Slavery 10

‘’No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.’’ – United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Children, young men and women are lured from villages, towns, and cities where the plea for survival strikes the very poor, creating a desperation in people who will do anything to survive. These young victims are promised jobs and labour, but instead, are forced to work in quarries and sweat shops, as domestics, in farms, as child soldiers and other forms of involuntary service, such as forced prostitution or sexual slaves.
Human trafficking, the forceful exploitation of human beings in the form of labour or sexual slavery is an international crime but is evident worldwide and despite the cost of human lives has become a strong business with profits that average $7 billion per is year. Human trafficking is the third most profitable criminal activity, second after drugs and arms trafficking. A slave in 1850 in America cost the equivalent of $40,000. According to figures published, the cost of a slave today averages around $90, depending on the work they are forced to carry out. A young adult male labourer in Mali might only fetch $40, whereas an HIV-free female might attract a price of up to $1000. Is it fair to put a price on a human life? It is a well known fact that slaves are widely available today. This “supply” makes slaves today cheaper than they have ever been. Since they are so cheap, slaves today are not considered a major investment worth maintaining. If slaves get sick, are injured, outlive their usefulness, or become troublesome to the slaveholder, they are dumped or killed.
The reports of these crimes are buried in the mass media, somewhere between the coverage of the war in Iraq and Hollywood divorces. The exploitation of human beings, the robbing of a soul in the worst way, or the degradation of innocent lives carries less weight in the mass media. Even the BBC...