The Sound of Freedom

[gardenmom5]

Has anyone seen this?
I read an interview with Tim Ballard about a year ago?  two years ago?
He was so angered to go into these countries as an agent (there are some where it is very much part of the culture), and see what was happening - and his hands were tied as to how much he could do to stop it.  He has really felt called to rescue these children.

[Amira]

I haven’t seen it (my mother-in-law loved it), and I have a completely opposite opinion about Tim Ballard than you do.  While there is no question that human trafficking is a major worldwide issue (including in the US), I don’t like his vigilante style.  (I also really dislike the “history” books he has written, although they have nothing to do with trafficking.)

I wish that this movie had been made about a woman like Reda Shoukry.  Americans could learn about so many people fighting trafficking in their own countries.

If anyone here is interested in other groups that combat human trafficking in a less commercialized or vigilante fashion, you might look at Polaris Project.  https://polarisproject.org

[Brittany1116]

I saw it last night. Theater was packed.

I thought it was very good. It will rip your heart out. The beginning has clips of real child abductions from various places. If you watch through the credits, they show actual footage of the Columbia sting. 

The movie was made 5 years ago, which is interesting.  

[Brittany1116]

3 minutes ago, Amira said:

I haven’t seen it (my mother-in-law loved it), and I have a completely opposite opinion about Tim Ballard than you do.  While there is no question that human trafficking is a major worldwide issue (including in the US), I don’t like his vigilante style.  (I also really dislike the “history” books he has written, although they have nothing to do with trafficking.)

I wish that this movie had been made about a woman like Reda Shoukry.  Americans could learn about so many people fighting trafficking in their own countries.

If anyone here is interested in other groups that combat human trafficking in a less commercialized or vigilante fashion, you might look at Polaris Project.  https://polarisproject.org

This comment is so weird to me. You don't like the way someone goes about saving kids so someone else should have a movie made of them instead? I am sure there are many people who do this work the world over. Why should it matter which angle the light first shines from if it still illuminates an issue? A win is a win. 

[Idalou]

Hard pass

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/sound-of-freedom-jim-caviezel-child-trafficking-qanon-movie-1234783837/

[Sneezyone]

2 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said:

This comment is so weird to me. You don't like the way someone goes about saving kids so someone else should have a movie made of them instead? I am sure there are many people who do this work the world over. Why should it matter which angle the light first shines from if it still illuminates an issue? A win is a win. 

For one thing, it’s important to build the capacity of people and institutions in various nations to deal with these issues. 

For another, vigilantism is by definition extrajudicial. We should be in the business of exporting respect for the law. It’s completely inconsistent with the values many claim to uphold.

Finally, films like this contribute to a certain segment of the population (they cannot help themselves) assuming the mantle of ‘savior’ of all the lesser/vulnerable peoples the world over and it’s offensive and misguided because (refer back to point one).

[Amira]

Just now, Brittany1116 said:

This comment is so weird to me. You don't like the way someone goes about saving kids so someone else should have a movie made of them instead? I am sure there are many people who do this work the world over. Why should it matter which angle the light first shines from if it still illuminates an issue? A win is a win. 

Actually, I think that Tim Ballard’s extra-legal, vigilante style isn’t just another option, but is actually harmful, both to children who are trafficked and to individuals and organizations who are fighting trafficking. That’s why I wish that Americans weren’t introduced to his viewpoint of human trafficking to the exclusion of others who are fighting trafficking. And there are many Americans whose awareness of human trafficking is filtered entirely through Tim Ballard.  I personally don’t think that is a good thing.  I know others disagree with me, and that’s fine.

[Brittany1116]

1 minute ago, Amira said:

Actually, I think that Tim Ballard’s extra-legal, vigilante style isn’t just another option, but is actually harmful, both to children who are trafficked and to individuals and organizations who are fighting trafficking. That’s why I wish that Americans weren’t introduced to his viewpoint of human trafficking to the exclusion of others who are fighting trafficking. And there are many Americans whose awareness of human trafficking is filtered entirely through Tim Ballard.  I personally don’t think that is a good thing.  I know others disagree with me, and that’s fine.

Angel Studios and Tim Ballard are all under the Mormon umbrella. It's obvious why they would create a biopic of him. Any movie made by anyone will be at the exclusion of someone. 

Thank goodness there weren't any people working outside of the legal system during the slavery era or Holocaust. God forbid people just do the right thing when they have the opportunity.  

[Mona]

I’m going to see this with a friend in about an hour. Some theaters only played it for one day, but she found one that had several showings, so we’re going today.

[Brittany1116]

8 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

For one thing, it’s important to build the capacity of people and institutions in various nations to deal with these issues. 

For another, vigilantism is by definition extrajudicial. We should be in the business of exporting respect for the law. It’s completely inconsistent with the values many claim to uphold.

Finally, films like this contribute to a certain segment of the population (they cannot help themselves) assuming the mantle of ‘savior’ of all the lesser/vulnerable peoples the world over and it’s offensive and misguided because (refer back to point one).

None of that will happen when leaders and politicians at all levels are involved in trafficking by creating demand or turning a blind eye. Therefore many have little or no respect for the law when people who make it live above it. And I find it hard very hard to believe that if it was the child of anyone crying foul who was rescued by a vigilante that they would then be offended or unhappy with having their child back. While others may think only certain wins count, I stand by a win being a win when it is a human life in the balance. 

