents children, women & men from being rescued
from slavery and gaining their freedom all the time though. It is also a root
cause of why so many people are enslaved today. Poverty is a root cause of why so many people are enslaved and there
are an estimated 27-30 million people in slavery today. (Kevin Bales,
Disposable People).
In response to this sad event, the ENA board of directors
would like to share with all of you, our trusted supporters, exactly what ENA
is doing as an organization to end slavery in Africa and here in the USA via
our Anti-Slavery Initiative.
WHAT WE DO:
FIRST- We establish collaborative partnerships with anti-slavery
organizations (nonprofits, abolitionists, human rights organizations,
corporations, and survivors) to eradicate sex trafficking, child kidnapping,
forced labor, and slavery in all its forms.
SECOND- We partner with anti-slavery organizations in the
rescue, recovery, and reunification of victims with their families whenever
possible and provide resources for aftercare programs, safe houses, recovery
shelters and protective services so victims can heal and begin to lead lives of
value and purpose.
THIRD- We partner with local community leaders in rural
African villages to teach and educate families and community members in
targeted African countries (Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Namibia and another
country we must unfortunately remain quiet about right now) by providing anti-slavery
awareness and prevention training that addresses root problems of slavery, slavery
in communities, and signs of victims, solutions and much more. Our ASI manuals,
instructions and teaching method are modeled after years of ENA’s very
successful literacy training programs in Africa.
ANTI SLAVERY TASK FORCES- We are also creating trusted and
vetted anti-slavery task forces (ASITF) in targeted African countries composed
of local doctors, medical personnel, social workers, psychologists, law
enforcement officers, lawyers, NGO’s and volunteers to better protect and serve slavery victims.
In the USA we are working collaboratively and specifically
with Shared Hope International, The Defenders, men of Shared Hope International,
Swift Charities, and Swift Transportation to eradicate sex trafficking of
minors within the trucking industry. It’s a very targeted approach that has the
potential to create large scale positive results within the United States.
So there is hope! Please educate yourselves and then help us
and others spread the word so this will never happen again. Share with family
members, friends, co-workers, and your faith community about the evil of modern
day slavery and please help us help the victims by donating to ENA today so we
can fund our Anti-Slavery Initiative (ASI) of rescue, prevention, and recovery
programs in Africa and here in the USA. Together we can make a difference one
life at a time.
To donate to our anti-slavery initiatives and help us rescue victims visit our website here!
