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Women Break Free From the Status Quo & Abuse in More Than Rice

May 16, 2011 - No Comments by - Blog / Updates

POWER OF WOMEN
5/15/11

Pamala Kennedy Chestnut’s More Than Rice is a moving testament to the power of women to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and the conditions of abusively patriarchal societies and practices.

oppression-of-women-human-trafficking

Women Oppressed

When Gabriela Mendoza is abducted in the Philippines and forced to work in a brothel in Manila, she feels helpless, sobbing at the wretched fate that has befallen her and pleading with God.  Over time, she transforms from helpless to strong, and inspires the other women in the brothel to unlock their potentials and summon their courage.
Gabriela restores the confidence, dignity, and courage that the sex trade has taken from them, empowering the other women to look to the future and learn skills that will help them succeed outside of the brothel, teaching them cooking, defense, needlework, reading, and writing.  By enlisting the help of other girls to help teach their individual skills and shine, she restores confidence and pride to the women who have been systematically denied their confidence and pride by the abusive practices of human trafficking. The other women are given hope by the girls, as they prepare them for the day that they are freed, confident that that day will come, and giving them something to look forward to and prepare for in their otherwise miserable lives.
As the plot unfolds, the true power of women is revealed, and the formerly powerless women of the brothel change the course of their own lives and many others who are suffering.  More Than Rice shows the undefeatable nature of the human spirit, and how the courage, confidence, and strength of women give them the potential to overcome great tragedy and abuse.  Chestnut’s work simultaneously calls the attention of readers to a horrific practice that claims the freedom of 3 million new women each year, while instilling an uplifting underlying message, deftly interweaving compelling themes, page-turning plot, artfully rendered characters, and social issues.

Finally from Pamala: I’m going to a large and influential country by invitation of their President to talk about the problem of human trafficking.  Thank you for your prayers for me as I undertake this awesome endeavor.

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Role of Women in Other Cultures & Human Trafficking

May 8, 2011 - No Comments by - Blog / Updates

Trafficking In Persons Report Map 2010

Image via Wikipedia

Pamala Kennedy Chestnut’s More Than Rice exposes the shocking treatment of women in many Asian cultures through the evocative fictional portrayal of three women in a Malaysian brothel.
5/8/11

Each of her central characters was kidnapped for human trafficking from a different country, exposing the unique cultural injustices towards women of each of the cultures from which they come.

Gabriela Mendoza is only seventeen years old when she is captured in the Philippines and taken to Malaysia, where she is forced to work in a brothel.  It is not only through the story of Gabriela and the other girls while they are in the brothel that is shocking to readers, but also the narratives of each of the girls who Gabriela meets, whose treatment and conditions before coming to the brothel represent lives of tragedy, all based in real cultural norms of other societies.
Perhaps the most heart-rending of all of the tales is that of Maylin, a Chinese girl whose arranged marriage results in disastrous consequences.  Her sad tale begins before her birth, when her mother refused to have a sonogram, as many Chinese women of her era did—In hopes that the one child they were permitted would be a male.  Although her mother accepts her as a daughter, her father remains bitter that she is female and Maylin is a great disappointment.  Maylin’s family arranges a “very appropriate” marriage for her just before her seventeenth birthday, which will ostensibly restore honor to the family, as her parents hope for a grandson from an honorable family.

After losing her first baby after three months, she loses three more babies, which her husband and family view as a sign of weakness and shame.  Her mother-in-law beats her and when she returns to live with her family, she is locked out of her father’s home, turned away as a “disgrace.”  Maylin is left on the streets, shunned for her “bad luck” and is forced to sleep under a bridge; the homeless and starving girl is promised food and shelter by the brothel owner, and, in order to survive, she must become a part of the sex trade, living a life of which she is ashamed.

More Than Rice is a shocking expose’ both of human trafficking and the low regard in which women are held in many cultures.  Through the abuses and injustices that her fictional characters endure, Chestnut raises awareness for the many women who are relegated to similar lives throughout the world, victims of their culture, providing readers with a thought-provoking social commentary.

