Gary A. HaugenBesprekingen

Although it took me a long time to get through, it was well worth the time spent. It's an impassioned and convincing argument about the importance of building strong law enforcement systems in developing countries that actually support the poor rather than working against them as so often the case. Haughen argues that whilst it is good to invest in education, health and other indicators of poverty, it is futile when those efforts to can be thrust from under you by violence and corruption. He argues that much of the corruption that exists in developing nations is a result of colonialism whereby law enforcement was primarily to protect the interests of the elites other than protecting the common people. A very important book.

A year 2000 Finalist in the ECPA book competition! The good news about injustice is that God is against it. God is in the business of using the unlikely to accomplish justice and mercy. In this tenth-anniversary edition of Gary Haugen's challenging and encouraging book he offers stories of courageous Christians who have stood up for justice in the face of human trafficking, forced prostitution, racial and religious persecution, and torture. This expanded edition brings up to date his work in calling for the body of Christ to act. Throughout, he provides concrete guidance on how ordinary Christians can rise up to seek justice throughout the world.

This is an incredibly important book, but the first half is very difficult to read. It caused me to look at how to help the global poor in a whole new way. It also gave me a whole new appreciation for those who serve in law enforcement in the U.S.

This was a phenomenal book arguing that the end of poverty requires the end of violence. If you think this is one of those 'anti-war' books, you are thinking too narrowly. A lot of what Haugen and Boutros are looking is violence within a given society which aggravates the suffering of the poor. Often things like rape, murder, abuse are illegal, but if the victim is poor, they have no hope of recourse through the legal system. There are systemic problems that allow for the poor to be continually victimized in much of the world (lack of resources for law enforcement, lack of training, lack of access to legal services, ineffective implementation, etc). Because Haugen's work with IJM he has heartbreaking story after heartbreaking story to tell.

But ultimately this isn't a depressing book but a hopeful one. Haugen and Boutros examine how first-world nations transformed in the last hundred years from mob rule (i.e. the American West) and oppressive military rule (Meiji era Japan) to societies which strive to protect and serve its most vulnerable members (yes I know this still isn't perfect, but we are a long way from the violence of yesteryear). Really thought-provoking stuff!

Soul-stirring and challenging. This is one that you should read if you find yourself sometimes callous toward the down-trodden.

If you're interested in the causes of global poverty and want to know more about the issues effecting them, this book is a must read.

To summarize, barely anyone knows that THE most significant issue affecting people in absolute poverty is security. Through facts, stories, and surveys, this book demonstrates how billions of poor people around the world live outside the rule of law. The criminal justice system doesn't work for them. More often than not, it actually actively works AGAINST them. Everything they may scrape together and build to get themselves out of poverty can easily be swept away in a single instant like a plague of locusts when they are arrested so that the local police can collect bribes, left to rot in packed holding room for years as their very existence is forgotten by prosecutors or local bullies can take their land, resources or lives with impunity with almost zero chance of punishment.

The book gives a great background on WHY the criminal justice system in so many countries is the way it is (colonial criminal justice systems that were designed to protect the rulers, not the common people) that were never changed after the colonial powers left. The book also gives some hope for change by pointing to our own history where our cities were plagued by even worse police corruption and yet still managed reform and change.

Again, if you're interested in the issue of global poverty, I can't recommend this book strongly enough.

The first parts of this book are very harrowing and not easy to read as they present truths of those living in extreme poverty and violence and their quest for justice in a world that doesn't seem to notice them much less care about their plight. The author then goes on to give recommendations for dealing with the violence people are living in as a means to also help alleviate poverty.

I'd like to start by saying that the first few chapters of this book are definitely not for the faint-hearted. It paints a stark and dark picture of violence around the world.

Chapters 1 and 2 talk about extremely disturbing stories of abuse on women / girls and some statistics about violence against women across the world. There are sections that talk about forced labor and illegal land seizures. And then there is heart-rending story of Caleb and Bruno who are victims of abusive police.

It is not until I got to chapter 3 that I found out why the authors had titled the book as 'The Locust Effect'. This chapter first describes the 'Locust attack' in the 19th century affecting the Mid-West US. It then uses this incident to show how our efforts to improve the economy and reduce poverty without getting a hold on controlling violence 'seems like a mocking'. The drop in GDP due to violence clearly elucidates the cost of violence across the developing countries in the world.

