Angels All Around By far the most frequently asked question we get is, “Isn’t this work dangerous?” The answer is both yes and no. When our kids were tiny and we all lived in Mumbai, I remember a night where Greg put down the phone and said quietly, “Someone just threatened me.” A few months later another person tried hard to use legal measures to have us deported. But Greg filed and won the case and here we are fifteen years later. The actual incidents of harm to Greg or our workers are remarkably few.That’s not to say it is a safe occupation, however! Nor are we lulled into a sense of complacency. We are protected in great measure by the police, without whom we never do a raid. And there are times when I know without a doubt that there are angels all around. One of the most serious incidents happened to Greg and some of our investigators a number of years ago. The attack came on the heels of a great success. A few months earlier, Greg accompanied the police on a raid that resulted in the arrest of 13 brothel keepers and the rescue of 17 minor girls in the small city (pop. 2 million) of Sangli, Maharashtra. As part of our follow- up we found that one of the girls we had rescued was sent back into prostitution by her family. Greg felt that the red-light areas of Sangli should be checked in case this girl could be found and rescued again. When Prakash, one of our investigators, headed into the red-light area, a brothel keeper suddenly stopped him, grabbed his shirt and asked what he was doing there. Unconvinced by his answer, she slapped him a few times and forced him to wait at the brothel. Promising the brothel keeper to get in touch with a friend who could verify his story, he made a quick call to Greg for help. Greg and a few others quickly moved into the area to get him out of danger. Just as Greg caught sight of Prakash, a large mob formed and completely surrounded them. At that point the crowd that had gathered became violent. Prakash was thrown to the ground where people began hitting and kicking him. Greg remembers, “Chili powder was thrown on my face and people were pulling, hitting and scratching me. My shirt was ripped open. I went to help Prakash and got him back to the vehicle where our co-worker pulled him inside and I came in after him. The mob continued to rage outside, and I thought the car would be the safest place we could be. At that point some of the men in the crowd began kicking and hitting the car and hurling rocks at the vehicle until 5 of the 8 windows were broken including the front and back. With the glass shattered, we were now sitting ducks. At least 2 more large rocks were thrown into the vehicle while we sat inside. One of them injured our coworker on the arm while another was deflected. We were all praying hard when suddenly the noise stopped, and the mob was still. The police had not arrived yet (they came along about 15 minutes later), but all the violence ceased, instantly, perfectly, as if someone had switched off a light. Just when our men were the most vulnerable with windows smashed and completely exposed to the mob, it all just stopped. Greg had some minor cuts to show when he got home, and a humorous recollection of a dirty clinic where he politely declined the offer of an injection. When he tells the story, he cannot really remember how he got Prakash off the ground and back into the vehicle that day, as twenty feet and an angry mob separated him from the relative safety of the car. What could have ended in disaster ended in peace and complete protection. “For He knows how we are formed and He remembers that we are dust.” So yes, our work is dangerous but we walk with deep security.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 18:02:25 +0000
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