Diana Scimone

Who Knew Santa Was an Abolitionist?

It's amazing what you can learn by reading children's books.

Earlier this year I had an opportunity to edit a new children's book called Tales of the Tick-Tock Time Traveler: Saint Nicholas's Secret, written by Karla Johnson and illustrated by Nathan Wiedemer.

Nicholas, a 3rd-century bishop who lived in what is now Turkey, learned about a poor man with three daughters to marry off. 

The man was too destitute to pay the dowry for the girls, meaning they would be sold into slavery (aka child trafficking).

Nicholas heard of the girls' plight and late one night quietly waited outside the family's meager home and threw coins into their window--making sure no one, especially the father, saw him.

The father found the money and used it to pay off his debts--and his girls were rescued from a life of slavery.

OK, no one knows for sure if that truly happened, but according to the Saint Nicholas Center there's good reason to believe it did:

This story, distinct to Nicholas, can be regarded as historical in its essence. There are three very ancient accounts which only differ in regard to the number of maidens and other detail.

This event reveals important aspects of St. Nicholas's personality, namely, his charitable nature and humility. This story is not found in hagiographic accounts of other saints' lives.

Saint Nicholas, of course, became the model for modern-day Santa Claus. 

Who knew Santa was really an abolitionist?

It's Too Late at Night to Think of a Catchy Headline

It's 11:49 pm and I'm out of creativity. I have so many things to tell you about that I'm just giving you links and a little info -- click thru to read more.

1. After conducting the 09-09-09 one-day Twitterthon last September, I have a lot of respect for anyone who organizes an online fundraiser--and I have 2 great ones to tell you about:

John Stanko (@JohnStanko), who's not only a Born2Fly board member but also my brother-in-law, has got two great causes going on:  The Sophia Fund, which is raising money to feed orphans and widows in Kenya, and the  Deborah Foundation, which will help establish learning centers at 3 orphanages in Kenya.

The goal of the learning centers is to instill a love for books and learning in the minds of these young orphans. 

Orphanages are prime targets for traffickers looking for kids, so anything we can do to strengthen orphanages and educate kids, I'm all for. 

You can donate on John's blog, and you can also send an educational toy or a book to John (that's him on the left with some of the kids), and he'll get it to the orphanages.  Read more here.

2. Pam Mandel (@nerdseyeview) and her fellow travel bloggers are in the midst of the 2nd annual Passports With Purpose fundraiser. 

This year all the funds go to building a school in Cambodia.  More schools mean less kids will get trafficked as a result.  So please support this great cause.  Check out PWP and look at some of the amazing prizes you could win.  

3. Christopher Burgess (@BurgessCT) has compiled an excellent report about child trafficking in Texas.

If you live in Texas, it will shock you.  If you don't live in Texas, don't worry; Christopher is planning to look at other states, too.  Remember, child trafficking happens EVERYWHERE.  I feel like a broken record saying that over and over again, but it's true. 

Please look at Christopher's report. You don't have to read every word, but please read some of it. He's got some other excellent posts on his site, too.

4. Finally my fellow Twitterer @StacyBrice told me about 31 Days of Wishes.  The idea is throughout December people are making a wish a day. 

Here's mine:  I wish that in 2010 I'll be out of a job.  No more child trafficking means Diana can find something else to do.  A good wish, huh? 

Making a List, Checking It Twice: Gifts made by women & girls rescued from trafficking

This year you can give Christmas and Hanukkah gifts that help stop child trafficking. 

Here are organizations that teach new skills to women and girls rescued from trafficking--such as making jewelry, purses, and handmade paper. 

When you purchase their beautiful crafts, you help provide income, education, and support for trafficking survivors.

Hat tip to Cassandra Clifford and Amanda Kloer for many of these sources. Leave a comment if you know of other sites, and I'll add them to the list.