[MercyA]

15 minutes ago, Idalou said:

Hard pass

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/sound-of-freedom-jim-caviezel-child-trafficking-qanon-movie-1234783837/

Anyone able to gift this story?

[Amira]

2 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said:

Angel Studios and Tim Ballard are all under the Mormon umbrella. It's obvious why they would create a biopic of him. Any movie made by anyone will be at the exclusion of someone. 

Thank goodness there weren't any people working outside of the legal system during the slavery era or Holocaust. God forbid people just do the right thing when they have the opportunity.  

Can you explain your first paragraph to me?  I’m a Mormon and I can’t see why it’s obvious that Angel Studios would create a movie about Tim Ballard.

True, working outside the legal system can be essential to get good work done.  The question here is whether Tim Ballard’s style of vigilantism is the right thing.

 

[Brittany1116]

Just now, Amira said:

Can you explain your first paragraph to me?  I’m a Mormon and I can’t see why it’s obvious that Angel Studios would create a movie about Tim Ballard.

True, working outside the legal system can be essential to get good work done.  The question here is whether Tim Ballard’s style of vigilantism is the right thing.

 

Why wouldn't any group make a movie about an exceptional story by one of their own? Why wouldn't they? Do people not do that already?

[Amira]

On 7/9/2023 at 1:05 PM, Brittany1116 said:

Why wouldn't any group make a movie about an exceptional story by one of their own? Why wouldn't they? Do people not do that already?

From my perspective, they wouldn’t make the movie because they looked more closely into OUR’s methods and decided that this wasn’t something they wanted to promote.  The fact that Tim Ballard is a Mormon doesn’t make this an obvious story, at least in my opinion.  

It’s fine with me if you liked the movie, and if you like Tim Ballard and OUR and their methods.  I’m simply offering my opinion that there are many people in the world of combatting human trafficking who are at best uncomfortable with OUR’s methods.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Amira

[Amira]

11 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Anyone able to gift this story?

I can’t, but here’s a different source that discusses some concerns about the movie and OUR.  https://ministrywatch.com/sound-of-freedom-doesnt-tell-true-story-of-operation-underground-railroad/

[Sneezyone]

I also think the significance/breadth/depth of the damaging ‘savior’ idea is reflected in the belief that resistance (from within and amongst allies of a community/people group/nation) is the same as outsiders parachuting in without working in partnership in whole or in part with local leaders. The savior idea erases the significant role and importance of people fighting to emancipate and free themselves. Those are the efforts that are sustained, and successful over time, in changing systems.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Sneezyone

[MercyA]

I don't know Tim Ballard. Looks like he is connected to some conspiracy stuff, maybe? Definitely extremely right wing, so not someone I would generally support.

That said, would certain children and women still be enslaved if he / his group hadn't intervened? It's hard to condemn someone for taking successful action to save human lives, if they don't harm anyone else in the process. 

Civil disobedience has its place when lives are at stake.

I'd like to know more about this from reputable sources, but several of the articles I'm finding are behind paywalls, unfortunately (Washington Post, Rolling Stone). [ETA: Thanks, Amira, for the good article.]

Edited July 9, 2023 by MercyA

[Amira]

1 minute ago, Sneezyone said:

I also think the significance/breadth/depth of the damaging ‘savior’ idea is reflected in the belief that resistance (from within and amongst allies of a community/people group/nation) is the same as outsiders parachuting in without working in partnership in whole or in part with local leaders.

This.  There are so many people working outside government efforts to help victims of trafficking within their own spheres.  They could use more money and support.  They don’t need someone like Tim Ballard sucking up all the air in the room.  

[Brittany1116]

2 minutes ago, Amira said:

From my perspective, they wouldn’t make the movie because they looked more closely into OUR’s methods and decided that this wasn’t something they wanted to promote.  The fact that Tim Ballard is a Mormon doesn’t make this an obvious story, at least in my opinion.  

It’s fine with me if you liked the movie, and if you like Tim Ballard and OUR and their methods.  I’m simply offering my opinion that they are many people in the world of combatting human trafficking who are at best uncomfortable with OUR’s methods.

I think it was likely a mutually-benefcial decision and not simple coincidence that they made it. I only knew they were both part of the LDS church because of an interview that popped up when something else I was listening to ended. But it didn't surprise me there was a connection. I don't know the first thing about OUR. 

I liked the movie a lot. I hope millions see it so that they are aware this isn't just an imaginary issue. I hope they are driven to do something.

[kbutton]

13 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said:

Thank goodness there weren't any people working outside of the legal system during the slavery era or Holocaust. God forbid people just do the right thing when they have the opportunity.  

There were laws put into place over time, like the Fugitive Slave Law, specifically to cut down the ability to legally be helpful, and to be sure that "property" was returned, so the system itself was stacked against legal means. I don't know if there is an equivalent movement in the child trafficking arena to actually make it harder to liberate children on purpose (though there are laws against prostitution that have made it indirectly harder, and people are actively working for change to those laws where it hasn't happened yet).

[kbutton]

4 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I'd like to know more about this from reputable sources, but several of the articles I'm finding are behind paywalls, unfortunately (Washington Post, Rolling Stone).

Here is WaPo: https://wapo.st/44yB1sn

 

[maize]

I'm also skeptical of OUR's methods. I think there is a good chance they are actually doing more harm than good.

