just read: Not For Sale

Myth: In our country slavery was abolished at the conclusion of the civil war.

Truth: we may not be openly engaging in transatlantic trade of Africans, but slavery is alive and well within the borders of the US. We are a destination, transit and supply location for the modern day slave trade. I've posted about this before here and here.

I recently finished reading the book NOT FOR SALE which is about the global slave trade and how we can stand against it. Due to my work I am very familiar with the issues highlighted in the book and could write a novel myself filled with stories of human exploitation encountered around the world.

There are some statistics in this book that you might find surprising:

• over 100,000 people live enslaved at the moment in the US
  
• an additional 17,500 new victims are trafficked across our borders each year
  
• over 30,000 more slaves are transported through the US on their way to other International destinations


• more slaves are in bondage today than were bartered in four centuries of the transatlantic slave trade

I share these particular statistics because so many of my readers reside in the United States. There are similar statistics from all over the world. You don't have to have a job like mine to make a difference, you can make a difference in your community. You can become an abolitionist without leaving your home town. The author of the book says:

"I am convinced that every single individual can make a valuable contribution to arrest the global slave trade. If you doubt that fact, it is probably because you underestiate the power of your personal resources...Truly, the hardest step to take is the first one: the commitment to take action. The ensuing steps have a way of revealing themselves." -David Batstone

I was recently on an airplane with a man who lives in Charlotte, NC. He has become very passionate about ending slavery and human trafficking. He started within his community and discovered there was no where for those who are freed from bondage to go. Reintegration programs are hard to come by, so he decided to do something. He started asking companies to hire these women who had been enslaved. He told me a story of a woman who had been trafficked and forced to perform sexual acts with men. The police realeased her thanks to the anti-trafficking laws in our country (prior to these laws we would prosecute the victims as prostitutes, so they were violated not only by their capture but also our policies). He had a company willing to hire her and needed a place for her to stay for a couple of weeks. He called churches, he asked friends. The result: no one was willing to allow this woman in to their home. They viewed her as a Jezebel. He was shocked at the lack of compassion for a woman trying to pull the pieces of her life back together. This is just one example of an action that could have made a difference, if he had found anyone willing to act.

Open your eyes and hearts. Once you do that, I am convinced you will be used to alleviate human suffering. How can I be so sure? There is suffering all around us waiting on individuals to respond.