Diana Scimone

If you buy children online, we will post your name online

This is Part 1 of a 2-part post.

Yesterday the Sheriff's Office of Osceola County, Florida,  arrested 40 men for attempting to buy sex with children.

The arrests include a swim coach, a professional golfer on the Senior PGA Tour, an 8th-grade teacher, business professionals, 8 college students, and many others.

I just came from a meeting with one of the detectives involved in the sting and I'll report on that tomorrow. I'm still processing the mind-boggling information he shared.

Meanwhile, to the men buying children, here is our promise: If you buy children online, we will post your name online. And here you are--all 40 of you including your photos and occupations.

(This information is publicly available on the Osceola County Sheriff's Office website here, along with more information about each person arrested.)

1. Frederick David Adams, Naples, FL. Occupation: High School Student
2. Samer Japer Al-Hubaydi, Daytona Beach, FL. Occupation: Student, Embry-Riddle
3. Jason Bacchus, Winter Garden, FL. Occupation: Sales Representative, Cell Phone Distributor
4. Christopher Baker, Kissimmee, FL. Occupation: Unemployed
5. Christopher Batman, Wesley Chapel, FL. Occupation: Self-Employed
6. Marvin Alfonson Bell, Valrico, FL. Occupation: College Student
7. Dennis Bluemke, Clermont, FL. Occupation: Fencing
8. Charles James Buffington, Deltona, FL. Occupation: Construction
9. Sergio Cardenas, Auburndale, FL, Occupation: Unemployed
10. Lucas Bartholomew Clarke, Winter Park, FL. Occupation: Student, Golf Academy of America
11. Shane Daniel Cousins, Kissimmee FL. Occupation: Soldier, U.S. Army Reserves
12. Gary J. Durso, Palm Coast, FL. Occupation: Areole Technician
13. Josean Javier Gaston, Orlando, FL. Occupation: Student
14. Carlos Gomez, Winter Park, FL. Occupation: Unemployed
15. Justin Joseph Hall, Kissimmee, FL. Occupation: Student
16. Dell Rio Highsmith, DFargo, GA. Occupation: Retired Bee Keeper
17. Cornellus Eugene Hunt, Orlando, FL. Occupation: Student
18. Phillip Dale Jones, Winter Haven, FL. Occupation: Unemployed
19. Roger Dale Mathews, Lakeland, FL. Occupation: Plant Manager
20. Joseph Matz, Williamstown NJ. Occupation: Unemployed
21. Carl David Brooks Newsome, Fairhope, AL. Occupation: Unknown
22. Ryu Nolin, Edgewater, FL. Occupation: Personal Trainer
23. Craig Alan Parsel, Jr. Occupation: Warehouse Clerk
24. Eric Dennard Payne, Jr., Orlando, FL. Occupation: Dispatcher
25. Ahmidullah Popal, Flushing, NY. Occupation: Wholesale Dealer
26. Nigel Rattan, Mt. Dora, FL. Occupation: Self-Employed
27. Milton Benjamin Richardson, Palm Bay, FL. Occupation: Engineer
28. Kegan Ritchie, Port Orange, FL. Occupation: Student
29. Alexander Roy, Port St. Lucie, FL. Occupation: Eighth Grade Teacher
30. Kenneth Sinisi, South Daytona, FL. Occupation: Unemployed
31. Andrew Louis Skinner, Windermere, FL. Occupation: Vendor
32. Jay S. Soni, Orlando, FL. Occupation: Sales Representative
33. Frederick Charles Spreng, Windermere, FL. Occupation: Manager
34. Warren Lee Staples, St. Cloud, FL. Occupation: Public Works
35. Winston Alexander Stephens, Shreveport, LA. Occupation: Student, Full Sail University
36. Christopher Stewart, Kissimmee, FL. Occupation: Truck Loader
37. Ryan Stickle, Sammamish, WA. Occupation: Consultant
38. Samuel Dean Straitiff, Deland, FL. Occupation: Information Technology
39. Stephen Wesley Thomas, Meridian, MS. Occupation: Professional Golfer
40. Bryan Allan Woodward, Gainesville, FL. Occupation: Head Swim Coach, Gator Swim Club

Please check back here tomorrow when I'll post Part 2 -- a report on the meeting with one of the undercover investigators involved in the sting. Or subscribe to this blog by using the "Get email updates" button in the upper left.

 

 

 

The dream is still alive

"Administer justice every morning and deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor" (Jeremiah 21:12).

Today is a national holiday in the US to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I wrote this post a few years ago about how he inspired me in my fight to stop child trafficking.