I'm hesitant to share some of the reasons I think this, because they come from direct life experience in a Latin American country in which one person trying to do something good may have saved the life of one or more persons (possibly even my own) but also definitely resulted in the deaths of other innocent people. Those aren't entirely my stories to share. Let's just say, I've seen things go very wrong, and a simplistic approach is dangerous to many people other than those directly engaging in attempted heroics.

If OUR would donate the funds they have raised to more legitimate organizations with better oversight and more familiarity with the complexities involved in the areas they operate in they would do far more good.

[maize]

9 minutes ago, Brittany1116 said:

I think it was likely a mutually-benefcial decision and not simple coincidence that they made it. I only knew they were both part of the LDS church because of an interview that popped up when something else I was listening to ended. But it didn't surprise me there was a connection. I don't know the first thing about OUR. 

I liked the movie a lot. I hope millions see it so that they are aware this isn't just an imaginary issue. I hope they are driven to do something.

Angel studios has no affiliation with the LDS church, although some of the people involved in the organization might. Just clarifying.

[Loowit]

I went to see it yesterday with DH.  I had heard the criticism about it leaning to a certain side politically and being conspiracy theory(ish), from some news articles/opinion pieces that popped up in my feeds.  I wanted to see how true this was for myself.  I did not see this as a theme at all in the movie.  I think it is worth watching and deciding for yourself.

I thought the movie was very well done and brought to light a huge issue that has been largely ignored in our society.  He has, with the help of others, rescued thousands of children from horrific conditions.  My personal opinion is that if the governments won't/can't/aren't able to do anything about it, at least there are people that are out there trying to do it.  Also, watching the movie, he worked with the local police and other law enforcement, not all on his own.  So it wasn't just some vigilante force going it alone.  I have no idea how true it is to real life and his experience, just going based on the movie itself.

[TexasProud]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

I also think the significance/breadth/depth of the damaging ‘savior’ idea is reflected in the belief that resistance (from within and amongst allies of a community/people group/nation) is the same as outsiders parachuting in without working in partnership in whole or in part with local leaders. The savior idea erases the significant role and importance of people fighting to emancipate and free themselves. Those are the efforts that are sustained, and successful over time, in changing systems.

⬆️This.  This is a very good book that doesn't go into this move but about what is not helpful in missions. Should be a must read for anyone wanting to do stuff like this. 
https://www.amazon.com/When-Helping-Hurts-Alleviating-Yourself/

[Idalou]

5 hours ago, MercyA said:

Anyone able to gift this story?

Sorry, I don't know what's happening. When I click on my link it won't load the whole article, but I just tried googling Rolling Stone article Sound Freedom several times and each time it loads in entirity. I don't subscribe to RS.

[Sneezyone]

7 hours ago, MercyA said:

I don't know Tim Ballard. Looks like he is connected to some conspiracy stuff, maybe? Definitely extremely right wing, so not someone I would generally support.

That said, would certain children and women still be enslaved if he / his group hadn't intervened? It's hard to condemn someone for taking successful action to save human lives, if they don't harm anyone else in the process. 

Civil disobedience has its place when lives are at stake.

I'd like to know more about this from reputable sources, but several of the articles I'm finding are behind paywalls, unfortunately (Washington Post, Rolling Stone). [ETA: Thanks, Amira, for the good article.]

A better question might be would MORE women and children be free if the money thrown at his outfit went to local/in-country organizations with more boots on the ground, more situational awareness, and less of an appetite for profiteering and show-boating? @TexasProud's link gets at the damage done by presuming it takes some outside savior to address intractable issues of exploitation and not the development of in-country capacity to improve/strengthen in-country systems. Too many focus on providing fish and not TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO FISH or DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE MARKETS FOR EXISTING FISHERMEN/WOMEN. One is about self-glorification and instant gain/results. The other is about humility and shared knowledge, and long-term/sustainable development.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Sneezyone

[mom2scouts]

6 hours ago, Loowit said:

I went to see it yesterday with DH.  I had heard the criticism about it leaning to a certain side politically and being conspiracy theory(ish), from some news articles/opinion pieces that popped up in my feeds.  I wanted to see how true this was for myself.  I did not see this as a theme at all in the movie.  I think it is worth watching and deciding for yourself.

I thought the movie was very well done and brought to light a huge issue that has been largely ignored in our society.  He has, with the help of others, rescued thousands of children from horrific conditions.  My personal opinion is that if the governments won't/can't/aren't able to do anything about it, at least there are people that are out there trying to do it.  Also, watching the movie, he worked with the local police and other law enforcement, not all on his own.  So it wasn't just some vigilante force going it alone.  I have no idea how true it is to real life and his experience, just going based on the movie itself.

I watched an interview with Tim Ballard that was filmed two years ago. He talked about how they had limited resources and decided to focus on countries and areas that had local law enforcement that wanted their help and had the ability to sustain the efforts and also had local organizations that could provide post-rescue help to the children.

[Sneezyone]

5 hours ago, mom2scouts said:

I watched an interview with Tim Ballard that was filmed two years ago. He talked about how they had limited resources and decided to focus on countries and areas that had local law enforcement that wanted their help and had the ability to sustain the efforts and also had local organizations that could provide post-rescue help to the children.

