Help Protect Northern Thailand’s Ethnic Minorities from Human Trafficking

Posted on by 施達基金會

[ ‘SHARE’ Mar-Apr 2015 ] STEP INTO THE WORLD

“One day, a staff of ours saw a group of bewildered-looking Lahu girls loitering at the bus stop,” Pastor Prasang, head of Thai-Lahu Foundation (TLF), CEDAR’s partner, told us, “so the staff stopped a woman who appeared to be the contact person and asked where the girls were heading. The woman only knew that she was supposed to take them to an unknown destination, and she did not know what they were taken there for.”

Continue reading Help Protect Northern Thailand’s Ethnic Minorities from Human Trafficking

Slavery and Trafficking Next Door – Interviewing Harmony Baptist Church

Posted on by 施達基金會

[ ‘SHARE’ Mar-Apr 2015 ] TAKING ACTION

Interviewer >Jojo Poon

Many think that modern slavery and human trafficking happen only in third world countries. However, if you look beyond your closest circles, you might realise that these issues are just at your doorsteps.

Continue reading Slavery and Trafficking Next Door – Interviewing Harmony Baptist Church

Pray for Victims of Trafficking in Northern Thailand

Posted on by 施達基金會

Thai-Lahu Foundation (TLF) is CEDAR’s partner in Chiang Mai, Thailand. TLF’s director, Pastor Prasang recalled, “One day, a TLF co-worker discovered a group of girls belonging to the Lahu ethnic group from a village situated in the mountain regions of Northern Thailand wandering around the bus stop. The girls were not waiting for bus, but were waiting for something. The confused look on their faces showed that they were not certain what they were waiting for. The TLF co-worker walked up to the suspected coordinator and asked where she was taking the girls to. Shockingly, the coordinator was not sure either. The bus stop was only a transit hub and she only knew she had to take them to an unidentified location. At the end, the TLF co-worker recorded the identity card numbers and addresses of the girls and also of the coordinator, and warned the coordinator to ensure each girl would return to their village safely. The TLF co-worker later checked with the village and was reassured that all girls were safely at home.”

Continue reading Pray for Victims of Trafficking in Northern Thailand

African migrants tortured in Yemen

Posted on by 施達基金會

For decades, migrants from the Horn of Africa have passed through Yemen to seek better life in Saudi Arabia. Because of political unrest, more than 260,000 Africans migrated to or through Yemen during 2011-13. The number has decreased since 2013; however, it rose again in March 2014.

The trip across the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea is dangerous, and many migrants drown to death on their journey. Thousands of migrants are stranded in the northern region of Yemen waiting to be transferred illegally to Saudi Arabia. Many are exposed to poverty, homelessness, and abuse.

A multimillion-dollar trafficking racket has developed in the northern Yemeni border town of Haradh, exploiting the migrants.  It is estimated that trafficking and smuggling make up 80% of the local economy.

A recent Human Rights Watch report describes the severe torture suffered by Somalian and Ethiopian migrants in Yemen. Since 2006, Yemeni traffickers in and around Haradh have taken migrants captive and kept them in “torture camps”, where they torture the migrants to extort money from migrants’ relatives in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.

Aid workers observed signs of abuse in migrants caused by ripping off fingernails, burning ears, branding skin with irons, gouging out of eyes, and breaking of bones.  Health workers have seen migrants with injuries including lacerations from rape, damage from being hung by their thumbs, and burn from cigarettes.  The torture sometimes ends in death.  The Haradh hospital receives dead bodies of at least two migrants per week.

The camps are usually run by Yemeni, who typically come from families related to officials.  Captured migrants can be released if their relatives pay ransoms ranging from US$200 to over $1,000. The authorities are failing in fighting trafficking, and in some occasions even actively help the traffickers. Traffickers pay checkpoint officials so to drive through without being checked, carrying Yemeni and African migrants to the Saudi border.

According to the 2009 international corruption Perception Index, Yemen is ranked 164 out of 182 countries.  The country is in the process of dialogue to address its major issues and to draft a new constitution.  Yemen is facing a crisis in health care, security, and access to food and water; 54·5% of the population live below the poverty line and this proportion is continuously increasing.

More than 308，000 of Yemeni migrants have returned from Saudi Arabia since 2013, due to tightening labor laws.  These returns have handicapped the government’s ability to handle African migrants. The authorities stopped fighting traffickers, because they could not provide the migrants with food and shelter.

To end this human disaster, Yemen must commit to the 1951 Refugee Convention on the rights of refugees. The international community and donor countries should aim to resolve this tragedy and support governmental and non-governmental organisations initiatives. Fighting bribery in Yemen is also important to reduce human trafficking. [HRW, the Lancet]

Meditation on Scriptures

(The Queen of Sheba spoke to King Solomon:)
“Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:9)

“And all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.” (Is 60:6)

The Queen of Sheba (present day Yemen) learnt from Solomon that a major responsibility given by God to rulers is to exercise justice.  Isaiah prophesized that Sheba would at the end time come to praise the God of all nations.  May Yemenis today learn that the security of the poor migrants is a priority of responsible governance, and come to the real knowledge of the Sovereign God.

Pray for the African migrants in Yemen:

  • Pray that the Government will raid and stop the functioning of torture camps, and provide migrants with all necessities for a decent living.
  • Pray that donor countries will exert pressure on Yemeni and Saudi Arabian authorities to investigate and prosecute the traffickers.

