by Kathi Macias
My next book, Deliver Me From Evil, officially releases next Tuesday, September 6. It is the first novel in a 3-novel series on human trafficking. As I’ve researched the “Freedom” series, I’ve found its subject matter and international scope to be heartbreaking.
Much of the time, when I mention human trafficking as the topic of my
new book and series, people say something like, “Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of that happening in Thailand.” And yes, it does happen there. In fact, the subplot of my book unravels in the Golden Triangle of that very country.
But the main story? Its focus is right here where I live—Southern California. San Diego, to be exact. It happens to be one of several primary US locations for this atrocious crime since many trafficking victims are transported across the US/Mexico border.
Before starting this series, I spoke with an investigative reporter for the largest newspaper in the San Diego area. He told me that even after years of digging into some of the most sordid happenings imaginable, he has seldom been as horrified as he was by investigating the human side of modern-day slavery.
And that’s the point. This isn’t simply a tragedy involving staggering statistics (27 million people estimated to be held in captivity around the world for various reasons, including sexual exploitation, cheap or free labor, child soldiering, and harvesting of body parts/organs); it is a tragedy with names and faces. Children, much like yours and mine, are kidnapped or even sold by family members into a life that is so violent and degrading that few ever make it out alive. If they do, they are often so scarred that they can never lead a normal life.
Are we our “brother’s keeper”? Yes, we are. God has called as to be the church! We are to pray for the deliverance and healing of these precious people, but also to speak out for the absolute abolition of modern-day slavery. We cannot sit idly by while people created in the image of God are used as chattel and thrown away like refuse. And we are not only to pray and speak up, but also to work in ways that will contribute to the freedom of those in physical and spiritual chains.
Modern slavery is a worldwide problem, but the church spans the globe and crosses the borders of time. May we rise up together and say “No more!” May our battle cry be “Abolition!”
Award-winning author Kathi Macias (www.kathimacias.com) has written more than 30 books. Red Ink, one of Kathi’s current fiction books, recently won Novel of the Year at the Golden Scroll Book Awards. Red Ink has been named one of three finalists for the Long Contemporary Carol Award by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). With women’s ministry as her primary interest, Kathi is a popular speaker for women’s retreats, conferences, and churches. A mother and grandmother, Kathi and her husband, Al, call California home.