What self-promoters say and what actually happens are often VERY different things. The articles suggest all is not as it appears. Not gonna lie, this reminds me VERY much of the arguments of those who were all gung-ho to adopt from some of the SAME countries when we were considering adoption too. The savior mindset is real. A decade later, adoptions from those countries were sharply curtailed for some of the same reasons alluded to in this thread. That was a form of child trafficking too. Those countries were 'easy' for adoptive parents because the social/governmental systems were so weak. Rather than strengthen the systems, they were exploited to make folks parents. Now the weaknesses are being exploited again to make money/advance agendas. Where are the massive resources to invest in the people/systems themselves and not the resources on offer (the children, the attention, the money)?

Edited July 10, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Amira]

8 minutes ago, mom2scouts said:

I watched an interview with Tim Ballard that was filmed two years ago. He talked about how they had limited resources and decided to focus on countries and areas that had local law enforcement that wanted their help and had the ability to sustain the efforts and also had local organizations that could provide post-rescue help to the children.

I do think that OUR has become much more aware of ways to implement better practices to combat trafficking more effectively. For example, early on they posted photos of children who they said had been saved from trafficking which is a huge no, and they don’t do that anymore.  It’s also clear from their financials that they put money into local organizations that help children who have been trafficked, although I wish that more information were available about that, or that they would spend as much energy promoting those organizations as they do their own (particularly since OUR is currently sitting on $60 million and Tim Ballard’s salary last year was half a million dollars).  Donations to other organizations don’t need to be filtered through OUR.

I’m also really concerned about the effectiveness of OUR’s going directly to local law enforcement with lots of money to do sting operations.  That gives OUR people broad latitude to carry out operations the way they want to and is honestly a red flag for corruption.  It also doesn’t make local laws better, or law enforcement better overall, and it doesn’t help to change underlying economic factors that play into trafficking.

In the end though, people can think OUR is great or horrible, but no matter what, OUR doesn’t need more money.  If you want to combat trafficking, donate to organizations who do need the money and don’t get the publicity and films. OUR isn’t hurting financially. This is easy to see from a decade’s worth of financials on their website. https://ourrescue.org/financials

[Sneezyone]

3 minutes ago, Amira said:

I do think that OUR has become much more aware of ways to implement better practices to combat trafficking more effectively. For example, early on they posted photos of children who they said had been saved from trafficking which is a huge no, and they don’t do that anymore.  It’s also clear from their financials that they put money into local organizations that help children who have been trafficked, although I wish that more information were available about that, or that they would spend as much energy promoting those organizations as they do their own (particularly since OUR is currently sitting on $60 million and Tim Ballard’s salary last year was half a million dollars).  Donations to other organizations don’t need to be filtered through OUR.

I’m also really concerned about the effectiveness of OUR’s going directly to local law enforcement with lots of money to do sting operations.  That gives OUR people broad latitude to carry out operations the way they want to and is honestly a red flag for corruption.  It also doesn’t make local laws better, or law enforcement better overall, and it doesn’t help to change underlying economic factors that play into trafficking.

Wow. I only have/had my spidey sense to go on. This is nasty.

[Amira]

It’s been about 3 years since I last dug through OUR’s financials.  This time, I’m posting a few things here so I can find this again.  Their travel budget alone could do so much good in the hands of people who don’t need to jet off to save other people. I realize this won’t be of much interest to most people, but I’m sitting in the mountains listening to a hermit thrush sing and this is an interesting thing to me to look up while I relax.

Tim Ballard’s salary

2022 525k
2021 335k
2020 0
2019 106k
2018 343k
2017 199k
2016 188k
2015 135k
2014 120k
2013 0

Total salaries (I have no way to know if any of this money is going to anyone besides US citizens)

2022 12.1 million
2021  7.6 million
2020  2.5 million
2019  1.6 million
2018  2 million
2017  1.6 million 
2016  1.8 million 
2015  1.3 million
2014  300k
2013  0

Grants and donations (revenue from fundraising mostly)

2022 27.6 million
2021  39.6 million
2020  45 million 
2019  21 million
2018  17 million 
2017  12 million 
2016  6 million 
2015  5.7 million
2014  3.3 million
2013  925k

Year-end assets

2022  60 million 
2021  80 million 
2020  67 million
2019  30 million 
2018  16 million
2017  10 million 
2016  5 million 
2015  3.7 million 
2014  2.1 million 
2013  842k

Domestic grants (from OUR to US-based orgs)

2022  6 million
2021  9 million 
2020  500k
2019  288k
2018  362k
2017  1.1 million
2016  545k
2015  247k
2014 0
2013 0

International grants (from OUR to international groups)

2022  3.2 million 
2021  2.8 million 
2020  628K
2019 594K
2018 0
2017 0
2016 0
2015 0
2014 0
2013 0

Travel expenses

2022 4 million
2021  1.8 million 
2020  444k
2019  1.6 million
2018  1.6 million 
2017  1.2 million 
2016  765k
2015 135K
2014 0
2013 1,100

[Sneezyone]

10 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

None of that will happen when leaders and politicians at all levels are involved in trafficking by creating demand or turning a blind eye. Therefore many have little or no respect for the law when people who make it live above it. And I find it hard very hard to believe that if it was the child of anyone crying foul who was rescued by a vigilante that they would then be offended or unhappy with having their child back. While others may think only certain wins count, I stand by a win being a win when it is a human life in the balance. 

