I know in the past I've blogged about silly little things I've learned during a day, but this one is serious. Last night I was up late sorting through old files so I can get rid of unnecessary papers. At first I had David Letterman on, but it wasn't resonating with me so I decided to switch to Nightline to see what they were talking about. I was instantly sucked in as I watched a very disturbing report on slavery and human trafficking. I had no idea. It was unbelievably sobering. At the end of the report, they remarked that emancipation organizations estimate there are more than 27 million slaves in the world today - the largest number ever in human history. I was shocked. Today, I've spent some time reading and researching about some of the programs out there that are targeting the problem. As with so many social ills, the roots lie in poverty, lack of education, and human greed. Therefore, the solutions lie in education, economic development, and love. ABC's website had a story of an 82-year old grandma who spends half her time in Nepal working to free slaves by providing families with an animal to raise and sell for profit along with money for their daughters to attend school so they don't feel tempted to sell the daughters to make money and feed the others. It's a solution that costs around $75 a year and is working. Wow!
And so, I know I have a small audience of blog readers who may be as ignorant as I. I would encourage you to go out and read a little also just to be aware. Today I feel a lot more grateful and a lot more responsible to help create change. If you want some places to start, go to www.abcnews.com to read the Nightline report. Then you can also go to www.freetheslaves.net or www.TENcharities.org to see what organizations are doing. Lastly, you can go to www.madebysurvivors.com to buy goods produced by survivors of slavery who are trying to overcome its effects.
I know most of my readers well enough to know the high level of charitable service you already provide in the way of service hours, goods, and monetary donations. I raise this topic simply to raise awareness of another social problem. I know we can't solve all the problems, but being aware they exist has to be a start. Thanks for being the kind of people you are and for helping to make my life one of comfort and peace.
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2 comments:
As I look out the window at the beautiful trees and blue skies, it is hard to imagine the hell those 27 million human beings are suffering. Thanks for the sites.
Thanks for a great post. That figure of 27 million slaves comes from my book Disposable People, which is a good place to start reading. But even quicker is a visit to our website: www.freetheslaves.net.
There you'll find a 10 minute film we call "Slavery 101" it's a quick introduction to modern slavery that you can watch online.
The good news is that we really can eradicate slavery in our lifetime, and every time someone spreads the word a little further, as you have done, we get closer to freedom for everyone.
All best
Kevin Bales
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