It's that time of year again, when the weather starts dipping down, colored lights start popping up around the neighborhood, and the smell of pine and cinnamon float through the air like happy clouds. It is a time of joy, a time of thankfulness, and a time of giving.

This year, make the holiday season even brighter by giving the gift of JUSTICE to your friends and loved ones for Christmas. By donating to Project Exodus, you will be helping fund investigations that seek to find and free victims of human trafficking in the Los Angeles area.

Upon receiving your donation, Project Exodus will send you a special Christmas gift certificate that you will be able to give to your friend or loved one, specifying the amount of the donation and showing what it will be used for.


Project Exodus chapter starting in Santa Monica! Volunteers needed!

After weeks of hard work, Project Exodus is proud to announce the start of our new chapter in Santa Monica! Located on the West Side of Los Angeles, the Santa Monica chapter will allow Project Exodus to conduct operations throughout West LA, dramatically increasing the reach of our organization! Why is this a good thing? Simple: the bigger our reach, the more places we can investigate and the more victims we can free!

The Santa Monica chapter is one of seven chapters that Project Exodus is currently working on establishing in the Los Angeles area, with hopes for the remaining chapters to be up and operational by the end of the year. Once all of these chapters are up and running, Project Exodus will be able to cover hundreds of square miles within Los Angeles County, giving traffickers few places to hide.

In order to help jump start the chapter, Project Exodus will be hosting a Volunteer Training this Sunday, from 8:00pm to 9:30pm at Trinity Baptist Church in Santa Monica. The training will be aimed at informing individuals about human trafficking here in the United States and how as a Project Exodus volunteer they can fight it. Trinity Baptist Church is located at 1015 California Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403. For questions regarding the training, please email us at freedom@project-exodus.org!

Pilates for Hope FUNDRAISER on Nov 8th!

Pilates Studio City Annex and Project Exodus are partnering up to exercise some JUSTICE!

On Sunday, November 8th from 11am to 4pm the studio is hosting "Pilates for Hope" to help fight human trafficking. The studio will be hosting numerous classes throughout the day and will be donating all of their proceeds to Project Exodus, a Christian abolitionist group which finds and rescues victims of human trafficking in Los Angeles.

PILATES FOR HOPE will include:
*Private Sessions
*Classes
*Massage
*Treats

Suggested donations are just $10/class and $30/private session!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class Schedule:

11am MAT- Natalie

12pm NIA Dance- Nichole

1pm MAT- Marcy

2pm GYROKINESIS- Lora

3pm MAT- Melody
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Pilates for Hope fundraiser will be taking place at Pilates Studio City located at:

5223 Laurel Cyn. Blvd, North Hollywood, CA


For more information about the event or to make an appointment, please email pilatesforhope@gmail.com.

Help exercise JUSTICE and make sure that human trafficking stops TODAY!

For more information about Project Exodus check out: www.project-exodus.org

For info about Pilates Studio City check out: www.pilatesstudiocity.com

Volunteer training on November 2nd

Los Angeles, CA- Project Exodus will be holding a general volunteer training session on Monday, November 2nd at Culver Palms Church of Christ in Culver City, CA at 8:00pm.

The purpose of the night will be to train any individuals who would like to participate in Project Exodus as a volunteer and go out on Project Exodus outreaches.

By the end of the training individuals will have a strong understanding of human trafficking, what it looks like here in America, and how as a Project Exodus volunteer they can help stop it.

Only people who have been trained by Project Exodus will be able to go out on Project Exodus outreaches in Los Angeles.

The training will last 2 hours and is free to anyone who wants to seek justice and stop slavery! Feel free to bring anyone who is interested!

Culver Palms Church of Christ is located at:

9733 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034-5196

If you have any questions or want to learn more about Project Exodus, please visit our website at http://www.project-exodus.org or email us at freedom@project-exodus.org.

Abolistionist Profile: Kim Hoang

Using God's gift to seek justice.

