To Those Who Have a Red X on Your Hand

Have you all seen those wonderful social media posts with a red X on the back of people’s hand?

It is a part of the ‘end it movement’. It’s all about bringing awareness to human trafficking; the selling and buying of humans for profit. 

There are an estimated 21 million humans enslaved today. 

I know. I have met a large number of them. I’ve held their hands, prayed with them, snuck them out of brothels, paid for them to escape, and countless more I’ve seen and been able to do nothing about.

So consider this, human trafficking is one of those things we can almost universally agree is a terrible thing. I’ve spoken to countless traffickers of humans who would even agree! 

I LOVE when injustice issues start trending. Like when I was in high school the ‘in’ justice issue was ‘invisible children’. Do you remember the movie? The use of child soldiers in sub-Sahara central Africa that the west universally agreed is evil and must be stopped. That was AMAZING! People wrote to their state senators and congressmen and women, demanded the US (and other countries) step in and do something about it! 

We raised money, hosted movie nights to watch the film, and I heard countless sermons from the pulpit addressing it! 

It was an exciting time!

And I believe that something similar is happening with human trafficking right now. For over 12 years, I fought against human trafficking at the grass roots level. In most continents in the world, I had a team or a project and everyone I knew agreed it was something worth fighting for. At our base level we understand the value of human life and we all agree human beings should not be bought and sold.

Now, as a co-owner of a fair trade fashion company I must ask the question:

Are you writing X on your hand in red while at the same time buying products that are using slaves? 

We live in a globalized economy. It is nearly impossible to know every person who had a part in making every product you come into contact with, but we need to try to make sure the companies we give our money to are companies that are valuing, and not destroying, human life. 

So, my friends! Keep it up, write that big red X on your hand! It’s amazing you want to do something, to give a public declaration that you agree human life is valuable!

Please, though, shop like that is true.