Say No to Modern Day Slavery

 

            Can you wrap your mind around the fact that twenty seven million people are currently enslaved all over our world? Unfortunately this statistic is true, and it is happening in twenty one different countries. This includes all types of slavery though not just sex trafficking and forced labor. Women, men, and children all fall under this large number as well. If we are well aware what is going on behind closed doors than why is it still continuing to happen? Well, in reality it is easier said than done and our government really only has control over the United States in the scheme of things. In June of 2013, a "Trafficking In Persons Report" was published. This report included over 415 different photographs, stories and analysis, and showed the types of human suffering that is going on nationwide. Slavery that is very prevalent today that doesn't always come to mind is children soldering, domestic servitude, and even gold mining.

            John Kerry, the secretary of state; wrote “Ending modern slavery must remain a foreign policy priority. Fighting this crime wherever it exists is in our national interest. Human tracking undermines the rule of law and creates instability. It tears apart families and communities. It damages the environment and corrupts the global supply chains and labor markets that keep the world’s economies thriving.” (Kerry) In his mind, he wanted to end slavery because of his "moral" belief in the matter. He believes that by allowing slavery it really begins to diminish our human dignity. Whenever a new country partakes in slavery, he has no fault calling them out on their actions. These countries in his opinion need to be called out because they do not even fully comply with the minimum standards. He also mentions that they do not even take the measures or make the proper efforts to do so. Steve Lee Myers wrote, “In the past, the White House has routinely waived potential sanctions for countries with important strategic value to the United States, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, which the latest report again cited for poor records on forced labor, child labor, prostitution and, in Yemen’s case, the remnants of chattel slavery". (Steve) China was said to be interested in the anti-slavery reforms but they made no effort when it came to prosecuting traffickers.

 

            Although, I am certainly glad that there are government officials trying to end modern day slavery. I wish other countries would make the same amount of effort that we continuously do. There is only so much we can say when it comes to convincing other countries to prosecute the criminals partaking in these absurd activities. Other countries probably see slavery as an advantage and a way to cut down on costs. That is why I am beyond happy to live in a place where we have freedom and are not forced into slave labor. Even though it does happen all around us in the United States, our numbers are significantly lower than those in other countries.

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/27-million-people-said-to-live-in-modern-slavery/

Who was Fredrick Douglass?

Fredrick Douglass is a slave activist and one of the most well-known slaves in history. Not only was he an activist but after leaving his life of slavery, he traveled the world talking about his personal stories and experiences. He promoted racial equality and helped those open their eyes to the problems that were being faced worldwide. Even though his father was white, he later was brought into slavery himself because his mother was an African American slave herself. By the age of seven he had already experienced a numerous amount of brutal whippings and was continuously starved. Once he turned eight he was sent to live on a boat with a man named Hugh Auld. This is where he had first learned to read and write. After spending eight years in Baltimore, he was sent back to his country. This is where he was hired on a farm, continued experiencing horrible beatings, and was kept away from food and water. After failing a planned escape, he was jailed and in his mind he knew he had to get away fast. After much time, he finally fled on September 3rd 1838. He finally married a young women in New York whom he had met in Baltimore in his earlier years. They both settled down in Massachusetts together, which is where he went by his new name Fredrick Douglass. From there on out Douglass attended abolitionist meeting and continued his readings. Also, he started to join many organizations around his area and even became part of a black church. After hearing William Lloyd Garrison speak about anti-slavery he was completely taken a back and knew what he then wanted to do for the rest of his life. In the year 1841, was when Douglass finally gave his first speech at an annual convention about anti-slavery in Massachusetts. Fredrick ended up publishing his own autobiography and gave his speeches to those all around the world. Garrison remained being his mentor , but in the end their difference of views caused them to separate. All Douglass wanted to do was help those whom were treated poorly because of there skin color. He even debated with president Lincoln and recruited African Americans into the Union Army. After the war came to a close, he added on women's rights to his debate as well.

Now you may be sitting there wondering why I am giving you a blast from the past. Even though it may have been along time ago, this type of slavery still goes on all around our world today. It is important to remember how far we have come in the United States and I think by talking about the past it helps one see clearly that our world isn't as bad as we believe it is. We may have a lot to do still when it comes to slavery. However, we have come a long way from where we used to be. I think we should applaud those whom have made these differences because our world would probably still be the place it was hundreds of years ago, if not. If Fredrick Douglass can make such an incredible impact on our world against all odds then why can't we stand up today? As Americans we have the power to make a difference and take a huge leap into the right direction to further anti-slavery. Who knows, if enough of us were to raise our voice then maybe slavery would be stopped all together. Even if we only focus on the United States, at least we are starting somewhere. Be the change you wish to see!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqX7ZIt-hL0

Are local known companies linked to slave labor?

