Causecast

by TRACY HEPLER, Contributing Writer

According to the most recent estimates, there are 27 million slaves worldwide and about 20,000 enslaved within the U.S. There are more slaves today than during any other time in human history. Second only to illegal drugs, the slave trade (also known as human trafficking) is the world’s 2nd largest illegal industry—and it’s growing. Slavery is not just a part of our history, it is plaguing our present and threatening our future.

Modern slaves are kidnapped, tricked or coerced into slavery. Often slave traders prey on the poor—luring them into slavery with the promise of better jobs and opportunities. The victims soon realize that instead of the opportunities they have been promised, they are robbed of their basic freedoms. Other times, slaves are coerced into staying out of fear that their families and loved ones will be injured or even killed. Slaveholders often use physical, emotional and mental abuse to control enslaved individuals, so much so that victims feel that they can never walk away.

Today there are a number of real life heroes who are working daily to end slavery. Here is a snap shot of the modern day abolitionists who are leading the charge.

Jack Healey
Healey has been a pioneer in the fight for universal human rights for over 25 years. Healey’s work has focused on inspiring young people to support non-violent activism and bringing these issues from behind closed-door negotiations to the center of public awareness. Healey is the head of Causecast organization Human Rights Action Center and is currently working on a project to support Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma move towards a free democratic country.

His mission is to have The Universal Declaration of Human Rights printed on every American passport.

Aaron Cohen
A Causecast leader, Cohen is a “slave hunter” and the founder of the Abolish Slavery Coalition. He travels the world in search of people who have been captured and held against their will. He does this because, as he says, “the number of girls I’ve saved, or the number of boys I’ve taken out of child soldiering camps, doesn’t compare to the ones left behind…” He is also the author of the book Slave Hunter, which chronicles his experiences traveling the world to help free people who are trapped in slavery.

John Prendergast
Prendergast is an African affairs expert and the co-founder of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. The project conducts "intensive field research in countries plagued by genocide and crimes against humanity, develops practical policies to address these crises, and shares sensible tools to help empower citizens and groups working for change based on a ‘3P’ crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities.” His work has primarily been focused in Sudan, Northern Uganda, Eastern Congo, Chad, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Prendergast has also worked as the director of African affairs at the National Security Council. He has authored eight books on Africa, including co-authoring the New York Times Best Seller Not On Our Watch, with actor Don Cheadle.

Bobby Bailey
Bailey is a documentary filmmaker and one of the co-founders of Invisible Children, an organization whose goal is to find a solution to the plight of the people in Northern Uganda who are suffering from a devastating civil war between the government and Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (a rebel group that kidnaps children and forces them to become child soldiers). As a filmmaker, Bailey believes in the power of stories and new ideas to change lives. So, after a trip to Africa with friends and a camera—the film Invisible Children: Rough Cut was created, catalyzing the national movement to demand that the U.S. government pass the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009.

Sean Carasso
Carasso is the founder of Falling Whistles, a campaign to bring attention to the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Carasso originally started the organization to raise awareness about the young boys being killed in the war, sent to the frontlines with nothing but a whistle. Carasso frequently blogs about his experiences and observations in the Congo.

Slavery is not a new issue, but our modern economy and society have led to a resurgence in the industry. Due to the world’s insatiable demand for cheap goods, cheap labor becomes an integral part of the system that meets these demands. In the 1860s, the average cost of a slave would have been around $40,000 (accounting for inflation). Nowadays, the cost for a slave is roughly $90 and can often be negotiated for an even lower price.

According to Free the Slaves, three trends have contributed the most to modern slavery:

1. The population explosion has tripled the amount of people in the world (with most of this growth taking place in the third world).

2. Rapid social and economic change have displaced many rural people into urban centers. These people are looking for jobs and opportunity, but have no safety nets to protect them from being lured into slavery.

3. Government corruption allows slavery to go unpunished even though it is illegal everywhere.

The effects of slavery touch us all, whether we realize it or not. The global economy is all interconnected—the billions of dollars generated in the sex trade and other slave trades are a part of the financial system that we all use. Goods such as chocolates, coffee and carpets, are more often than not made on the backs of slaves, something you might never think about when you buy a 99 cent chocolate bar.

These are things you can do to help raise awareness and bring an end to modern slavery:

1. Be mindful where your money goes: When buying cash crop products such as chocolates, coffees and international handicrafts, ensure that these items are Fair Trade certified.

2. Get Educated: Read Causecast’s 10 Things You Should Know About Human Trafficking article. If you see something suspicious, report it to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.

3. Be Inspired to Raise Awareness: Now that you’ve learned about some of the modern-day abolitionists, help raise awareness and funds to support the work that they are doing.

Photo of Bobby Bailey by hmm_uh_hope, flickr