Every week here at Project Exodus we receive emails from individuals all around the United States wanting to get involved in the work we do. Sadly though, because of our size, we are not able to offer direct outreach opportunities for people outside of Los Angeles. However, we at Project Exodus strongly believe that people are extraordinary through Christ and that God can use any individual to seek justice. We are often reminded of what the Apostle Peter says in his letter, that "each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10) and thus encourage people, regardless of their proximity to us, to creatively use their passions to seek justice!

There is no better example of this than Kim Hoang, a mother of two (with one on the way) from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Originally from Vietnam, Kim experienced first hand children's vulnerability to being victims of sexual abuse and its devastating effects. When Kim learned about Project Exodus
while watching the Joyce Meyers' Show, she immediately became inspired to help. Understanding that she could not be involved in our outreaches, she began to brainstorm ways that she could help our ministry from afar.

Being skilled in arts and crafts, Kim decided that she was going to start making bow ties which she would in turn sell to raise money for Project Exodus. Kim has now made a small collection of bow ties and is going to local craft shows to sell the collections! She has generously pledged to donate 100% of the proceeds to our organization!

We at Project Exodus are completely humbled and blessed by Kim and her desire to seek justice for those without a voice! Her efforts are a perfect example of someone using their gifts to administer God's grace in its various forms and we could not be more proud of her!

God can use ANYONE to seek justice. If you have a particular gift or passion and want to find out a way to get involved, let us know and we can help you come up with a way to use that passion to seek justice and free victims of trafficking! If you are also interested in buying bow ties from Kim, please feel free to contact us and let us know! You can contact Project Exodus at freedom@project-exodus.org.

Project Exodus featured in Pepperdine Graphic

By Amanda Cowie

Ezekiel 34:16 says, “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays…I will shepherd the flock with justice.” Project Exodus, a local anti-human-trafficking organization, seeks to do just that.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that between 600,000 and 800,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders every year. After drug dealing, human trafficking is the second most lucrative illegal industry in the world, and it is growing at an alarming rate.

Project Exodus was created in 2008 by Pepperdine alum Mike Masten. Masten’s desire to make a difference in the world led him to become president of Pepperdine’s International Justice Mission (IJM) in 2007, and to create Project Exodus just one year later. Masten’s inspiration came from a similar campaign called Not For Sale, which is one of the leading efforts in the modern-day abolitionist movement. Upon meeting Not For Sale’s creator, David Batstone, Masten was inspired to get involved in the abolitionist community. He began to raise awareness of the issue on campus, and even designated a part of IJM to specifically address anti-trafficking activities. However, the idea of spreading awareness without action frustrated him.

“You learn, yes, it’s happening overseas, and yes, there are a handful of groups dealing with it,” he says. “But it’s also taking place in America. It’s happening in our back yards…and who’s doing anything about it?”

The idea to create an organization to help these victims was somewhat of an epiphany for Masten.

He recalls, “There was nobody looking for these slaves and trying to free them. We got to the point where we were like, there needs to be someone that’s searching for these people. There needs to be someone that’s trying to find and rescue these slaves. And if nobody else is doing it, then we’ll create an organization that does do it.”

Project Exodus is a Christian organization whose vision is “to see a world free of modern slavery.” It seeks to do this through a series of observations and reports in the Los Angeles area. Observations are divided into two categories: external and internal.
In external observations, teams of trained volunteers explore sections of Los Angeles for suspicious areas where trafficking may occur.

“We try to document things that we see and find at suspicious places like massage parlors,” said junior Karee Maxson, a Project Exodus intern. “We document what we see and we try to gather enough evidence.”

When asked about what types of people frequent these potential trafficking spots, she replied, “It can be anything from the stereotypical creeper guy that you would expect, or just a normal ordinary guy that you would see on the street. It does catch you off guard. You can’t judge someone by their appearance.”

After gathering enough evidence to deem a location as having a possible slavery situation, Project Exodus volunteers may move on to internal observations. Through internal observations, volunteers interview potential trafficking victims within the establishment. The volunteer is trained in identifying trafficking victims and has the goal of discreetly asking questions aimed at discovering the true nature of the situation. Through the information gathered from these observations, volunteers compile a report to be given to the Los Angeles Police Department in hopes of shutting down the establishment and rescuing its victims.