Americans choose to turn a blind eye when it comes to really finding out how their own clothing is made. Companies worldwide use slave labor when producing and collecting materials needed to make inventory. You will be in complete shock after hearing which companies are guilty when it comes to using slave labor for their own personal benefit. Such companies include Hershey's, Victorias Secret, Urban Outfitters, Toys 'R' Us, Forever 21, and Aeropostle. The clothing companies that are listed purchase cotton from farms that use child labor and sadly they are well aware of what is happening. Forever 21 made a comment basically stating that what they do is nobodys business and that they are the perfect employees for their business. I'm sorry but to whomever said that obviously needs a serious reality check because that is not a normal mindset to have. These companies fail to care about the laws that are being broken by using slave labor and will continue to not care as long as they are getting what they want. Hershey's is at fault because of how they use children to handpick their cocoa. The International Labor Rights Forum wanted to feature an ad using Hershey's use of child labor at the Super Bowl on the big screen. However, to prevent this from happening the company donated a whopping ten million dollars to West Africa. In there own words this money would, "produce ethically sourced chocolate". The public can see through their idiocy though, and obviously it was just so they would steer away from the bad publicity. Herhsey's was embarrassed and simply did not want to lose revenue after everyone worldwide found out what they were doing behind closed doors. It would be one thing if these children were being paid to work and help these companies produce inventory. But they are not given anything at all, not even food or water to bring back to their families. They are easy targets because they can be told what to do and they won't say anything in return about it. Raise awareness and stop child slave labor!

http://www.boycottmag.com/?p=5265
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vfbv6hNeng

The Youtube video above is behind disheartening and for some reason I want to now steer away from eating any chocolate produced by Hershey's.

What does slavery mean to you?

 

Close you eyes for just a moment, and let your mind wonder to a place where it has never once been. What exactly does slavery mean to you? What types of images do you see in your head? Are you seeing men, women, or even children? Are they abused, hurt, or are they forced to live a life long nightmare? Perhaps, you forgot about the 12 countries whom continue to marry off young children at unimaginable ages. Forced marriage is not only considered to be a form of slavery but being at the age where you cannot even chose to give the proper consent for yourself is unfair and cruel. The young girls being married off in these situations are mostly all under the age of twelve and are never older than eighteen. In many cases, the young women being married off become trapped in marriages that become extremely dangerous and volatile. Sexual threats, physical violence, emotional and financial abuse is began to seen as the "norm". In return, it is common for them to become depressed, suicidal, socially isolated, and even show signs of having an eating disorder. The statistics in relation to this issue are heart wrenching and might be a little unsettling for one to hear. 1,166,666 women under the age of eighteen are married off by the age of eighteen. This makes twenty seven marriages every minute, and approximately one marriage every two seconds. One may be left with one lingering question, why does forced marriage happen? The answer to this is the failure in enforcing laws, poverty, religious practices, and even gender inequality. In consequence, these women start lacking the proper education by dropping out of school. As well as start showing signs of poor sexual reproductive health, and many times contract HIV in result. Families that are marrying off their own daughters are not only unbelievable strict but they are set in their beliefts. They will even go to the point of disowning their own child if they do not marry the man that they chose.

 

Below is a YouTube video, that I would strongly reccomend for you to watch. Four women share their devistating stories, even though they may face rejection from their own communities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP-SYo4U4bE
http://www.plan-uk.org/early-and-forced-marriage/

Be the change you wish to see

 

Let us remember: What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.

Close your eyes, and imagine the tragic incident that took the life of both of your parents.  Now envision yourself as that young girl, living in an abusive household; with little to no food or water. Losing both of your parents was hard enough, but now you are stuck in a poorly run foster care home. A place where emotions such as love, encouragement, and support no longer exist. The feeling of abandonment starts to set in and all you want to do is runway from reality, now open your eyes! Sex trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon and it is now more prevalent than ever.

Twenty seven million women, men, and children are currently being enslaved all over our world today. Unfortunately, this number is currently on a steady incline. CNN has reported on this issue a numerous amount of times and they continue to update their viewers more and more as time progresses. A director from Equality Now, Lauren Hersh; was on CNN talking about her involvement

in a sex trafficking program. Her program would make others understand the battle of violence against women and girls that sex trafficking creates. Lauren came across a young girl that she called "Ruth", whom was sexually exploited at the early age of twelve and was even raped by her own mother's boyfriend. After being trafficked, she was often beaten, raped, and even had scars to prove the horrid nightmare in which she lived. Lauren's program will allow the voices of victims to be heard worldwide and provide them with the proper amount of support and guidance they may need, just like Ruth. This will be known as the Survivor Stories Series, and it will help raise awareness to the misinformed. Sharing personal stories is a incredibly powerful advocacy technique used to sway ones prospective. Not only this, but many times it ends up changing laws or even lives for that matter. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services stated, "In 2011, three times as many women and girls were arrested for prostitution in New York than pimps and buyers." In my opinion, I believe that this statistic should be turned the other way around. These girls should not be seen as anything but victims, especially criminals. Also, I have the utmost faith in Lauren Hersh and think that she hit the nail on the head with her new program. Once the public starts to hear personal stories from those whom have been exploited, they will become aware of what is going on behind closed doors. Once we are educated on the matter, we then have the opportunity to reach out to others whom are unaware like we once were. Spread the world, and bring sex trafficking to an end; you don't know how many lives you could save!

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/11/victims-plea-change-new-york-law-charge-the-traffickers/

http://www.equalitynow.org/people/lauren_hersh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT0Euu1Lovw