* * *

Five decades ago, my sisters and I set up a little store in the playroom of our house in New York. When we invited our parents to come and shop (i.e. to spend their money), they were aghast to see the sign we had hung in our store:

"We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

My parents explained to us the meaning of this sign, which we must have seen in a real store, and why it was wrong--that it was racial discrimination designed to keep out blacks. (As Italian-Americans, my parents had their own encounters with injustice and discrimination, particularly my father.)

I had no clue. I went through the 1950s and, I regret to say, the 60s and still had no clue.

What was happening in the south didn't seem to affect me--Little Rock, Birmingham, Memphis, the March on Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr. It was all something on the pages of newspapers, but didn't really involve me.

When I was 17, I moved to Washington to attend college during the years when race riots scarred the streets. The events of the day began to get a little closer to home.

A decade later, I moved to Alabama and met people personally affected by injustice. The struggle for justice got closer.

Then I moved to central Florida, where one morning I looked out my window and saw five men cloaked in white sheets protesting outside the Jewish Community Center across the street, claiming the Holocaust was all a myth. Now the struggle for justice was just outside my front door.

Yet another decade later, I was co-writing a book called The Dream Is Alive about the struggle for racial justice within the Christian church. The title, of course, refers to Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. While researching information for the book, I read his speech on the internet and listened to scratchy on-line recordings of many of his other speeches--and they powerfully impacted me. Now the struggle was right at the tip of my fingers.

Today, five decades after taking down that sign, I think I'm finally getting it. Injustice has many forms and faces, and they're all ugly. In my travels, I've seen the injustice of child trafficking face to face--girls in cages, boys sold on streets, and more. As I took down that sign 50 years ago, now I'm working to take down a different form of injustice through The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

Dr. King's struggle in the face of overwhelming odds, along with his profound words that documented it, are part of the inspiration that has propelled me.

Here are some of his words from his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." I hope they inspire you the way they inspire me.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Justice too long delayed is justice denied."

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed."

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."

"Was not [the biblical prophet] Amos an extremist for justice? 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream' [Amos 5:24] . . . So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?"

--excerpts from "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To read and hear more:

• "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963 (audio clips)
• "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963 (text and audio versions)
• "I've Been to the Mountain Top" speech, April 3, 1968, the night before Dr. King was killed (text and audio versions)
• The King Center

 * * *

A few more great quotes (hat tip @charlestlee):

“A minister cannot preach the glories of heaven while ignoring social conditions in his own community that cause [people] an earthly hell.”

“This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists. The saving of our world from pending doom will come not from the actions of a conforming majority but from the creative maladjustment of a transformed minority.”

 

 

Can I quote you on that?

I took a blogging break in December (you noticed, right?). This post begins my 6th year of blogging!

Here's my annual first post of the year. All year long whenever I need some quick inspiration, I just look at the top of my daily to-do agenda where I keep a list of motivational quotes I gather. Whenever I find a new one, I add it to the list. I post them front and center to inspire me as I work on The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

When the fight seems impossible, I read what Einstein said. Or Edison. Or Zappos.com.

Today I start a brand-new list, so enjoy these now. I hope they motivate you as much as they do me. Most of these come from my fellow Twitterati, so I've included their Twitter names after each quote in case you want to follow them.

Got a fav quote of your own? Leave it as a comment. I've already begun my 2012 list and could use a few good quotes to start the year right.

* * *

"They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it.”—Mark Twain

“Ending human trafficking is not idealistic or naive. It is audacious. And it is people of audacity who change the world.”—Rob Morris (@RobLOVE146)

“Justice, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”—@jujulee89

"Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair."—G.K. Chesterton (via @RobLOVE146)

"Endure. In the wilderness, either your issue will die or you will."—Casey Doss (via @theramp)

"When I look at the [pruning] work Nancy did with the roses today, I realize that there is a sense of relief. No need to support the branches that will no longer flower. It was good, but now is a burden."—Jon Swanson (@jnswanson)

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."—Milton Berle (via @gailtiv)

"Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness is largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline."—Jim Collins, from Good to Great

"The start and finish are easy. It is in the long middle of the race where preparation and commitment matter most."—Doug Picirillo (@doug_picirillo)

"Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."—Conrad Hilton

"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?"—Proverbs 24:11-12

"You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea."—Pablo Picasso

"I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done."—Steven Wright (via @PhilCooke)

"The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done."—Arnold Palmer (via @Jenny_Shain)

"Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something risky. Something human. Art is not in the eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist."—Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog)

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."—1 Chronicles 28:20

“There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”—Nelson Mandela (via @HopeMore)

“A year from now you will wish you had started today."—Karen Lamb (via @JohnStanko)

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”—Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”—Mario Andretti

“We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat.”—Queen Victoria (via @BeAuthor)

 

Blossom is heading to Russia

Blossom is the main character in the Born2Fly wordless book and curriculum--and this fall she's heading to Russia. It's all part of a program to reach kids before the traffickers do.

