Nefarious 1: Merchant of Souls
“Modern slavery.” It sounds like a paradox. Hasn’t humanity progressed? Didn’t we leave slavery dead on the battlefields of the American Civil War? Didn’t social reformers like Lincoln and Wilberforce legislate against such cruelty over a hundred years ago? So we had thought. But, with over 27 million enslaved people in the world, human trafficking is once again the battlefront of the century.
Regardless of nationality, victims are systematically stripped of their identity, battered into gruesome submission, and made to perform humiliating sexual acts on up to 40 strangers every night. Most are held in dingy apartments and brothels, forced to take heavy doses of illegal drugs, and monitored very closely. Victims are often thrown into such ghastly oppression at 13 years old. Some are abducted outright, while others are lured out of poverty, romantically seduced, or sold by their families.
Nefarious, Merchant of Souls, is a hard-hitting documentary that exposes the disturbing trends in modern sex slavery. From the very first scene, Nefarious ushers you into the nightmare of sex slavery that hundreds of thousands experience daily. You’ll see where slaves are sold (often in developed, affluent countries), where they work, and where they are confined. You’ll hear first-hand interviews with real victims and traffickers, along with expert analysis from international humanitarian leaders.
-Synopsis of Nefarious 1: Merchant of Souls
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To be honest, I’ve been aware of this issue ever since I stepped into New Philadelphia Church. We’ve been praying furiously against the sex industry, especially here in Korea. At my first few Friday Fire services, a time of prayer for all sorts of nations and issues, I was made known about Korean red light districts. I remember Pastor John-Michael saying that these districts were strips of neighborhoods where girls stood in glass windows displaying themselves under red lights, like meat, trying to sell sex to passerbyers. My first reaction: “That’s disgusting.. Why? Is prostitution really a problem in Seoul? I’ve never heard of such a thing. And it’s kind of their own fault if they wanna sell their own body…”
But as I continued to hear more about this issue, I started to see it was bigger than just girls who “enjoyed” selling themselves as pleasure-givers. And as the months went by, my eyes began to open more and more. Especially right here in Korea.
Little did I know that this tiny country is swarming with brothels, karaoke sex bars, red light districts, and night clubs where girls are sold as pleasure tools for unsatisfied lustful men. Little did I know that the small cards with pictures of women with enlarged breasts and seductive faces scattered all over Gangnam promote prostitution and therefore modern form of slavery. Little did I know that prostitution have very little to do with choice, but has to do with adolescences being sexually abused by family members, torn away their right to their own body & sexuality at a young age, and being manipulated and sold as a commodity over and over again. Little did I know that pimps beat & break these girls down until they are mentally so brainwashed by fear that they obey every single word commanded.
Little did I know that women are sex trafficked from all around the world, and South Koreans being the #1 exported to America, Australia, and Japan. Little did I know that a child is trafficked every 30 seconds (UNICEF). Little did I know that the average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the United States is 13 years old (United States Department of Justice). Little did I know that human trafficking occurs in 161 out of 192 countries (The United Nations); that up to 96% of women in prostitution want to escape but feel they can’t (United Labor Organization).
I could keep going on with statistics but the point of the matter is that this is an omnipresent problem in almost every part of the world. And God has been placing this burden upon my heart and the hearts of many, but I myself haven’t been able to take up this mantle because I felt like it was too big to handle. I’ve been telling him “I’m not ready yet… I don’t wanna start this and give up. I don’t wanna deal with this whole sex trade injustice thing yet.. I can’t handle putting my whole heart into this right now… Maybe when I get back in school or when I’m really really equipped…” but God’s like “NO!” and bombarding me with various speakers educating me, with my friends in Unearthed ministries asking for prayer, and with this film Nefarious.
I’ve watched this amazing documentary twice and the first time I was so overwhelmed with all the information that it was hard for me to take up. I think that’s when I decided I couldn’t deal with it right now because there was just too much going on. And last week when Emmaus screened Nefarious, my heart broke all over again, but much much more. It hit home so much more this time. I saw little 6 and 7 year olds in Thailand being sold by their parents to go make money with their bodies and I kept thinking about the kindergarten students I taught. How young and precious and beautiful they were. And to be raped by 40 year old perverted men from all over the world multiple times a day?? I was filled with rage and disgust.
And that’s when I realized, man I gotta do something about this. I can’t hide myself from this anymore. I can’t distance myself anymore. So I decided to educate myself and start a series of posts bringing awareness to such an evil as this. Starting with this film. But also other people’s testimonies, with articles, with research and statistics. And spreading the word. So here’s my little spiel for today.
But aside from bringing awareness, what can you do? Over and over I’ve been told “PRAY”. It’s the number 1 thing you CAN do. And it’s so true. We can do as much as we want in the natural to fix and rescue these girls, but in the end, if they are not transformed or restored, they will go back to the only thing they know.
As Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” –Ephesians 6:10-12. Therefore pray that sex trafficking would end. And as your eyes begin to open more and more as mine have, the deeper roots of the sex industry will begin to be revealed to pray against. I’m no expect on this at all; if anything, I’m a complete noob jumping on board this movement, but the Lord’s taking me deeper and deeper. As my eyes, ears, and heart are being opened up, I praise God in who He is and all that He does. And His heart for justice and redemption for all people. Satan’s reign will no longer stand. So take heart and pray. Tell a brother or sister. Spread the word.
