Please Don't Close Your Ears to the Truth

Modern Day Slavery isn't an easy topic to swallow, many people I talk to simply don't really want to know about it. Why? Well for one its depressing; who wants to hear about children being raped or women and men being forced to make our clothes or our coffee? Which brings us to another point, guilt. People don't want to feel guilty, because when we feel guilty we feel uncomfortable and lets face it no one wants to feel uncomfortable.

Picture your loved ones face here...

      I have many friends that will be shocked and horrified when I tell them stories of girls prostituted by their own families, or little boys trafficked to produce Hershey chocolate. But after that they simply don't want to hear it, they don't want to see it. Many people say, "Well, slavery happens in other countries, not America so why do we have to worry about it?" Well even if that were true, that slavery does not happen in America (which it's not), we as American consumers contribute to slavery whether we are aware of it or not. More than half the things we buy are slave produced; from gas, to cell phones, computers, agriculture, clothes, coffee, chocolate, diamonds, rubber, bricks. I'm not saying you should feel guilty because its not your fault, we just aren't aware of it because let's face it: companies aren't about to shout out, "Hey we sell you slave-produced products!"
    I know that hearing about slavery can be a real downer, and many people feel it's a hopeless battle. But if we turn our backs on this egregious crime against humanity then we let down millions of people who are praying for the day they will be set free; the day they see their families again; the day they get to see their traffickers imprisoned. Just think, slavery happens everywhere, not just to the poor or in some small tribe in Africa. It happens EVERYWHERE and TO EVERYONE including the rich, the middle class and the poor. These kids could be your kids; these victims could be your daughter, your son, your cousin, your niece, your nephew, your mother, your father, yourself. And I know none of us would want our loved ones to be enslaved. So remember that, when you hear a story of someone who was trafficked, it's time to listen to the truth no matter how horrifying it is--beacuase if we don't speak out for the freedom of 27 million slaves, then who will?

Side Note
For those of you wondering how you can help the fight against human trafficking I will soon be posting blogs about the many things people are doing around the world to not just speak out about this horrific crime but to take action. I will show you how you can buy "fair trade" products which means slaves did not produce them; how you can help change laws for traffickers in your own state or country, all the different ways you can help bring awareness to your community, and how you can help raise or donate money to help those that have suffered. So keep reading and remember there is something you can do to help abolish slavery, even if its as small as just telling somebody the truth that slavery still exists.