A lot of us don’ t always have a real purpose as to why we visit social media sites other than to kill some time and put an end to boredom. There is one organization, however, that is using Facebook to try and accomplish something with a real purpose. Bring Abducted Children Home (BACHome) is an organization working to bring home U.S. children that have been abducted and brought to Japan. According to their web site, BACHome.org, “no child kidnapped to Japan from any foreign country has ever been returned since 1952 when the Japanese sovereign government was established” and “in the past decade, more than 230 American children have been kidnapped to Japan”.
This morning NBC’s Today Show ran a story on Chris Savoie, just one of the many parents trying to locate and bring home their children from Japan. Savoie’s two children, Isaac and Rebecca, were both abducted and brought to Japan by their mother after she and Chris divorced last year. Chris warned U.S. courts that his wife intended to bring the children to Japan, however the judge ruled that a restraining order on his wife would not be necessary after she swore under oath that she didn’t actually plan on doing it. Unfortunately for Chris and other parents in the same situation Japan does not abide by an international agreement to return children abducted by parents back to their home nation. When Chris attempted to get his children back himself he found himself him Japanese prison and was only allowed to return to the U.S. after promising not to pursue his children any more.
BACHome, which leaves the ‘K’ out of their name because the kids are missing, lists 14 active cases on their web site. The organization’s goal is to influence our government and governments of other nations around the world to pressure Japan into doing everything in their power to locate and return abducted children. They utilize a Facebook page to share stories, information, and organize meetings. Currently there are over 650 people who ‘like’ the page.
The reach of Social Media extends far beyond bored teens. Organizations, like BACHome, are great examples of how social media can be used for a greater good.
