I recently read a book called "Not for Sale" by a man named David Batstone, that I would like to share with you. The book is about slavery in our world today, ordinary people doing what they can to change it, and how you can get involved to end slavery.
Most people think that slavery is something that only happens overseas. I can admit that I am one of those people. But there are over 30 million slaves in our world today. Men and women, boys and girls of all ages, are forced to work in factories sewing clothes or making shoes, work as household servants, gardners, restaurant help, and sell their bodies in brothels and strip clubs. In just about any major town or city, you will find a slave-trafficking ring. Slavery plagues every country, including the United States. If you go to www.slaverymap.org you can find where there are slave-trafficking rings in the US and around the world. I was disturbingly surprised to find that there are rings around the Manchester/Concord, NH area. But that is reality. More slaves live in bondage today than there were during the transatlantic slave trade.
The book focuses on six countries: Thailand (which is the #1 sex trafficking country in the world), India, Uganda, Europe, Peru, and the United States. In each country, you will find out how slavery thrives and the ordinary men and women who have encountered slavery in one way or another and refused to stand by and let it continue to grow.
Slavery predators use whatever means neccessary to get their victim(s). They prey on families living in poverty, the homeless, single parents who want give their children a better life, etc. In Thailand, for example, predators use the devestating poverty and the ever increasing population growth as a means to get their victim(s). Thailand has been branded as the "Disneyland for sexual escapades". Because of that, the demand for sex slavery continues to increase. Many parents will sell their children into slavery to make money or to get a much needed loan. If one is sold into slavery by their parents, the slave is forced pay back however much the parents got. While in slavery, their debt increases. The slave owners will use any excuse as to why the debt has increased, such as the food costs of feeding the slaves, housing costs, etc. They will do whatever it takes to keep their slaves.
In Uganda, there are the child soldiers. In East Africa, a rebel army known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has been enslaving children for more than two decades. Researchers estimate that over 66,000 children have been taken captive. The LRA preys on villages in different provinces, more so in Northern Uganda, abducting children as young as seven and forcing them to become soldiers, sex slaves, and baggage porters. Child abductees make up about 90% of the LRA's ranks. The children are coerced into raiding villages, executing unwanted prisoners and squaring off against the Ugandan national army. The girls who are abducted usually end up becoming wives to the high ranking commanders. The rebels treat their "wives" as property, often having unprotected sex, which leads to pregnancy or contracting an STD.
In the United States, people of different nationalities and ages, are trafficked in, with promises of a better life, a good paying job so they can send money back home and a good education. Once they are in the US, they immediately become slaves working as prostitutes, in different factories or restauants, strip clubs, and house hold servants. Foreigners trafficked into the US, come from at least 35 countries. Most come from Mexico, China, and Vietnam. Calfornia, Florida, Texas, and New York are the states with the largest incidences of slavery. Organizations try to help people see the distinction between smuggling (individuals aiding migrants to cross boarders without the proper documents or official approval) and human trafficking (individuals who are coerced or deceived into entering the US and then forced to work against their will).
This book is a real eye-opener. Walking on different streets in Peru, it is hard, sometimes, to wonder if those you see or encounter are slaves. "How many of those that I have talked to, are slaves?" Hilary Clinton once said that "trafficking thrives in the shadows". That couldn't be more true. It is something that is invisible and can be easily dismissed with the thought that it is something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. While it may not be easy to see slavery, it happens everyday, everywhere. To find out more about slavery today and how you can get involved, go to www.NotForSaleCampaign.org As David Batstone says at the end of his book, always remember that:
I am not for sale.
You are not for sale.
No one should be for sale.