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Presidential Proclamation-January is National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month

January 7, 2011 - No Comments by - Blog / Updates, News

For Immediate Release December 22, 2010

Presidential Proclamation–National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month-Starts January 1, 2011
Presidential Proclamation The White House – Office of the Press Secretary

white house gov

“…it exists only because we choose to ignore it. But like cancer left untreated, it keeps growing, so we need to recognize it and deal with it…”  Our Nation was founded on the enduring principles of equality and freedom for all. As Americans, it is our solemn responsibility to honor and uphold this legacy.

Yet, around the world and even within the United States, victims of modern slavery are deprived of the most basic right of freedom. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we rededicate ourselves to preventing and ending human trafficking, and we recognize all who continue to fight this serious human rights violation.

Human trafficking is a global travesty that takes many forms. Whether forced labor or sexual trafficking, child soldiering or involuntary domestic servitude, these abuses are an affront to our national conscience, and to our values as Americans and human beings. There is no one type of victim — men and women, adults and children are all vulnerable. From every corner of our Nation to every part of the globe, we must stand firm in defense of freedom and bear witness for those exploited by modern slavery.

At the start of each year, Americans commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation, which became effective on January 1, 1863, and the 13th Amendment, which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln and sent to the States for ratification on February 1, 1865. These seminal documents secured the promise of freedom for millions enslaved within our borders, and brought us closer to perfecting our Union.

We also recall that, over 10 years ago, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 renewed America’s commitment to combating modern slavery domestically and internationally. With this law, America reaffirmed the fundamental promise of “forever free” enshrined within the Emancipation Proclamation. We cannot strengthen global efforts to end modern slavery without first accepting the responsibility to prevent, identify, and aggressively combat this crime at home. No country can claim immunity from the scourge of human rights abuses, or from the responsibility to confront them.

As evidence of our dedication to a universal struggle against this heinous practice, the Department of State’s “Trafficking in Persons Report 2010″ included America in its rankings for the first time, measuring our efforts by the same standards to which we hold other nations. Looking ahead, we must continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases within our own borders. Although the United States has made great strides in preventing the occurrence of modern slavery, prosecuting traffickers and dismantling their criminal networks, and protecting victims and survivors, our work is not done.

We stand with those throughout the world who are working every day to end modern slavery, bring traffickers to justice, and empower survivors to reclaim their rightful freedom. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can combat this crime within our borders and join with our partners around the world to end this injustice.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2011 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of National Freedom Day on February 1. I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the vital role we can play in ending modern slavery and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth. BARACK OBAMA

Audio Interview with Author Pamala Kennedy Chestnut

October 11, 2010 - 2 Comments by - Blog / Updates, News

Michael Butler CEO of M3 New Media interviews Nationally Recognized Author Pamala Kennedy Chestnut about her new Novel More Than Rice.

Click Here to Listen

The Facts and Numbers about Human Trafficking

September 21, 2010 - 3 Comments by - Blog / Updates, News

FACTS

  1. Every 30 seconds another person becomes a victim.
  2. 99% of victims are not rescued.
  3. Approximately 2 to 4 million people are trafficked in and across borders each year.
  4. Human trafficking is now a leading source of profits for organized crime, together with drugs and weapons, generating an estimated 9.5 billion dollars per year. – US Department of State: Trafficking in Persons Report, 2007
  5. The overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children.
  6. The average victim is forced to have sex up to 20 times a day.
  7. The CIA calculates that profits from one trafficked woman alone average around $250,000 American dollars per year. – Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress, 2007
  8. Children are abducted from rural areas and trafficked into a range of exploitive practices which include bonded labor, sexual exploitation, marriage, illicit adoptions, and begging.
  9. Young girls, some as young as 12 years old, are forced to work in brothels, massage parlors, prostitution rings, strip clubs, or used to produce pornographic materials.
  10. Children are recruited and trafficked to earn money by begging or selling goods.
  11. Child beggars are sometimes maimed by their captors to generate sympathy and generosity from potential buyers. – www.thea21campaign.org
  12. Most victims of sexual exploitation and modern slavery are under 18 years of age – www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2009/090212_UNODC.doc.htm
  13. For every 75,000 victims, only 1 trafficker is convicted. – www.onevoicetoendslavery.com
  14. 300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk every year for commercial sexual exploitation. – U .S. Department of Justice
  15. An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. – U.S Department of Justice Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons
  16. An estimated 2.5 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion dollar commercial sex industry

