Spent a powerful evening at the National Underground Freedom Center one evening last week, listening to Kevin Bales talk about his books and research on the new slavery in the global economy.
And, most importantly, his organization’s goal and plan for how we can end slavery – completely – in the next 20 years. There are now more slaves in the world than there ever have been. Many of them children. And there is slavery in nearly every country in the world – definitely in the United States, including household slaves and sex trade slaves.
The plan of freetheslaves.net is to work on freeing the easiest and largest numbers first ($100 can free an entire village of slaves in India), and then work on the harder problems – 4 and 5 years olds, for instance, used to work in boats on lakes in Africa, and young girls in brothels in Cambodia (that freedom can cost $400 per child). Plus the cost of educating and helping former slaves adjust to freedom and a world they may not know much about.
The best thing we can do is sign up to contribute monthly. Yes, let’s learn. Yes, let’s join with others. And YES, let’s give money. A little to us is a lot in the third world. Money anti-slavery organizations can rely on, so they can pay the workers, some ex-slaves, in each country to go in to the carpet factories and cocoa fields and literally free the slaves.
YES, we can eradicate slavery. Now.