The world has her eyes on the events taking place in the Middle East. The concerns for security and stability in the region are mounting with each new threat. As long as war and conflicts rage so will human trafficking. Trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation, forced labor, and child soldiers, and organ harvesting will flourish with every rising conflict. Human displacement is an enabling environment for human traffickers, who exploit and target refugees, forced migrants, and internally displaced persons.
Human traffickers work within a sophisticated network of criminal enterprises to lure and trap desperate and vulnerable populations into trafficking situations. There is direct correlation between trafficking in persons, sexual violence, armed conflict, terrorism and transnational organized crime. The Middle East is no exception and has a high rate of trafficking due to the lack of measures taken to prevent and protect those most vulnerable, such as women and children.
Yemen is just one example of how war, violence, and terrorism have plunged an already struggling nation into the clutches of human trafficking networks. The sad truth is this is the narrative for most war torn areas throughout the Middle East.
We, the body of Christ, have a responsibility to engage in the areas where wars, conflict, and violence are raging. We are to be the voice for the voiceless and the protectors of the weak. We have a voice to speak out against the atrocities and violence against those caught between war and desperation. As we all continue to watch the events unfolding in the Middle East, we must pray. We must pray for the destitute and vulnerable. We must be willing to go. We must be a physical presence in their lives as to engage them with the gospel. We must rise up and be the light of the world Jesus has called us to be. It is in His light that all darkness is dispelled.
Photo: UNHCR/Ivor Prickett
Sources:
https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report/
https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts
https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/wars-violent-conflicts-main-drivers-human-trafficking-says-nuncio
https://citizentruth.org/yemens-forgotten-victims-of-war-children-being-sold-as-a-commodity-of-war/
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190902-report-saudi-arabia-using-human-trafficking-networks-to-recruit-child-soldiers/
https://www.mintpressnews.com/human-trafficking-booming-yemen-war/261818/