UNICEF

Recommended reading materials:

  1. Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade—and How We Can Fight It – by David Bratstone (HarperCollins Publishers, 2007)
  2. The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade – by Victor Malare (Viking Canada 2003)
  3. Terrify No More: Young Girls Held Captive and the Daring Undercover Operation to Win Their Freedom – by Gary A. Haugen and Gregg Hunter (Thomas Nelson, 2010)
  4. The Road of Lost Innocence – by Somaly Mam (Spiegel & Grau 2008)
  5. Human Trafficking – by Joyce Hart (Rosen Publishing Group, 2009)
  6. Human Trafficking – by Kathryn Cullen-Dupont (Facts on File, 2010)
  7. The Slave Next Door – by Kevin Bales (University of California Press, 2009)
  8. Ending Slavery – by Kevin Bales (University of California Press, 2008)
  9. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Vintage, 2010)
  10. Sold – by Patricia McCormick (Hyperion, 2006)

Recommended movies (for mature audiences only):

  1. Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
  2. Human Trafficking (2005)
  3. The Jammed (2007)
  4. Trade (2007)
  5. Taken (2008)

How You Can Help

Get familiar with the crisis:

  • Form a book club and read books about human trafficking.
  • Raise awareness in your club, synagogue, church, and among your associates.
  • Get the facts from the books and movies listed.
  • Enlist the support of your friends with YouTube, Twitter,

Facebook, blogs and all forms of social media.
Visit these web sites for the latest information:
www.oathcoalition.org
www.equipandempower.org
www.onevoicetoendslavery.com
www.humantrafficking.org
www.notforsalecampaign.org
humantrafficking.change.org
www.theA21campaign.org/
www.demiandashton.org/
www.sharedhope.org/
www.polarisproject.org/
www.love146.org/
www.sctnow.org/
www.freetheslaves.net/

Take action:

  1. Pray.
  2. Lobby politicians at: www.polarisproject.com.
  3. Organize a fundraiser. See what these college students are doing: www.tigersagainsttrafficking.com.
  4. Support survivors: www.nightlightbangkok.com.
  5. Use your talent to create a drama, short film, song, and share on: www.youtube.com.
  6. Sponsor those at risk: www.compassion.com.
  7. Motivate the media: encourage your local paper and television stations to cover trafficking stories.

Novel Approach to Stop Human Trafficking

September 15, 2010 - No Comments by - Blog / Updates, News

9/15/10 Tulsa – A soon to be released novel, MORE THAN RICE, is due to be released exposing the underworld of human trafficking. Author Pamala Kennedy Chestnut is a wife, mother and grandmother who outraged by child trafficking and written a novel exposing the suffering of sexual slavery in the 21st century. MORE THAN RICE is her fourth book and her first novel.
Two key obstacles stand in the way of ending slavery in the 21st century: lack of awareness and lack of resources. More Than Rice attempts to bring awareness by inviting the reader into a brothel in Malaysia where thirty girls are forced to service men six days a week.
As tragic as it is, the reader with grow to love the courage and sacrifice of the four main characters who refuse to be reduced to garbage. Love trumps hatred and hope triumphs over tragedy.
More Than Rice can be pre-ordered at www.morethanrice.com and will be available right here in a matter of days-keep checking back!

Listen to Pamala!

September 3, 2010 - 1 Comment by - Blog / Updates

Audio/Video Coming Soon!

What others are saying…

September 3, 2010 - No Comments by - Blog / Updates

What others are saying about Pamala’s speaking ministry…

…I came facing a very hard decision and, Pamala, your messages helped me make that decision.
…I was so encouraged by how approachable and available Pamala was. I was in need of someone to talk to and you made it easy.
…Pamala, I felt that you were speaking directly to me and you helped me so much.
…I was blessed, Pamala, by your encouraging words to build extraordinary relationships with people in our church and most definitely my dear husband.
…I connected because of the truth spoken by Pamala.
…I came seeking connection with God and other pastors’ wives and was amazed at how abundantly blessed I was. I feel refreshed and hopeful as I return. Thank you, Pamala.
…Pamala, my life and marriage is better than ever since I returned from your conference at Sandy Cove. Thank you, and God bless you.

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