You know how you get rid of corrupt folks overseas? You invest in the capacity of local folks to organize and VOTE THEM OUT. You invest in election integrity/democracy promotion, voter registration/vote access, issue education/education overall, poverty reduction/economic growth, training in ethics and governance, law enforcement and civic organizations, the same things we are doing in the U.S. right now.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Pam in CT]

re fighting corruption vs funding corruption

11 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

You know how you get rid of corrupt folks overseas? You invest in the capacity of local folks to organize and VOTE THEM OUT. You invest in election integrity/democracy promotion, voter registration/vote access, issue education/education overall, poverty reduction/economic growth, training in ethics and governance, law enforcement and civic organizations, the same things we are doing in the U.S. right now.

thank.you.

 

For as long as recorded history there has always been brisk trafficking and enormous profits to be made in trafficking weapons, trading mind-altering substances, and trafficking human bodies for both sex and the hardest forms of labor. For as long as recorded history these three import-export businesses have been related; see the trade triangles associated with the Middle Passage during our nation's gestation and birth; and the current trade flows between the US and Central America. 

What supports and sustains and expands these triangular trade patterns is LAWLESSNESS -- weak states unwilling or unable to legislate and enforce the production and distribution and sale of (guns, drugs, bodies) at home and distribution networks eager to transport them across borders (slave traders, pirates, mercenaries, war profiteerers then / cartels, gangs, border coyotes; and weapons manufacturers, adoption agencies/ seasonal work contractors, and remittance payment services  today).

What brings these evergreen scourges into intervals of relative containment is rule of law and clarity of vision.  At the macro level there's a large part of the overall problem that relates to how US weapons and other hardware sustain the cartels, how US financial systems sustain the legal flow of remittances and the grayer harboring of the principals' assets, how entire sectors of the US economy (agriculture, construction, food processing) are sustained by undocumented labor at wages and conditions far below legal standards, how cryptocurrency arose to meet particular needs of folks at particular nodes of the briskly profitable modern-day triangle trade and etc.

 

But on the much narrower topic of this particular thread, Save the Children...

... clarity of vision includes clear examination of who benefits.

 

12 hours ago, Amira said:

It’s been about 3 years since I last dug through OUR’s financials.  This time, I’m posting a few things here so I can find this again.  Their travel budget alone could do so much good in the hands of people who don’t need to jet off to save other people. I realize this won’t be of much interest to most people, but I’m sitting in the mountains listening to a hermit thrush sing and this is an interesting thing to me to look up while I relax.

Tim Ballard’s salary

2022 525k
2021 335k
2020 0
2019 106k
2018 343k
2017 199k
2016 188k
2015 135k
2014 120k
2013 0

Total salaries (I have no way to know if any of this money is going to anyone besides US citizens)

2022 12.1 million
2021  7.6 million
2020  2.5 million
2019  1.6 million
2018  2 million
2017  1.6 million 
2016  1.8 million 
2015  1.3 million
2014  300k
2013  0

Grants and donations (revenue from fundraising mostly)

2022 27.6 million
2021  39.6 million
2020  45 million 
2019  21 million
2018  17 million 
2017  12 million 
2016  6 million 
2015  5.7 million
2014  3.3 million
2013  925k

Year-end assets

2022  60 million 
2021  80 million 
2020  67 million
2019  30 million 
2018  16 million
2017  10 million 
2016  5 million 
2015  3.7 million 
2014  2.1 million 
2013  842k

Domestic grants (from OUR to US-based orgs)

2022  6 million
2021  9 million 
2020  500k
2019  288k
2018  362k
2017  1.1 million
2016  545k
2015  247k
2014 0
2013 0

International grants (from OUR to international groups)

2022  3.2 million 
2021  2.8 million 
2020  628K
2019 594K
2018 0
2017 0
2016 0
2015 0
2014 0
2013 0

Travel expenses

2022 4 million
2021  1.8 million 
2020  444k
2019  1.6 million
2018  1.6 million 
2017  1.2 million 
2016  765k
2015 135K
2014 0
2013 1,100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2023 by Pam in CT
ETA omitted sentence

[maize]

18 hours ago, Amira said:

It’s been about 3 years since I last dug through OUR’s financials.  This time, I’m posting a few things here so I can find this again.  Their travel budget alone could do so much good in the hands of people who don’t need to jet off to save other people. I realize this won’t be of much interest to most people, but I’m sitting in the mountains listening to a hermit thrush sing and this is an interesting thing to me to look up while I relax.

Tim Ballard’s salary

2022 525k
2021 335k
2020 0
2019 106k
2018 343k
2017 199k
2016 188k
2015 135k
2014 120k
2013 0

Total salaries (I have no way to know if any of this money is going to anyone besides US citizens)

2022 12.1 million
2021  7.6 million
2020  2.5 million
2019  1.6 million
2018  2 million
2017  1.6 million 
2016  1.8 million 
2015  1.3 million
2014  300k
2013  0

Grants and donations (revenue from fundraising mostly)

2022 27.6 million
2021  39.6 million
2020  45 million 
2019  21 million
2018  17 million 
2017  12 million 
2016  6 million 
2015  5.7 million
2014  3.3 million
2013  925k

Year-end assets

2022  60 million 
2021  80 million 
2020  67 million
2019  30 million 
2018  16 million
2017  10 million 
2016  5 million 
2015  3.7 million 
2014  2.1 million 
2013  842k

Domestic grants (from OUR to US-based orgs)

2022  6 million
2021  9 million 
2020  500k
2019  288k
2018  362k
2017  1.1 million
2016  545k
2015  247k
2014 0
2013 0

International grants (from OUR to international groups)

2022  3.2 million 
2021  2.8 million 
2020  628K
2019 594K
2018 0
2017 0
2016 0
2015 0
2014 0
2013 0

Travel expenses

2022 4 million
2021  1.8 million 
2020  444k
2019  1.6 million
2018  1.6 million 
2017  1.2 million 
2016  765k
2015 135K
2014 0
2013 1,100

Amira, are you able to find similar financial information on The Nazarene Fund, the other organization Tim Ballard heads? I'm wondering if he is drawing a similar salary from that organization as well.