Trafficking in Persons Report Downgrades Thailand and Malaysia to Lowest Tier

Posted on by 施達基金會

[ePrayer – Pray for those people vulnerable to human trafficking]

infographic-20140626-eng

In the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report, the U.S. government has downgraded Thailand, Malaysia and Venezuela to Tier 3, the lowest ranking of fighting against modern-day slavery. Ironically these 3 countries are among those that promote themselves as modern and fast-developing countries.

The report cites evidence of forced labour and sex trafficking in Malaysia and Thailand. It highlights Malaysia’s problem with migrants from other Asian nations who seek work on farms, factories and construction sites only to be trapped and have their passports taken and wages withheld.

In Thailand, according to the report, there are tens of thousands of migrants from neighboring countries being exploited in the commercial sex industry, on fishing boats, and as domestic servants. This downgrading could cause some multinational companies to reconsider investments in industries accused of using trafficked labour such as fisheries, which is a lucrative business in Thailand (Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of shrimp).

And in Venezuela, women and girls are often lured from poor interior regions to tourist centers with the promise of false job offers. When they arrive, they are often forced into prostitution.

More than 20 million people worldwide are believed to be ensnared in some form of forced labour, according to the International Labour Organisation. [TIP Report, CNN, CNBC]

Meditation on Scriptures:

‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’ Proverbs 31:8-9

When we think that human trafficking is far from us, are we aware that the prawns we eat may be caught by the modern slaves working on the fishing boat, the clothes we wear may be sewed by the forced labourers in the factories, and the domestic workers in our society may be treated as slaves and with their wages withheld. They are voiceless and destitute. Will you speak up for them?

Pray for those people vulnerable to human trafficking:

  • Pray that the government of Thailand, Malaysia and Venezuela will respond actively to their human trafficking issues;
  • Pray that God will rescue and heal those people who suffer from modern slavery;
  • Pray for good cooperation between nations and international NGOs, and for a comprehensive and feasible strategy to stop human trafficking.

 

May Peace and Hope Prevail in Syria

Posted on by 施達基金會

[ePrayer – Pray for Syria]

eprayer20140321-MEDK

Can you hear Syrian voices?

The conflict has its roots in protests that erupted in mid-March 2011 in the southern city of Deraa, after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. Syria’s crisis enters its forth year and fighting in Syria between government forces and opposing groups continues to escalate. More than 100,000 lives have been lost and over 2.5 million Syrians have registered as refugees in neighbouring countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. With displacement inside Syria reaches over 6.5 million, the total number of people in flight internally and externally now exceeds 40% of Syria’s pre-conflict population. At least half of the displaced are children. UNHCR predicts the refugee population in the surrounding region will grow to become the largest refugee population in the world.

With a population of around 4.1 million, Lebanon already has the highest per-capita concentration of refugees of any country in recent history, with nearly 230 registered Syrian refugees for every 1,000 Lebanese. Syria’s neighbouring countries, including Lebanon and Jordan, have shown incredible generosity in continuing to offer a safe refuge for people fleeing the crisis. However, drastically increased numbers of arrivals lead to the consequence that basic services and facilities are stretched to the limit. Worse of all, more and more Syrians are putting their lives at the mercy of human smugglers.

This is the most severe humanitarian crisis in the 21st century. The unending cycle of violence, displacement, worsening health, disruption to education and learning put millions of Syrians at risk. A generation, with over 5 million Syrian children, is also at risk of being lost forever. The United Nations stressed the need for a political solution to end the conflict. Only with a political intervention will Syria and her people be rescued from further devastation.

Since 2012, Integral Alliance, a global alliance comprising of 19 Christian relief and development agencies, has been providing relief materials, food parcel, medical care and psychosocial care to Syrian refugees. CEDAR is one of the member agencies of Integral Alliance. Let us pray for Syrian refugees continually. May peace and hope prevail in Syria. [Integral Alliance, Tearfund UK, UNHCR, UN]

Meditate on Hymn:

‘Let Your Heart Be Broken’

May this hymn be your prayers and will:

Let your heart be broken for a world in need:
Feed the mouths that hunger, soothe the wounds that bleed,
Give the cup of water and the loaf of bread
Be the hands of Jesus, serving in His stead.

Here on earth applying principles of love,
Visible expression God still rules above
Living illustration of the Living Word
To the minds of all whove Never seen or heard.

Blest to be a blessing privileged to care,
Challenged by the need apparent everywhere.
Where mankind is wanting, fill the vacant place.
Be the means through which the Lord reveals His grace.

Add to your believing deeds that prove it true,
Knowing Christ as Savior, make Him Master, too.
Follow in His footsteps, go where He has trod;
In the worlds great trouble risk yourself for God.

Let your heart be tender and your vision clear;
See mankind as God sees, serve Him far and near.
Let your heart be broken by a brothers pain;
Share your rich resources, give and give again.

Pray for Syria that:

  • International communities and leaders put most efforts to support an immediate end to the Syrian war;
  • More support including financial assistance be given to Syria’s neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, from which protect and host can be provided to Syrian refugees;
  • Lives and basic needs of Syrian refugees are secured and the refugees can return home soon.