We’re Expanding!

Greetings friend,

I have posted many of these the past few years, but this is by far the most important one yet.

Over 3 years ago I received an email that changed my life. I vividly remember the day when I opened my email box to a shocking image of a 10 year old boy who had been shot point blank in the face in Sudan’s Darfur region. A simple question was posted under it:

“Why?”

It’s Not Okay

I stared at that image, stunned for several minutes, with a series of thoughts racing through my head:

“Why the hell would someone shoot a little boy? Who did this? Where is the justice? Why did this even happen?

The answer to the last question is what started Operation Broken Silence: genocide.

I, like many others, believed genocide ended with Rwanda. I was horribly wrong, and it was not okay. It was also not okay that very little was being done to stop a completely innocent, 10 year old boy from getting shot in the face.

Since then, not much has changed. It is still not okay that very little is being done to confront some of the worst crimes being committed in our world.

Rapid Expansion

The need was and remains great when Operation Broken Silence was launched a few years ago. The anti-genocide movement as a whole, not just Operation Broken Silence, remains underfunded, understaffed, and ill-eqquipped to end and prevent genocide today. While our power has grown and some change has been made, the killing continues…

Our goal was simple when we started: get people involved. It was here though that we discovered our greatest obstacle, that being even when people know of the horrors, they are still not inclined to help. Here in Memphis, we were quickly shunned by churches and individuals alike who did not want to get involved despite the growing need.

It is, as it was then, not okay.

So we decided to reach out nationally, if Memphis was not going to help, surely someone would. We soon found ourselves in a powerful group of advocates and fundraisers from all over the nation and begin to work for progressive change in how our nation confronts genocide.

Moving Forward

The apathy of Memphis is still working against us. But for tens of millions of people around the globe, time is running out. This means that regardless of how our city feels, we still have work to do, and now not just dealing with genocide.

Over the past few years I have discovered that genocide anywhere in the world is a direct threat to everyone in the world. The mass insecurity and power vacuum created by genocide in nations such as Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere in the world allows for other extremely serious crimes to be committed. These crimes spread over time to virtually every corner of the globe. The one I specifically speak of is human trafficking.

On July 19, I found myself in a room of concerned Memphis citizens. What was bothering them though was not genocide, it was human trafficking, of which Memphis is becoming a hub for. Many of these people being trafficked are from or were transported though nations who are either threatened, involved in, or recovering from genocide.

As is with genocide, it’s not okay.

Broadening Our Horizons

Operation Broken Silence was created to combat and prevent genocide and it’s aftershocks. With that said, we now find ourselves in a position where a consequence of genocide, mass insecurity, and other issues has come to Memphis.

On July 19, the beginnings of a movement of human trafficking formed. Today, I am proud to say that this movement will be joining Operation Broken Silence over the coming weeks. We will also be taking our work against the World Water Crisis and be giving it a permanent home in our foundations.

So, What Does This Mean for OBS?

It’s simple. We will be focusing on genocide 100% of the time, human trafficking 100% of the time, and the World Water Crisis 100% of the time. Since all three can be and often times are closely related, we must attack all three with the unrelenting passion we have had for the past 3 years.

For those of you around the world (yes, we are a global movement) who have followed us for sometime now, I want to ensure you that we will continue t provide you with the same number of ways to combat genocide. The good news is that now we are providing you with two new battlefields that desperately need people to take up arms in.

Moving Forward (Part 2)

With that said, we are renewing our push for the non-profit license we need to make this a success. You can give towards helping us fund that by clicking here.

While we do have several new volunteers coming on board, we still need more. If you are interested in joining us on our new quests, please email us at info@operationbrokensilence.org

Over the next few weeks, our website will be updated to reflect our new and renewed missions. This will occasionally mean that our website may be down as we push forward. We apologize in advance and will keep this to a minimum. We do encourage you to visit frequently to see what we are up too.

Two additional Street Teams will be added for each new, permanent field (Human Trafficking and the World Water Crisis) we are moving into. Please email us with questions on how you can join.

Closing Thoughts

I am excited to see Operation Broken Silence taking another step in the right direction. The need is great and the calling is worthy. I sincerely hope you join us in our fight for justice and the rescuing of millions of people who are running out of time.

We’re going international. Talk to you soon.

Onward,

Mark C. Hackett