Helping Churches Help the Poor and Oppressed
International Teams Australia Newsletter / JUNE 2011
End Slavery.
A Global Call
A
s part of our global vision to
see lives and communities
transformed by the power of
God, International Teams is
bringing together a network of
ministries, churches and individuals to help
end slavery.
Some of these ministries have been seeking
to set free the enslaved for many years,
like our Nea Zoi team in Athens, but as our
world changes at a rapid rate and our teams
interact with more and more people who are
in various forms of slavery, it is clear we must
respond to this desperate issue.
End slavery ministries are emerging in new
places for International Teams, such as Brazil.
Ina Sobolewski, from International Teams
USA, shares here just some of the reasons for
developing an End Slavery team in Brazil.
Ina’s sister, who lives in Belo Horizonte where
the team will be located, recently reported
that a 14 year old girl sold her 8 year old
cousin to her ‘boyfriend’, who in turn sold the
child to a paedophile.
“He left the girl alone in his office and the
child called the police. The police tracked
the phone number and found her. She was
in an office built on top of a bar, right in the
part of town where we were raised,” says Ina.
“It used to be the quietest place to live and
we used to play on the streets without any
adult supervision; but now they have a sex
trafficking headquarters there.”
Ina says, “Not far from Belo Horizonte there
are many dairy farms where people work as
slaves. The owners promise workers pay and
then they charge for every meal they eat, for
this and that, and they never get paid. There
are kids as young as 5 years old working on
these farms as slaves.”
She tells of villages where old men buy girls
as sex slaves from parents too poor to feed
them. The naïve, isolated villagers believe
the lies of traffickers who promise jobs as
models or soccer players to their children,
when the truth is likely crack addiction, and
sex tourism.
In February, Greg and Tani Coath from
Melbourne went on a vision trip to Belo
Horizonte and visited some of the ministries
and churches already working there. They
said “There is widespread exploitation of
children in Brazil and God is calling His
people to care for the poor and oppressed.
We acknowledge that call and have decided
to seek God and pray about our involvement
whether in Australia, Brazil or elsewhere.”
By Naomi Jones, with contributions from Derri
Smith and Ina Sobolewski (ITeams USA), and
Greg and Tani Coath
Join us in praying for an end to slavery! International Teams Australia is committed to developing and resourcing a strong prayer team
for the Nea Zoi ministry and ministries to end slavery worldwide. Email [email protected] if you would like to lead or join a prayer team.
Maria’s
story:
“My soul died”
Kelsey Talbott tells a story from a victim of human trafficking
M
aria grew up in a small rural village
in Bulgaria, where job opportunities
were scarce, especially for women.
When she was 14 she heard of some
recruiters in a nearby city who were interviewing
young women for jobs in Greece.
with victims of sex and labour trafficking in
Los Angeles and Athens, I’ve met countless
Marias. Their stories may vary in detail, but the
exploitation and abuse remains the same. Maria
described the internal effects of her ordeal in
three words: “My soul died.”
Maria desperately hoped to get the job in order
to support her single mum and keep her younger
brother at school. Perhaps with anything left,
she could even pursue her dream of becoming a
nurse. She lied about her age on the application
and gave all her personal information, including
addresses and details for her family.
Maria’s story does not end in a brothel in Greece.
Through a police raid, Maria was rescued and
found new life and restored hope in a shelter,
eventually returning home to her family. I believe
that even one woman’s life is worth all the effort.
Maria was one of several girls selected for a job as
a factory worker in Athens.
After saying goodbye to her mother and brother
and promising to keep in touch, Maria and the
other girls, filled with hope, boarded a bus. The
bus stopped in a big city, where Maria and the
other girls were put into hotel rooms to sleep for
the night, and their documents taken for safekeeping.
During the night, four men dressed in police
uniforms beat and sexually abused Maria for
hours. Before the sun rose, she was bound and
put in the false bottom of a car boot. Maria was in
Istanbul, Turkey, formerly a common stop on the
trade route for human trafficking. Upon arrival in
Athens, Maria was sold to another trafficker and
forced into prostitution in a dirty brothel. The job
she was promised didn’t exist, and she spent the
next three years in sex slavery in Greece.
