WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

n an effort to bring more attention to international human trafficking, often equated to modern-day slavery, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has joined a coalition of non-profit organizations dedicated to extinguishing this growing practice.

A group of church leaders met with Ralph Benko and Kari Rai, consultants to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Nov. 3.

"Between 800,000 and 900,000 people fall victim to human trafficking each year," said Benko. "Many are brought into the U.S. from Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe. They are often brought by force, fraud or coercion which includes violence, false offers of employment, or a variety of threats."

The church's women's ministries department has led the way in bringing attention to church members regarding the seriousness of this problem, said Ardis Stenbakken, director of the General Conference Women's Ministries. "We've been involved in ... specifically human trafficking [issues] for maybe 10 years." Stenbakken explained that she first heard of the issue when she attended the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

With more than 13 million members worldwide, and 25 million attending worship each week, the church can reach a wide variety of people with this message, said Benko. Also with the church's ethnically diverse membership, "on the frontline [they] are highly likely to discover human trafficking," Benko added.

Some of the requirements for joining the coalition include: disseminating information about trafficking, hosting information sessions and encouraging other organizations to join. The coalition, which was launched in January, provides posters, brochures, pocket cards and computer slide presentations free for coalition members to distribute.

HHS initiated The Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking as part of a national public awareness campaign in April. The campaign aims to help the public identify victims and give them information on how to help them.

"Restore and Rescue is staffed by Covenant House, with people who speak 150 languages and are available [24 hours a day, seven days a week.] They are also trained in ways to help rescue human trafficking victims," said Benko

James Standish, of the church's Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) department, said some people don't believe that the problem is very widespread, but added, "It's hard to know how many people are affected... People are not advertising illegal activities. We don't know how many [victims] are out there but we won't know ... until people become aware that there is help."

Along with Stenbakken and Standish, Heather-Dawn Small, associate director of Women's Ministries; Linda Koh, Children's Ministries director; and Viola Hughes, a specialist for PARL, attended the meeting. They promised to work diligently to get the word out to their departments and consequently to the entire membership. Stenbakken said Women's Ministries will write about the issue in their newsletter and will distribute the literature the Coalition provides.

The U.S. Department of State has worked with 36 countries to enact laws against this practice as well as domestically, said Benko. "The administration has spent [U.S.] $80 million over the last three years to rescue 600 traffic victims," he added.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 provides victims with a temporary visa and help to rebuild their lives in the United States. However, Benko said some do not participate because victims are required to work with law enforcement.

"We are not talking about [just a] Third World problem but ... it's everybody's problem," said Small.

For more information about human trafficking, see their Web site at http://www2.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/index.html. To connect victims with someone in the United States,who can help call, 1-888-373-7888.
                                                       --Adventist News Network/AR

NAD Secretary Describes
Life Under Siege in Ivory Coast
Returning unharmed after spending five days in the heart of a clash between French troops and armed residents of Ivory Coast, Roscoe Howard, an associate secretary of the General Conference, and also secretary of the North American Division, told his story to colleagues at the Adventist Church's world headquarters. Howard said he appreciates both God's protection and the kindness of others in the midst of crisis.

"I learned something about humanity" during the experience, said Howard. "When people are in crisis, there is something about the human spirit-people come together and they help each other." He added, "The Lord did protect us."

Howard was one of several Adventist world church executives attending business meetings in Abidjan when fighting erupted. Other regional church leaders remained in Abidjan for a few more days before being evacuated to their home countries.

According to Howard, the siege of their hotel, which eventually became a command post for French Special Forces troops, had its origins on November 6, following an earlier confrontation between Ivorian military and French peacekeeping troops. Nine French peacekeepers and an American civilian died when the Ivorian military attacked. France retaliated with an air strike that wiped out the tiny air force of the Ivory Coast.

Believing that retaliation was the initial wave of an effort by France to depose the country's government, thousands of residents poured into the streets, protesting French actions and looking for French people to harm. Howard watched the swelling crowd of protesters approaching the hotel, in a line that stretched back to downtown Abidjan. The presence of French troops provided guests additional protection.

While Howard, Ray Wahlen, special assistant to the world church treasurer, and Goodwill Nthani, an employee of Adventist Risk Management's office in London, England, were at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abidjan, Gerald Karst, a general vice president of the world church, was staying with friends in another part of the city. Karst was evacuated and then later flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, on church business. Also evacuated via airlift was Erkki Haapasalo, former president of the church in Finland.

The effects of a five-day confinement eased when Howard and Wahlen's flight to Accra, Ghana, lifted off from Abidjan. "I'll continue to pray for that country," Howard told an Associated Press reporter after arriving in Accra.

In 2002, an estimated 8,300 Adventist Christians worshipped in 43 congregations in Ivory Coast.                  --Adventist News Network/AR

2,000 Baptisms and Counting
According to preliminary reports from the NET 2004 outreach meetings, 2,000 persons have been baptized with just 10 percent of the 1,600 downlink sites reporting, says Alfred Johnson, North American Division Sabbath School and Personal Ministries director.

The "Experience the Power" series was uplinked October 2-30 from the Miracle Temple church in Baltimore, Maryland, where 149 persons were baptized. Pearson's messages were uplinked by the Hope Channel to sites in Africa, Europe, North America, Inter-America, Australia, and New Zealand, and were translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Swahili.

WGTS FM Raises Nearly $1 Million
During their annual Sharathon fundraiser, WGTS FM, Columbia Union College's radio station, raised $919,909 in pledges, November 9-11. Based in Takoma Park, Maryland, WGTS has a cumulative audience of 156,600 listeners in Maryland, Washington D.C, and Northern Virginia. The Washington D.C. metropolitan area has a population of more than 4 million.

WGTS FM has a $1.1 million dollar annual budget, a full-time staff of six, and it is the fifth largest non-commercial Christian station in the United States, according to the Arbitron rating service. The listener-supported station aims to "introduce and nurture a relationship with Jesus Christ, through music consistent with God's Word and today's adult music tastes."                                                     --Columbia Union/AR

Americans’ Perceptions of Muslims Mixed, Poll Shows
One in four Americans agrees with at least one anti-Muslim statement such as “Muslims teach their children to hate unbelievers” and “Muslims value life less than other people,” a new survey has found. But the poll also reported that 64 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “The people who use Islam to justify violence are misinterpreting its teachings.”

The poll, “Islam and Muslims: A Poll of American Public Opinion,” was released October 4 and based on 1,000 telephone interviews the California-based market research firm Genesis Research Associates conducted in late June and early July. The respondents were evenly divided by gender.

Researchers found that the survey revealed significant segments of the population on both the positive and negative ends of the attitude spectrum. Half of those surveyed agreed with one or more favorable attitudes about Islam, such as “Muslims have family-oriented values.”
                                                            —-Religion News Service

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