This year, Project Exodus was a part of with Pepperdine’s annual volunteer event, Step Forward Day. Thirty-four students got to experience firsthand the excitement as well as the apprehension of talking to people on the street about human trafficking.

“I learned so much from being there and going into L.A.,” said freshman Chelsea Nestlerode. “We’re in such a bubble here in Malibu…God really opened my eyes to what things are like elsewhere, rather than just where I’ve lived my whole life.”

Project Exodus will be holding a training session for anyone who is interested in volunteering and/or participating in observations. The training will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in Culver City. To arrange a carpool, E-mail IJM@pepperdine.edu. For more information on Project Exodus and volunteer training, visit www.project-exodus.org, or come to International Justice Mission on Monday nights at 9 p.m. in the HAWC.

Original Article: Pepperdine Graphic

Volunteer training on September 26th

Los Angeles, CA- Project Exodus will be holding a general volunteer training session on Saturday, September 26 at Culver Palms Church of Christ in Culver City, CA at 7:30pm.

The purpose of the night will be to train any individuals who would like to participate in Project Exodus as a volunteer and go out on Project Exodus outreaches. By the end of the training individuals will have a strong understanding of human trafficking, what it looks like here in America, and how as a Project Exodus volunteer they can help stop it.

Only people who have been trained by Project Exodus will be able to go out on Project Exodus outreaches in Los Angeles.

The training will last 2 hours and is free to anyone who wants to seek justice and stop slavery! Feel free to bring anyone who is interested!

For those of you who want to become even more involved, Project Exodus currently has leadership position available. If you are interested in these positions, or have any general questions about our training, please feel free to contact us at freedom@project-exodus.org.



Benefit concert for Zoe Children's Homes at Molly Malones in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES- Come out for a night of great music to benefit ZOE Children's Homes and join us in the fight against human trafficking.

Join ZOE Children's Homes Thursday, August 27th at 8pm for a benefit concert at Molly Malones Irish pub in Los Angeles.

ZOE Children's Homes were launched to proactively rescue children who are at risk of being sold into human slavery and/or child prostitution.

Worldwide, it is estimated that up to 1,200,000 children per year are brought into the child prostitution and human slavery industries.

In the United States alone, it is estimated that 17,500 women and children per year are imported for this heinous work.

Human trafficking is an industry so lucrative, that the U.S. intelligence community estimates it is the second largest money maker for organized crime and may soon surpass the guns and narcotics trades within the decade. Child trafficking is an epidemic that is growing exponentially. Unfortunately, response to this pandemic and awareness of this issue has not kept pace. ZOE has begun in Thailand which is well known to be a hub for human trafficking througout Asia. ZOE is working with the Thai government, other NGO's, and the Church to help stop this evil crime against children.

It has been said that "Evil prevails when good men do nothing." Will you help us fight for those who cannot fight for themselves? (www.zoechildrenshomes.org )

Arists include:

Aisea Taimani www.myspace.com/aiseataimani

Dennis Dodd Jr. www.myspace.com/dennisdoddjronline

Paris Carney www.myspace.com/pariscarneymusic

Yvonne Reyes www.myspace.com/yvonnereyesmusic

$10/door , 21+

Project Exodus to be at "The Sold Project" Screening in LA

LOS ANGELES- Tomorrow night, Project Exodus will be having a table at the screening of "The Sold Project", a documentary covering several different aspects of human trafficking, at Moasic Church in downtown Los Angeles. The evening, starting at 8:30pm, will offer a screening of "The Sold Project's" new documentary as well as the chance for participants to interact and engage with various anti-trafficking groups from around Los Angeles. The event, hosted by Moasic Church, will be held at the Mayan Club/Theater in downtown: 1038 S. Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90015. For details about the evening, email freedom@project-exodus.org.

