75
years
Project Moses and the Journey Toward Freedom
Elizabeth Lang
Why do we call the Saint Michael and All Angels ministry that is concerned with fighting human trafficking Project Moses? In our early collaboration we wanted a name that reflected our mission and was descriptive of those we wanted to serve. Project Moses resonates with the Biblical story of the Exodus—the story of God’s freeing people from slavery in Egypt. Moses was the agent whom God called to lead God’s people to freedom and empowerment. Their journey from Egypt was a pilgrimage of liberation. As a child I heard the story as a wonderful tale featuring a burning bush, crossing the Red Sea, and receiving the Ten Commandments. Since then, I have learned that this story is more complex and arduous. To show how the ancient story of Moses and the Exodus forms a theological basis for Project Moses, I want to draw some parallels between the Biblical story and the contemporary journey of a survivor of human trafficking, particularly the long path to recovery from the trauma of sex trafficking. A CRY OF PAIN “The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.“ Exodus 2:23-25 God has compassion on those who are enslaved, which suggests that we also should be concerned about those suffering under the burden of contemporary slavery—those controlled by trafficking. Yet, there is more to this than the attention of God and our compassion. Until the victim of sexual trafficking realizes that he or she is suffering under a burden, it is hard for the victim to seek change. Before then, those abused may not see themselves as oppressed. Sadly, the trafficker who controls the one being exploited is too often a family member, boyfriend, or other trusted adult. Those who seek people to use for profit know how to groom and manipulate them. The potential victim may think that she is being helped and loved by the one who will abuse and misuse her. The one she perceives as her protector is the one who begins to exert power and control. The once mutual relationship now becomes a struggle for survival and escape from a pernicious web of control. It’s only after the one being trafficked realizes that she is suffering and wonders what to do about the situation that she begins to think of leaving.
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THE ARCHANGEL EASTER 2021
MAKING BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW When Moses returned to Egypt from his exile near Mount Horeb in order to free God’s people, the Pharaoh and his system, of course, resisted any movement to free the people. Why should those on top of the economic pyramid set free those at the bottom? Moses demanded in the name of God, “Let my people go.” Pharaoh and his taskmasters complained that Moses and his brother Aaron were taking the people away from their work. Therefore, they increased the burden of the enslaved by no longer furnishing supplies for making bricks. The slaves now had to produce their quota of bricks with greater hardship. Naturally, the slaves turned against Moses and Aaron and blamed them for worsening their condition Exodus 5. If a victim of trafficking begins to resist his and her captivity, the trafficker has means to keep his or her economic resource in place. Those wielding the power use isolation, emotional abuse, and economic power to keep their sex worker under their control. They use threats and employ physical and sexual violence. In addition to hurting their victim, they may threaten to harm a victim’s friend of family member. These are effective means of making the ones enslaved prefer slavery to the consequences of escaping their situation. As trauma reinforces trauma, those trafficked are further damaged and trapped, especially due to the strong emotional hold exerted over them.