Buy Her Bag, Not Her Body (Nomi Network) handbags

Free the Slaves and Made by Survivors jewelry, t-shirts, handmade paper

Made By Survivors Bags, wallets, paper, holiday gifts, books

Nightlight International jewelry

Not For Sale Soaps, bags, coffee, kitchenware (including petal bag below right)

RIJI Green Journals, felt products, and recycled rice bags

Stop Traffick Fashion handmade bags, jewelry

Starfish Project jewelry and bookmarks (including pendant necklace above left)

Wonderfully Made jewelry

One more site to check out: Free2Work, a project of the NotForSale campaign, helps shoppers find great gifts that do not have forced or child labor in their production.

If you know of other sites selling gifts made by trafficking survivors, leave a comment and I'll add them to the list.

Could Shaniya's Death Have Been Prevented by a Simple Law?

Today came the tragic news that little Shaniya Davis' body was found.  The 5-year-old had been trafficked by her mother--not in some far-away country but in North Carolina.

Police charged her mother with human trafficking and felony child abuse, saying Shaniya was offered for prostitution.

Could her death have been prevented? Could someone have kept her from being trafficked?

For 3 years, KlaasKids Foundation has been pushing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve a proposal that would unleash major resources to help recover missing children and adults--at no cost to government.

The proposal would set up an independently run system (ie, no government funds) that would quickly publicize missing children and adults via a TV network at truck stops all over the country.

It would enable drivers--who are out on the roads and at highway rest stops, convenience stores, gas stations, and fast food restaurants where persons on the run frequently go--to receive news flashes, special reports, and full-length programming about unresolved missing person cases from local television stations, national cable and satellite channels.

The case has suffered from prolonged delays, and KlaasKids is asking everyone to contact the FCC and push for approval.

You can read more here: www.klaaskids.org/pg-truckerTV.htm  Just click the orange "reply" button at the bottom of that page and you can send an email to the FCC urging passage of this proposal.

Could Shaniya's trafficking and death have been prevented? No one knows...but we do know that enacting this proposal would definitely prevent other children and adults from the same tragic end.

Twittering About Abolition

I've updated my list of abolitionists to follow on Twitter.  You can read it here.

If I've missed you, please leave a comment with your Twitter name, and I'll add you asap.

I'm @DianaScimone, by the way. Follow me, okay?

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

I love that quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.

One of my goals is to make sure people know about the injustice of child trafficking that takes place every day around the world.

With that goal in mind, here are a few recent news reports I’ve written or was interviewed for about the the fight to stop child trafficking:

Stop Child Slavery Now, Charisma Magazine, November 2009

My interview with Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, director of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, Charisma Magazine, November 2009

Anti-Trafficking Resources (including list of abolitionists on Twitter), Charisma Magazine, November 2009

Orange TV interview, October 2009 (link coming)

7 Ways to Change the World, by Troy Anderson, Ministry Today magazine, November/December 2009 (Born to Fly and yours truly are profiled in the cover story--link coming)

And here's some of the extensive coverage that Born to Fly received thanks to our 09-09-09 fundraiser to stop child trafficking. As a result of these stories, thousands of new people learned about child trafficking and how to stop it:

Levite Chronicles: 5 Questions with Diana Scimone

Just Let Me Vent: What Is a Child Worth?

Mashable.com: A Guide to Crowdfunding Success 

Breaking Christian News: 09-09-09 Twitterthon to Stop Child Trafficking

Just Cause: International Organizations (Born to Fly is profiled on page 70)

I Was 9 Years Old When I Was Abducted

Huffington Post: Top 10 Women Warriors of Twitter (guess who is one of them)

and more listed here.

Prevention and awareness are huge parts of stopping the traffic, so I'm grateful to all these publications, blogs, and writers for featuring Born to Fly and our work.

"They are merchandise because they are just pounds of meat."

That lovely thought is from the mouth of a human trafficker, talking about his victims.

He mentions it a number of times in Lives For Sale, a documentary that traces the story of 2 young women who cross the US/Mexico border illegally and end up being trafficked--one in California and the other in Florida.

Lives For Sale shows the strong connection between immigration and human trafficking, and why immigrants are willing to risk everything--even slavery--for the American dream. Many, of course, have no idea they are signing up to be slaves.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Human trafficking is the 2nd most profitable illegal industry on the planet, after illegal drugs. You can sell a drug once, but you can sell a person over and over again--and that's what happens to the women in Lives For Sale.

