CGJ Intern Update from Jenitza Castro

Jenitza Castro is interning in Indonesia with the International Justice Initiative (IJI) based out of the “Universitas Pelita Harapan” (UPH), a Christian Law School at which a Regent alumnus, Pat Talbot, is a law professor.  IJI focuses on a number of human rights issues, including combating sex trafficking. 

Law Faculty of Universitas Pelita Harapan

I am writing my last blog post from Indonesia, and just like that I am wrapping up a life changing experience. This internship was an incredible avenue for me to learn and practice under the guidance of two knowledgeable supervisors and advocates. One of the most valuable experiences I had was to observe these professionals carrying themselves in their day-to-day affairs. This internship provided me with high quality training and it has enriched my writing and research skills.

Lippo Karawaci, Indonesia.

As I explained on my last blog post, the International Justice Initiative (IJI) is preparing a legal tool kit to serve judges, lawyers, law enforcement, and civil servants to find relevant provisions for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of human trafficking. I was given the opportunity to conduct comprehensive legal research and summarize International Conventions. I further helped supervise a team of interns summarizing domestic laws. These legal summaries will be compiled in the form of a book and handbook that will be distributed for training. Nonetheless, my work in Indonesia went beyond research on Human Trafficking Law. IJI often collaborates with the Indonesian Christian Legal Society (ICLS), an organization that works to encourage, equip, and support Christian lawyers in a majority Muslim country. Through my work with ICLS, I was given the opportunity to have field experience in other kinds of Human Rights Law.

Malang, Indonesia.

For example, I had the opportunity to collaborate with ICLS in Malang, Indonesia. After a 2-hour flight to the east side of Java, Indonesia, we drove to a women’s prison where the team met to collaborate with a prison ministry from a church in Jakarta, Indonesia. The prison ministry went to support Christian inmates who had been transferred from Jakarta to Malang. ICLS got the opportunity to serve some of them who needed legal advice. We learned how to serve those who are spiritually hungry in prisons and at the same time offer legal aid as inmates navigate a justice system that is weak and costly.

The next day we made our way to the men’s prison where we met the elder of a church accused of homicide and sentenced to death. The elder spent 7 years in prison awaiting his execution date. However, a few months ago another individual confessed to the crime for which the elder had been convicted. The offender was prosecuted and convicted; therefore, the elder promptly petitioned the Supreme Court of Justice to release him. Unfortunately, his petition was denied.

The process to appeal the decision and obtain acquittal operates through numerous steps and there is usually long delays between one stage and the next. The main issue is that the President of Indonesia released the names of 14 people whom will be soon executed. Four of those have been already executed and no one knows the names included in the list until the inmates are transferred for execution. ICLS is seeking domestic and international support to request the President not to execute this elder -- as it is apparent that he is innocent. I had the privilege of participating in the pertinent interviews and drafting a letter requesting international support.

Bromo, Indonesia + Batu, Indonesia

After two days of intense work in Malang we drove up to Bromo. Bromo is a volcanic mountain situated in the Tengger caldera and home to the Tengger tribe. In 2015 the volcano’s dust covered the land, and since then the villagers haven’t been able to do agriculture work because the plantation was destroyed by the thick dust. Tourism has been limited as well.  This impacted the tribe’s income and food supply, and the tribes are in desperate need of attention and support from the government. However, poor management, corruption, and religious discrimination is affecting the Christian villagers who receive the little attention, if not are completely ignored. ICLS advocates are working in the region to bring attention to the Christian groups and to find funds to buy rice.  We conducted interviews and supported the ICLS team in Bromo. We ended our trip with a visit to Batu, Indonesia where we met with other lawyers and encouraged them to join the ICLS team.

Singapore

Finally, I was asked to go to Singapore and meet with the Mercy Center, an organization working with women in the red light district of Singapore, and with Hagar, a legal team that helps investigate and prosecute crimes of human trafficking. This visit served to enhance my understanding of the “modus operandis” of perpetrators. They explained that there is a large incidence of Indonesian victims to sex trafficking in Singapore. Mercy Center suggests that poverty is one of the primary factors that make victims vulnerable to prostitution and sex trafficking. And Hagar suggests that the falsification of documents is a primary factor contributing to the movement of Indonesian victims to Singapore.

