Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Modern Day Slavery: Will You Make A Difference Today?

I've heard that there are more slaves today than there were during the days of the great abolitionists like Harriet Tubman, William Wilberforce, Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. The UN's International Labour Organization estimates 21 million people are victims of forced labor today. If I were one of those 21 million, I'd want someone to do something to set me free, wouldn't you? Now the question is what to do to make a difference. After doing a some internet searches, some suggestions I saw were:
  1. Raise awareness.
  2. Report suspected human trafficking situations to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 

    1-888-373-7888.

  3. Sponsor a child through Compassion International. (The theory is a child whose needs are provided for is less likely to be exploited.)
One of the most interesting articles was by Focus on the Family. Since the majority of today's slaves are forced into the commercial sex trade, Focus calls on the the President to enforce laws related to the feeder industries of human trafficking. We can take their idea one step further and call upon our local elected leaders to enforce laws against these businesses in our own communities.

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