Here are some of the notes I scribbled in the dark while I was watching the film:

• There is an increasing "feminization of immigration."  54% of immigrants around the world are women--and many pay their way with their bodies--willingly or unwillingly.

• One young woman in the film was brought from Mexico to Phoenix to Los Angeles.  When she arrived at a dark and dirty home, she was asked, "Do you know why you are here? To work.  This is a brothel." To which she replied, "What is that?" This innocent young woman was forced to work as a prostitute.

• Another young woman was held hostage in a home in a middle-class neighborhood in the US--which was actually a brothel.  A neighbor noticed what was going on and called the police, but it took many calls before anyone believed her and rescued the young woman and others held hostage in the same house. "Finally someone believed my story," the neighbor said.

• Quote from a state attorney in the US who prosecutes traffickers:  "One of the first things I have to do is convince a jury that slavery actually exists."

• 500,000 undocumented people enter the US illegally every year.  70,000 of them will be trafficked. Desperation and crushing poverty lead them to believe the lies of traffickers who promise them the moon. 

Whatever you think about illegal immigration, no one deserves to be a slave.

The film showed two programs in Guatemala that help people out of poverty -- which means they are less likely to become illegal immigrants and be trafficked:

One program gives kids economic incentives to go to school and stay in school. This is particularly important for girls. 80% of women in Guatemala are illiterate.

Another program--a coffee co-op--gives farmers a place to sell their coffee beans, make money, feed their families, and get out of poverty. 

BTW, this excellent documentary has been shown on television only a handful of times.  In Florida where much of it was shot, it was shown on a Sunday night at 12 midnight--not exactly prime time. 

Why?  Why don't more media show this type of film and expose the horror that is going on in our backyards?

To learn what The Born2Fly Project is doing to stop child trafficking, click here.

Update on 52 Kids Rescued From Prostitution

Yesterday the FBI announced it had rescued 52 children over the weekend from child sex trafficking throughout the US.

Today we have more information. The youngest child was 10 years old--sold into prostitution by her mother. Her customers were migrant workers.

The investigations typically target places where minors are likely to be sold for sex, including truck stops, casinos, public streets, and Internet websites.

According to KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, these are the cities and numbers of children rescued:

 Atlanta - 2

Chicago - 4

Cleveland (Toledo) - 7

Dallas - 2

Houston - 3

Las Vegas - 4

Los Angeles ( Riverside) - 2

Miami - 1

New York City - 5

Portland - 4

Sacramento - 4

San Diego - 3

Seattle - 9

Tampa - 2 

Remember, there are still more than 100,000 children enslaved in the US. Let us work and pray for them to be rescued, too--and for millions more never to enter this nightmare world.

52 Kids Rescued From Prostitution in the U.S.

How was your weekend?

It was pretty good for 52 children who were rescued from prostitution all over the United States.

The FBI conducted a 3-day undercover operation that rescued children in 36 cities around the U.S.

Surprised? Don't be.

“Child prostitution continues to be a significant problem in our country, as evidenced by the number of children rescued through the continued efforts of our crimes-against-children task forces,” notes Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.

“These kids are victims,” adds Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which partnered with the FBI to rescue the children.  "They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st-century slavery.”

You can read more about the rescue operation here, and read more about child trafficking in US schools here and here.

Can you guess how many other children and young women are trafficked in the US each year? 

100,000

They range in age from 9 to 19.  Their average age is 11.

[Stock photo; child was not trafficked.]

News Flash: This is happening in your schools. (Yes, yours.)

A few days ago, a high-school girl was put in prison for recruiting other girls for child trafficking. 

It didn't happen in some far-off country, but in Phoenix, Arizona.

Sadly, the only unusual part of this story is that she got caught. All over the US, this is happening in schools in your neighborhood and mine.

Earlier this year, I wrote that child-trafficking recruiters are working in our MIDDLE schools.

I tell people this over and over again, and I know they don't believe me.

I've called investigative reporters to ask them to cover this, and can just about hear the yawns through the phone.

