Ryan’s Story

How I Got Here

There are a few moments in my life that I can point directly back to that have set me on paths that I will not turn back from, or cannot turn back from, and at the time each of these seemed simple or inconspicuous, and it is only from where I am standing now that I am able to see the gravity of these moments.

A couple of years ago I walked into a bookstore and briefly perused the typical aisles from which I would normally select a text, moving from philosophy and theology to travel and international, aimlessly looking for anything that would catch my eye.  I finally caught sight of a title that piqued my interest, “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery”.  Modern slavery?  Sex trafficking?  Is this author trying to say that slaves exist in the world today?  Where are these slaves? And what is sex trafficking? Finding answers to these questions were more than enough reason to purchase this book.

As I learned more, finished the book, and sought out others on the same topic, I was aghast at the reality that humans are exploited for anything, whether labor or sex, and could not believe that I had never heard of such a terrible crime. Continued research and the eventual authoring of my undergraduate thesis in international studies inspired intense compassion, conviction, and focus within me.  During a later trip to Nepal I met and heard the stories of sex slaves first hand, further galvinizing ambition within me. How am I responsible for this knowledge now? How can I be aware of sinister injustice and keep silent?  Surely this would be reprehensible as well.

I majored in philosophy as well while in college, and a growing passion for reason and truth, accompanied by a fervent desire for justice for the oppressed, prompted me to pursue law school. I now attend the University of Memphis school of law and intend to graduate and use my degree to combat modern slavery and human trafficking.  With an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today, there is much to be done.

SAFE

Finding slavery anywhere that it exists and abolishing it is the goal of SAFE, the Slavery Abolition and Freedom Endeavor.  Slavery exists in all parts of the world, including the United States, and even in our own city of Memphis.  Anywhere that demand exists for exploited people, whether labor or sexually, traffickers will move people for the purpose of selling them or using them.  Every day these traffickers, pimps, brothel owners, factory owners, etc, wake up and spend their time and energy finding ways to move people more efficiently and exploit them as much as possible.  Unless there are people who wake up every day and consider ways to combat this trade, it will continue.  That is why I have created SAFE, so that we can be the people that give a voice to the voiceless and frustrate the efforts of those who seek to do otherwise.

Who I Am

The elements of my story, each of these moments that have brought me to where I am today, have been woven together intentionally by one who sees what I cannot, and goes before me.  I know that I can pursue justice and compassion because these are qualities that are innate in the God who has created me and endowed me with the desire for these things, just as he has all of us.  He has shown man true justice, not simply divine dispensement of rewards and punishments, but what life looks like when sustaining restoration touches all parts of it. The prophet Isaiah understood this long ago:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

This same comission applies to us today. What have we to fear if the Lord goes before us?

Join us, and together we can proclaim freedom for the captives.