BALLARD-PARKER: BIRDS OF THE     FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER

WILLIAM JOSEPH LYONS:

 

They are not all bad! Unfortunately there are a couple of individuals who saw an opportunity, and seized the moment. My experience working with the Exodus Road was eye-opening, jaw dropping, and at times rewarding. I met great people. I met wonderful individuals who were trying to make a difference in an incredible vile industry.

 

Once again, my Christian Faith propelled me into this fight. I have only been informed on this issue for the past 5 years. Modern Day Slavery, Human Trafficking, and Sexual Exploitation of Children was something I heard very little about. I could have never imagined taking the risk to leap out and make a difference.

 

Since my return to a corporate job, I have been keeping a close eye on NGOs who work in the arena of helping and rescuing victims. Human Trafficking in the simplest of terms is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit. There is a very fine line between sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and working in a legal establishments; consent!

 

Individuals such as Matt Parker, from the Exodus Road, and his twin con-man, Tim Ballard, of the Operation Underground Railroad, have found a way to profit from this vile, and disgusting crime. The profit all begins with the misinformation and the disingenuous spreading of a false narrative. Both of these organizations openly invite untrained volunteers, many, who by coincidence have celebrity status. Their fictional operations are documented with television crews in an effort to sensualize the impact. Ballard justifies this; “we believe the problem will never go away unless everybody knows about it and does something.”(1)

 

Here’s the problem with this mindset. Many know about it! The mindset theory of everyone knowing about it, and that will bring change is misleading, false, and very dangerous.  It doesn’t matter how many know about the problem if you aren’t doing the correct things to change the reason for the problem. BALLARD-PARKER use this to their advantage. They lie about where the real problems is, and they misinform donors and the public into thinking they are the solution to the problem. The main reason for their use of Celebrities and News crews is to show the American public a visual of young girls working in bars, and call them “sex slaves.” The real issue, and the real battle to fight sexual exploitation and human trafficking lies within a deeper, and more complex solution. You must do more than just show girls working in beer bars. You must do more than “rescue” a girl for two weeks, only for her to return to the bar. You must do more than run fundraising campaigns with false and misleading photos. BALLARD-PARKER do this for the money. It’s easier to attack a morality issue, such as girls working the bars. They both know the American Church will be uncomfortable with these optics, thus allowing them to raise easy money, and not have to spend it going after the real issues of human trafficking.

 

Here’s the issue I have with the BALLARD-PARKER gang. Their volunteer investigators are untrained. Yes, they might have law enforcement experience, however, any law enforcement agency will tell you there is such a thing as specialized training. These men are not trained to carry out rescue missions in a foreign country. They do not understand the culture, the religion, the heritage, and most importantly the laws in which govern the territory in which they want to go and change.

 

An Exodus Road undercover cowboy investigator was quoted as, “you go in and try to look like a john as much as possible.”(4)  Another American was quoted;

“try to act like them, talk like them. You don’t go in and order a glass of milk.”(5)

Well, from my experience, they are pulling this off with flying colors. I believe it’s easy for a lot of these untrained volunteers who venture over to a foreign land, to fit right in and enjoy playing the role of a “john.” It doesn’t take these volunteer investigators too long to figure out there are very few children working within the legal establishments they are targeting. It doesn’t take long for these volunteer investigators to figure out that these women are here to make money. It doesn’t take long to figure out they have free reign to come and go as they please. The sole purpose of these women working in these legal bar establishments is to make money for their families. Yes, you can argue you Christian morality, and you might possibly make a good point, however, arresting individuals for a difference in morality doesn’t seem like a good idea. These women need better educational opportunities, and occupational opportunities. So, let’s find a way to invest the money that is used on volunteer investigators, and begin to help restore the villages and the communities from which these girls come from. Let’s look at prevention, and restoration. But, I do understand, it’s a lot more fun for the investigators to go and play for a few weeks.

 

 

“Paul Holmes, a former Scotland Yard detective who trains police forces worldwide in human trafficking investigations, said he had “no objection to any organization entering the fray against trafficking.” (HOWEVER) “None of these people can be described as appropriately trained professionals,” Holmes said, “and should not be anywhere near a professionally managed undercover sting operation.” Holmes added that “concerns also arise around the risk of entrapment on the part of the undercover operatives” posing as sex tourists and that “seeking to buy the services of child victims of sexual exploitation would likely run into serious admissibility difficulties in many countries.”(5)

 

This high-profile approach is attracting skepticism from some respected workers who have fought human trafficking for decades by working with local police and prosecutors to attack the problem and rid their ranks of corruption. They question whether the American groups spend the time and effort needed to ensure that victims aren’t returned to the same cycles of degrading violence. They also raise concerns about entrapment and safety for the civilians.(6)

 

 

 

Victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking need resources, and opportunities. The vast majority of human trafficking cases are not forced or violent. Most cases of human trafficking worldwide are from the nature of fraud. A victim is desperate, they need money. This is almost always the case. However, BALLARD-PARKER would like you to think that it is all by force, and these victims need the multi-millionaire superhero talents of their organizations to come and save them from evil. According to the Polaris Project’s website, https://polarisproject.org/myths-facts-and-statistics/ “the most pervasive myth about human trafficking is that it often involves kidnapping or physically forcing someone into a situation. In reality, most traffickers use psychological means such as, tricking, defrauding, manipulating or threatening victims into providing commercial sex or exploitative labor.”

 

Matt Parker, has the same mindset as Tim Ballard. You might get the idea that on one of his vision retreats in a 5 star resort, Parker studied and now emulates Ballard. Parker is quoted,

 “we’re not an aftercare organization. There’s many more aftercare nonprofits.”(7)

The reason why The Exodus Road is not an aftercare organization, is because of the cost involved. It also does not allow Matt Parker to live out his fantasies of being an overpaid action hero. Leading experts in the field of Anti-Trafficking work, acknowledge that there are greater cost involved in the prevention and the restoration of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. However, BALLARD-PARKER are making the big money. Just look at their press clippings. It’s is unbelievable that the American public continues to give these men, money and unadulterated fame. BALLARD-PARKER has been investigated and accused of multiple wrong-doings while on operations. Read the Exodus Road Open Letter; the lifestyle the Parker’s and their staff lead. You would have to be living under a rock not to have heard of the movie, The Sound of Freedom. Go ahead and google Tim Ballard’s press clippings. These two men are one in the same. BALLARD-PARKER!!!!

 

Why is there no outrage? Why doesn’t the public, the church, all of their supporters’ see what’s going on? I understand there is a real issue with Human Trafficking and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. Holly Burkhalter from the International Justice Mission is quoted as saying; “you don’t have to prosecute everybody,” prosecute a few and it really does start to lower the prevalence.”(8) I am not trying to mislead you with this quote. I am sure she believes that bad people who are breaking the law must be locked up and punished. However, I believe she is saying that you have to go into a country and get “buy in” from their government and their local leaders. You have to address the issue from the very core of the problem. The problem lies with the lack of education, money, and job opportunities when you are dealing with the issue of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. There are criminal child trafficking syndicates that need to be stopped. The BALLARD-PARKER group is taking vital resources, while destroying the credibility of other good, honest, organizations.

 

Sources:

 

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/hunting-for-sex-traffickers-abroad–by-posing-as-johns/2016/09/23/f449dd48-7057-11e6-8365-b19e428a975e_story.html
2. Ibid
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. Ibid
7. Ibid
8. Ibid