Here's the response I got from the editor of a large magazine in the US (3,000,000 circulation): "Child trafficking? Oh, we covered that last year."

Then to further dig himself a hole, he added, "It's all about timing in this business."

As if I had missed it.

Shouldn't we be shouting it from the rooftops that child trafficking is going on in our MIDDLE schools?

501 Unwanted Girls

I met someone this week who adopted 501 unwanted little girls.  He legally adopted every one of them, built homes for them, and even built schools--elementary through Ph.D.--for them to attend.

Yeah, I was pretty amazed, too.  His name is Dr. P.P. Job, and he is from India. 

To give you an idea of the status of girls in India, this is the greeting given to a woman on her wedding day:  "May you be the mother of a hundred sons."

In India, almost no one wants a daughter. Here are some of the tragic statistics that Dr. Job shared:

• 2,000 girls go missing in India--every day.
• 5,000,000 girls are aborted in government hospitals in India--every year--simply because they are girls.

"From abortion and infanticide," says Dr. Job, "it goes on to denying education to the girl child, later to abuse of women. When a boy is born, there is celebration. When a girl is born, there is mourning."

The story for these 501 girls is doubly tragic. They were orphaned when their parents were murdered. Their parents were Christians and were killed for their faith.

Dr. Job and his wife know something about that; their 2 sons were killed for their Christian faith. Michael was 21 and in medical school, and his older brother, John, was murdered a few years later. Dr. Job and his wife started this amazing orphanage in their honor.

In India, there is no lack of children for the insatiable child-trafficking industry, and 501 suddenly orphaned little girls would have been prime targets for recruiters.  Thankfully Dr. Job and his wife took them in--and continue to take in others.

Each one is one more little girl off the streets and in school. 

One more little girl who will not be trafficked for sex or labor.

 

A Kid's Book That Will Help Stop Child Trafficking

 
It's been a great week for The Born2Fly Project!  We completed 2 milestones on the road to publishing our picture book to help stop child trafficking. 

Early in the week, artist Leah Wiedemer finished the last illustration for the book.  You can read about that here and see some photos of the day.

On Wednesday, Leah and I worked with the great staff at Eurografix, who took digital images of the illustrations.

Here's photographer Marnie Burkett setting up for the photo shoot:

It took a while to photograph the first illustration, of course, as Marnie made sure the lighting and settings were right.

Once we were all happy with it, the 3 of us went into action.  First, Leah handed Marnie an illustration...

 

which Marnie carefully tacked up on the wall.  Leah used soft pastels, which are very fragile; we joked about dropping one of the illustrations and watching all the chalk fall off. Thankfully that didn't happen.

As soon as Marnie shot one illustration, she gingerly removed it from its perch on the wall, handed it to me to put back into the box, and took the next one from Leah's waiting hands. It took about 2 hours to shoot all 75 illustrations. 

The next day, Marnie popped the memory card into her computer and color-corrected every illustration, making sure it was as close to the original as possible.

Late this afternoon I picked up a DVD with all the illustrations and gave it to graphic designer Cathleen Kwas, who'll now turn everything into a book.  

I'll have more photos for you next week as we continue to document the process of producing this book that will keep many, many kids from being lured into child sex slavery. 

Our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do, so we want to print truckloads of these books and the companion curriculum to teach kids about the lies that traffickers use. The more funds we have, the more books we can print.

You can donate by clicking the orange Chip-in button at the top right or here and donate safely by credit card or PayPal. All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to help stop child trafficking. Thank you for partnering with us to make this happen.

* * *

Donations are still coming in from the 09-09-09 fundraiser for The Born2Fly Project--thanks, everyone!  Here are the latest totals:

     Total donors:                            595

     Donations via Chip-in:   $12,396.46  

     Donations via check:        3,457.99    

     TOTAL:                           $15,854.45    (as of 10/3)

How to donate: Click the orange Chip-in button at the top right or here and donate safely by credit card or PayPal. All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

 

Finished!

Today was a big day for Born to Fly International. Artist Leah Wiedemer finished the final drawing for the wordless picture book that is the centerpiece of The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. Can you hear us celebrating?