As you might imagine, all of these experiences helped me grow as an individual and as a professional. Realistically, it will require many blog posts to thoroughly explain all the experiences I lived through in the past two months. Nonetheless, I hope these lines help encourage you and remind you that the work international advocates are doing in Indonesia is not in vain. I will be ever grateful to those who supported and made possible my participation in this internship.

As one of the ICLS advocates stated: “[We want] to inspire young law students and lawyers…to bring support, and make justice and compassion stand in the darkest of places.”

Kindly, keep of all of these organizations in your prayers.

For more information on the work that Mercy Center and Hagar are doing to stop human trafficking please click on the following links:

Mercy Center: http://www.mercy-centre.org/#!initiatives/cpfu

Hagar: www.hagar.org.sg

For more information regarding issues regarding death penalty executions in Indonesia you might be interested to read the following article: 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/27/indonesia-executions-this-week-doubts-prisoners-guilt

Thank you for your prayers and support.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student intern.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

Center Intern Interview with Joseph Kohm III

The following is an interview summary conducted with Joseph Kohm III related to his intern experience with the Center for Global Justice at Regent University’s School of Law.  Read Joe's personal account of his internship here and here.  

Intern Profile

Joseph attended the VA Military Institute (VMI).  After graduation he joined the Army.  He is part of the Army’s Student Delay program, which allows the student to attend the college of their choice with the army paying all the expenses.  In exchange Joe will serve his country with the Army for four years after graduation. He has traveled and lived abroad.  As a result of these opportunities he is very adaptable and has a unique perspective on the USA.  Joseph loves the study of English and aspires to be a novelist and possibly work in Law enforcement (i.e., FBI).

Both of Joseph’s parents are attorneys.  He says he spent his life attempting to run away from the Law; however, God called him to Regent University Law School to study.  He’s uncertain what God’s specific plans are for him. And, he doesn’t know how God will use his law degree.  However, he doesn’t believe it will be as a traditional attorney.  He’s not a fan of the court room, but does know that whatever his future holds, a degree in law is needed.

Indonesia

If you’ve recently followed Joe’s blog you know that he just completed his internship at Universitas Pelita Harapan, a Christian law school in Indonesia that focuses on fighting sex and labor trafficking, protecting believers from persecution, and other Rule of Law issues.   Joe worked for Professors Patrick Talbot, a Regent Law grad, and Jamie Williams of the law faculty by examining Indonesia’s human trafficking laws and creating a legal toolkit to educate judges and lawyers about sex trafficking cases and combating corruption.

Q:       Share with me your interest in the issue of Human Trafficking?

I watched the movie Taken and it inspired me to learn more about the issue of human trafficking. I have a love for Christian music because it touches my heart and the lyrics speak to me.  I enjoy alternative Christian music like the bands For Today and Silent Planet, who write lyrics and produce music videos about human trafficking.

Q:       What next steps do you see for your future in the Law?

Once I graduate from Regent University in 2017 I’ll apply for the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG Corps).  If accepted I’ll serve four years working with the Army’s legal team.  If I’m not accepted I’ll be required to serve the army in a more tradition position; combat, recruitment, supply chain etc.  Potentially, I may negotiate with the army to serve eight years as a reservist instead of four years full-time.

Q:        Tell me more about the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps)

The U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General's Corps is a government organization that operates similar to a US court system. Its practitioners, referred to as Judge Advocates, are licensed attorneys qualified to represent the Army and Army Soldiers in military legal matters.

Oftentimes, Judge Advocates are tasked with representing Soldiers during court-martials; however, the JAG Corps actually encompasses a wide range of legal disciplines including civil litigation, tort claims, labor law, and international law.

The areas of practice available to Judge Advocates rivals what most civilian law schools and firms provide, which makes the JAG Corps an excellent venue for young attorneys to gain experience in a competitive legal field. 

Judge Advocates have the option of serving as full-time legal practitioners on active duty, or as members of the U.S. Army Reserve. Being a part of the JAG Corps offers you the opportunity to serve the United States as a member of the Judicial Branch and a champion of justice.

Q:        What most surprised you about your intern experience?