The next chapter talks about more forms lawlessness in the African countries.

Chapter 5 talks about the most fundamental systems - the public justice system. The authors breaks them into three segments - the Police, the Prosecutors and the Courts. The break-down makes it very clear that all these segments hold equal responsibilities when it comes to reducing crime and violence in a society.

Chapter 6 is about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and it's acceptance and inclusion into the judicial system, although the book clearly explains that due to the lack of enforcement of these rules, the first two steps of identification of these rights and their acceptance by the justice system were mostly in vain.

I'm from India and probably that's the main reason why I could associate very closely what is written in chapter 7. The reasoning given by Kirpal Dhillon about failure of Indian police was simply brilliant. It was surprising to find out that we're still using the Indian Police Act which was formulated in 1861.

Chapter 8 talks about how the wealthy use private security forces to provide to themselves security and why the rich prefer the public safety system to remain in a broken state.

Chapter 9 shows that US and the World Bank are helping the developing countries with foreign aid, but (and there's that 'but') it also shows that the investment priorities need to be revised.

The quiz in the beginning of chapter 10 took me by surprise. This is the first chapter that glimpsed a ray of positive hope towards improvement. It was nice to know that the current developed countries, once upon a time were, gangsta places.

The last chapter is about how IJM (International Justice Mission) is acting as a catalyst to bring by the change that is absolutely required for developing countries and eventually the entire world. The work done by IJM, without a spliter of doubt, is thoroughly inspiring and I would not have minded if the chapter lasted a few more pages.

The book is impressively documented with links to actual studies.

I'm from India and I would like to end my review with a joke:

The Police and the Lawyers are there to protect the good guys from the bad guys!

That's it.. that IS the joke! Hoping for a change soon around the world.

This is an excellently written and persuasive book about how protection against violence is needed by the world's poor before any more meaningful inroads can be made by other aide programs. While some of the early chapters are gruesome, they seem necessary to convey the urgency and primal nature of the situation. Later chapters do provide hope and some templates for achieving change.

This book will rip your heart out, stomp on it, and then slowly -- ever so slowly -- bring you back to life. Why? Because this book is the story of several operations run by the organization called International Justice Mission, an organization that is dedicated to rescuing young girls from sex slavery overseas.

These are true stories of men and women who risk their lives everyday to infiltrate brothels, slave camps, and so forth, posing as buyers and meeting the children (because they are, quite literally, children who are forced to become sex slaves) and then forming plans to get the children out and into aftercare where they can be healed. Physically and psychologically.

The central story of this book is an operation to rescue young girls and children from forced prostitution in Svay Pak, Cambodia (some as young as three years old... if that doesn't make your heart break, I don't know what will). These girls were either sold there by their families or tricked into coming by promises of restaurant jobs or maid positions... and when the driver takes them to a brothel instead, the girls are locked into tiny rooms and forced to perform sex acts in order to survive.

International Justice Mission rescued over a hundred little girls in this one operation. One operation. How many more are still there? How many more tiny children are forced into prostitution every day in Cambodia, other parts of Asia, around the world? This is an issue that we don't read about in the papers everyday, and we should be outraged. Imagine your daughter being promised a job in the next city, taking the train to get there, and instead when she arrives she's locked inside a house and forced to have sex with six strangers a day, every day, until she's discarded or dies?

This is a reality of our world. A repulsive, horrendous reality. I recommend that everyone reads this book, becomes aware of what's going on over there, and uses that sense of horror to take active steps to help fight this. IJM workers risk their lives every day to save these children. And at the risk of sounding like a commercial, that's something I want to help support. And though there are thousands upon thousands who are still stuck in slavery... even one little girl saved from a life like that makes it worthwhile.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m passionate about the International Justice Mission and their work to fight injustice in this world. I went to their 2010 prayer gathering back in April, and was blown away by the passion and commitment of the people in the organization. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed and discouraged about the plight of human trafficking, this book is for you. Not only does Haugen explain the reasons behind the problem and the oppression, he offers tangible ways for the everyday reader to get involved. Yes, most of the work is being done by established organizations with resources such as IJM, but there are ways to get involved. He doesn’t shy away from specifics, and much of it is hard to read. Haugen is a Christian, and he backs up his reasons for pursuing justice with Biblical quotes (Micah 6:8, for example). But the message extends so far beyond the church, I highly recommend it for, well, everyone. There are more slaves in the world today than at any other point in history. This is everyone’s problem. And if we each do a little but, we can greatly relieve the suffering of so many.

