“The Abolitionists” — One-Night Event Premieres May 16

“The Abolitionists,” a rude-awakening film on child trafficking, premieres in nearly 500 theaters for a one-time showing on Monday, May 16, at 7:30 pm.

Former Special Agent and active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tim Ballard, goes undercover to rescue women and children around the world. It’s not a feel-good, happy-ending documentary, but one that brings awareness of a sickening crime that is the fastest-growing in the world.

Ballard didn’t voluntarily sign up to help create a child-crimes unit after being trained to fight terrorism. He rejected the idea at first, but reconsidered with the thought of the safety of his own children.

Following the first rescue of a trafficked child, the mental and spiritual toll were unbearable, but his commitment kept pushing him to save more. 

In a time where more slaves exists than all the slaves in 300 years of the transatlantic slave trade, Ballard describes himself as a “modern-day abolitionist” as he makes it the mission in his life to rescue these children.

Over the two-year course of making this film, 57 children were rescued and seven traffickers were arrested while following his team, Operation Underground Railroad, on missions in Colombia, Haiti and Honduras.

Operation Underground Railroad was founded by Ballard in December 2013 with his own hand-picked members to rescue children trapped in slavery. Ballard has spent over a decade rescuing children around the world with his undercover team and have freed more than 500 girls.

It’s never easy to go undercover as a pedophile and not tell the children you’re about to save that you won’t hurt them, but it’s all part of the job. In October of 2014, Ballard and his team completed their biggest mission to date in Colombia after saving 123 victims and arresting 12 criminals with three different teams, in three different cities.

Because Ballard and his team can’t solve the problem of human trafficking alone, the main goal of this 87-minute film is to inspire and bring awareness to people around the world. Filmmakers Chet Thomas and Darrin Fletcher promise to inspire viewers about an ongoing problem that also occurs in the U.S.

With that, the better “The Abolitionists” does on its one-night premiere, the higher the chance it has to continue in theaters and raise more awareness. Help save 2 million children enslaved in a lifestyle they didn’t ask for.

“While we will need your skills and service eventually, the most important thing right now is the awareness phase,” “The Abolitionists” Facebook page states. “We need your help in spreading the word and getting people to come to the ONE night event on May 16th. This event influences the rest of the movement.”

Meridian Magazine contributor Ron McMillan accompanied the group on a “sting.” Read his account.