Have you seen Amber Dubois?

On February 12, 2009, fourteen year old Amber Dubois went missing in Escondido, CA. The Marc Klaas Organization www.klasskids.org believes she has been taken for Human Trafficking. The Escondido Police and FBI have followed up on hundreds (900+) of tips and still have No Leads, so the belief that Amber was abducted for “Human Trafficking” is highly probable. Channel 10 ABC news recently did a segment on how young San Diego girls are being lured into Mexico and held captive by known gang members. Some of the abducted girls are being sold for “human trafficking (sex slavery)” purposes.

As a community of believers and justice seekers, please keep Amber in your prayers. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Amber, please call (858) 395-7533. You can also visit her website at: www.bringamberhome.com.

***MISSING - HAVE YOU SEEN ME?***

Amber Dubois

Missing Teen from Escondido, California.

Amber has been missing since Feb. 13, 2009

***Please review Amber’s website

***Store Amber’s web-link in your mobile device
for later review to help bring her home.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

The Dubois’ Family

Project Exodus to speak at "Slavery No More" Discussion Forum

ON AUGUST 13th, Project Exodus will be participating in the "Slavery No More" discussion forum taking place in Porter Ranch, CA. The event, being lead by abolitionist Jocelyn White, aims at creating a forum where concerned citizens can ask questions about the anti-trafficking movement here in Los Angeles and the world and see what they can do to participate in it. The night will start with the premiere screening of the International Justice Mission's "At the End of Slavery" and will be followed by a panel of anti-trafficking groups (including Project Exodus). Check out the flyer for more details!





The Killers become abolitionists!

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Las Vegas rockers The Killers have joined up with U.N. children's arm UNICEF, U.S. aid agency USAID and MTV to produce a video raising awareness of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The band is lending its song "Goodnight, Travel Well," from the album "Day & Age," to a video that highlights the human suffering and dangers of trafficking, particularly of young women.

The video will air globally on music channel MTV on July 13, reaching a potential audience of hundreds of millions of people in 168 countries, MTV said.

Viewers will be able to watch it from that date on the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) website www.mtvexit.org.

It is the second such collaboration for the awareness campaign after MTV EXIT produced a film for "All I Need," by British band Radiohead.

"We are deeply shocked and appalled that women and children are forced into such exploitative situations," The Killers said in a statement.

"We hope that through MTV's efforts and this powerful video that millions of people across the world learn about this tragic form of modern-day slavery."

Susan Bissell, UNICEF Chief of Child Protection, added: "There is almost no country in the world now that isn't affected by human trafficking in some way.

"The statistics are staggering. More than 1.2 million children are being trafficked each year and nearly 80 percent of all trafficking is for sexual exploitation, and the most at risk are girls."

The Goodnight, Travel Well video is directed by David Slade, who made "Hard Candy" and "30 Days of Night."

One scene depicts a group of young women being held in a bare, cell-like room and forced to go and work as prostitutes. On the screen appear the words: "Some things cost more than we realize."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Original Article via Reuters

Investigation

At Project Exodus, our mission is simple: to find, rescue, and restore victims of human trafficking throughout the United States and the world.

Over the last few months Project Exodus has been working endlessly to build our organization and establish the structures necessary to fulfill our mission and free slaves from trafficking locations in Los Angeles.

As the Fall and Winter months showed, Project Exodus was well established in its investigation techniques, having successfully conducted numerous outreaches to various locations around Los Angeles. As successful as these outreaches were, they were only part of the total picture of what was necessary to find victims of trafficking and rescue them. While identification and external observation are key, they do us no good if they are not followed up by internal investigation and a plan for the victims once they are rescued.

That is why we are proud to announce to following initiative:

Internal Investigation
Project Exodus will now be partnering with Dottie Laster (former head of the OC Anti-Trafficking Task Force) as well as a specialized team of agents to work together and conduct vital internal investigations to the potential trafficking locations that Project Exodus has been investigating. These agents will allow us to gain inside access to the underground world of trafficking and help identify victims and expose trafficking rings. Our hopes are that their work, coupled with the work of our observation teams, will provide us enough evidence to present our cases to local law enforcement and shut down traffiking rings.

