Take a minute to think about this. In the world today. In 2019. In a world where slavery is not an issue that is at the forefront of the public consciousness. There are approximately 40.3 million, men, women, and children, who are victims of modern slavery. That’s almost twice the...
Take a minute to think about this. In the world today. In 2019. In a world where slavery is not an issue that is at the forefront of the public consciousness. There are approximately 40.3 million, men, women, and children, who are victims of modern slavery. That’s almost twice the population of Australia. 40.3 million people are owned, bought, sold, and hurt and we don’t even know about it. These 40.3 million people are unable to withdraw from this arrangement as they have no power. No power to seek help. No power to make a stand. No power to think and voice their opinions freely and, no power to live.
You are probably thinking that this is crazy. And it is. It is incomprehensible that any slavery exists today. But it does. In the form of modern slavery. Modern slavery is a form of slavery; however, it is subtle and insidious. This is why there is minimal recognition of this global issue. And why we as humans, who aren’t involved with this issue, do not know about it. When most people think of slavery, they think of a person who is forced to do work and labor for another person. And this is true. However, today, slavery is less about forced work, and more about being fully owned and controlled by someone else, without being able to leave. Things such as men forced to work in agriculture or construction, girls forced to marry older men, children in sweatshops, women forced into prostitution, or people who are not receiving the correct financial pay.
Nobody chooses to be a slave. People are forced into slavery because people in positions of power abuse that power for their own ends. The masters use the slaves to rid themselves of work and make the slaves complete the horrific labor instead. None of which the work the slaves are completing is for themselves. It is purely for the benefit of their masters. Out of the 40.3 million slaves in the world, 24.9 million of them are involved in forced labor.
It is not just like the slaves can leave where they are working. They are trapped in the world of slavery and have no voice to express their feelings. They cannot quit. They cannot speak. They cannot argue. They are who they are told to be. They are told what to do and that this is their only purpose in life, and they are forced to believe it.
But this is not fair. How can anyone believe that it is right to force another to work for them for their benefit of themselves? It is against human rights to hold someone in slavery. It has been printed in books and on pages that “no one has the right to hold you in slavery.” Then how come? How come every single country in this world, has some form of modern slavery? Because people believe that they have more power. Because people believe they are better than others. Because people don’t understand that everyone has emotions and not everyone wants to do and be like them.
Take America for example. Slavery in America has been like a rollercoaster. There have been many ups and downs. Ups being they have abolished slavery in the past. Downs is that slavery was brought back after The American Civil War took place. This war caused hundreds of thousands of African Americans to be re-enslaved by white Americans in an abusive manipulation of the legal system. This was a major turning point in American history as it completely switched the amount of slavery dramatically. Over time slavery decreased in America but did not completely end until the 1940s. Nonetheless, to my disgust, in recent years, activists have said that America’s 13 Amendments do not mention prison slavery, therefore this constitutes a continuing form of modern slavery.
Slavery has been abolished in many countries in the world before. In the early 18 hundreds, there were people who saw the cruelty and inequality of slavery and decided that this global issue was something that needed to stop. Take for example, in 1834, slavery was abolished throughout the whole British Empire. In 1848, the government of France eradicated slavery in all French colonies. In 1915, the colonial government of Malaya officially ended slavery. These are all historical actions that were in the past. But even though it was in the past, it has been able to show us people today that it is possible. It is possible to make the change. It is possible to have a future where slavery will be unknown to society. It is possible to eradicate slavery and allow slaves to live and experience life how they want. Not under the control of another person.
Some progress has been made to improve modern slavery in the world. And it has been proven that this global issue can be abolished and an end to it. Many organizations are working to improve the amount of slavery in the world. These organizations are bringing more awareness to modern slavery and are attempting to help slavery in the main countries that suffer from it. But I know that this is not enough, and I know that there is more that needs to be done.
Well, this is what I have to say. To every person out there who is holding someone in slavery. I’m saying to you right now that you’re the issue. You’re the reason slavery exists and you’re the ones who have the opportunity to stop it. All we need in this world is collaboration and hope. This atrocity that we are dealing with requires not just one person, it requires a united, global response. So that someday in the future, slavery will be abolished. Slavery will be gone. And slavery will be unknown to all.
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