[maize]

Regarding the fundraising for OUR, I doubt most of the funds going to OUR would otherwise be going to other anti-trafficking organizations; it's not as if all fundraisers draw on the same exact pool of donors.

Since OUR seems to be very successful at fundraising, if funds go through them to other reputable organizations that's probably not a bad thing. I guess we'll see what direction they take in future years. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by maize

[DawnM]

On 7/9/2023 at 3:06 PM, TexasProud said:

⬆️This.  This is a very good book that doesn't go into this move but about what is not helpful in missions. Should be a must read for anyone wanting to do stuff like this. 
https://www.amazon.com/When-Helping-Hurts-Alleviating-Yourself/

I have read it.   Although it has been a while.  I should look at it again.   

I think people's hearts are in the right place, but they don't always know the best way to help.   And they bring a lot of culture into their "help" and it often looks like colonialism since that is what was there in the past and that is what we are used to (go in and make things like we think they should be, like the way our things are.)

Awareness is important, so could the money have been used for helping others?   Yes.   It always can.   However, the goal of awareness is that more people are brought in to help the cause and fight, which I hope this film will do.

As for The Rolling Stones piece......I honestly don't know if that is more of an opinion or not.   It seems very "this looks like" and "it appears that" statement driven rather than, "Tim is a strong proponent of Q-Anon and very involved."

Sex trafficking of children is not a conspiracy theory, it is a fact.....and whatever political spectrum you are on, you need to know what is going on.   

[maize]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

"Tim is a strong proponent of Q-Anon and very involved."

Sex trafficking of children is not a conspiracy theory, it is a fact.....and whatever political spectrum you are on, you need to know what is going on.   

OUR definitely predates Q-Anon, for what that is worth. I've been aware of the organization since at least 2015; there was a lot of fundraising going on for it in my area back then.

Edited July 10, 2023 by maize

[Amira]

2 hours ago, maize said:

Amira, are you able to find similar financial information on The Nazarene Fund, the other organization Tim Ballard heads? I'm wondering if he is drawing a similar salary from that organization as well.

I’m looking, but I haven’t found their financials.  I’m curious about that too.

[Pam in CT]

2 hours ago, Amira said:

I’m looking, but I haven’t found their financials.  I’m curious about that too.

I think it's here.  (I don't usually use cause IQ; but the 990 didn't come up on Charity Navigator or irs.gov, but if you click through that first link it appears to be here.)

[maize]

8 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

I think it's here.  (I don't usually use cause IQ; but the 990 didn't come up on Charity Navigator or irs.gov, but if you click through that first link it appears to be here.)

This is a little unclear--Tim Ballard is listed as the only Personnel with compensation of 0 but $100,000 in compensation was paid to someone...

Also it's making grants to OUR and also to Glen Beck's Mercury One organization.

 

[Pam in CT]

40 minutes ago, maize said:

This is a little unclear--Tim Ballard is listed as the only Personnel with compensation of 0 but $100,000 in compensation was paid to someone...

Also it's making grants to OUR and also to Glen Beck's Mercury One organization.

 

Yeah it's a very very weird statement.  On the first link (2021 summary), of their total 2020-21 expenses of $6,521,993...  $6,094,275 went to "other fee-for-service" with no further explanation. And they only list two grants for the year, both to related entities Mercury One and OUR itself. 

The 990 is for the prior year.

[Idalou]

Another review of the movie

https://slate.com/culture/2023/07/sound-of-freedom-movie-jim-caviezel-trafficking-qanon.html

And more in the ick factor of the starring role

https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/jim-caviezel-pushes-qanon-bizarre-media-blitz-new-anti-trafficking-movie

Edited July 11, 2023 by Idalou

[Corraleno]

On 7/10/2023 at 1:49 PM, DawnM said:

Awareness is important, so could the money have been used for helping others?   Yes.   It always can.   However, the goal of awareness is that more people are brought in to help the cause and fight, which I hope this film will do.

As for The Rolling Stones piece......I honestly don't know if that is more of an opinion or not.   It seems very "this looks like" and "it appears that" statement driven rather than, "Tim is a strong proponent of Q-Anon and very involved."

Sex trafficking of children is not a conspiracy theory, it is a fact.....and whatever political spectrum you are on, you need to know what is going on.   

Ballard himself has been very careful to skirt around any direct association with QAnon, although he did lend legitimacy to the conspiracy theory that Wayfair was secretly sex trafficking children, saying "I want to tell you this, children are sold that way... I'm glad people are waking up to this..."