The biggest surprise was the level of total and complete corruption in the country.  If you want to be safe, you hire private security.  There is limited freedom and limited protection to anyone who cannot pay for the protection.  I love the USA despite our country’s many flaws but I never fully realized how good our country is and how much our freedom means.  Still today, we are the greatest country in the world and should be a voice to the world for the protection the rights of all humans.

Q:        Did anything unusual happen to you in Indonesia?

Yes. When I arrived in Indonesia I was picked up by a local car service (taxi).  While putting my luggage in the trunk I noticed the driver had an AK47 rifle.  When I questioned this, the driver explained, “You cannot trust the police.  If you want to be safe, you need a weapon.”  Organized crime seems to be a way of life in the country.

Q:        How would you describe trafficking in Indonesia?

I divide trafficking into three basic areas:  drugs, arms, and humans.  The most depraved is the buying and selling of humans.  Indonesian pimps buy young girls from their parents.  Parents sell their children right into the sex trade because they desperately need money. Sometimes they unknowingly do so because they believe their daughters are going to be given a legitimate job.

I believe all forms of trafficking are caused by sinful desires such as the desire to have power and control over someone less fortunate. And, both lust and money are primary motivators for human traffickers.  While I’m not a supporter of big government, I believe government should be part of the solution and solving the problem of buying and selling humans.  The government needs to be the branch of enforcement especially in a country like Indonesia.

Q:        What final thoughts would you like the readers to know?

Even though I have traveled abroad before (France, England etc.) my trip to Indonesia was unique.  I believe Southeast Asia is largely forgotten by the USA and many other global powers. This, I believe, is due to the Vietnam War during the 60’s and early 70’s.  As a result, we tend to turn a blind eye to the plight of the people in Southeast Asia.

Twenty Days of Interns: Joseph Kohm III

This summer, 20 Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law interns are spread across four states and ten countries, going not only with the Gospel, but also with legal training and a passion to see the Lord’s justice carried out on a fallen earth.

Joe spent six weeks in Tangerang, Indonesia at Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), a Christian undergraduate university that is part of a network of Christian schools directed and funded by the Lippo Group. Joe worked for Professors Patrick Talbot and Jamie Williams of the law faculty by examining Indonesia's human trafficking laws and creating a legal toolkit to educate judges and lawyers about the relevant authorities in sex trafficking cases and to combat corruption. Joe also assisted Professor Williams in researching what Indonesian laws apply to centers that provide education for refugees who were persecuted for their faith. 

Finally, he also aided Professor Talbot in finalizing and publishing Professor Talbot's law review article, "Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty Clashes in the U.S.: An American Constitutional Challenge." Joe considers this experience to be something "God paved the way for" and he is "thankful to be blessed with this chance to help bring justice to vulnerable people in a small way.

Whether fighting sex trafficking in India and Indonesia, advocating against partial-birth abortion in Europe, advancing the rule of law in Uganda, or securing religious freedom in Bulgaria and South Africa, our interns are making a difference.

See where all of our interns are working here >

Donate to our Internship Grant Program >

The Solution(s): Ending Sex Trafficking Through Christ and the Rule of Law

The following is a summer intern update from Joe Kohm.  Joe is interning at Universitas Pelita Harapan, a Christian law school in Indonesia that focuses on fighting sex and labor trafficking, protecting believers from persecution, and other Rule of Law issues.

Read part one of this post here >

I write this last update as I prepare to leave beautiful Indonesia. God definitely ordained my time here and blessed me in every way I could and could not have imagined. My cup has definitely run over here, and I believe God has opened my eyes to many things during my stay. For the purposes of this post, I will confine those revelations to the immediate and urgent matter of sex trafficking.

Christ

I will pick up here where I left off last time and indulge in my preaching nature briefly. As I said, all sexual immorality is a heart problem resulting from when sin entered the world after the fall of man. Sex trafficking and the 99.999% of the prostitution market that results from it are no exception to that sin. This is why Christ is the foremost solution that we can seek for repressing sex trafficking. No sin is beyond our Lord’s redemption, and nothing we have corrupted (in this case, His beautiful creation of sex) is beyond His ability to restore and renew.

