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Modern Day Slavery: Breaking the Silence
By NOISEmaker Crusader 
Think that slavery is long gone? Think again. Modern-day slavery, better known as human trafficking, is a global horror, affecting up to 1.2 million children a year. After arms and drug dealing, it is the third largest criminal activity in the world, as well as the fastest-growing. Victims are trafficked for a variety of reasons -- mostly for cheap labor and sexua| services.
"Mail order brides," as young as 13, are trafficked from Eastern Europe and Asia. Young women are tricked into traveling to other countries for jobs, and instead become sexua| slaves and forced prostitutes after arriving. Some are just plain kidnapped. Many are promised to be set free after "working off their debt," which will never really happen. Violence, pregnancies, abortion, diseases, and death all or in part await each victim.
In Mexico alone, more than 16,000 children are engaged in prostitution. One such victim, Rosa, was forced to become a prostitute at 14. She was continually raped and under surveillance during her entire ordeal. Testifying for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, she revealed, "Because I was so young, I was always in demand with the customers. It was awful. Although the men were supposed to wear condoms, some didn't, so eventually I became pregnant and was forced to have an abortion. They sent me back to the brothel almost immediately."
 | lekuche says,
"lgnorance starts child Abuse." |  |  |  |
Labor trafficking, or forcing people to work without wages (slavery), is used for sweatshops, farms, domestic servitude (private "servants"), and small labor operations. Travel isn't necessary for trafficking; indeed, by keeping such practices hidden within a country, this cheap labor keeps business going with billions of profits. The t-shirt you're sporting right now could have been made in one such operation without your even knowing it.
In the U.S. Alone, an estimated 17,000 foreign nationals are trafficked each year -- along with more than 200,000 American children at risk. According to World Vision, a nonprofit organization working to stop human trafficking, trafficking continues not only because of poverty, but mainly because of profits and low chances of prosecution. When governments fail to address the issue, it is left in the dark -- keeping citizens in the dark and profits in perpetuators' pockets.
The best thing to do about this is to make loud, obnoxious NOISE about it! Victims like Rosa cannot speak for themselves whilst in such torture: "I couldn't do anything to stop it. I wasn't allowed to go outside without a guard. Many of the bosses had guns. I was constantly afraid. One of the bosses carried me off to a hotel one night, where he raped me. I could do nothing to stop him."
By keeping quiet, citizens unknowingly let these atrocities happen. Start a club against human trafficking. Boycott organizations that use sweatshops and be LOUD about it! Write to your congress members, the president, leaders of countries who perpetuate this crime, your local newspapers -- anyone and everyone. Host a fundraiser for UNICEF, the Polaris Project, World Vision, or other organizations that work hard to stop these crimes. Better yet, join in! Volunteers are always needed. The main thing is to not back down -- and to not be silent.
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