Read my full review here: http://letseatgrandpa.com/2010/06/22/42-good-news-about-injustice-by-gary-haugen...

The subtitle to this book is God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian. Now I ask you, what kind of image of the book does this title & subtitle conjure up for you? Does it sound like a Christian Living book with some tips on full living? A men's book with adventure metaphors for living the Christian life?

Really, think about it. Look at the cover, too. Then keep reading below.

Now, what's this book actually about?

In some ways, it's a challenge to Christians to truly live out what they say they believe. To ask whether we're really satisfied with our comfortable lifestyles, or whether we're willing to step out in faith and take risks... by standing up for justice.

Wait a minute, what? Justice? What does that mean?

This book was published by the founder of an organization called the International Justice Mission, a group that goes into countries where people are being held captive as slaves and where girls as young as five and six years old are forced to work as prostitutes.

And the IJM smuggles the girls out. They save these children from a lifetime in the sex trade. They free these people who are literally bound in chains and forced to spend their entire lives as slaves. There are millions of people who live like this every single day, and the IJM works to free them.

Guess what this book is? This book will make you aware of the horrendous and EXTREMELY RAMPANT child sex trade all over the world. You will weep. You will read in horror. And yet, the book is only an introduction and I think it holds back a bit, since it's meant to only introduce the notion of standing up and seeking justice for these people.

But the cover doesn't give you any indication of that. The cover fades into the background like just another generic Christian Living book, something you'd easily pass by and dismiss on the shelves. There's no indication of the real content inside, and the design on the cover is bland and, like I said, generic.

Maybe they didn't want to shock people right away. Maybe they thought people would be scared off by the truth, which I can understand. But think of it this way: Is it better to have everyone pass by your book, or is it better to have at least a few people pick it up and have their lives changed by it?

If you're interested in learning more about the International Justice Mission, here's a link to their website: Int. Justice Mission. They are a Christian organization, but let's be honest, does it really matter who is saving people from slavery and the sex trade? Read some of the stories of the children who've been rescued. Make sure you have a box of tissues at hand. I don't think you can learn about this kind of thing and NOT be affected... I want to DO something, help these trapped people somehow...

But back to the book. I know they have another book that specifically discusses how they infiltrate the brothels and smuggle the girls out called Terrify No More: Young Girls Held Captive and the Daring Undercover Operation to Win Their Freedom, and I'd like to read that and learn more of the specifics.

I just wish that Just Courage had a different cover. Then maybe, just maybe, more of us would know the realities about daily slavery and the child sex trade that we've been ignorant of all this time (I know I was). And maybe, through this knowledge, we can help make a difference. One rescued little girl at a time.½

NCLA Review -Are you “traveling with Jesus but missing the adventure?” If so, why? Is that the way you really want it to be? The adventure starts when you begin to live as if you really believe the things Jesus taught—things like becoming as little children, say, or loving an enemy. Gary Haugen’s equivalent of a demanding mountain climb is his involvement with International Justice Missions. As one of 300 Christian lawyers, investigators, and other advocates, Haugen helps rescue victims of slavery, violence, and oppression in many countries. Though his own calling to service is through IJM, and the book is filled with inspiring stories from his experience, his point is that any Christian’s life can be adventurous. We need only be willing to take Jesus’ teaching seriously enough that our actions embody our beliefs. Early Christians turned the world upside down because Jesus taught them a new way to live. Haugen challenges modern Christians to do the same. This well-written book is a great choice for a church library. Rating: 4 —DKW Intervarsity 2008, 148p, 9780830834945, $18.00 [248.4]

excellent resource for youth ministry

Excellent read for Christians on their role in dealing with injustice. Recommend to all.

The topic of human slavery and transport is so important in our world today. I applaud this author for his head-on approach. But where did he get the editor for this book. It is shameful. There is no documentation whatsoever and the chapters are rambling and repetative. Chiefly, there need to be references attributed to the sources used.½

Why the end of poverty requires the end of violence

2 discs - first Gary speaking on origins of IJM, God's love for the world and passion for justice