If we begin our quest with this critical knowledge, it frees us to work tirelessly against this evil and assures us even when things seem hopeless that someday soon our Lord will make all things new and bring about His perfect justice. We will never be able to fully eliminate sex trafficking or prostitution, just like we will never fully repress sin until Christ returns. But as Christians who are fortunate enough to write and read things like this, it is our duty to speak out against sin and work tirelessly to repress it and bring wholeness through Christ to all of its victims.

That being said, there’s not a single person who cannot get involved in the life-and-death fight to end sex trafficking, slavery, and prostitution. For church leaders and attenders, I recommend Pastor Eddie Byun’s book, Justice Awakening: How You and Your Church Can Help End HumanTrafficking. For everyone, there is no shortage of non-government organizations and recovery houses that either work to end sex trafficking or help its victims get back on their feet, and they all need support in one way or another. Work also to keep others informed about this great evil and its prevalence, as well as the truth behind the involuntary nature of prostitution. Finally, “pray without ceasing” that God would imbue governments around the world with integrity so that the rule of law would be strengthened everywhere, resulting in the poor and vulnerable (who comprise most victims) being better protected and secured in the justice they deserve.

Rule of Law

Speaking of the rule of law, on to my second key to suppressing and repressing this great evil. The biggest obstacle to justice and restoration in Indonesia (and I would argue for most of the world) is corruption, which basically equates to a lack of integrity in governments and a lack of trust from the people under that government, which fuels said lack of integrity in a vicious cycle. The most vulnerable of the population (those with the least amount of capital) are then trampled under the gears of this corrupt beast.

This is where my project comes in. While here, I’ve been assisting Professor Talbot as well as current and former UPH law students in the development of what we call a “legal toolkit” for human trafficking. The idea behind this toolkit is to simplify and distill Indonesia’s law into an easy-to-use resource to keep judges, attorneys, lawmakers, government and immigration officials, and police informed about the realities of human trafficking as well as the laws they are bound to uphold. The ultimate effect of the toolkit’s future implementation will be the eroding of Indonesia’s corruption in this area of the law. We made good progress while I’ve been here, but the toolkit will likely be a continuing work in progress hopefully to be finished within the next year or so. During that time, there is still much to be done here and worldwide to conquer this evil, so I will expound briefly on what I think all governments should do to repress sex trafficking.

               

The best way to think about ending human trafficking and prostitution is in economic terms. In the sickest, most perverted way, human trafficking, and especially prostitution, is a market. Several basic things drive markets, but here I will only discuss supply, demand, utility, and incentive.

How does one kill a market? The market must be disincentivized. To do this, we must look to the Swedes, as their laws regarding this subject truly are the gold standard for ending prostitution and consequently sex trafficking. Sweden has put fear into the potential buyers of sex by strictly enforcing harsh penalties for sex’s purchase. In short, they harshly punish the “John” (the buyer) as well as the pimp, and they treat the prostitutes themselves as victims who need help and rehabilitation. By implementing these penalties, they have disincentivized the prostitution market in Sweden and the market for sex there has shriveled up.

               

A basic economic principle is that individuals will always attempt to maximize their utility. In Sweden, men who would have gotten more utility from purchasing sex now get more utility from avoiding prostitution, thanks to these laws and their enforcement. The demand for market sex has dried up, thus dramatically reducing the supply – the trafficking of people for prostitution. It’s a wonderful chain of events that all but ends sex trafficking. Unfortunately, in Indonesia, many people still get more utility from purchasing sex instead of avoiding the market, which has the adverse effect of increasing the supply (the trafficking). This is why rule of law is so important: Indonesia has some laws on the books for punishing Johns, but because of corruption, there is no force behind these laws. Once the rule of law is established, all governments should look to Sweden’s laws for a perfect example of how to end prostitution and consequently human trafficking.

