Have you ever wondered what an IJM investigator does in a day? Read on.

It’s early on a Saturday morning in March 2003, and IJM investigator Jasper Ayelazuno is already out of bed after a brief night’s sleep. Though the day is just beginning, Jasper is busy. Along with the rest of his team, he reviews countless details of the day’s mission: entering the brothels of Svay Pak to rescue children held in sexual slavery. For years, IJM has meticulously
documented evidence against human traffickers in this Cambodian village notorious for the open sale of sex with children. The practice is illegal in Cambodia, but nobody has stepped in to defend the innocent victims. Today is the day the oppressed will have a voice, as local authorities and IJM plan for the rescue of young girls and the arrest of their perpetrators. The team has painstakingly documented the locations of the children who need rescue; they review the facts, preparing for the mission. The mission is as complex as it is urgent: The number of children held in forced prostitution in Svay Pak is astounding.

Jasper and the IJM team walk through the logistics of the day. Each member of the team is commissioned to his or her respective position: Jasper remains at headquarters to direct the staff and assist police, while five investigators go to the brothels to gather perpetrators and victims, whom they will bring to a secure location where arrests and rescue will occur.

A complication in the operation arises. The five investigators discover that they will not be able to bring the perpetrators and victims to the offsite location as previously planned. The plan must be amended; the team makes immediate decisions. Jasper answers the other investigators’ urgent call and helps to lead the police to the brothels where the girls remain trapped. The investigators and the police travel door-to-door, bravely arresting human traffickers and removing their victims from danger.

As a result of the team’s actions, 37 girls are rescued and 13 traffickers are arrested.
Jasper and other members of the team escort the girls and the brothel owners to the police station. Jasper monitors the situation, ensuring that both victims and perpetrators are treated fairly. Though they will soon be transferred to a safe and secure aftercare facility, the victims’ immediate testimony in the aftermath of their traffickers’ arrest is extremely valuable to police as they document evidence. Jasper helps the team ensure that the traumatized victims are treated with sensitivity and compassion. Through the entire process, Jasper works to build on IJM’s existing rapport with Cambodian police, equipping law enforcement officials to best meet the needs of these victims.

Though several years have passed, Jasper retains the shock he felt on that day in 2003 when he saw just how young the girls in Svay Pak were and the disgusting conditions in which they lived. Jasper has a daughter himself – thinking of her makes it particularly hard to comprehend the violence committed against the girls of Svay Pak. Though his work in Cambodia was difficult, there was, as Jasper puts it, “a job to be done.” He still thinks often of the rescued girls and thanks God for the opportunity to have been part of the mission.

It is the daily work of investigators like Jasper Ayelazuno that brings IJM one day closer to securing justice for the victims of oppression and slavery. Because of the work accomplished on Jasper’s mission and other IJM initiatives in cooperation with Cambodian police, there has been a huge reduction in child sexual exploitation in Svay Pak.