The Crisis
What We Face
Human trafficking (slavery) generates $31 billion annually and enslaves 27 million people around the globe, half of them children under the age of eighteen. This represents:* The largest number of people that has ever been in slavery at any point in world history.
* Reducing the price of slaves to as low as US$40 in Mali for young adult male laborers, to a high of US$1000 or so in Thailand for HIV-free young females suitable for use in brothels (where they frequently contract HIV). This represents the price paid to the person, or parents.
* This represents the lowest price that there has ever been for a slave in raw labor terms - while the price of a male slave in 1850 America would have been about US$1000 in the currency of the time (US$38,000 today), thus slaves now cost 1/38 of their price 150 years ago.
The fact is that you don't have to go to Africa, or Asia, or China to find slavery. You can probably find it in your own city. If you can't volunteer to help out, you can help by giving a donation (of any amount) to one of the organizations listed at the end of this page.
Facts and sources:
While the U.S. government budget for efforts against drug trafficking is $19 billion, the current budget against human trafficking is $50 million.
- Sources: U.S. State Department, White House Drug Policy Website
50 Percent of all victims of human trafficking are children.
- Sources: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on International Relations and U.S. Department of State, among others.
The estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor is 126 Million(one in every twelve children ages 5-17).
- Sources: International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and U.S. Embassy in Uruguay, among others.
Faces of Modern Day Slavery
Faces of Modern Slavery
Some of the faces affected by modern-day slavery. The images come from the Invisible Children dvd on N. Uganda, and the Freetheslave.org video on the formerly bonded laborers of Uttar Pradesh, India.
curated content from YouTube
Modern Slavery
Modern Slavery
features stories from Slavery: A Global Investigation, an effective tool for raising awareness about modern slavery.
curated content from YouTube
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Child in a rebel camp in the north-eastern Central African Republic
Great organizations that work to end slavery
Check out some of these great organizations and think about joining one!
- FREE THE SLAVES
- Free the Slaves fights slavery all over the world by helping people to freedom and to stable lives after liberation, by removing slave labor from the products we buy, and by helping the governments enforce their own anti-slavery laws.
- ANTI-SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL
- Founded in 1839, Anti-Slavery International is the world's oldest international human-rights organization. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and engages in extensive research and advocacy for antislavery work.
- WORLD VISION
- World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. It has dedicated projects and Web sites for child sex trafficking and child soldiers.
- NOT FOR SALE FUND
- The Not for Sale Fund, the charitable arm of Right Reality, aims to create and support projects that equip former slaves to have a hand in their future destiny. The organization collaborates with economic, political, religious, and other social groups to leverage their assets on behalf of individuals in crisis, above all those who have fallen victims to the slave trade. The organization also educates world citizens on the existence and plight of slaves around the world, and shows them how to be a part of building an abolitionist movement to arrest slavery.
- CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
- Children of the Night has rescued more than ten thousand American children from prostitution since it was founded in 1979. It is dedicated to helping children between the ages of eleven and seventeen who are forced into the commercial sex trade.
- INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION
- The International Justice Mission is a human-rights organization that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery, and oppression. IJM documents and monitors conditions of abuse, educates the public about the abuses, and mobilizes intervention on behalf of victims.
- RUGMARK
- Rugmark works to end child labor and offers educational opportunities for children in Nepal, India, and Pakistan, The Rugmark label assures consumers that no illegal child labor was employed in the manufacture of a carpet or rug. The label adds about $2 to the price of the rug, which is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that no child labor was used.
- NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER
- The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center reveals stories about freedom's heroes, from the era of the Underground Railroad to contemporary times, challenging and inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today.
Books and Resourses from Amazon
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It
Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book, Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action.
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 12/19/2009) 
Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World (Invert)
Describes the existence of slavery around the world today and what teenagers can do to fight against it, with an examination of incidents in the lives of leaders and slaves that have inspired Zach Hunter to become an abolitionist.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/19/2009)
Amazing Grace
Amazon Price: $9.49 (as of 12/19/2009)
Slave: My True Story
Amazon Price: $10.04 (as of 12/19/2009)
Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition)
In parts of Africa, diamond mining fuels civil warfare, killing thousands of innocents and drafting preteen children as child soldiers. During the civil war overtaking Sierra Leone in 1999, two men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value, and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the countryside. A gripping, intense view of some of the atrocities that happened (and still do happen) in Sierra Leone and other parts of Africa.
Amazon Price: $5.49 (as of 12/19/2009)
Other items on eBay
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Please leave a comment!
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Reply
- ddixonart ddixonart Jun 20, 2009 @ 7:50 am
- Thank you for your wonderful lens on a difficult topic.5*'s to you.
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- Mortira Mortira Jan 30, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
- A worthy cause indeed. I knew about some of the statistics of modern slavery, but the price comparisons were very surprising. Thank you for sharing this information. I've 'rolled this over to my anti-gold mining lens. * * * * *
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- emma_gal emma_gal Dec 19, 2008 @ 9:50 pm
- Thank you for putting this up! I care very deeply about this issue. I intend to start a Not For Sale Chapter at my school to help in the fight against modern day slavery.
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- spirituality spirituality Jul 27, 2008 @ 9:48 am
- Great lens. I'm featuring it on my Lens on Amnesty International.
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- LeslieBrenner LeslieBrenner Apr 17, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
- Actress Daryl Hannah was almost sold into slavery. Luckily, she was tipped off and escaped. But this is a serious global problem. Thanks for drawing attention to it. 5 stars.
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- KimGiancaterino KimGiancaterino Oct 5, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
- Thanks for your informative lens. Hopefully you can network with some of the other lensmasters in the Help Africa Group to spread further awareness of this intolerable situation.
by MAGOH
Hello,
I am a young American who is passionate about ending modern day slavery in America as well as around the world. All revenue generated from my le...
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