Human Trafficking and. Modern Day Slavery

Transcription

1 Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery Chelsea Wentz MCC Essay Freeman Academy Mrs. Ortman January 14, 2013

2 Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery When a person thinks about the number forty-seven, they would not necessarily think that forty-seven is that high of a number. What if, however, forty-seven was the number of slaves that worked for you? It is no longer a small number. Forty-seven represents the number of lives that are at stake every day for that person; the number of people who are forced into doing something that they do not want to do because they were have no other option of survival. Justin Dillion created a web site, How Many Slaves Work for You, to calculate the number and make people aware of what is going on. Slavery, although it has already supposedly ended, is still in existence today. It takes its form in many different places, anywhere from the cotton in our clothing to the cocoa that is used in our chocolate. This happens because people are using stronger forces against those who are desperate and vulnerable. There are currently some organizations that are trying to help the people who got out of the slave trade, like the Polaris Project, but what about those who are still in it? There are about 27 million slaves around the world that need help. (Callahan, Peggy)The rate of human trafficking and slavery is higher now than it has ever been and continues to be a problem in our lives and all around the world. Unless we, as Christian people, stand up against it by fighting for the fair treatment of slaves, slavery always will be a problem. By standing up for fair treatment, we will still get the products we need and the slaves will no longer be slaves, but free workers around the world who are getting paid and treated fairly. Hillary Clinton, in the yearly Human Trafficking Report, stated that although it is called human trafficking, it is the same thing as slavery and all around the world, there are millions of people in slavery. Most of the time, it is either because they are scared of the violence that is threatened on their lives or it is because they were victims of fraud. Some slaves are being given

3 just enough to survive for that particular day, knowing that to survive, they will either need to go back to the slave job that they have or not survive another day. Others do not even have that much. Some slaves are guarded and kept under the threat of their lives. They know that if they try to leave or stand up for what they think is right, they will be killed. Without outside help, they will never have the freedom that many of us take for granted every day. The products that they are enslaved to make are used in our lives daily. These products include anything from gold, to rugs, to products that are used to make parts of cell phones. Something that does not necessarily involve most people is the slave trade that involves prostitution. Most people are not involved in this, but it is still there and need to be stopped. Prostitution is not even the worst of it all; it goes beyond that to things that would be unthinkable to the average person. An example of the unthinkable is a young boy in Bangladesh who was the victim of a gang that intentionally cripples young children so that they can earn a profit by begging at street corners. The gang cripples the children because when they set the child on the streets, the crippled child is given more money, when begging, than an adult. The young boy was targeted as a victim because his father knew what the gang was up to and was going to make it known to the authorities. The gang told the father of the young boy that they would come after his son as revenge for what he had done. The gang lured the young boy to a secluded spot and then smashed his head with a brick, slit his throat, cut open his chest to the point of his organs falling out, and castrated the young boy. When his father went to the police about it, the police told him that it was in the books as an accident and to let them do their jobs. The father kept getting put off by the government until he met a lawyer who specialized in these types of cases. Only then was it made known to the public what happened. (Ahmed, Cohen, Sidner.)

4 Although there are laws that try to prevent slavery, one organization that is trying to free slaves, called Free the Slaves, made this statement: Slavery is not legal anywhere but it happens everywhere. There should be new laws and regulations that should not make that a believable statement. These new laws should put restrictions on businesses, telling them that their company should not allow the use of products that were made by people who did not willing make those products. The laws should make sure that all products that go into our country are made by people who were treated fairly and justly. Unfortunately, that is not enough. We, as Christians need to stand up against those businesses that use slavery to earn more money and make it known that we will no long accept their products until a change has been made. Businesses then will make a change if they know that they will lose money. (Callahan, Peggy) There is a problem with boycotting, however. Unless enough people are gathered together, and make a big enough change to the point that larger businesses and corporations will actually lose money, change will not happen. This is because it will still be easier and cheaper for the businesses and corporations to use slave labor. The average cost of a slave is around ninety dollars. Ninety dollars is still cheaper than paying a person a fait wage. If boycotting products does not surpass that, then change will not happen. There is a type of slavery that boycotting the products will not help in any way. That type is the prostitution ring. Most people already boycott this and yet it still exists. The only way to stop it is to make new laws that require law enforcement to crack down on what is happening. It will also require more than just arresting the women involved. That will make no change. The problem lies behind the women, to the people controlling them. Most of those women are not in the prostitution ring voluntarily. Police need to concentrate their efforts on the people behind the women and bringing the leaders of the rings to justice. Rhoda Keener, director of Mennonite

5 Women USA, states that groups of people need to support new legislation that allows women who were victims of trafficking to be allowed restoration and not imprisonment.(groff, Anna.) This allows the women who did not have the good fortune in life to know what freedom is actually about. What about the women who were doing it because they were tricked into it because the person that runs the operation, known as a pimp, tells the young women that he loves her and that one day it will end but for now it has to be this way, a way of prostitution? What about the girls who were there because the prostitution life was the only type of family life they knew? These are the types of people that need the help of the different organizations more than anyone else. They need to be shown that there is more to life and that there are good people in the world. They need to know that the love they know is not true love, that true love is the love God shows his people each and every day. Whether they except Him or not is ultimately their choice, but making His word known is the most important thing that we can do for them, besides helping them leave the different prostitution rings. What does the Bible say about slavery? There are many verses that talk about slaves being obedient to their masters, Ephesians 6:5, 1 Peter 2:18, Titus 2:9-10, Colossians 3:22, 1 Timothy 6:1-2, and so on. Does this mean that there should be slavery allowed in our world? In a way, yes but not in the way that we have them now. Colossians 4:1 (NIV) states, Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. This shows that slavery can be allowed as more of a servant to master situation. The Bible does not criticize owning slaves, but it does say how they should be treated. It is the way the slaves are treated that needs to change, not necessarily the idea of a servant. The slavery we have now does not follow this, and that is what people need to change. They need to change the fact that the slaves we have now are still people. They should know the same freedoms that we

6 know. They should be treated fairly and given a reasonable wage. The products modern slaves make are shipped all around the world because of either want or need. That will never stop because people will always buy the products. What people should be working to stop is how the slaves are treated. We have slavery today because of the different supply and demand needs all around the world. More and more people become victim to slavery because of the fact that an average slave costs ninety dollars. There are different organizations out there that are making people aware of the slaves that work for the different companies, which in turn, work for them. Awareness is the first start to solving the problem. Human trafficking and slavery, which is higher now than it has ever been, continues to be a problem in our lives and all around the world and unless we, as Christian people, stand up against it, it always will be. New laws should regulate what products can come into the United States so that businesses cannot take advantage of slaves. People need to stand up to fight for the rights of slaves, and for the fair treatment and honest wage for the person doing the work. The demands for the products are high, and the public needs to be made aware of where their products come from and who made them. This is the only way that a change can be made in our world.

7 Works Cited Ahmed, Cohen, Sidner. "From horror to hope: Bo'ys miracle recovery from brutal attack." CNN. N.p., Web. 8 Dec < Callahan, Peggy. dir. Free the Slaves. Dir. Terry FitzPatrick Web. 8 Dec < >. Clinton, Hillary. "Trafficking in Persons Report, 2012." U.S. Department of State Diplomacy in Action. N.p.. Web. 9 Dec < Dillion, Justin. "How Many Slaves Work for You?." Slavery Footpring. N.p., Web. 9 Dec < Groff, Anna. "Sex Trafficking Happens Around Us." The Mennonite. N.p., Web. 9 Dec < >. "Human Trafficing." Polaris Project for a World Without Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec <