The Marshallese leaders and pastors of Springdale, Arkansas gathered together at the Marshallese Pastors Conference held on September 29 at The Apollo on Emma. The event also included the FBI, the Springdale Police Chief, the Marshallese detective, and the hostess, State Representative Robin Lundstrum. While they were served their dinner, they were also given an evening presentation about the sad reality of human trafficking.
According to the Arkansas non-profit Hub of HOPE, sex trafficking has increased due to the vulnerability caused by COVID-19. Based on statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Arkansas has identified 1,180 human trafficking victims as part of the 383 cases reported since 2007. The topics of sex and labor trafficking were discussed at the conference in the hopes to getting information out to the Marshallese community through the churches.
The agenda for the conference consisted of the three following parts: What is Human Trafficking, Social Media Safety, and the Community Resources. Arkansas State Representative, Robin Lundstrum, was committed to inform the guests about the programs available in the state as far as helping through COVID-19 and the funds that can be accessed with the issues of trafficking. With the help of the Marshallese-speaking detective, the Marshallese pastors and leaders were able to sit down and understand the severities of trafficking.
“You could tell they really cared about their people”, said Lundstrum, “that they wanted to address the issue, and wanted to be involved”. She went on to explain that every leader and pastor was given a folder with detailed information to provide their communities when handling issues of trafficking, COVID-19, and life in general. “My goal was to help the pastors to have something at their fingertips–it’s a tough time to be a pastor right now, so it was a chance to serve them,” expressed Lundstrum. “Just sitting down and having a chance for the pastors to take the brains of the FBIs to let them know that they are there to help them.”
Among the Marshallese leaders and pastors that attended the conference was Rikaki Billy Tatios of New Hope Church in Springdale. He shared how utterly intrigued he was by the information shared at the conference. As a Marshallese pastor, he said, “even though our culture has restrictions against these kinds of topics, I am content that sex trafficking is so important to discuss, especially now, to the Marshallese adolescents and their guardians.” “Listening to the detective speak really opened up my mind and brought this feeling upon me that I, as a pastor, need to increase my teachings and involvement towards the younger generations of my church,” stated Rikaki Tatios. “There will be limits to these topics, but I just want these kids to know that they matter and everything they do has purpose and consequence. If anyone is struggling with trafficking or abuse in any way, I am determined to reach them.”
The National Human Trafficking Hotline can be reached 24 days a day at 1-888-373-7888.