Friday, April 23, 2010

There is always something we can do...



Short video on trafficking of children.

Children around the world are being abused, exploited, and trafficked into the sex trade and slave labor. Trafficking is a $32 billion a year industry--and the United States is the largest consumer of human trafficking in the world.

Child sex tourism.
Domestic servants trafficked into the US.
Tax dollars being spent to fund sex with prostitutes for US soldiers stationed abroad.
Bride buying.
Teenagers coerced into prostitution at the age of 12.
Brothels filled with trafficked girls established next to military bases.
Buying and selling children like objects.


It is all happening. And it is happening here. But much of the world--and the United States--stands idly by. We have a shared responsibility to respond to these atrocities. As moral human beings blessed with hearts and minds, we have a responsibility to be informed...to care...to act. Of course, action can be taken in a variety of forms. Letters need to be written to our representatives. Petitions need to be signed. Money needs to be raised. Awareness needs to be promoted. And responsibility needs to be taken.

So what can you do? You can take responsibility for knowing where your products come from and doing what you can to ensure that there is no slavery in your products. You can write letters and sign petitions to send to corporations that utilize slave labor. You can choose to buy fair trade products. You can share this site and the information you have learned with two or three other people. You can donate a few dollars to an anti-trafficking organization or host a fundraiser. You can do more research and keep yourself informed. You can join the fight.

What other ideas do YOU have? We would love to hear them. And what would you like to see SSGF doing? We want and need your input.

With love and freedom,

SSGF


The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It Sex Trafficking: The Global Market in Women and Children (Contemporary Social Issues)  
The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery