Slavery doesn't still exist?
Think Again
"Share our similarities, celebrate our differences."
Differences shouldn't define us
Understanding different cultures and respecting their beliefs is very important because people can get highly offended and it’s important to realize we are the same. There is a camp I used to go to every summer for 3-4 weeks and there would be people from all over the world there. It is really amazing how different everybody could be but still in the end be the same. Culture is important but I imagine a world where we can look past that and realize people come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors but on the inside we are the same. We all enjoy life in our own ways but that doesn't mean one life is more important than another.
In our world's history there have been a ton of accounts of discrimination against a group of people considered to be different. Slavery in America, Apartheid in Africa, and the Holocaust in Germany. Learning about these events is very interesting but appalling to think how they can treat these innocent people the way they do. During the Holocaust, Hitler molded the Germans’ minds to make them think Jews were the reason for their misfortunes. It was believed that Jews are bad and are cursed. So they turned a blind eye to the horrid things Hitler did to these people. An example would be how they were paraded the through towns to line them up and shoot them burying their bodies in these mass graves. Also the unlucky ones were thrown into concentration camps having to do labor for little to no food. Later they would be a part in another kind of mass murder where they were told they were going to shower just to be killed with toxic gases. Jews are normal people that worship different things. They haven’t caused any type of harm to anybody like Hitler caused to them just so he could create his “perfect” Aryan race.
Americans during this time spoke of how awful all this was when we had something very similar happening in our borders. Japanese Internment camps were where they sent Japanese immigrants to do forced labor because they thought them to be spies trying to get information to report back to the Japanese government so they can send a similar attack like Pearl Harbor. Conditions in these camps were disgusting and no matter the age or gender these people were shoved in there because of our stereotypes. They were escaping their government just to be put in worse conditions.
We also discriminated against the African Americans by restricting them of their freedoms and rights because we felt they were lesser than us. We believed them to be animals. We are still recovering from all these events even today. Racism is a big issue and is still present wherever you go. All people are the same. Everybody has equal worth no matter the mistakes they've made or the stereotypes they might have fallen under. We are are God’s children and are unique yet identical.
Yes, it's present in the USA
Many governments overlook slavery because it feeds directly into the global economy. Daily we buy products that are made possible because of these victims of slavery. Slaves today are cheap and disposable. In 1850 a slave in the south cost about $40,000 in today's money, now they cost about $90. Slaves back then were also a lot harder to capture/transport and today millions are vulnerable to slavery in every part of the world. Since slaves are so cheap nowadays they aren't considered worth maintaining since they can be replaced easily. If slaves become sick, injured or too old they are simply killed of dumped.
Ways to help:
Help support poor parents so children don't have to help support family and can get education
strengthen child protection systems to prevent/respond to violence/abuse
- train social workers, health workers, police, and border officials to stop this situation
Sources
"Child Trafficking." UNICEF USA. United States Fund, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
"Modern Slavery - Free the Slaves." Modern Slavery - Free the Slaves. Free The Slaves, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner, 1960. Print.
"Shaping Young Minds!" Voices of Youth. UNICEF, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.