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| Slavery in the Digital Age by Earthgrazer |
| The other day, like any other day, I got up, checked my mail, had breakfast, went to work, and did whatever else I needed to get done that day. I spoke to friends, laughed at their jokes, went for a walk, and browsed around the shops. It’s easy to carry on with our daily lives when we’re rushed off our feet, and not even think about how many other people don’t even have this same luxury. September’s issue of National Geographic prompted me to highlight something I feel strongly about – slavery. We’re talking about modern day slavery - the some twenty-seven million “21st century slaves” that exist in the world today. Andrew Cockburn emphasised the fact that “there are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade” - women, children, men, babies – all sold. Entire families are kept in the cycle of slavery for generations, paying off debts. The most common type of slavery for women is enforced prostitution. For children, it’s sweatshops. Now you might be reading this thinking that it’s happening in the “third world”. To some extent, you would be correct. But the fact of the matter is many countries are a part of the problem. Human trafficking is a global nightmare, and must be stopped. As must the destitution forced slavery occurring in a number of countries around the world. Kevin Bales, a professor in my old university department, stresses the need to increase public awareness on one of the most massive violations of Human Rights in the present day. Please take ten minutes today to learn a little more about the problem and how ordinary people are fighting against it. Excerpt from the National Geographic article available online including a number of links at the bottom: Nationalgeographic.com "How we can end slavery" by Kevin Bales (University of Surrey/United Nations/NatGeo): Lessons and education pack for teachers UK based organisation devoted to the freeing of slaves: http://www.antislavery.org |
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