Jim Caviezel, OTOH, is absolutely, explicitly tying the movie to QAnon conspiracies, including suggesting that Ballard is rescuing children from "adrenochrome" operations. He also pushes Russian propaganda by claiming that "barrels of children's body parts and blood" are being processed by Ukrainian "biolabs" and sold for $77,000/barrel, and he promotes all the usual Q-nut mumbo jumbo about the coming storm that's going to take down all the governments and totally change the world order.

As for the need to raise awareness — who isn't already aware of the problem of sex trafficking?? It's in the news all the time — there was a big story just yesterday about a 14 year old girl who was found in the barracks at Ft Pendleton, and a Marine was arrested. If Ballard really cared about rescuing victims of trafficking, why not use all of his money and resources to rescue victims in the US? Claiming to have rescued thousands of trafficked children from other countries is so much flashier and more dramatic, and you can make extravagant claims about how many people you've rescued, how you did it, and how it's all tied to corrupt government officials and wealthy elites (especially those of the opposite political persuasion), knowing that it will be much more difficult to fact check claims about girls rescued from some shadowy Columbian cartel vs a runaway teen who was being trafficked in a Texas Motel 6. 

[Corraleno]

"As VICE News has previously reported, a number of OUR’s claims about its work are dramatically overstated or without clear documentary evidence. People who have volunteered for OUR have raised concerns that it could actually have been creating demand for trafficking victims, by going to foreign countries on undercover “missions” that, at times, have seemed to consist of walking around bars and sex clubs asking for underage girls. The organization's support for law enforcement has at times been wildly exaggerated and involved OUR taking credit for agencies’ operations after making relatively trivial donations, and its much-touted aftercare program for survivors has at times involved things like placing women with unqualified providers and even fabricating a college graduation ceremony. 

In another story uncovered by VICE News, OUR heavily marketed its role in the rescue of “Liliana,” a young trafficking survivor, with Ballard telling a fanciful story about this rescue in Congressional testimony and in op-eds and media appearances in which he called for a border wall. She in fact rescued herself, and did not meet OUR representatives until years after she’d done so, when she was preparing to testify against her traffickers in court. The organization led a bizarre, blundering attempted rescue on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border based on intelligence sourced from a Utah psychic medium. (The same psychic went on to work as an executive director for an OUR-backed group, an adoption grant organization called Children Need Families, founded by Ballard’s wife Katherine.)

Meanwhile, OUR’s sister organization the Nazarene Fund, founded by right-wing media personality Glenn Beck, claimed without a lot of direct evidence to have evacuated endangered people from minority religious groups out of Afghanistan during the chaotic period after the U.S. withdrawal from the country. And in a more minor, and weirder, incident, Ballard recently claimed that OUR was “collaborating” with American Airlines, which was also not true in the sense that most people would understand it; the organization bought an ad with a third-party service that airs programming on some American flights. 

These incidents, and many others, added up to a pattern of misrepresentation and exaggeration that even some OUR “operators”—the men who went on purported rescue missions in other countries—told VICE they found disturbing and misleading."

https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3apm/anti-trafficking-group-with-long-history-of-false-claims-gets-its-hollywood-moment

 

[Corraleno]

Below is an excerpt from an article written by Meg Conley, who was invited by Ballard to participate in, and report on, a so-called rescue mission to the Dominican Republic. The raid was filmed in a way to maximize the drama, and Ballard claimed to have rescued 26 children — but some of those children may have been trafficked specifically for the purpose of his "sting operation" and all 26 were back on the street within a week, once he had all the video he needed.

From this article:

"I was the youngest person, and the only woman, on the “jump,” as they called it. A camera crew filmed everything, because Ballard seemed to intend to pitch a TV series about his anti-trafficking efforts, and they needed footage. ... This was a rescue mission, but it was also reality TV.

We stayed in a big beige house with a bewildered local housekeeper. Once everyone arrived, we sat together to go over plans for the next day. I took notes. The traffickers thought we were Americans looking to have a sex party with underage girls.

I was told Ballard’s team coordinated with local authorities who were too overwhelmed or ill-equipped to do this work on their own. Members of the OUR jump team found people willing to traffic kids and set up a date to “party” with however many kids they could provide, the more the better. The authorities were told where and when the party was happening. When they arrived, the girls would be sent outside, where I would be with them, while Ballard and the traffickers would stay inside. The police planned to wait outside until the OUR team had undercover footage of a trafficker accepting upfront cash for sex with the kids. After the cash changed hands, Ballard would give a signal, and the authorities would rush the house to make arrests. They would be armed.
.....

The kids arrived in a bus with their traffickers the next day. There were 26 of them. They were young, middle school–to–high school age. I’d been asked to blow up balloons so the house had a party atmosphere. Many of the kids looked like they’d gotten ready for a middle school dance. I met them outside by the pool and handed out sodas. Some kids started singing; others started swimming.

Ballard sat inside with the traffickers, supposedly negotiating the price for the services each girl would provide. An operative opened the back door and called to me: “Meg, Tim wants you inside.” .... Then he gave the signal. The raid started. I ran to the back door, where I was confronted by a local police officer brandishing a gun. I was told to get on the floor. The cameras were rolling for the hoped-for TV show.