God's promise to those who seek justice is clear. It is written that if you seek justice,

"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

Isaiah 58: 9-10

Project Exodus has been a first hand witness to this promise, having been continually blessed by God and aided in the goal of freeing victims of trafficking. These latest accomplishments are clear proof of God's involvement in our mission. The power of the living God is true and strong and is the only way that we shall ever conquer the darkness of slavery!

Over the next few weeks Project Exodus will be stepping up its operations with hopes of actually bringing some of our cases to a close and freeing trafficking victims. We are asking that everyone please pray for Project Exodus that we may succeed in our mission, free slaves, and remain safe. We will continue to update all of you on the organizations progress as things happen! Thank you for your support and we look forward to sending out some great news soon!

Human Trafficking vs Human Smuggling: A Letter to the Associated Press

Recently the Associated Press has been publishing many articles referencing human trafficking but actually discussing human smuggling. This misuse of the term not only confuses the public but creates immense difficulties for the hundreds of abolitionist groups trying to bring importance to the crisis of human trafficking. The following is a letter that Project Exodus wrote to the Associated Press urging them to change their rhetoric. Please feel free to use this letter for any other media outlets making the same mistake:

Dear Editor,

Thanks for taking my call earlier. Just to reiterate our conversation on the phone, the reason I am writing is to bring light to the misuse of the term "human trafficking" in many Associated Press articles I have been seeing lately.

As the link to the following article will show, the AP has been using the term "human trafficking" to describe various stories regarding illegal immigration. While this confusion is understandable, the use of the term "human trafficking" for such an instance is simply not accurate. Human trafficking organization busted in Europe

Whereas human smuggling is the act of someone voluntarily paying to being taken illegally across an international boarder, as defined by the US State Department, human trafficking is "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." Estimates put the total number of human trafficking victims in the world at 27 million. Simply put, human trafficking = modern day slavery.

While there are similarities between human trafficking and human smuggling (ie both involve organized crime networks, both involve the transportation of humans across borders), human trafficking differs in that the individual or victim who is trafficked has no choice in the matter, being taken against their will and exploited by the trafficker for profit. In short, human smuggling is a political issue; human trafficking is a human rights issue.

Clearly the term "human trafficking" carries with it a lot of weight and should be used correctly. I am therefore asking on behalf of many different people that the Associated Press make a concentrated effort to use the term "human trafficking" only in regards to the human rights issue, properly differentiating it from human smuggling.

Attached to this email you will find numerous resources that will better explain the differences between human trafficking and human smuggling. I ask that you please review this information and make the proper efforts to inform all Associated Press editors of this difference. By you doing this, you will help avoid confusion between human trafficking and human smuggling and thus aid us (anti-trafficking and human rights organizations) in the effort to inform the world of human trafficking.

Human trafficking needs to be recognized as the human rights violation that it is and any news articles that improperly use the term significantly hamper the hundreds of organizations that are trying to bring the human rights violation of human trafficking to the world. Thank you so much for understanding this. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at mike@project-exodus.org.

Veritas et Aequitas,
Mike Masten

Blank Canvas Mike Masten

Project Exodus launches "Summer of Justice"

LOS ANGELES- Ready or not summer is here and with it the summer season of justice seeking! After a short break (from outreaches, not from action) Project Exodus is ready to launch its "Summer of Justice" initiative with a series of summer outreaches that will be rocking the Los Angeles area.

This Monday's "Tip Sweep" in MacArthur Park will be the first of many outreaches in a campaign aimed at recruiting more volunteers to the organization and expanding the organization's reach throughout the Los Angeles area.

Aptly named, "tip sweeps" consist of Project Exodus teams going out into the Los Angeles community and creating dialogue with the community members regarding human trafficking. Having information both in English and in other languages, the goal of the evening will be to inform people of human trafficking and to get reports (or tips) about possible trafficking locations or happenings taking place within that community.

