What is human trafficking? It’s essentially modern day slavery. Except it’s not the cute kind of slavery portrayed in some movies–you know, a jolly black woman happily cooks a nice southern meal for the family. Slavery isn’t like that. It’s being kidnapped, forced….sometimes parents are either so destitute and have so little value for their small girls that they sell their daughters into slavery. Slavery did not die off with Abraham Lincoln, it’s still alive and well and occurring every day all over the world. Even here, and even with children. The kids are forced into hard labor, prostitution or worse.
Worldwide, 5.5 million children are victims of forced labor and child trafficking. They have been bought and sold, forced into prostitution, or made to work at grueling, dangerous jobs with little or no pay. Their childhoods are being stolen.
Thousands of these children live right here in the United States. UNICEF believes ZERO children should suffer this way. And you can join their efforts. You can watch this PSA and pass it along.
You can also read the UNICEF toolkit on this issue, become more informed and be a better consumer–avoiding products from companies and countries that are very loose on enforcing child trafficking laws. Toolkit_End-Trafficking_Oct_2012
Do what you can to spread awareness and put pressure on politicians, both near and far. We shouldn’t do business with countries that readily do this. All children deserve a childhood.
