City in Focus: Manila
PRAYER BRIEFING
Manila is the capital city of the Philippines, an archipelago in South East Asia that comprises over 7,000 islands. Established in the late fifteenth century, Manila’s history is long and fairly complex, and bears the scars of frequent political jostling and strife. Centuries of European colonization ended after World War II, but independence soon turned into political instability, paving the way for economic decline and a massive coup in the 1900’s. More recent history includes natural disasters and terrorism strikes. Needless to say, this kind of prolonged tumult lends itself particularly well to criminal enterprise and human trafficking.
The Philippines is primarily a source country, supplying victims to other areas in South East Asia, as well as a transit country for victims en route to and from other neighboring countries, and is notorious for child prostitution. Manila draws internal trafficking victims from the surrounding impoverished rural areas. As a port city, international traffickers smuggle children into the city often times by boat. Trafficked children are put to work in both sweat shops and brothels.
Probably one of the most disturbing trends developing in the Philippines, and (by association) Manila, is the viral spread of child pornography. The accessibility of the web for both children and buyers, combined with the privacy and portability of internet devices, has produced an epidemic of live, interactive, child pornography. It is not uncommon for a child to be exploited from the barely-private confines of a cubby in a Manila internet cafe, viewed by a buyer somewhere else in the world, who then pays by credit card. Both credit card companies and ISP’s all but refuse to cooperate with law enforcement authorities, making it practically impossible to crack down on pornographers or buyers.
MINISTRIES
RENEW Foundation www.renew-foundation.org
RENEW Foundation Philippines is a Christian International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO). RENEW aims to empower female victims of prostitution and sex trafficking in the Philippines through an holistic approach to recovery.
International Justice Mission (IJM) www.ijm.org
International Justice Mission is a human rights agency lead by evangelical Christian Gary Haugen that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.
PRAYER POINTS
- Pray that God would send revival to the Philippines, that the word of the Gospel would run swiftly and overcome the darkness of child prostitution.
- Pray that cities and villages, beginning with Manila, would experience deep transformation including salvation, restoration, and recovery of traffickers, victims, and corrupt law enforcement.
- Ask God to establish a House of Prayer in Manila that would bring Light through intercession for the surrounding regions.