While research and investigations are critical in discovering and exposing traffickign locations, going out and engaging the community in the fight against human trafficking can sometimes be a more effective means of gathering information.

Though in the more affulent sections of the Los Angeles human trafficking is a relatively unknown issue, those who live in the poorer sections of the city are very aware of the existence of trafficking. However, due to mistrust of the police and a lack of understanding of proper legal avenues, trafficking instances often go unreported. Tip Sweeps thus offer a critical service in that they not only let community members know avenues in which they can report human trafficking but they also provide an alternative means of action from the police, thus increasing the odds of a report.

A schedule of upcoming "Summer of Justice" events will be posted soon to the website. If you are interested in joining Project Exodus on June 15th, please contact the organization at freedom@project-exodus.org. You can also feel free to sign up for our email updates in order to learn of future outreach activities.

A Call to Arms!

Sadly of the approximate 300,000 slaves in the United States of America, a vast majority of them are right here in Los Angeles, in our own backyards. 

Over the last year, Project Exodus has been sending out teams to investigate potential trafficking spots throughout the city and is getting close to coming to a close on some of its cases! 

However over the last year, a vast majority of our volunteers came from student groups throughout Los Angeles. While students are amazing for their passion and willingness to get out there and seek justice, there is one problem with them: they have a shelf life. 

Sadly as summer comes, our volunteer base greatly diminishes as students leave for their homes. Yet trafficking doesn't stop with the school year, and neither does Project Exodus. 

Therefore we are putting out a "call to arms" so to say. We need active volunteers who are willing to go out with Project Exodus and try and stop slavery in Los Angeles.  As a volunteer you will go out on community outreaches to gather trafficking tips, observe potential trafficking locations, and pray over the community. All your efforts will directly go to stopping slavery here in Los Angeles. 

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Mike at mike@project-exodus.org. Also, join our mailing list so you can become informed of a potential opportunity when it comes! 

So what are you doing this summer? If you spend it with Project Exodus, you will spend it seeking justice. 

Necessity to Invention

By Mike Masten
Co-Founder 

There is a good saying that “necessity is the mother of invention”. Usually this quote is used in reference to relatively non-important items. For example, perhaps a man once needed to tie his shoe but couldn’t. All of a sudden, before the world knew what hit it, BAM, there was Velcro. Necessity --> invention.

The story of Project Exodus is much like the man and his shoe. However, though both ideas were birthed out of necessity, the consequences of a failure to invent were dramatically different. In the one case, had the man with the shoe problem failed to invent Velcro, well, I guess the world would just still be trying to tie its shoes. In our case (both us personally and all of humanity), should we fail to find an invention to our problem, the consequences would be the continued ####, oppression, and enslavement of tens of millions of humans on this planet, all of whom were made in the image of God and are dearly loved by Him. Understanding the severity and magnitude of modern day slavery, we clearly understood the “need”. Project Exodus came about when we asked ourselves one simple question: where is the invention?

Today, though faced with one of the largest evils ever seen in the history of the world, the modern abolitionist movement is relatively ineffective. On the one hand there are thousands, if not millions of people who learn about human trafficking every day, have their hearts break and want to do something about it. These people rally together, host fund raisers, and conduct awareness events, all in the hopes that their voices will be loud enough to make up for the deadening silence of the world in the face of oppression. Though there have been many names for these people throughout time, today they are simply and accurately called activists.

On the other hand, there are a handful of small but effective organizations, agencies, and governments that professionally go after the modern slave trade. Each group has its own specific “brand” of abolitionism but in the end they all work towards a common vision: the liberation of the 27 million faceless victims of oppression everywhere in the world. We call these professional abolitionist groups.

The problem in the abolitionist movement comes from the fact that there is currently a divide between the activist abolitionist movement and the professional abolitionist movement. Though there are plenty of people who are livid with human trafficking and desperately want to make a difference, when they try to go beyond a mere activist position to actually making a tangible difference, they are told by the professional abolitionist that they should leave the dirty work to them. The result is not only that thousands get frustrated and discouraged, but that the army of justice seekers in which God has blessed us with is not being used to capacity!

