by Steve Moore
During our first incarceration we were in a holding area with a handful of other alleged criminals. One who spoke just enough English to communicate was a Palestinian whose Egyptian passport had been stolen. He claimed he had done nothing wrong, but the embassy was unwilling to come to his aid. I'm sure there was more to his story than he could communicate in broken English, and it is very possible he had given the authorities more reason to arrest him than failure to produce valid documents. But I remember the moment I realized this man was not only homeless but “nationless,”1 without anyone to advocate on his behalf. With a mixture of fatalism and despair, he said, “I don't know what will happen to me.”
When our team was arrested the second time just a few weeks later, from the moment we were taken into custody, our embassies were notified (one member of our team was Canadian). We knew we received special treatment because they cleared out a small room in the police station to avoid putting us in the common holding area with other prisoners. They allowed us to bring in items from our van, and even though we had to pay for it ourselves, they served us food brought in from outside the jail. The judge was creative in seeking a win-win solution that would enable him to declare us guilty, impose a “harsh sentence,” and still send us packing out of the country as “free men.”
In reflecting on the differences between our team and the Palestinian I met in jail, I have come to realize that for millions of people around the world, such as the Dalits of South Asia or children trapped in bonded labor or prostitution, Lady Justice is not only blind but deaf and dumb. In the words of King Solomon, “If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still” (Ecclesiastes 5:8). To put it in the context of Western culture, Lady Justice is too often like the popular, good-looking, rich girl you remember from high school who ignored most, used some, and played favorites with a few, based on her own fickle desires.
THE GOD OF THE OPPRESSED
There is a sense in which poverty is the younger sibling of injustice. As Bono described it so passionately, solving the dilemma of poverty almost always calls for more than charity; it's about justice. I could fill up this entire chapter with verses demonstrating God's selective emphasis in the Bible on justice, with special concern for aliens, orphans, and widows. Isaiah warned, “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless” (Isaiah 10:1-2).
One of the most quoted verses from the first chapter of Isaiah says, “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool’” (Isaiah 1:18). This is one of the most beautiful and captivating images of God's forgiveness, which we rightly apply to our own spiritual journey. But rarely do we stop to explore the context of the passage, asking “Whose sins?” Isaiah is comparing the sins of Judah with the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. What sins? We can answer that by looking at the previous verse and noting what they were failing to do: “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
Zechariah challenged the remnant of Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon to “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (Zechariah 7:9-10). And Lemuel, one of the authors of Proverbs, taught the people of God to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Jesus declared His mission in the synagogue in Nazareth, quoting from Isaiah, saying, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). He later said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). We hear the phrase “weary and burdened” and think about the stress level produced by our job or the frustrations of a high-volume commute. And I'm thankful anyone who comes to Jesus will find rest for a weary soul. But these words are especially meaningful to the child prostitute in Bangkok and the bonded laborer in India.
When the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out for help, “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them” (Exodus 2:24-25). Saying God “remembered his covenant” does not suggest God forgot what He had promised. It is reinforcing that what God is about to do in setting captives free is rooted in or a fulfillment of the promise made to the patriarchs in the Abrahamic covenant. Though the promise was made to Abraham and later affirmed to both Isaac and Jacob, it was clearly stated that the blessing would extend to “all peoples on earth” (Genesis 12:3).
The ultimate fulfillment of that promised blessing came in the ministry of Jesus, whose kingdom message includes freedom and deliverance from spiritual bondage or demonic chains, and reinforces God's compassion for those on the wrong side of unjust power. Standing against oppression and injustice is a universal issue-based passion for Christ followers that is rooted in the gospel of the kingdom. God's highest priority is clearly to set us free from the power of sin and death. We'll focus on that in the next chapter. Life in a fallen world, marred by sin, where power struggles and greed infect rich and poor alike, will leave us battling against injustice until Jesus returns to make all things new. Until then, the more you become like Jesus, the more you become a friend of God, the more self-directed energy you will find to learn more about, engage with, and influence others toward justice-related causes, even when sacrifice is required. And every time a Christ follower speaks out against injustice, we proclaim the gospel of the kingdom led by a King committed to set captives free.