Finally, another goal of all nations seeking to end human trafficking should be to increase global trade. Without getting into the massive and foolish debate over global trade, the bottom line is that the campaign against Asian sweatshops greatly harms the very people it seeks to help. Remember what we learned above: individuals always seek to maximize their utility. This means that people willingly accept employment in sweatshops because it is the best option they have, in every way – if it weren’t, no one would work there. This relates to sex trafficking through a case that Charles Wheelan describes in chapter 12 of his outstanding book, Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science. In a sad but typical example of uneducated good intentions gone awry, a Wal-Mart factory in Bangladesh was closed through legislation in 1993 after it was discovered that the factory employed children. The legislation banned imports from countries employing underage workers and as a result, the factories stopped employing children. But Oxfam found that a significant number of the now-displaced child workers were forced into prostitution, instead of going to (non-existent) better jobs or back to school. Great job, Senators.

Conclusion

Last week I visited Singapore for a discussion on a new anti-trafficking law and managed to hitch a ride through the red light district in daytime. You can see from the pictures that it looks unassuming, but my guide told me that behind every storefront and in every alley and side street, the criminal cartels viciously supervise and guard their capital – the victims of sex trafficking; and at night, these streets come alive and swarm with sex customers and prostitutes.

Often great evil comes disguised in unassuming forms, like the picture of me after going through immigration in Singapore (where most of said capital comes through – you can see it in the background). Let us no longer ignore this great evil in its unassuming forms in Indonesia, Singapore, or on our own shores. I end with excerpted lyrics by Garrett Russell from the perspective of a woman held captive in the sex industry. I pray that God uses my brief insight and these lyrics to stir your heart into action against this great modern evil…

This injustice renders my thoughts ineffectual.

Privilege brings us to this place of human currencies.

(We) buried our sisters in a glass display, only to evaporate to a toxic skyline - underneath we sell off the bodies.

My body became a graveyard where they buried thirsty souls.

Show me your righteous leader; I'll show you the bullet holes.

I'll climb through your screen and bleed out the image you left in me.[ii]



But God, are you man? Then how do you see me

From where you sit up in heaven[iii], looking down on my hell?

My body chokes back.

"I have nothing to draw with and the well is deep - where can I get living water?"[iv]




Enslaved in the "Land of the Free"[v] - my prison is our wedding bed where you left me for dead.

You'll leave us for dead.

Apathy was our anchor to a digital sea[vi] where you drown in the comfort of our complicity.



Can Love save me? Will Your wrath avenge us?[vii]


Russell’s notes:

[ii] Sex slaves forced into pornography, speaking back to our collective male gaze.
[iii] Psalm 115:3; 139:8

[iv] John 4:11

[v] America

[vi] Thrice, 2007

[vii] Deuteronomy 32:35

The Problem (So Far)

Joe and Prof. Patrick Talbot*

The following is a summer intern update from Joe Kohm.  Joe is interning at Universitas Pelita Harapan, a Christian law school in Indonesia that focuses on fighting sex and labor trafficking, protecting believers from persecution, and other Rule of Law issues.

If you’re from somewhere in the West that hasn’t hit summer by the time you reach Indonesia, the first thing you notice when you step off the plane is the humidity. 

It hits you like a brick wall. I’ve spent many hot summer days and nights outside for Army field exercises, but I had never felt humidity like this. That’s because this is my first time in a jungle.

The Background

Downtown Jakarta

Indonesia is a developing country, not a developed one. The country is literally built into the jungle, and the humidity as well as the smell and vegetation is the proof of it. If you don’t believe me, simply watch Bear Grylls’s excursion to the island of Sumatra. That being said, developing countries are just that – works in progress, trying desperately (supposedly) to catch up to what we have achieved for quality of living in the West. I say this so that you don’t think I’m living in a hut, or that asphalt doesn’t exist here, or that I can’t buy fried chicken or a Nike soccer jersey (of which there are many of both here). I say this because the massive gap between the huts and the Nike stuff is impossible not to notice. While driving into downtown Jakarta (the country’s capital, on the island of Java) last week, you can look to the left and see a mass of skyscrapers that resemble Manhattan. But to the right, you can see shacks that look like a seven year old designed and built them, with drainage water literally flowing through them. In the West, you just see the skyscrapers on one side and the projects on the other. With this comparison in mind, it is little wonder why many of the poor in Indonesia would be thankful to live in the projects (not that projects are a good thing, but we’ve come a long way).

