Slavery: An Overview

Today I want to talk a bit about slavery—a topic of conversation I've been well-known for!  Some of you may not know this, but slavery exists in nearly every continent and in all countries.  There are twenty-seven million slaves throughout the world, half of which are children.  To warm you up to the subject a bit, I wanted to share this quote from Zach Hunter, a teenage abolitionist, in his book, Be the Change.

"You may be wondering how people become slaves.  Many think it all starts with a dramatic kidnapping, but that is rarely the case.  Usually, it has to do with money, or lack of it.  Sometimes a family allows a child to go with a trusted family friend who promises a good job to help meet the family’s needs.  The child soon discovers this “friend” has sold them into slavery.  Or, in some instances, a desperate parent will sell their child into slavery.  Often the parents are misled to believe their child will have better living conditions and maybe an opportunity for a better education.  Instead, the child becomes a slave."

Here are some facts that I've uncovered about modern day slavery:

1. The term “slave” means a person under the threat of violence and unable to walk away.
2. Slaves live on every continent, and in most countries.
3. There are 27 million slaves in the world today- that’s more than all 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade, put together.
4. It is an estimated 2 million children are trapped in forced prostitution.
5. The trafficking of humans the third most profitable underground trade, Illegal drugs and weapons.
6. There are at least fourteen thousand, five hundred slaves trafficked into the United States every year.
7. Six hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand people are trafficked each year.
8. Approximately two children are sold every minute.
9. Up to seven thousand Nepalese girls are sold each year, mostly to brothels.
10. In Haiti, one in every ten children are slaves.
     

Slavery erases confidence and any thought of freedom.  It also erases the dreams and hopes of many people, both young and old.  It destroys whole families, and even whole cities.  Can something this terrible be ended?  If enough people think that it can be stopped and make it their goal to stop it, I really think it can.  Ending slavery is a large task but with God, all things are possible.  We need to act though; we can’t just sit and wait for God to change things. We need to be willing to get out and be His hands and feet in the world.  One of the most important things we can do is pray.  We should be praying for the people all over the world who are enslaved in so many ways.  Children in carpet industries, girls in brothels, families in brick yards– pray for them all.  This is the most important things that can be done.  Just by praying, we could be changing 27 million people’s way of life– that’s how powerful prayer can be!  Please take a few minutes today to sit down and pray for slaves all over the world!