Recognizing this, and also recognizing that there IS tangible work that the average activist can do, we came up with the idea for Project Exodus. At its heart, Project Exodus is Christian organization that seeks to directly fight human trafficking by recruiting passionate activists to pray over and directly observe potential trafficking spots in Los Angeles, California. We believe strongly that every individual can be an invaluable part of the fight against human trafficking. Furthermore, we believe strongly that our God is a god of Justice and that should any person decided to follow the call and loose the chains of injustice, the glory of the Lord will be their rear guard (Isaiah 58). In essence, we believe full heartedly that through Christ all things are possible, including an end to slavery!

Human trafficking is interesting because it is a hidden activity that happens right in front of your eyes. What we and the traffickers have both realized (them much earlier than us) is that the reason we do not see human trafficking is that we are not looking for human trafficking. Once the scales of this world are removed and we begin to seek justice, then we are able to find the darkness where it is happening.

Knowing what to look for and where to look, Project Exodus sends teams to do direct observation of potential trafficking locations in hopes of building up cases and proving that trafficking is in fact happening. Furthermore, knowing how stretched for resources most organizations and law enforcement agencies are, our goal is to build up a strong enough case that upon handing it over to law enforcement, all that needs to take place is the actual freeing of the girls and the arrest of the perpetrators. By providing this service, not only do we free up law enforcement and allow them to focus on the most pressing cases, but we also take advantage of the mass amount of people who want to make a difference and end trafficking, thus filling the middle ground and linking the divide between the activist and the professional abolitionist.

We have been given a promise from the God of Justice that whoever should decide to loose the chains of injustice, to free the oppressed and be a voice for the voiceless, that the glory of the Lord will be their rearguard and that their night shall shine like noonday. Through the power of Christ, every individual has the power to be a champion of justice. Understanding this, Project Exodus seeks to be an organization that taps into the limitless power of God’s children, using them in the way that they were intended, to love passionately and to seek justice! How is that for invention?  

Craigslist takes off "erotic service" ads

Erick Schonfeld
TechCrunch.com
Wednesday, May 13, 2009; 10:04 AM

After coming under increasing scrutiny from various state attorney generals for the open prostitution listings in its "erotic services" category, Craigslist is now folding in the face of criminal charges. The company said in a blog post that it will replace the erotic services category with a new "Adult services" category where each ad will be individually reviewed before posting.

Existing ads in the erotic services category will remain for seven days, but already new ads are not being accepted in that category. People trying to place an ad in the adult category are reminded: "Ads suggesting or implying an exchange of sexual favors for money are strictly prohibited" and "Ads including pornographic images, or images suggestive of an offer of sexual favors are strictly prohibited."

A quick glance at the erotic services section for New York City shows a lot of flesh with ads promising "IT'S NOTHING LIKE THE FIRST TIME!!" and "ASIAN HOTTIE . . . TO FULFUILL YOUR DREAM . . . WILLING AND READY." Meanwhile, the adult services section for NYC is slightly less explicit. It has a lot more listings for "massages" and "sensual bodyrubs." The first screenshot below is from an adult services ad, the second is the erotic services page. So much for truth in marketing.



Update: in a blog post about to go up entitled "Striking a Balance," which Craigslist just sent us, the company states:

As of today for all US sites, postings to the "erotic services" category will no longer be accepted, and in 7 days the category will be removed.Also effective today for all US sites, a new category entitled "adult services" will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers. Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5.

It also points out that its moderation system is "the most successful system ever conceived for eliminating inappropriate activity from a massive internet community," whereas inappropriate listings in print classifieds can't even be removed. Of course, there are also many more listings on Craigslist than in any single paper and up until now there has been no pre-posting review whatsoever, so I am not sure that is something to brag about.

Talk is good. Action is better.