LOSS VERSUS RISK
The Holy Spirit clearly guided the authors of the Scripture to selectively emphasize aliens, widows, and orphans as deserving of special attention and protection. James, echoing the voices of Old Testament prophets, said, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). Perhaps these individuals were highlighted because the loss of a husband or parents or migration to a new land produces a special category of risk instead of loss. God cares about the sorrow that accompanies losses of this nature, but the elevation of foreigners, widows, the fatherless, and orphans to a place of special concern in the eyes of God is based on their increased vulnerability to exploitation. Apparently there were questions about this issue in the church at Ephesus, which Paul addressed in his letter to Timothy, offering specific guidelines and qualifications for the church's responsibility to care for widows (see 1 Timothy 5:1-16).
What does religion that God accepts as “pure and faultless” look like today? Or to put it another way, who in our global village is in the spotlight of God's compassion due to increased vulnerability and the risk of oppression? In the most general terms, not much has changed. The poor are still more vulnerable than the rich. Outsiders (foreigners) are more vulnerable than insiders. Women are more vulnerable than men, especially in the developing world. Widows are more vulnerable than other women. Children are more vulnerable than adults. Fatherless children and orphans are more vulnerable than other children. The girl child is more vulnerable than her brothers.
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To explore the unique vulnerability of women and girls globally, consider downloading the Glob
al Status of Women at Risk webinar interview with Sisters in Service from the online store at www .TheMissionExchange.org. Use the one-time discount code chapter8#1-neighbor to download this Global Issues Update webinar for free.
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I often hear people say following Jesus is not about religion but about relationship, and I agree. True religion is characterized by a growing measure of intimacy with God. Greater intimacy with God produces a greater sense of responsibility for the most vulnerable because they are in the spotlight of His compassion. Practically speaking, what does that look like today? The answer deserves more space than I can give here. But let's begin the conversation with a look at four links in the chain of oppression and injustice that disproportionately impact the poor, outsiders, women, the fatherless, and orphans.
FOUR LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF INJUSTICE AND OPPRESSION
Illegal Land Seizure
Illegal land seizure is the forcible acquisition of property in the absence of any land titles or agreement between the rightful owner and the person taking over the land. While at times this illegal action is taken by business or government leaders who are abusing their authority, it also happens with in-laws or other relatives when women are left to fend for themselves after the death of their husbands. Given the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, many widows and orphans have been the victims of illegal land seizure. In Uganda, only 5 percent of the land occupied by nationals has a land title. This greatly exacerbates the problem widows face in settling property disputes. According to Human Rights Watch, Kenyan women constitute 80 percent of the agricultural labor force and provide 60 percent of farm income, yet own only 5 percent of the land.2
This is not a new problem, and the Bible clearly reveals how God feels about it. In 1 Kings 21 we are told the story of King Ahab who wanted to plant a vegetable garden on property that was conveniently located near his palace. He met with Naboth, the property owner, offering to either purchase the land or trade it for something better. But when Naboth chose not to sell the inheritance of his forefathers, King Ahab “went home, sullen and angry” (1 Kings 21:4). His wicked wife, Jezebel, hatched a plot to cheer up her husband, hiring scoundrels to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing both God and the king. They did as the queen had instructed and took Naboth “outside the city and stoned him to death” (1 Kings 21:13). Naboth's property was illegally seized, and he was put to death, but God was watching. Elijah rebuked the king and pronounced God's judgment on him.
Bonded Slavery
It has been said that slavery is not legal anywhere but happens everywhere.3 William Wilberforce and his network of collaborators did not eradicate slavery; they changed the way the world thinks about it and made it much more difficult to defend. Estimates of modern-day slavery range from twelve million4 to twenty-seven million.5 The United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery estimated twenty million people were trapped in bonded slavery as far back as 1999. Human Rights Watch estimates there are as many as fifteen million children in bonded slavery in India alone; approximately two-thirds of today's slaves are in South Asia.6
Bonded slaves are owned by an employer as part of a debt repayment process, and their continual labor is required to pay the interest on the debt. They are often forced to work in extremely harsh conditions seven days a week with no rights and few, if any, breaks. Their meager wage, if any at all, is well below what is needed to pay down the debt due to exorbitant interest rates. The unpaid debt is passed down like a negative inheritance enslaving families for generations.
