The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has teamed up with the international social justice organization Exodus Cry to bring the documentary Nefarious: Merchant of Souls to Gustavus at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 25 in Alumni Hall.
The film is a hard-hitting documentary that exposes the disturbing trends in modern-day slavery. Nefarious sheds light on the horrendous reality of the sex-trade industry through visits to real locations where enslaved people are sold, work and are held captive. The film also includes interviews with real victims and traffickers who reveal first hand accounts of the monstrosities taking place every day around the world.
Nefarious was filmed on five continents in 19 countries, highlighting how wide the horrors of the sex-slavery business extend.
“Sex trafficking is a social justice issue that affects almost every country,” Junior FCA Member Jess Harren said. “There’s virtually nowhere it doesn’t reach.”
According to the film’s website, human trafficking is a 32 billion dollar a year industry, with 27 million people enslaved around the globe. Eighty percent of those held captive are women and children who are forced in to the commercial sex trade.
Exodus Cry is the Christian-affiliated non-profit behind the creation of Nefarious. In addition to raising awareness of modern-day slavery through media campaigns, they work with local police and government officials across the globe to assist victims of human trafficking through rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
The Gustavus chapter of the FCA became aware of Exodus Cry and the Nefarious project through their regional coordinator, Chris Whitney. Whitney came in contact with the organization through his work at FCA and was moved to help spread the word. Together Whitney and the Gustavus Chapter of FCA have worked with both Exodus Cry and the organization A21 to contribute to the campaign to abolish modern day slavery.
“The first step is raising awareness and the Gustavus campus provides an amazing platform to take a stand against this injustice,” Whitney said. “We want to unite both Christians and non-Christians on this important issue.”
Members of FCA have been working to bring the documentary to campus since December. They’ve been advertising the event around Gustavus and St. Peter, as well as at Mankato State University.
A discussion will be held in Alumni Hall following the film for those interested in learning more about the abolitionist movement. Due to the intense nature of the film, it is recommended that all viewers are 18 or older. Additionally, FCA has invited members of Gustavus’ Sexual Assault Response Team to the showing in case the material in the movie should prove to be emotionally distressing for anyone in the audience.
Attendance to the film is free, and those behind the project wish to spread awareness for the campaign as far and wide as possible.
“We shouldn’t be sitting on the sidelines, but rather we should be on the front lines of these issues,” Whitney said.
I have mixed feelings on the issue. I think on one hand it would be nice for the paeylrs to have a more direct role in how a game is managed, on the other hand I feel that it could have some really negative affects on a game. I would be more than willing to pay for more frequent updates with new content. Im wary that if the money was put to a vote, that a large population could dictate updates or revamps to their particular experience. In other words a pally nerf in wow that was good for overall balance but bad for the class. Paladins have a huge following and people angry at not being so powerful could take a chunk out of the vote trying to push for paladin based buffs. If the money was not allowed to go to class specific work I think it could have some positives, although I think a lot of paeylrs can’t really grasp how all components of a game come together to make a better whole. This might lead to short sighted votes.The other issue I have is that the company itself would cease to improve the game beyond what was voted by the player. Now that they have this player controlled budget, what incentive is there to work on stuff outside of the vote? Say you are making lemonade. You have 4 dollars set aside for lemons and the rest is allocated to extras. Why spend 7 dollars on content (lemons) when you could easily spend 4 and have room for a new sign (advertising), table (servers), or a pitcher (maybe employee pay or whatever else needs to be taken care of). I guess I am just skeptical of a companies ability to continue to be responsible for the game and shrugging it off as Well the paeylrs didnt ask for it so not our problem. Just my first thoughts. Good luck in Germany btw.Yogi
i just recently seen the movie Nefarious, and I could not believe my eyes. Even now I cannot believe that there are people who would do this, I mean not only be pimps but those who participate and are the prostitute. But I do not blame them totally, for there are people out in the world who are tricksers and feel that they couul sell anything, inclucing a fake dream. I live here in Korea and one Phillipino female told me that some one in her home country said that she wouuld be a model or a dance if she came to Korea. Now she is what you call a “Juicy Girl”. Sounds derogatory and it is. Howw this works is that you go to a Club and buy them drinks so they will sit there and talk to you. Basically all they really want is to have companionship. Some have even fell in love like that. Others try to run and are successful. Ultimately those who prefer to get out of this do and find a life of happiness. all they wanted was to be sucessful.