It is amazing how much the anti-trafficking movement has spread in the last few years. It is not hard to remember that only a few years ago,  the phrase "human trafficking" would draw blank stares.  Now more than ever there are many different groups dedicated to discussing the issue of human trafficking spreading awareness about the issue to people who do not know. 

Though such awareness work is excellent and definitely needed, it can become easy for individuals to just stop there and think that the issue of modern day slavery will go away. 

The truth of the matter is that words, if not followed by actions, are useless.  If you have made the choice to be an abolitionist, great! Scream from the roof tops about the injustice of slavery! But don't just stop there.  Sit down with your friends and brainstorm ways that you can make a difference beyond spreading awareness. 

One of the easiest ways to make a direct contribution to the anti-trafficking movement is to raise funds for organizations that are actually out there right now making a difference. There are a lot of groups raising awareness. There are much fewer actually helping slaves. Find the groups that are doing hands on work with anti-trafficking and support them cause they need funds! 

Don't let your vision end just with awareness and fundraising however. There is no monopoly, no formula on how to end slavery.  Look objectively at the issue and find creative ways that you can fight it. If no one else is doing it, do it on your own (being safe of course).  Necessity is the catalyst of invention. We have great necessity right now! Where are the inventors? 

 

Thinking back, looking forward: Project Exodus' First Year

By Mike Masten
Co-Founder

It was about a year ago that I approached Blake McAllister about the idea of starting an abolitionist group that would give normal citizens the opportunity to directly participate in abolitionist activities. Our hope was to create an organization that filled the gap between activism and professional abolitionism, making the fight against human trafficking readily available to everyone.  The two of us sat down together and started brainstorming and within a few days had come up with the idea for Project Exodus. I remember how excited both of us were to be taking the next step in the abolitionist fight; our heads were filled with images of justice and it brought eternal smiles to our faces.  We had been given a God given dream and we were about to make it a reality. 

Today, a year later, we are so pleased to say that we did not dream in vain!  From its conception 12 months ago, Project Exodus has been growing ceaselessly, constantly being pushed forward and being blessed at every turn.  From only an idea a year ago, today the LA Metro Task Force on Human Trafficking  recognizes Project Exodus as a legitimate anti-trafficking group in Los Angeles and has offered to work with us. Almost weekly now we get emails and messages from around the world of people wanting to know more about our work or wanting to work with us. Most importantly,  a child rape area in Los Angeles is now under investigation and the lives of almost 50 girls in massage and hostess bars may be changed because of the work we have done in the last year. 

The success of Project Exodus over the last year continues to be a true testiment of God's passion for justice.  To us it is clear that God has blessed our organization and is giving us the strength and the means to tackle one of the darkest injustices on Earth.  In the book of Psalms we are told, "Blessed are they who maintain justice" (Psalms 106:3a). How true this has been! We unapologitically believe that it is only under Christ that the evil of human trafficking will be conquered and after a year of amazing blessings and encouragement, we know this to be true! 

In addition to reflecting, we have also been looking to the future of Project Exodus and what we would like to accomplish over the next few years.  For the immediate year, Project Exodus hopes to further its reach by establishing additional PX teams that would conduct internal and extrenal observation operations throughout Los Angeles multiple times a week. By extending our reach we hope not only to be able to investigate more trafficking locations but actually liberate more victims. 

 In addition to our own operations, we hope to continue to reach out to other local and international abolitionist groups and see how our combined experiences can help further anti-trafficking efforts,not only talking about ending trafficking but actually freeing slaves in Los Angeles and the world. 

Finally, though still a dream, Project Exodus is looking beyond the borders of the United States to Ghana where we would like to eventually establish a rehabilitation center for African trafficking victims. 

All told, the last year has been bright and the future is looking to be even brighter. With Christ as our champion we were able to achieve things that were only in our dreams a year ago. Today we look forward with encouragement and hope, not only because of the successes of the past, but also because of the promise we have been given about the future: that through the power of Christ conquer human trafficking! We look forward to this journey and openly welcome anyone who is willing to join Project Exodus in our pursuit of justice.  
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)