Slavery

We think of it as a thing of the past. Israelites in Egypt. Romans enslaving the people they conquered. Europeans enslaving first the native people of the Americas , and then after killing them off, turning to Africa as a source for slaves.

There are more slaves today—some 27 million—than at any other time in history. And they come cheap: according to Free the Slaves, while a plantation slave in the US cost the equivalent of $40,000 in today's dollars, now a human being can be bought for an average of $90.

Slavery isn't legal anywhere—but it's practiced almost everywhere. Even in the USA: The US government estimates that over 100,000 people are enslaved in the United States, typically brought here from Europe, Latin America and Africa. What do they do when they get here? They can be found - or usually, not found - in all 50 states, working as farmhands, domestic servants, sweatshop and factory laborers, gardeners, restaurant and construction workers, and victims of sexual exploitation.

Some other examples of modern-day slavery:

Sometimes governments enslave their own people-- Burma ( Myanmar ) is an example of that. The military government expects individuals and villages to “contribute” to the national cause by working on roads, helping with gas pipeline construction, serving as military porters, and being sex slaves. Here's a story of one person enslaved by the Burmese government.

Other times, governments tolerate slave-taking, as in Sudan, where Arab traders often target black Africans from the southern part of their country to serve as slaves.

In Brazil, as many as 50,000 slaves work producing food and products, many of which are destined for the US market.

Children are enslaved for work that is often dangerous, such as mining or running drugs. Many young girls serving as domestic workers are kept as virtual slaves. And of course there is the dehumanization of the sex trade, where one million boys and girls are kept against their will. After years of such enslavement, they will be scarred for life. Tragically, they are often sold into this situation by their own very poor parents.

And there are women who are tricked into moving across borders—over half a million every year—on the promise of a job in a foreign land, only to find themselves locked in a brothel and turned into prostitutes. Tens of thousands are brought illegally to the US every year for this purpose.

NCP is not an anti-slavery organization, but we work at the underlying causes of slavery. Poverty is perhaps the Number One reason for slavery—people are vulnerable to being tricked or trapped as slaves because they are desperate for income—or have to "rent" their children to people who pay them something to take them to another town or country. Other causes are lack of enforcement of laws banning slavery, the use of the internet as a slave marketing tool, and the tremendous profits involved—a woman in a brothel can earn her abusers as much as $250,000 a year in profit. And we as consumers can bear some of the blame—do we know who made our rugs or felled the timber for our coffee table or picked the cocoa beans for our chocolate?

Here are some ways we work to prevent slavery:

• we help women earn money through sewing programs or small village projects, protecting them and their children from exploitation
• we are helping Burmese children stay in school after the Cyclone Nargis and provide funds for tailoring programs to keep them from being sent off as housekeepers for wealthy families—where they are often mistreated
• we sell Fair Trade products which guarantee decent treatment for workers
• we support girls' education and women's projects in Nepal , keeping young girls from being sent next door to India where they are sometimes sold into prostitution or made to work in the sweatshops

Want to help us help these people remain free?

• Support our Back to School: Burma campaign by buying backpacks and writing materials ($20) or paying for a child to go to school for the whole year ($100)
• Help Sudanese girls stay in school—it only takes $60 a year!
• organize a sale of Fair Trade products in your school or church
• support our programs that empower women around the world
• Go on a Learning Tour to see the challenges facing our neighbors—and learn what you can do about it
• Get David Radcliff to come to your school to talk about child labor and the growing threat of international slavery