Street Operation

I apologize for not writing more about the work that I'm doing with IJM. This work, that I am priviledged to be a part of each and every day, is amazing. It is the reason I quit my job, packed up my apartment, and said many good-byes to friends and family. And it has been totally worth it. In fact, it has been better than I could have even hoped for.

Where to begin?

Let's start with the operation that occurred at the beginning of October. It had been a while since we had any operations, so the IJM staff was pretty excited. We learned that IJM was going to assist the police on a street operation. A street operation is where the target are pimps who are selling minor victims as opposed to when police target an entire establishment (bar, KTV, massage parlour, etc.). For this particular operation, the police had planned a multiple phase sting operation where they were going to try to arrest several pimps throughout the city over the course of several hours. Unfortunately, due to some heavy rains, police were only able to transact with and arrest 4 pimps in two separate locations instead of the originally targeted 10-15. As soon as the downpour began, everyone took cover and there was no one to be found in any of the red light districts. But still, a total of 5 girls were rescued from these two separate stings, 3 of whom were minors with the youngest being only 14 years old. One of the girls was already 2 months pregnant.

The operation took place on Saturday night and I was asked to go to the government processing center where the girls are taken immediately after rescue on Sunday to help care for the recently rescued girls. My role was simple - to see that the girls needs were met. I brought them breakfast. I brought them lunch. I gave them new clothes and the items they would need to take a shower. We were told to try to keep them entertained but the girls really weren't talkative... at least, they had very little interest in talking to Ali and I. So, we just sat there... on the floor... with them.

And then, all of a sudden (and maybe out of sheer boredom), three of the girls started chatting with us. It started with them trying to teach us some Cebuano words (and then laughing at our failed attempts at pronunciation). But soon after, we were all sitting there talking and laughing. They wanted to know where we were from, how long we would be in the Philippines, and whether or not we had a boyfriend back home. I tried to ask them about different things we could all relate to - things like food, music, and TV. It felt like I was chatting and laughing with my little sister or some of her friends. In those moments, its easy to forget that these same girls were sold for sex to undercover police officers less than 24 hours prior. And that they had been sold like that, every night, for months or even longer. They are just teenagers who like to joke and laugh just like other girls their age. They should be in high school, worrying about homework and tests, instead of walking the streets nightly with their pimps looking for customers. I praise God for the rescue of these five girls. They now have the opportunity to live in an aftercare shelter where they can continue their education and receive counseling and vocational training. Where they can begin to understand how much God loves them and that He created them for so much more than this. That they are precious and deserve dignity and respect. But I am also very aware that, just as these particular victims of trafficking now have names, faces, personalities, there are countless girls who are still out there. And so, we continue.

(one of the rescued victims fingerprinting her affidavit)

(rescued victim signing her affidavit)