Now, you may ask, "How in the world can a wordless book keep kids from getting trafficked?"

Good question.

Most kids are lured into sex slavery because they don’t know the deceptive tactics of traffickers. Wherever awareness training takes place, the rate of trafficking plummets. There’s just not enough, nor is it available in the languages of most at-risk kids.

The B2F Project is a strategic plan to educate kids, parents, and teachers about the dangers of child trafficking—with the ultimate goal of ending it.  Our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do--and we'll do it with a wordless book.

Why wordless? So we don't have to translate it into a million languages.

Leah did a brilliant job of taking my storyline and retelling it completely in pictures--no words. All in all, she did 75 pages, each with 4, 5, or even 6 individual illustrations.

I have to tell you I had tears in my eyes as I looked at the last illustration. I've worked on this project for 4 long years, including 2 trips to Thailand to research it.

Tomorrow Leah and I have digital images taken of all 75 illustrations. Then the baton passes from Leah to designer Cathleen Kwas, who'll take all those images and turn them into a book.  (OK, so we didn't have a baton, but we used one of Leah's paintbrushes.)

By November, we'll be ready to print. How many books will we print?  Right now we have funds to print about 400. That's not nearly enough. We want to blanket the globe with these strategic books and the companion curriculum.  Remember, our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do.  That means printing a lot of books (at least 100,000).

If you'd like to partner with us to do that, just click the orange Chip-in button at the top right or here, and donate safely by credit card or PayPal. Born to Fly International is a 501c3 non-profit organization and your contribution is tax deductible.

Watch this space for more photos as The Born2Fly Project prepares to take flight.

Reaching Kids Before the Traffickers Do

It's been busy around here!  Here's what has been happening since the 09-09-09 fundraiser to stop child trafficking:

1.  You donated more than $15,600 for The Born2Fly Project!  That's donations via Chip-in, PayPal, and check. Fantastic--thank you! Every penny goes to reaching kids before the traffickers do.

2.  Any day now, I expect a call from artist Leah Wiedemer saying she's finished the last illustration for the wordless children's book that's the centerpiece of the B2F project. The book will be about 75 pages with more than 400 illustrations. (You'll love it!)

3.  I'm almost finished writing the companion curriculum that will teach kids the important concepts in the book.

4.  We're getting quotes from the printer on the final cost to print the books and curriculum. 

Since we didn't reach our full financial goal of $81,000, we can't print nearly as many books as we want, but we'll print what we can.

Remember, our mission is to reach kids before the traffickers do. 

Most kids get lured into trafficking because they don't know the ploys that traffickers use. 

Wherever awareness training takes place, the rate of trafficking plummets. There's just not enough, nor is it in the languages of most at-risk kids.

That's the beauty of The B2F Project. Through a wordless book, we can educate kids and parents all over the world about the dangers of child sex trafficking -- no matter what their language or country, nor how remote their villages.

After working on this project for 4 long years, I'm thrilled we're almost ready to go to press and print these precious materials. I'm anxious to hear back from the printer telling us how many books we can print. 

If you want to see that number go up, you can still donate via PayPal or credit card by clicking the orange Chip-in button at the upper-right or here. 

On behalf of the many children we'll reach before the traffickers do, thank you.

Thanks, Everyone!

Donations are still coming in from the 09-09-09 fundraiser for The Born2Fly Project--thanks, everyone!  Here are the latest totals:

     Total donors:                            591

     Donations via Chip-in:   $12,376.46  

     Donations via check:        3,323.99    

     TOTAL:                           $15,700.45    (as of 9/30)

Although September 9 has passed, we are still very grateful to receive donations to help meet our goal--thank you!

HOW TO DONATE: Click the orange "Chip-in" button to the right or here, and donate safely by credit card or PayPal.

All funds go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. 

Remember, most kids get lured into child sex slavery because they don't know the tactics traffickers use. The B2F Project is a strategic 4-stage plan to educate kids, parents, and teachers about the dangers of child trafficking—with the ultimate goal of ending it.

Thank you for helping us reach kids before the traffickers do.