In this case, Russian orphans. 

We're partnering with a non-profit organization that offered to translate the B2F trafficking-awareness curriculum into Russian and then teach it to teens at 3 different centers for orphans who have "aged out" of the system.

Orphans all over the world are extremely at risk for child trafficking. Traffickers actually wait outside orphanages and watch for kids they'll target.

In Russia as in many places around the world, when orphans reach 18 years old, they have to leave the orphanage. Most don't have any skills that can help them hold down a job, or even know how to look for one.

It doesn't take long before the traffickers introduce themselves to the kids. They offer them the moon, and with no other options in sight, the kids take it. Only to find themselves enslaved.

Training kids to stand up to the traffickers

Two different groups of kids will go through the B2F anti-trafficking program:

1.  Orphans who are 17-21 years old and recently left the orphanages--a high-risk population

2.  Younger teen-aged orphans who are still residing in orphanages

Several full-time orphan-interns will help teach the program. This is exactly the way we've set up the B2F Project--adults train teens, who in turn serve as mentors to younger kids going through the program.

The program begins this fall. Watch this space for details and photos.

 

 

orphans who are aged 17-21 who have recently left the orphanages – high risk population, and (2) younger teen-aged orphans who are still residing in orphanages. 

You did it!

Thank you for helping us raise more than $6,300 on 10/10/10 and during the weeks after the Twitterthon.

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

You tweeted, you emailed, you blogged, you told people about the Twitterthon--and you donated. Here's what you helped us raise to stop child trafficking:

Donations via ChipIn:             $3,789.88
Donations via other PayPal:     1,250.00
Donations via check:                1,295.00
TOTAL:                                   $6,334.88

Even though it's not 10/10/10 anymore, you can still donate to help stop child trafficking. Just go to www.born2fly.org. Or mail your donation to "Born to Fly International, Inc.," PO Box 952949, Lake Mary FL 32794. Born to Fly International is a 501c3 non-profit organization and your donation is tax deductible in the US.

Thank you for your generosity as together we work to reach children before the traffickers do.

The 10/10/10 Twitterthon is here!

The 10/10/10 Twitterthon to stop child trafficking has arrived!  Here's our goal:

Every penny raised goes to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking. Here's how you can help:

1. Click on the orange Chip-in button above (or here if you're reading this by email) and donate $10 via PayPal or credit card.
2. Email 10 of your friends about 10/10/10.  Just send them to this site (www.dianascimone.com)
3. Tweet about 10/10/10 to your followers.
4. Post on Facebook about 10/10/10.

A big thanks to the many people all over the world who couldn't wait to donate and already sent their contribution. Donations have come in from all over the US, from England, New Zealand, and elsewhere--and we're starting 10/10/10 with more than $3,800. Thank you!

* * *

Here are some of the many articles and blog posts you've written about child trafficking and our fight to stop it. A huge "thank you" to all of you! (And if I missed your blog post, please let me know.)

Blog posts:

• Just Let Me Vent (FC Kibler and Janie Graziani): Begging
• Virtual Moxie (Anasticia Brice):  Crazy, Foolish, Ridiculous
• Heading Home (Lynn Mosher): 10/10/10
• Kathy McGraw: Something to Do When You Want to Make a Difference
• Kathy McGraw: Squidoo Lens on Child Trafficking
• Levite Chronicles (Jon Swanson): 10 bucks on 10/10/10 is a safe bet
• Beth Kanter: Lessons learned from a Twitterthon
• Monday Memo (John Stanko): Born to Fly

• Jamie Ayre's blog: Born2Fly
• Black Africa: Fighting child trafficking one tweet at a time

News stories:

• Breaking Christian News -- Stopping Child Trafficking One Tweet at a Time
• Yahoo News: Stopping child trafficking one tweet at a time
• Christian Web News: Taking a stand against child trafficking

I'll be updating this blog all day on 10/10/10 so keep watching for the latest totals.

Countdown to the 10/10/10 Twitterthon...Updated plans for Dominican Republic test

6 days and counting to the 10/10/10 Twitterthon to stop child trafficking! Our goal is 10,000 people giving $10 each on 10/10/10. All the funds go to the Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking

We're moving forward on plans to test the B2F anti-trafficking curriculum and wordless book in the Dominican Republic in just a few weeks.  Here's an update I received today from the educator organizing it:

I'm meeting on Wednesday with some of the people who'll be delivering the curriculum to the teaching teams in the D.R. next week.

