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IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
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Slavery: A Global Concern
by Eric Plosky, 06.10.03
"You can't just hear about it and then forget. It just stays with you." |
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The life of 12-year-old Abuk Bak changed suddenly one September day — she was kidnapped, tied up with ropes, forced to walk for a day and a half, and sold — as a slave.
For 10 years, she washed clothes, herded animals, slept on the ground, ate scraps, sometimes worked 24 hours straight, and suffered beatings and rape attempts by the man she had to address as "master." In 1998, she finally managed to escape. But millions of people around the world — in Africa (like Abuk Bak), Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, and even the United States — remain slaves.
Slavery isn't just an ugly chapter of our past; it's an ugly chapter of our present. Fortunately, activists — including some American teens — are helping thousands of slaves to freedom.
A Current Problem
The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) estimates that right now, in the year 2003, there are 27 million slaves in the world. That's three times the population of New York City. Like Abuk Bak, many of these slaves are teenagers or even children.
In India, a five-year-old boy is kidnapped and forced to work 19 hours a day in a carpet-making factory. In Thailand, a 13-year-old girl is sold by her own father to a brothel owner to work as a sex slave — if she refuses or tries to escape, she could be beaten or killed. Many more stories of slavery around the world have been reported by advocacy groups.
Even in America, there are still cases of slavery (despite the Constitution's 13th Amendment, which outlawed it). A 13-year-old Nigerian girl, brought to the United States to go to school and to help her host family with housework, was forced to work up to 20 hours a day as a laborer and was frequently beaten. After nine years, one day she screamed so loudly that the neighbors called the police, who finally rescued her.
Slave Markets in Africa
Civil and religious wars in African countries like Sudan and Mauritania have created vast "modern-day slave markets," which treat people as a commodity, buying and selling even children. These slaves become the property of their masters — they have no rights at all.
Francis Bok was only seven years old when he was captured and enslaved by raiders in his native Sudan. For 10 years, he served as a "family slave" — he was given only rotten food and was beaten every day. He was finally able to flee and, with the help of the United Nations, made it to America, where he now works with AASG as a spokesman. "We cannot rest until my people are free," he told Congress in May 2000.
Fighting Slavery
Even in countries with thousands of slaves, government officials tend to deny that slavery exists — it's an upsetting, and often invisible, topic. The United Nations, the U.S. government, and several other countries are pushing for legal and diplomatic solutions, but there's a lot left for advocacy groups like AASG and Amnesty International to do. AASG has helped to free more than 45,000 slaves — but often that involves going to countries like Sudan and actually buying slaves from their masters.
Enter teen volunteers. Gillian Javetski, 14, heard about AASG when she was a seventh grader and checked out their Web site. "I read all these stories and started crying," she said. Soon, instead of giving each other birthday presents, Gillian's family and friends were contributing money to fight slavery. Gillian sold handmade bracelets at her eighth-grade homecoming, donating the proceeds. And she convinced her principal to have Francis Bok come and speak to her New Jersey school. "The kids were all shocked," Gillian said. "You can't just hear about it and then forget. It just stays with you."
Aaron Fields, 16, also arranged to have Francis Bok speak at his school in California, organizing a fundraising forum that was supported by the local congressman. "To think that there is still slavery and we as human beings are not past the point of man's inhumanity to man is the greatest burden for me," Aaron said.
If you'd like to get involved, check out AASG's Beginner's Guide to Becoming an Abolitionist. |
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