Sacramento is situated midway between Mexico and Canada on I-5, which is one reason why so many slaves move through the city.
I didn't know. I thought slavery had been eradicated from the world in the 19th century. I thought the days were long past when parents sold their daughters into brothels, and people were kidnapped and forced to work without pay. And until tonight, I thought that by far, most of the people in the sex industry were there voluntarily.
Tonight, my church held a human trafficking information night. The statistics are horrific. One estimate from the International Labor Organization places the number of human beings enslaved at this moment at 12.3 million. We saw pictures of a sweatshop that was raided in California fifteen years ago. Looked like a normal apartment complex. You couldn't see the barbed wire fence from the street, or for that matter, the people who slept fifteen to a room.
Spreading awareness is only the beginning. This isn't another issue that will inflame a few people for a moment and then pass from memory. From everything I've seen, the church is gearing up for a fight. There are already organizations doing excellent work, and we intend to join them. Here are a few.
Further information can be found in the State Department's Traffcking in Persons Report 2008, and on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime website.
1 comment:
You totally forgot to write that you also met this really cute girl who was wearing a boot. ;)
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