What is human trafficking? Many people have probably heard this term tossed around, but how much do people really understand depth and scope of it. Most people have in mind that slavery has for the most part been totally eradicated since the Thirteenth Amendment passed by the US congress in 1865. However, there are actually twice as many slaves in earth now than during the entire four centuries of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade (Batstone, 6). According to the organization Free the Slaves, there are currently twenty-seven million people are held captive worldwide in some form of slavery (http://www.freetheslaves.net/).
Not only is the idea that slavery has been eradicated a farce, it is literally everywhere in the world. Even in the ‘ole U.S. of A, there are some 100,000 men, women and children enslaved. This doesn’t mean that we would see them with some sort of iron collar around their necks or, but modern day slavery a.k.a. human trafficking is a dark reality of our current age, too.
Not only is the idea that slavery has been eradicated a farce, it is literally everywhere in the world. Even in the ‘ole U.S. of A, there are some 100,000 men, women and children enslaved. This doesn’t mean that we would see them with some sort of iron collar around their necks or, but modern day slavery a.k.a. human trafficking is a dark reality of our current age, too.
Children are the ones who often more vulnerable to trafficking. There are ten million children worldwide that are exploited for domestic labor (Batstone, 6). That's greater than the population of Finland and Norway combined! (http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/populations/ctypopls.htm).
We are From the cocoa plantations of South America to the rural towns of New England, slavery rears its ugly head in every nook and cranny of the world. The spreading disease of slavery could be in the nail salon down the street from your house, in the back room of your favorite restaurant and even in the house of your next door neighbor. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. It would be like people from Australia saying that the Holocaust never happened simply because they never witnessed any of the genocidal acts of SS troops. Think of it this way, if you live in the city, most likely it's happening somewhere in the city.
I don’t have answers to this growing problem, but that doesn’t mean that we can simply sit back and let things be. It's not alright to say that its too messy or inconvenient. Just because we have so much of our own to think about doesn’t mean we should stop thinking and acting for another. Hopefully in the days and posts ahead, I will be able to touch more on the central issues of human trafficking issues of justice to the orphan.
Works cited
When you mentioned "the nail salon down the street", I gasped. I never even considered that. Do you have any specific information about forced labor in nail salons?
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter for opening our eyes. Here is a great fact sheet for people who want to know more about child traffick in the US.
ReplyDeletehttp://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/factsheet.pdf
Why is it that we tend to think these horrible things only happen in far away dark places. But you are right - it's in our own backyard. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. Lord have mercy.
ReplyDeleteI like how you made it personal. That's a key component in advocacy. You are on the right track!
ReplyDeletePaige
wow this is good. i can see this is really on your heart thanks
ReplyDelete