I stayed on the ground as the raid continued, the white tile cool against my flushed face. There was shouting: from the officers, from the OUR undercover team feigning shock, from the traffickers. I stayed on the floor while the traffickers were arrested. I was still there when the kids, wet from the pool, were led through the room and out of the house. Many of them were crying. ... After the raid was done, we left for a safe house where we would stay before flying home. The video crew asked for my thoughts, filming me while I spoke. I can’t remember what I said, but I am sure it was supportive. I wanted to believe what just happened was meaningful—and I wanted to go home.
......

OUR centered Black and Latino children in its fundraising work but ignored requests from Black activists to change the organization’s name. At the same time, Ballard called an Operation Underground painting by Utah artist Jon McNaughton “an early Christmas present.” McNaughton, who had famously painted Barack Obama burning the Constitution in 2012, depicted Ballard, his wife, and other white people carrying Black and brown children rescued from trafficking along a literal railroad. Harriet Tubman stands to the side in reverence along their path.

Disillusioned and disturbed, I sought more understanding of the group’s place within the anti-trafficking world. I reached out to anti-trafficking experts. When I told an international anti-trafficking expert about the 2014 raid I attended, she immediately said, “Do you know how wrong all of that was?” The research, I learned, tells us our 2014 raid was most likely just another childhood trauma for those 26 kids. We made their lives worse. But what she grasped in a moment, it took me years to understand. When Ballard called me into that house, he put me in harm’s way so that I could write a story about him. ... I’d imagined myself the same way he did, or said he did—as a savior of these children. I tried to find meaning in my own life on the backs of exploited kids.

Operation Underground Railroad is now famous for its international sting operations. They are a big fundraiser: In 2015, a Silicon Valley man funded a sting with $40,000 and watched it happen in real time. With the help of OUR, a rich person can become a vigilante hero for the day, their living room transformed into a personal situation room. For those who can’t afford the situation room, Ballard carries the drama with him to every interview and every fundraiser. That drama, and a real desire to save children, moves a lot of donors, whether or not it’s accurate. Vice recently investigated a few of Ballard’s stories and found “a pattern of image-burnishing and mythology-building, a series of exaggerations that are, in the aggregate, quite misleading,” and has detailed “disturbingly amateurish” operations like the one I attended.

The TV show never got picked up. But Operation Underground Railroad made a video of the raid I went on and posted it to its YouTube channel. It’s still there. You can see the terrified housekeeper when she opens the door to a man with a gun, me lying on the floor while police pace around me, and Ballard winking at the camera. The video ends with the line, “26 victims liberated, 8 traffickers arrested.” 

I was told two of the children had been trafficked for the first time that day. It didn’t seem to occur to anyone that OUR may have created a demand. After the sting, I asked people on the jump team where the 26 kids were taken. I was given only vague answers. Aftercare wasn’t really their focus, I was told, but they partnered with people who did it well.

I found out what really happened from a Foreign Policy report: ... "They [the 26 girls] were released in less than a week". ... Some testified, the article reported. The local organization lost track of others. All those kids in 2014 got from us was a soda and a swim—and Ballard came out ahead in the deal.

 

 

[Corraleno]

Tim, his wife, his sister, his BIL, and one of his kids are on the payroll of various organizations connected to OUR. Below is a white board on which Ballard listed his different entities in 2019, with arrows showing them all feeding back to him, plus expected income from Sound of Freedom ("SoF 50-100M"), speaker fees ("50-100K"), and a "new book."  It's not clear what the "2.5M" refers to.

OUR, Nazarene Fund, and Children Need Families, all say "sizzle" under the name, suggesting that these are the flashy things that get publicity and draw in donors, and at the top right it says "Take [the] sizzle of the Rescue, lead them to the Covenant."

Source

Edited July 12, 2023 by Corraleno

[KSera]

On 7/9/2023 at 9:41 AM, Brittany1116 said:

This comment is so weird to me. You don't like the way someone goes about saving kids so someone else should have a movie made of them instead? I am sure there are many people who do this work the world over. Why should it matter which angle the light first shines from if it still illuminates an issue? A win is a win. 

Do the last couple posts from Corraleno put the comment in context? 

[kbutton]

Anybody have sources for this that are a little higher rated on the Ad Fontes media chart? 

No one I know talking about the film will read the sources linked here, and I would prefer to see something higher on the chart. Right or left doesn't matter much to me, but sources with higher ratings on reliability would make me feel like sharing might do some actual good. Slate's ratings are probably because of commentary (they don't fall below the "good" threshhold), but I would like to be able to point to good ratings that don't need any nuanced explanation when I share it.

 

[KSera]

8 minutes ago, kbutton said:

Anybody have sources for this that are a little higher rated on the Ad Fontes media chart? 

No one I know talking about the film will read the sources linked here, and I would prefer to see something higher on the chart. Right or left doesn't matter much to me, but sources with higher ratings on reliability would make me feel like sharing might do some actual good. Slate's ratings are probably because of commentary (they don't fall below the "good" threshhold), but I would like to be able to point to good ratings that don't need any nuanced explanation when I share it.

 

Here’s a link in Forbes, but it’s not a particularly detailed story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/07/11/box-office-hit-sound-of-freedom-controversy-including-qanon-ties-and-false-claims-theaters-are-sabotaging-screenings-explained/?sh=32da3f4b688c

There’s a Washington post piece as well, but I don’t know how that hits with your audience. I prefer mediabiasfactcheck.com for reliability ratings, and it has Forbes and the Washington Post about equal, but Forbes is right leaning so sometimes that’s helpful. The Rolling Stone is actually higher on the factual scale though.