Today we led a conference for mental health professionals
working as community health workers, counselors, and administrators. The
workers came to Into Abba’s Arms for three presentations on drugs, alcohol, and
human trafficking presented by Dr. Benjamin Keyes and some of his students.
After each presentation the professionals were divided into three groups for
discussions about what they had just learned.
During the first small group about drugs and alcohol group
members discussed personal experiences. Each group member seemed to have a
member from his or her immediate family who struggled with substance abuse,
primarily alcohol abuse. One woman even shared her current struggle related to
her husband’s alcohol abuse. This substance abuse started prior to their
marriage, however he promised to stop abusing alcohol. To this day he has not
kept his promise. She shared that he started physically abusing her when she
was pregnant with their daughter. He has not abused his baby girl but continues
to physically abuse his wife. Recently she went to her pastor and shared about
her husband’s alcohol addiction; she did not share about her husband’s physical
abuse. Having the opportunity to talk to the group as well as talking to some
members from our team seemed to be beneficial since she has not shared this
trauma with many people. Other groups
during the first group session discussed the alcohol abuse prevalence and how
it has negatively affected entire families and the community. Many professionals
mentioned how death, loss of relationships, broken families, theft, and robbery
have been the result of the use of alcohol among the population.
The second group discussion was focused on relating the
information they had learned about substance abuse, primarily alcohol, to their
professions. During this group’s session
the question arose “Does alcohol use make someone become a rapist?” Discussion
followed about the high prevalence of raping babies and bestiality. The
overwhelming pain was evident in the faces of the group members. Their
countenance completely changed to that of sorrow and shame. During this group
session, another group was made aware of the relationship between alcohol use
and the initiation into adulthood. Clarity was given by the group members to
our team about the initiation process. The cultural initiation process into
adulthood includes the exposure to drugs, alcohol, and deviant sexual
behaviors. This occurs over a 10-day ceremony where the older men in the
community give the boy who is being initiated an excessive amount of drugs and
alcohol. Also, the older men may perform sexual acts upon the boy or bring him
a prostitute. Parents often say that their child returns as a different person
with substance addiction. The group members shared that they believe educating
children about substance abuse prior to this initiation would help prevent a
majority of substance abuse problems. Some Christian parents do not allow their
children to participate in this type of initiation. There are some churches
that provide another type of initiation into adulthood; however these Christian
initiations are not as popular. The group discussed ways to educate people
about the negative effects of the cultural initiation ceremonies as well as
other healthy ways to initiate children into adulthood. The third group
mentioned ideas for ways to educate the people about substance abuse through
the use of concerts. During their conversation, the group facilitators were
made aware that many of the male professionals believe that any alcoholic abuse
was because of the females. Many of the men stated that if women did not make
their lives so difficult then they would not have a reason to drink.
The third group session was to be a reflection upon the
human trafficking presentation. Walking into this group, there was a heavy
feeling. During this group time it seemed like many of the members of one group
were particularly stunned and overwhelmed by the information that they had
learned. One woman asked “What is it that makes a full grown man want to have
sex with a little baby? What parent would sell their child into the sex
industry?” It became apparent that many in the group have known people who have
taken “good jobs” in Saudi Arabia and have not returned nor been in contact. They
seemed absolutely devastated when learning that human trafficking is a worldwide
issue and that even the “great” United States suffers from this problem. Another
group discussed ways to prevent human trafficking through the use of educating
young women on ways that they can avoid trafficking. It was also apparent in
this group that the men view the women as the cause to human trafficking. They
believe that the women sell themselves and their children on purpose and it
would not be an issue if they did not sell themselves. Within another group
during the session it was evident that some of the people had personal
experience with threats of human trafficking. One woman in particularly
recalled a time when she was almost trafficked and she was very thankful that
her mother intervened. This topic seemed to weigh heavy everyone’s heart.
During debriefing we had a lot to discuss. The members of
our team experienced a variety of emotions throughout the day, ranging from
sadness, irritation, anger, and a desire to see God heal and transform the
people and the culture. It seemed like today has been the hardest day yet
because there is so much change that needs to happen and this change will take
time. Women are still seen as second or less than men and with this
perspective; many women are abused without anywhere to go for help. One change
that has occurred over the past year (since the previous Regent Trauma Team was
here) is that churches are less likely to excommunicate a woman for leaving her
abusive husband. Now, a woman needs to communicate her situation with her
husband to her pastor prior to leaving so that she may remain a member of the
church. It is encouraging to hear about this change; however, we are continuing
to pray for more change to occur. We greatly appreciate you joining us in this
prayer. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to fight against cultural
norms and minister to these people. We’ve been told that today is a foretaste
to what we will be doing this coming week with the pastor’s, women’s, and men’s
conferences. Thanks for praying…we are now going to eat chocolate and listen to
worship music. J
- Kelly and Sarah
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