A Thing of the Past

As I've spent time catching up on The CNN Freedom Project:  Ending Modern-Day Slavery this past week, I've learned a lot.  The one thing was that, even though I feel out of the loop a lot, I was surprised by how many of the organizations and people interviewed I already knew about, which was exciting.  My knowledge has come through a lot of books and videos since returning home at the end of 2009 - this is not from years of study.  If Somaly Mam, Not for Sale/David Batstone, The Body Shop's sex trafficking campaign, Emmanuel Jal, International Justice Mission, The A21 Campaign, Nicholas Kristof/Half the Sky don't sound familiar, then check out the links on the right side of my blog and keep learning and connecting.

You can't combat human trafficking through the law alone - it's also about enforcement, which is a problem in countries where corruption rules.  And we can't just look to law enforcement - it goes back to awareness and education.  Learn more and then tell others about what you learn.  When we think of slavery, we think of people in chains, but today's slavery carries invisible chains, which makes it harder - though not impossible - to spot.

I also learned a lot specifically regarding business.  Hearing one interview about companys adopting core values which include things like 'if we send our employees out on business trips, they will not solicit a prostitute' are huge!  Examining supply chain information may take some extra leg work, but how much better will you feel about your purchases, knowing that they don't involve slave labor?  For me, that's also where my role in selling fair trade plays a part.  As consumers, our money votes and I think that it's time to truly be conscious consumers and understand how our purchases are connected to people all around the globe.

I know that The CNN Freedom Project continues and I'm sure that there will be a lot more to learn.  They have touched on the economics idea of Supply & Demand, but I want to take it one more step.  They highlighted the idea that as demand (for cheap food or prostitutes, etc) increases, supply must increase, which is where human trafficking comes in.  I believe that this is where we need to step up and acknowledge that "I am pushing that demand and I must decide to make other choices in order to honor people around the world".  This is not everyone else's problem - it's mine - and I need to live differently today so that slavery becomes a thing of the past.