Millions of poor families, living on as little as $2 per day, are one emergency away from falling into the trap of bonded labor. In desperation they seek a small loan to secure immediate funds with the promise to work for the lender to pay back the principal with interest. But the interest on the loan is so much higher than the wage that it is impossible to repay the compounding debt. A disproportionate percentage of bonded slaves are children. They are easily manipulated, often threatened, beaten, and abused. God has clearly spoken against this form of slavery, saying, “I will be quick to testify against … those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me” (Malachi 3:5).
Thirteen-year-old Renise was a victim of a unique form of child slavery, and her story is a reminder of the fact that God can bring good out of tragedy. Ironically, for Renise, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti was a blessing that ended a childhood of abuse when she was picked up by rescue workers on the streets of Port-au-Prince. Driven by extreme poverty and their inability to care for her, Renise's parents had given her away as a resavek, a Creole word meaning “stays with,” such as one who stays with but is not part of the family. In addition to long hours of domestic labor, resaveks are often abused. Several months before the earthquake, Renise was raped and became pregnant. She told her story to 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley:
“There were moments when I would just stop and cry. I cried because they made me work like a donkey. Their daughter never picked up one bucket when I was there. Not once.” She said the family didn't treat her like their daughter. “I used to sleep on the floor.”7
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To explore the unique vulnerability associated with street children globally, consider downloading the Global Status of Street Children webinar interview with Viva Network from the online store at www.TheMissionExchange.org. Use the one-time discount code chapter8#2-neighbor to download this Global Issues Update webinar for free.
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Even before the earthquake, more than 75 percent of Port-au-Prince dwellings had no running water on the premises. People had to fetch water from public fountains and stand pipes, often several kilometers away. Resaveks such as Renise often begin their day early and end it late, carrying water for the families with whom they are staying. In between they look after younger children, clean the house, and do laundry. Renise was rescued after the earthquake and put in the care of an organization called Global Orphan. They are working with a Haitian family to facilitate a legitimate adoption. Hers is a story of beauty for ashes, but fears are high that the thousands of children who have become fatherless, orphaned, or separated from their families by the Haiti earthquake will be quickly absorbed into the shadows as resaveks.
Refugees
According to a June 2009 UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) press release, there are sixteen million refugees and another twenty-six million people in refugee or refugee-like situations.8 By UNHCR definition, a refugee is a person who, based on a well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion, has fled his or her country of nationality and is unable to or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country. People who for similar reasons are residing away from their homes but within their countries of origin are referred to as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). It all sounds like legal mumbo jumbo until, like twenty-eight-year-old Armani Tinjany, who we met in the last chapter, your world is turned upside down by Jinjawiid militia, and you are running for your life or eking out an existence in the squalor of a refugee camp.
The unique vulnerability of refugees, the “aliens and strangers” of our time, is reinforced for me almost every day. The Mission Exchange is headquartered in the Atlanta affiliate office of World Relief, one of twenty-three such local affiliates in the United States that is focused specifically on refugee resettlement. On any given day the lobby one floor above my office is bustling with people who have recently arrived from refugee camps around the world and are beginning the daunting process of establishing themselves in the United States. Recently I had the chance to sit down with a young man from Eritrea who had been resettled by World Relief. He told me a harrowing story that stretched over ten years and three countries, including prison beatings, escapes, and all-night marches through the dangerous countryside. There are tens of thousands like him still waiting in refugee camps or runni
ng from horrible circumstances, hoping to begin anew somewhere else.
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To learn more about forcibly displaced peoples, consider downloading the Global Status of Refugees webinar interview with International Association for Refugees founder Tom Albinson from the online store at www.TheMissionExchange.org. Use the one-time discount code chapter8#3-neighbor to download this Global Issues Update webinar for free.
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Human Trafficking and the Global Sex Trade
Human trafficking is the third largest (after drugs and weapons) and fastest growing criminal industry in the world, with a total market value of over $32 billion.9 It is estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 children, women, and men are trafficked across international borders annually, with 80 percent of the victims being women and young girls and 50 percent minors. This massive global enterprise preys on the most vulnerable using abduction, coercion, and deception. Forced prostitution and rape for profit is a lucrative business fueled by the lust and depravity of men, including thousands from Europe and the United States who travel to Asia on “sexcations.”
