When I was young, it was so common in my village and the neighboring villages to buy a wife from Yunnan. Although it sounded shocking to me, I had no idea of what human trafficking was nor did I know it was a crime. Not to mention that human beings who have the image of God, deserving dignity, freedom and the right of being free from fear, can not be sold or bought like commodities and animals.
Later, I often heard that the wives ran away after being bought. At that time, I was confused and wondered why they did not live a good life by running away since they were married. So, in my mind, I condemned the running wives for causing the buyers' losses of both the person and money. Then I did not know that the buyers were criminals, the offenders, and running away was the women’s choice of struggle, an accusation of crime, and a desire for freedom. We never thought about whether the "business" was against their will.
A few years later, I heard that certain men could not get married due to poverty. I asked my mother why they did not simply buy a wife. She said there was nowhere from which they could buy one. I said they could go to Yunnan to buy one. Mom said that the condition in Yunnan was better so it was impossible to buy them. We just talked about it casually and carelessly – although it was none of our business at all. We had no idea that it was a sin. Except for us, the whole village was like that. Now thinking back on it, all of us who heard of such crimes were rather ignorantly indifferent spectators who were guilty of the sufferings of those abducted women.
I heard that in those days some men bought a new wife after they first ran away. It was also said that some women were traffickers themselves, selling one woman to many bachelors to cheat them out of lots of money. Besides these, I also heard of a few cases of “all-is-good” in which the men and their wives lived so well that the women were reluctant to go home even if their parents found them. The wives said that their husbands were kind to them, and since they had children and the living conditions were better than home, they were unwilling to go back. However, I still did not know that even in these “all-is-good” cases, the crime of women trafficking could not be erased. Now thinking back, people can really be ignorant to the point of being insensitive and ruthless, and this ignorance is also a sin!
When did I start to know these things were wrong? When did I start to know that I committed the sin of indifference out of my ignorance? It was after believing in Jesus, after reading the bible, after learning to think, after pursuing the truth, and no longer accepting any information in its entirety. I saw the concern of the Lord Jesus in the Bible for people, for people sitting in the dark and in the shadow of death. Slowly, when I learned to stop seeing the tragedy of suffering, I was glad, moved, and grateful that I could still have a peaceful time, but I also had some emotions and doubts. As I thought of what God asked Cain in the Garden of Eden, “Where is your brother Abel?” I did not imagine myself answering as Cain did, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s keeper?” God chose to call us and let us live in this world not to promote and cheer for positive energy, but to witness the light so that people who have never known what the light is may know it. The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. (Matthew 4:16)
Note: This article is originally published by the Gospel Times and written by a freelancer who is a pastor in Jiangsu. The opinions in this article represent the author’s position for readers’ reference.
在我小的时候，常听到村里或临村有人从云南买了媳妇，尽管好奇媳妇还可以买？那会没有任何拐卖人口的概念，也不知道这是违法犯罪的事，更不知道有神形象和样式的人，应该有尊严，有自由，有免于恐惧的权利，不可以像物件牲畜一样买卖。
后来，又常听说某人买的老婆跑了。那会我还困惑这些女人已经嫁人了，怎么不好好过日子居然跑了，在心里谴责她们让买方人财两空。那会我不知道买方是违法犯罪，是加害者，逃跑是女人的抗争，是对罪的控诉和自由的渴望。我们也从未想过买卖是否违背了她的意志。
过了几年，又听到说某某人因为穷娶不到媳妇。我问我妈说，那他为什么不去买一个老婆？我妈说，现在到哪里去买哦？我说去云南贵州买啊？我妈说，云南条件也好了，买不到了。我们事不关己的讨论着，完全不知道这是罪恶。除了我们，全村都是如此。现在想想我们所有听说的人都是愚昧无知的冷漠看客，在这些被拐妇女的苦难上都有罪。
那些年听说某人买了老婆，跑了又买了一个。还听说有些妇女和人贩子就是一伙的，卖了一家又一家，坑了想娶媳妇的光棍们。除了这些，也听说了少数“喜剧”，有人买回来以后也能好好过日子，哪怕家人找来了，说男人对她不错，生了孩子，日子也比老家好，也不愿意回家了。那会不知道哪怕是这样的“喜剧”也不能抹杀拐卖妇女的罪恶。现在想想人真的可以愚昧无知到麻木不仁、冷酷无情，而这种无知也是一种罪！。
