Operation Underground Railroad

Today, a friend of mine shared this article on facebook:

BYU grad rescues child sex slaves – U N I V E R S E

I HIGHLY recommend you read it. I have since looked further into the organization started and operated by the subject of the article, Tim Ballard. His non-profit organization is called Operation Underground Railroad. Their website is https://www.ourrescue.org/ .

Tim Ballard and his team have put forth a lot of, time, talent, effort and energy to rescue children and victims of human trafficking. His organization has been featured on ABC Nightly News as well as on The Blaze. He has been promoting his organization for a while now, and I am just now hearing about it. I hope that those of you who read this will help to promote this organization as well as donate to the cause.



In some of the videos that I have watched relating to this, Ballard talks about having his own children, and as I have read about the child sex trade, I am disgusted and angry and so sad for these children. As I look at my own children I think of how horrifying it would be if anything were ever to happen to them.

I think the most powerful things said by Tim Ballard is this:

 “It’s funny, because we all read history [regarding early US slave trade] and we think, ‘Oh, I would … have risen up, I would have fought, I would have been an abolitionist,'” Ballard said. “And I tell them, ‘No, you wouldn’t have. If you would have, you’d be doing that right now. You know trafficking exists, you’ve heard of it, but you don’t want to look.'”

So, let us look:

Here in the USA

This information comes from arkofhopeforchildren.org

Update: In 2012 the (UNODC) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports the percentage of child victims had risen in a 3 year span from 20 per cent to 27 per cent. Of every three child victims, two are girls and one is a boy.

Gender and age profile of victims detected globally: 59% Women - 14% Men - 17% Girls and 10% were Boys.

• 600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex (U.S. Government)
• When internal trafficking victims are added to the estimates, the number of victims annually is in the range of 2 to 4 million
• 50% of those victims are estimated to be children
• It is estimated that 76 percent of transactions for sex with underage girls start on the Internet
• 2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)
• There are 20.9 Million victims of Trafficking World wide as of 2012
• 1.5 Million victims in the United States

The Impact:

• Human trafficking has surpassed the illegal sale of arms
• Trafficking will surpass the illegal sale of drugs in the next few years
• Drugs are used once and they are gone. Victims of child trafficking can be used and abused over and over
• A $32 billion-a-year industry, human trafficking is on the rise and is in all 50 states (U.S. Government)
• 4.5 Million of trafficked persons are sexually exploited
• Up to 300,000 Americans under 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every year
• From 14,500 - 17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the United States each year

For a religious viewpoint, I refer to the Bible. Matthew 18:5-6 has some harsh words from the Savior of the world about those who harm His little children: "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

A few years ago one of our religious leaders gave a great talk about protecting children. Here is a little clip of that talk:

So, what can we do? We can donate, we can spread the word, we can elect leaders who will get something done. We can support our local law enforcement agencies in their efforts by reporting suspicious activity. We can be more active in our local communities. If all you ever do is go from home to work to home, how do you know what is going on in your community?

Watch your own children. Be mindful of their activity on the internet. Be open with them about the dangers of online predators. Communicate and help your children be aware of people that may wish to entrap them for their own evil and selfish purposes.

I think above all, do not support these evil human traffickers. Do not seek out pornography, especially that which involves children. Tim Ballard mentioned in one of the clips that I viewed that the average "customer" for child prostitution is a regular person who became addicted to pornography and sex. Soon, they couldn't get enough, and over time their appetites changed. They become addicted to the risky behavior. Don't start down that path. Seek help now if necessary.