Maria’s story is not unique. Slavery did not end
under the Emancipation Proclamation, or with
the work of William Wilberforce. During the transAtlantic slave trade, a total of 80,000 people were
trafficked and enslaved, while today, over 800,000
people are traded or sold into slavery annually.
The value of one
It is estimated that 27 million people are enslaved
today worldwide. Over several years of working
Our Vision
As Jesus’ mission on earth was to care for the
brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for prisoners,
and make people into new creations in Christ,
this should also be the mission of the church –
regardless of how many individuals are rescued.
At International Teams we desire to help
churches help the poor and oppressed. As we
develop our Anti-Slavery team in Australia, we
seek to come alongside churches to help them
understand the heart of God for the enslaved
and become aware of the reality of human
trafficking and slavery, so we can begin to take
action. We have a vision to see individuals and
groups mobilised to pray, and we can’t wait to
see God build his army to fight for justice and
transformation in our world.
For more information on trafficking and
slavery or how you can get involved, visit
www.iteams.org.au.
Kelsey Talbott is
in process to join
the National Office
Team as our Church
Mission Consultant
End Slavery ministries.
She has many years
experience working
with victims of human
trafficking in Greece
and the United States.
What is human
trafficking?
The United Nations defines human
trafficking as the process of recruiting,
harboring, moving or obtaining a
person by force, fraud or coercion
for the purposes of involuntary
servitude, debt bondage, slavery or
the sex trade.
Trafficking can take many forms,
from the obvious and high profile
prostitution industry, to agriculture
and hospitality industries and
domestic servitude.
Who are the
traffickers?
The cast varies - from highly organised
mafia or crime rings, to mum and dad
operations who work out of recruiting
agencies as a front, to the mums and
dads in poverty who sell their children
out of desperation.
Who are the victims?
• Women - 80%
• Children - 50%
Men are also trafficked into slave
labour and debt bondage, in
industries like fishing, mining, and
agriculture, even in Australia.
There are many victims hidden in
plain sight. God is calling the church
to speak up and take action.
Jenny’s story:
God intervenes
powerfully
Annette Wilson from Newcastle serves with the Nea Zoi team
and shares a recent story of hope from the streets of Athens.
T
he Nea Zoi team reaches out
to women and men working in
prostitution in Athens. The team seeks
to offer hope, assistance, support and
alternatives, desiring to see men and women
empowered by God for a new life. The team
goes out to the streets three nights a week
to do outreach, walking into brothels and
chatting with many young girls as they wait for
‘work.’
Tuesdays are not a regular outreach night
for the Nea Zoi team, but motivated by their
deep conviction that God loves the girls, they
decided to go out one bitterly cold and wet
Tuesday night in February. God has been at
work since then in miraculous ways.
The conditions meant that there were not too
many “customers” so the girls were gathered
under cover and were more responsive to the
team than usual.
Annette asked one girl, Jenny* a question she
often asks, “do you want to go home?” Jenny
replied emphatically “Yes! Really!” She took the
Nea Zoi card and called the number the next
morning. The team suspect Jenny was a victim
of trafficking, although they do not know this
for sure.
What unfolded in the three weeks following
her plea for help to escape could only be
described as miraculous. Administrative
processes were seemingly streamlined, the
messy garage that was the Nigerian embassy
was no barrier at all, medical checks carried out
in less than half an hour and a high demand
shelter was available for her while she waited
to leave.
As she stepped onto the plane one Monday
in March, it was clear that God had intervened
powerfully in this woman’s life to enable her
safe return home
Representatives of the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM), which had
facilitated Jenny’s repatriation in Athens, were
there to meet her when she arrived in Nigeria.
Jenny called Annette from her Pastor’s house
to let her know she got there and that all is ok.
Annette says, “Praise God for the amazing
journey He has taken us on. I’ve gained a
fresh appreciation for His workmanship
in all people, whether they acknowledge
Him or not. We know that this is God given
and it’s so wonderful to see Him at work in
surprising places (and people)!”
Annette found out from the IOM that
another Nigerian girl she knew had also
been repatriated home.
