Thursday, July 12, 2007

• "Going Bad"

  I recently re-read my favourite Narnia book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and found something I thought I'd share, because it speaks about a terrible issue in our times: modern-day slavery.  This post is going to be somewhat grave, but I beg of you all to bear with me and read it, pray about it, and consider it, at the very least.

  ---

  From The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis:

  "Secondly," said Caspian, "I want to know why you have permitted this abominable and unnatural traffic in slaves to grow up here, contrary to the ancient custom and usage of our dominions."

  "Necessary, unavoidable," said his Sufficiency.  "An essential part of the economic development of the islands, I assure you.  Our present burst of prosperity depends on it."

  "What need have you of slaves?"

  "For export, your Majesty.  Sell 'em to Calormen mostly; and we have other markets.  We are a great centre of the trade."

  "In other words," said Caspian, "you don't need them.  Tell me what purpose they serve except to put money into the pockets of such as Pug?"

  After Caspian demands the end of the slave trade, the governor responds:

  "But that would be putting the clock back," gasped the governor.  "Have you no idea of progress, of development?"

  "I have seen them both in an egg," said Caspian. "We call it 'Going Bad' in Narnia.  This trade must stop."

  ---

  My friends,

  Slavery exists today.

  Whether we call it trafficking, bonded labor, forced labor, or sex slavery, it exists:

  globally, nationally, and locally.

  Bonded labour affects at least 20 million* people around the world. People become bonded labourers by taking or being tricked into taking a loan for as little as the cost of medicine for a sick child. To repay the debt, many are forced to work long hours, seven days a week, up to 365 days a year. They receive basic food and shelter as 'payment' for their work, but may never pay off the loan, which can be passed down for generations.

  Early and forced marriage affects women and girls who are married without choice and are forced into lives of servitude often accompanied by physical violence.

  Forced labour affects people who are illegally recruited by individuals, governments or political parties and forced to work -- usually under threat of violence or other penalties.

  Slavery by descent is where people are either born into a slave class or are from a 'group' that society views as suited to being used as slave labour.

  Trafficking involves the transport and/or trade of people -- women, children and men -- from one area to another for the purpose of forcing them into slavery conditions. Human Trafficking is now ranked as the second largest criminal industry globally—second only to drug smuggling, and tying with illegal weapons transactions. The U.S. Department of State estimates that between 15 and 20 THOUSAND individuals are trafficked into the United States to become slaves EACH YEAR! This does not include those U.S. citizens trafficked from city to city within our borders.

  *Source: Antislavery.org and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

  The U.S. Government estimates 600,000 to 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders every year into slavery, including 14,500 to 17,500 into our own country. Some estimate the global number of trafficking victims to be in the millions--in domestic servitude, sex slavery, forced labor, child soldiers, child camel jockeys, and other brutal schemes.

  From World Vision:

  The sixth annual report (TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT) sheds new light on the alarming number of people trafficked for purposes of slave labor, estimating that as many as 27 million people are subject to forced or bonded labor, or sexual servitude, at any given time. Of those, more than a million children a year are coerced or tricked into prostitution, according to the report. World Vision commends the diligent work of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, led by Ambassador John R. Miller, to evaluate and reveal the global problem and urge foreign governments to effectively combat all forms of human trafficking.
  
  "The scope of the problem makes it clear we have to address both supply and demand in order to stop trafficking and its many forms of human exploitation," said Joseph Mettimano, director of public policy and advocacy at World Vision, an international Christian humanitarian organization focused on helping children and their communities worldwide. "The global sex trade in children and women is fueled by demand–-a substantial amount of it from our own country-–which makes targeting and stopping abusers critical."
  
  Child sex tourism, the practice of traveling to another country to have sex with children, exacerbates the trade in vulnerable people for commercial sex. Some sex tourists are pedophiles, specifically seeking underage boys and girls. Others travel for legitimate reasons, but decide to “experiment” while abroad. Health concerns, such as HIV/AIDS, also create an increased demand for younger victims.

  What Can You Do?

  Visit www.theamazingchange.com. The Amazing Change Campaign is aimed at bringing the forces of abolition together, to end modern-day slavery. The site lists other organizations which are working against slavery.

  Pray. Prayer is a mighty weapon for good, and one of the best ways to reach those suffering in modern-day slavery with God’s love.

  Write. Write to your congressperson. Write to any representative of the American voice. Tell them your stand against modern-day slavery, and urge them to pass legislation against it. 

  For more information on Modern-Day Slavery, human trafficking, and how you can become involed,  visit websites such as www.WorldVision.org, [just do a search for key words] www.theamazingchange.com, and www.stopthetraffik.org

  It really bothers me that so many people have become overbearingly concerned with global warming and environmentalism, when millions of people are being exploited, trafficked, and harmed right under our noses and without our action. God made man in His image, special and more valuable than the animals or the environment.  When wicked men trample on the dignity of mankind by buying and selling people, they are also spitting on the image of the Creator.  Not only is it evil and cruel, but it is treason against God's established order, and it should be fought.  I pray that God's glory will be seen through the destruction of this trade and the salvation of many who have been involved in it (like John Newton or Olaudah Equiano).

  "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are the body [of Christ] also"  (Hebrews 13:3).

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