Gary A. Haugen

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 show more 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! show less

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, show more 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. show less

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 show more 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. show less

I felt that this was kind of a preachy book. He kept implying that only by serving through organizations like IJM which tackle international injustices in life-risking ways can you truly serve Jesus. It also seemed like the whole book was basically a commercial for IJM.

Nevertheless, there were some great portions of the book. I really enjoyed his implication of the meaning of justice through defining injustice. Also, I found the ending very inspiring.