International Justice Mission (IJM) has been on my list of organizations to write about since the inception of this blog. However, I felt like it was a balancing act. How do I present the good when clearly this organization is in existence because there is so much bad? And as I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days, I have had to remind myself that this blog is not called "Happy News for Isla," but it is called "Good News for Isla." My goal is not to shelter my daughter, and to only share with her happy or light-hearted stories and news. No, I want her to see the world, and to know that she can make a positive impact here. That there are individuals, communities, small non-profits, and large organizations making a difference, creating good news, in the lives of people stricken by poverty, disease, and injustice.
This article was taken with permission from Joy's Storyboard, joysstoryboard.blogspot.com. Joy is with International Justice Mission in South Asia for this year, working with a team of professionals, dedicated to liberating children enslaved in prostitution and seeking justice against those who have oppressed them.
Songs of Freedom
Shot 1: Red Light Area
Last month, IJM assisted the Anti-Trafficking Unit [in a red light area of my city] to conduct a rescue that freed three girls from forced prostitution, and led to the arrest of their brothel keeper The girls – ranging from 18 to 19 years old– had been forced to serve more than 10 customers per day and had endured physical beatings. They are now receiving care in protective aftercare homes.
IJM social workers counseled the girls during the rescue, encouraging them to tell the truth. Scared of the brothel keeper’s beatings, they lied. “I am doing this prostitution on my own will,” said Kinnari*, an 18-year old girl who had lived at the brothel for two years.
Shot 2: Bus Stop
The IJM social workers started to earn their trust, speaking their native languages and holding their hands. Slowly, they shared small parts of their stories. A man in [a neighboring country] promising a job had tricked Kinnari. Then he and four friends raped her before selling her into prostitution. When Nirali was thirteen, she ran away from her abusive mother and a woman she met at a bus stop sold her into Tara’s brothel. Riddhi left home at age twelve, married at age fifteen and was abandoned by her husband at age eighteen before a trafficker promised her a domestic job and instead sold her into a brothel. Both Kinnari and Riddhi had been forced to abort pregnancies in the brothel.
Shot 3: Sheela, IJM Social Worker
As police took the brothel owner into custody, IJM staff helped the girls gather their things and escorted them to the police station. As they waited to give their statements, IJM social worker Sheela brought food. To the girls’ surprise, Sheela sat down to eat with them. "Didi (sister), you will eat with us?” Kinnari said. Tara, the brothel owner, had never eaten with the girls in the brothel.
Last month, IJM assisted the Anti-Trafficking Unit [in a red light area of my city] to conduct a rescue that freed three girls from forced prostitution, and led to the arrest of their brothel keeper The girls – ranging from 18 to 19 years old– had been forced to serve more than 10 customers per day and had endured physical beatings. They are now receiving care in protective aftercare homes.IJM social workers counseled the girls during the rescue, encouraging them to tell the truth. Scared of the brothel keeper’s beatings, they lied. “I am doing this prostitution on my own will,” said Kinnari*, an 18-year old girl who had lived at the brothel for two years.
Shot 2: Bus Stop
The IJM social workers started to earn their trust, speaking their native languages and holding their hands. Slowly, they shared small parts of their stories. A man in [a neighboring country] promising a job had tricked Kinnari. Then he and four friends raped her before selling her into prostitution. When Nirali was thirteen, she ran away from her abusive mother and a woman she met at a bus stop sold her into Tara’s brothel. Riddhi left home at age twelve, married at age fifteen and was abandoned by her husband at age eighteen before a trafficker promised her a domestic job and instead sold her into a brothel. Both Kinnari and Riddhi had been forced to abort pregnancies in the brothel.Shot 3: Sheela, IJM Social Worker
As police took the brothel owner into custody, IJM staff helped the girls gather their things and escorted them to the police station. As they waited to give their statements, IJM social worker Sheela brought food. To the girls’ surprise, Sheela sat down to eat with them. "Didi (sister), you will eat with us?” Kinnari said. Tara, the brothel owner, had never eaten with the girls in the brothel.“Things started to change when we were sharing food with them,” said Wesley, an IJM legal advocate who assisted with the rescue operation. “They just finished dinner, and the girls started opening up.” More truth came out. Riddhi eventually told how Tara would beat her with a wooden stick. The brothel keeper had preyed on Riddhi’s shame, saying if she ever tried to run away or refused to serve customers, Tara would publish her photo in the newspaper, so everyone would know she was a prostitute. She shared how Tara had caught her in one escape attempt and had burned her hand with a hot iron to scare her away from trying again. Kinnari shared how Tara never let her outside the brothel and would slap her whenever she refused a customer.
Shot 4: Police Station
At the police station after the rescue, the girls and the IJM team waited for police inspectors to complete official statements and catalog physical evidence that had been removed from the brothel As police were adding the last signatures to the girls’ official statements, Wesley passed the room where Sheela and the girls had finished their dinner. The room was dark except for a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Sheela had caught the girls up in her joy. Under the dim light about the table, they were singing songs in each of the girls’ languages ─ Nepali, Kannada, Hindi ─ tapping on tables and banging on the desk in time with the music. “It is really amazing,” said Wesley. “Sheela managed to get these girls not only to smile, but even to sing.”
After the arrest, a Sessions Court granted Tara a very high bail at 50,000 rupees. She paid the bail and was released, but cannot leave Mumbai for the next 90 days. She must report to the police station every Saturday, while police investigate the case, otherwise she risks her bail being revoked. IJM’s legal team is working to assemble documents for her trial, which will begin after police file at charge sheet at the end of their investigation.
*The victims’ names have been changed to protect their identities. Actual names and casework documentation are on file with IJM.
Shot 4: Police Station
At the police station after the rescue, the girls and the IJM team waited for police inspectors to complete official statements and catalog physical evidence that had been removed from the brothel As police were adding the last signatures to the girls’ official statements, Wesley passed the room where Sheela and the girls had finished their dinner. The room was dark except for a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling.Sheela had caught the girls up in her joy. Under the dim light about the table, they were singing songs in each of the girls’ languages ─ Nepali, Kannada, Hindi ─ tapping on tables and banging on the desk in time with the music. “It is really amazing,” said Wesley. “Sheela managed to get these girls not only to smile, but even to sing.”
After the arrest, a Sessions Court granted Tara a very high bail at 50,000 rupees. She paid the bail and was released, but cannot leave Mumbai for the next 90 days. She must report to the police station every Saturday, while police investigate the case, otherwise she risks her bail being revoked. IJM’s legal team is working to assemble documents for her trial, which will begin after police file at charge sheet at the end of their investigation.
*The victims’ names have been changed to protect their identities. Actual names and casework documentation are on file with IJM.
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