Modern Day Slave Trade

The First Lady of Dominican Republic recently spoke out on the atrocity of trafficking and its implications on our island. Check out this article and then view my comments below.

“The Dominican Republic holds the dubious honor of occupying one of the top three slots in the Americas for its modern day slave trade. An estimated 50,000 Dominican women are estimated to be victims of human trafficking, and this figure does not include either men or children. According to Diario Libre, in her address to a seminar ‘Protection of persons affected by the slave trade’, First Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez said that this exploitation of migrant women is a crime against the state and its victims are mostly the result of poverty, sexual or racial discrimination, marginalization and unequal development. The First Lady emphasized that the elimination of the people trafficking in all its manifestations is an urgent necessity and a high priority. The keynote speaker listed the factors that promote this treatment of human beings, mentioning economic difficulties, social violence, crime, the hope of a better life in developed countries ! and trickery by people in these countries. In order to eliminate the slave trade, it is necessary to eliminate these causes.
The First Lady pointed out the need to create a well-thought out, well-conceived strategic national plan of action in order to fight this most lucrative of crimes. She said that the Dominican Republic has been trying to combat the slave trade since 1999, starting with the creation of the Inter-Institutional Committee for the Protection of Immigrant Women (CIPROM) which was set up under Decree 97-99 and regulated by law 137-03 which outlaws such dealings.
US ambassador Robert Fannin said that the United States has urged the Dominican government to intensify its efforts to investigate and punish anyone who traffics in human beings, especially government officials of any rank.”


Dona Cedeno believes that “in order to eliminate the slave trade, it is necessary to eliminate the causes”. (i.e. poverty, violence, crime, deceptions, and the hope of a better life in developed nations) While I agree that these are issues that must be addressed, I know with all my heart that the real cause of the slave trade is a sin issue that can only be eliminated by a SAVIOR. With all my heart I am convinced that the only REAL hope for a girl caught up in the bondage of human trafficking is through the SUPERNATURAL authority of God Almighty, His risen and redeeming Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit. So while I support every effort by the government to do what needs to be done, my heart longs to see a Spirit-filled, empowered CHURCH rise up in this issue. and bring the power of the Holy Spirit into the brothel, and to be the hands and feet of Jesus redeeming a red light district.

I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name Isaiah 45:3