Why is this information necessary? Because without it, I would not have understood the root causes (i.e., “The Problem”) of sex trafficking, which is why I came here: to try and make some sort of difference in the fight against this horrible injustice. You’re probably thinking, “Why is the problem so hard to understand? I’ve seen ‘Taken’!” So have I. The difference is that Europeans live like, or very similar to, us. This is why we can watch Liam Neeson kill Eastern European mobsters and rescue his kidnapped daughter. In Europe, kidnapping is an economical way to create capital for the sex industry. Here, as a gangster, there’s no need to exert yourself so much, especially in this heat. The process of creating capital is far easier.

The First Part of the Problem

There are areas of Indonesia that are less developed (i.e., the hut areas), and therefore more naïve. Some of these areas have reputations for particularly attractive women. Now, here’s the first part of the problem: pimps come here and buy young girls from their parents.

Yes, you read that right.

Parents sell their kids right into the sex trade. There are multiple reasons parents would do this: some desperately need the money that the girls might make, others are deceived into thinking their daughter is getting a legitimate job, for example. Benjamin Nolot’s superb documentary, “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls” (which you all should watch immediately after reading this), does a better job of illustrating this peculiar phenomenon than I do.

The Second Part of the Problem

Now, we arrive at the second part of the problem: korupsi, as the Indonesians would say. It translates as “corruption.” This classic selfish plague is holding back the developing world (and to some degree, the developed world as well) from becoming truly developed. In Indonesia, there is a very complicated process for obtaining permission to leave your village for work or a passport. Permission must be granted in the form of a letter from your village chief, the immigration office, and a slew of other officials. And that’s just for the worker’s permit. But if you’re part of the Chinese-Indonesian mob, you can expedite this process by literally throwing money at it. Free money is hard to come by anywhere, especially here, where 200 American dollars makes you a millionaire in Rupiah; how could you say no to this “free money” if all that was required of you was a form letter and a stamp? It’s the same reason why it takes two hours to get into Jakarta from the suburb I’m living in: politics (and corruption) prevented a proposal for a light rail system several years ago. Like the light rail system, these girls’ lives are also essentially swept under the rug. From there, prostitution is unofficially “contained” in red light districts across the nation. Though anyone who knows anything about prostitution knows that containment is the result of simple naivety and korupsi. There is little difference between a legal pimp and an illegal pimp. They both sell and ruin lives, including their own, for a living. And all this just relates to domestic prostitution; the korupzi allows young women and girls to be trafficked to Singapore and all over Southeast Asia, where you can literally pick the nationality of your prostitute in most red light districts.

The Hope

I realize that I’ve painted a bleak, depressing picture. However, the same adjectives can be used to describe our lives before Christ found us. I will elaborate more on what I will call “The Answer(s)” in my next entry, but for now I offer this ray of hope. I work for Professor Patrick Talbot, a member of the law faculty at Universitas Pelita Harapan, which roughly means “University of Light and Hope.” UPH (pronounced “ooo-pay-ha”) is part of a vast network of Christian schools created by the Riady family through a foundation (the Yayasan). I know what you’re thinking: “How could such a network of Christian schools exist in the world’s most populace Muslim country?!” It is true that there are over 250 million people crammed onto the string of islands that make up Indonesia, and it is true that Islam is the most popular religion. However, if you look at the Indonesian emblem (pictured), you will see a gold star at the center of the shield. This star represents the country’s recognition of one God (how would that fare on Capital Hill?). Indonesia therefore recognizes six religions, all of which have mono-theistic views to some significant degree, and each citizen’s religion is part of the information on their identification card. This is why UPH is able to do the great things it does. I still get the news from the United States, and comparing that news to the things that UPH does has showed me that Christians are, in some ways, more free to practice and express their faith here than back home. Shocking for a Western country that used to believe each person’s inalienable rights were “endowed by their Creator.”

The hope I give you is Christ, and the home He has carved out here in this ignored corner of Southeast Asia. Sexual immorality is ultimately a heart problem. He is our only hope for escape from all sin, especially this one. I will elaborate on this more next time.


* Joe is pictured above with Regent Law alum Professor Patrick Talbot ('93), who is a member of the Universitas Pelita Harapan faculty. Also pictured is Professor Talbot's daughter Katie, his wife Kathy, and his daughter Suzie.


Read part 2  of this post here >