All is looking good for delivery and implementation.  I'll keep you advised as things progress. 

My daughter is going down on a medical/dental project on the 16th and will be able to see the first B2F community rally--which may be more like a door-to-door march by a women's group.
 
If they design a t-shirt to go with the B2F groups, I'll get you a copy.  This is all in the works and dependent upon stretching the finances.

They're going to start teaching 2 groups of older kids: 1 is an after-school boys' group and the other a typing class for girls who also do an outside study project together and then practice their typing about it. 

I'll probably do a couple of conference calls with the teachers after they see the material to help with any initial adjustments.

Once they train the older kids,they're thinking of using the materials in a sort of big-brother/big-sister way and in family groups to teach the younger children.

The women's community group will promote the project in the community through the clinic-school connections already established. The women are very excited about getting their hands on this material so they can reinforce this information with their children and neighbors. I think this is going to be very exciting. 

I agree--very exciting! After 5 years of work, the Born2Fly wordless book and curriculum will be in the hands of at-risk kids in a matter of weeks.  The Dominican Republic has a huge problem with child trafficking, so this is a strategic place to begin training kids, parents, and teachers.

Remember, the 10/10/10 Twitterthon will help get these amazing materials into the hands of even more at-risk kids around the world. Our goal is 10,000 people giving just $10 each on 10/10/10.

You don't have to wait until then to donate, of course. Just click the orange ChipIn button above and donate by credit card or PayPal.

If you agree that no child should be bought and sold like an animal, please respond today. 

 

10/10/10 Twitterthon to stop child trafficking

Many of you emailed or tweeted me on September 9 in honor of last year's 09-09-09 Twitterthon for The B2F Project to stop child trafficking -- and asked if I was doing another one on 10/10/10.

By popular demand, yes, there WILL be a Twitterthon on 10/10/10.  And no, you don't have to be on Twitter to be part of it!

Here's our goal:

Every penny we raise will go to The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking.

And here's how you can help:

1. Click on the orange Chip-in button above (or here if you're reading this by email) and donate $10 via PayPal or credit card.
2. Then email 10 of your friends about 10/10/10.  Just send them here.
3. If you're on Twitter, tweet about 10/10/10 to your followers.

That's what made last year's Twitterthon a success.  YOU got behind it and told people about it--and it went viral. Let's see if we can do it again, okay?

Why we're doing this

Each year more than a million kids are lured into modern-day slavery where they’re raped for profit 30 or 40 times a night—night after night. Some of them are just 4 years old. Many are right in the U.S.

If that makes you angry, there IS something we can do about it.

Most kids are tricked into sex slavery because they don’t know the deceptive tactics of traffickers. What if we could warn children and their parents ahead of time?

What if we taught them about the lies traffickers use—and how to stand up against them? The rate of trafficking would drop and millions of kids would never enter the dark world of trafficking.

Reaching kids before the traffickers do

The B2F Project educates at-risk children and their parents about the dangers of trafficking through a strategic 6-week community campaign. The project's centerpiece is a wordless book that teaches kids to make wise choices—wordless so we don’t have to translate it into hundreds of languages. A 70-page companion curriculum reinforces the important concepts in the book.

The B2F wordless book and curriculum are complete and ready for testing next month in the Dominican Republic.

Once we have feedback from teachers and kids, we’ll begin distributing these amazing materials all over the world. The 1-day fundraiser will raise money to do that—and prevent millions of kids from ever being trafficked.

What you can do

• Donate: Use the Chip-in widget above (or here) to donate $10. (You don't have to wait til 10/10/10 to donate of course.)
• Email: Tell 10 people about 10/10/10 and send them to www.born2fly.org or this blog.
• Blog: Post about 10/10/10. Include the Chip-in widget (see code below).
• Facebook: Talk about 10/10/10; include the Chip-in widget.
• Twitter: Tweet about it. Follow me, @DianaScimone, director of The B2F Project.
• Updates: Check my blog for the latest:  www.dianascimone.com
• Show: Add a Twibbon to your Twitter and Facebook photos: http://twb.ly/9Hccsi
• Paste: Copy and paste this code for the Chip-in widget onto your blog and Facebook:

<embed src="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/fff5a4bf4be4bb24" flashVars="event_desc=10K%20people%20donating%20%2410%20each%20on%2010/10/10%20to%20stop%20child%20trafficking.%20All%20funds%20to%20go%20The%20Born2Fly%20Project%20to%20stop%20child%20trafficking.%20www.born2fly.org&color_scheme=blue" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="220" height="220"></embed>

Traffickers think kids are commodities. On 10/10/10, tell kids they’re priceless.

All it takes is $10.