什么时候知道这些事不对？什么时候开始认识自己愚昧无知时犯了冷漠的罪？是信了耶稣以后，是开始阅读，学会思考后，是开始追求真理，不再全盘接受任何信息后。我看到圣经中主耶稣对人的关注，对坐在黑暗死荫之地中的人的关注。我慢慢学会不再看到苦难悲剧时，首先为自己还能岁月静好庆幸、感动和感恩，而是也有了一些情绪和一些疑问。因为我想到伊甸园中耶和华神问该隐的那句话：“你兄弟亚伯在哪里？”我不想像该隐的回答：“我不知道！我岂是看守我兄弟的吗？”上帝拣选呼召我们，让我们存活于世不是为了感动欢呼正能量，而是将光见证出来，让从来不知道何为光的人知道什么是光。让那坐在黑暗里的百姓看见了大光；坐在死荫之地的人有光发现照着他们。(太4:16)
注：本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系江苏一名牧师。文中观点代表作者立场，供读者参考，福音时报保持中立。欢迎各位读者留言评论交流！
评徐州丰县八孩女子案：愿大光照耀驱散黑暗
When I was young, it was so common in my village and the neighboring villages to buy a wife from Yunnan. Although it sounded shocking to me, I had no idea of what human trafficking was nor did I know it was a crime. Not to mention that human beings who have the image of God, deserving dignity, freedom and the right of being free from fear, can not be sold or bought like commodities and animals.
Later, I often heard that the wives ran away after being bought. At that time, I was confused and wondered why they did not live a good life by running away since they were married. So, in my mind, I condemned the running wives for causing the buyers' losses of both the person and money. Then I did not know that the buyers were criminals, the offenders, and running away was the women’s choice of struggle, an accusation of crime, and a desire for freedom. We never thought about whether the "business" was against their will.
A few years later, I heard that certain men could not get married due to poverty. I asked my mother why they did not simply buy a wife. She said there was nowhere from which they could buy one. I said they could go to Yunnan to buy one. Mom said that the condition in Yunnan was better so it was impossible to buy them. We just talked about it casually and carelessly – although it was none of our business at all. We had no idea that it was a sin. Except for us, the whole village was like that. Now thinking back on it, all of us who heard of such crimes were rather ignorantly indifferent spectators who were guilty of the sufferings of those abducted women.
I heard that in those days some men bought a new wife after they first ran away. It was also said that some women were traffickers themselves, selling one woman to many bachelors to cheat them out of lots of money. Besides these, I also heard of a few cases of “all-is-good” in which the men and their wives lived so well that the women were reluctant to go home even if their parents found them. The wives said that their husbands were kind to them, and since they had children and the living conditions were better than home, they were unwilling to go back. However, I still did not know that even in these “all-is-good” cases, the crime of women trafficking could not be erased. Now thinking back, people can really be ignorant to the point of being insensitive and ruthless, and this ignorance is also a sin!
When did I start to know these things were wrong? When did I start to know that I committed the sin of indifference out of my ignorance? It was after believing in Jesus, after reading the bible, after learning to think, after pursuing the truth, and no longer accepting any information in its entirety. I saw the concern of the Lord Jesus in the Bible for people, for people sitting in the dark and in the shadow of death. Slowly, when I learned to stop seeing the tragedy of suffering, I was glad, moved, and grateful that I could still have a peaceful time, but I also had some emotions and doubts. As I thought of what God asked Cain in the Garden of Eden, “Where is your brother Abel?” I did not imagine myself answering as Cain did, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s keeper?” God chose to call us and let us live in this world not to promote and cheer for positive energy, but to witness the light so that people who have never known what the light is may know it. The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. (Matthew 4:16)
Note: This article is originally published by the Gospel Times and written by a freelancer who is a pastor in Jiangsu. The opinions in this article represent the author’s position for readers’ reference.
Comment: Let the Great Light Shine Forth to Disperse Darkness