Annette says, “I want you to know that
two girls going home to Nigeria is groundbreaking. I have met so few who desire
to do so. I do believe that God is using
the economic situation here in Greece to
bring girls to a point of desperation. We are
seeing more seek our help.” Another girl has
decided to stop working on the streets and
is looking for alternative employment.
There is a battle going on in Athens and
the Nea Zoi team is called to be a part of it.
Some of the team are devoting half of each
Thursday to prayer and fasting for spiritual
breakthrough, particularly in the lives of the
Nigerian girls. Many of these girls have been
subject to voodoo rituals in the process of
being trafficked here. They are bound by
these evil curses and believe they cannot
change their circumstances or speak out, for
fear of the spiritual implications.
The team are convinced that until this
spiritual bondage is broken, they are not
likely to see much natural change.
Annette says, “If we enter into battle on
behalf of these girls, knowing beyond a
doubt that we are on the victorious side, can
you imagine what could begin to happen on
those streets and in their lives?”
Please consider standing with Annette and
the Nea Zoi team in this. Since the team
have made this stand they have already
helped Jenny go home and another girl stop
working in prostitution. God is good and He
is at work here!
International Teams
Australia begins End
Slavery with prayer!
International Teams Australia is
committed to developing, supporting
and resourcing prayer teams for Nea
Zoi and other end slavery ministries.
We’d love for you to pray with us!
Email [email protected] to get
involved.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” Prov 31:8
:: PRAY for the
captives to be set free in the name
of Jesus! Join a team to pray for
the work of our End Slavery teams
throughout the world.
:: GO with our short term
trip to Athens in December 2011
to serve alongside the Nea Zoi
and Refugee Teams OR serve
long-term with one of our end
slavery teams.
:: GIVE to grow our End
Slavery ministry in Athens, Brazil
or Australia.
Photos from the Nea Zoi ministry in
Athens are courtesy of Andrea Rip
and Kelsey Talbott
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International Teams.
Postcard from Athens by Kristin Westman
In early 2011 I was blessed to spend some time learning about the work of the NeaZoi Team in
Athens, Greece. NeaZoi seeks to support and empower people working in prostitution in Athens,
many being victims of trafficking. During this time, I was able to participate in outreaches to the
many Nigerian girls working in street prostitution.
I was moved and challenged by so many aspects of the experience – including the traumatic
nature of street prostitution, the heart of the team for growing relationships with the girls and the
powerful impact of their reliance upon God for presence and change.
God has reminded me that the journey for this girl, and for any victim of slavery, doesn’t end once
people are repatriated - the spiritual, emotional and physical trauma continues. Just as it doesn’t
begin when people are trafficked into a place to do unthinkable work. It begins much earlier –
when poverty is rife in communities and life seems bleak.
Our God desires to see
transformation in ALL parts of this
journey – to see restoration and
empowerment cultivated in lives
of victims, in communities who
are struggling with the underlying
causes of trafficking, and in nations
wrestling with demands for
trafficked labour. I was reminded
of the work God’s people have to
do right across this spectrum – in
different places and in different ways.
Kristin, from Sydney, served for three
weeks with the Nea Zoi team.
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Short Term Mission
Trip to Athens
International Teams is planning an
opportunity to serve in Athens for three
weeks with the Nea Zoi and Refugee
Ministries teams in December 2011. Contact
us for details and apply to join.
Journey is published quarterly by:
Tani Coath, Ina Sobolewski, Julie Slagter and Greg Coath
National Director: Janice Collins
Editor: Naomi Jones
Design: Carolynn Chen
PO Box 1123
Baulkham Hills
NSW 1755
Office located at:
27 Iron Street
North Parramatta
NSW 2151
Reality Check:
Slavery in Brazil
• Brazil has the fastest growing child sex tourism industry in the world,
now surpassing Thailand.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (02) 9890 2244
Fax: (02) 9890 2644
• Hundreds of thousands of children are involved in sexual exploitation;
ABN: 36 138 471 706
• World Cup 2014 and Summer Olympics 2016 predicted to lead to an
increase in sex trafficking in and to Brazil.
www.iteams.org.au
• Approximately 25,000 Brazilian men and boys are subject to forced
labour.