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JOIN THE FIGHT AGANIST
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Mr. Lino James
It is difficult to be exact about the number of people trafficked because it is a crime that is kept hidden. It is believed
that more than 1.5 million people are trafficked each year. e industry is said to be worth $57 billion annually.
rough it, human life is reduced to a commodity. is constitutes a tragedy of huge proportions for those who
become trapped.
It is important not to confuse trafficking with smuggling of people, which refers to procuring or facilitating the
illegal entry of people into another State for financial gain, usually using false documentation. Unlike people who
have been trafficked, those smuggled – once in the country – will normally be left free to make a new life as best
they can. e crime of trafficking in persons presents a great challenge to Christians everywhere.
e Christian commandment to provide comfort and justice to the most vulnerable in our society was vividly
taught by our savior Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 34-40, when describing the final
judgement.
Human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking – the buying, selling, and enslaving of human beings for sex – is the
very antithesis of Jesus’ teaching. And so, it is our Christian duty to fight this sinister underground industry that has
grown dramatically in the world and traps our most vulnerable citizens in a cycle of drugs, sex, and violence.
Christians must take their heads out of the sand and face this challenge and abide by Christ’s teachings to take care
of the most vulnerable citizens among us, our young boys and girls, who are easy prey to the perverse and evil
modern-day slave traders. People of faith must join the fight to combat human trafficking!
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