by MH
Published on: Sep 20, 2003
Topic:
Type: Opinions
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=1928
I recently read an article entitled "Human Slavery in the 21st century." in the National Geographic magazine. My eyes glared at the photos I saw; they were opened at the cruelty and injustice that people experienced. I love to learn, no, I do not mean the quizzes and papers that are confined to the four walls of the schoolroom. I want to learn, I want to be educated, I want to learn the language of the universe. And here is one of my first lessons. I never thought that human slavery was still prevalent in the modern society of machines and robots. I was proven wrong, so wrong. I was so shocked to see children younger than I am enslaved in different parts of the world. The article exposed the reality that despite the fact that no country legalizes slavery, it is still very much present in our world today. One of the types of slavery exposed was human trafficking. Girls from indigenous countries were promised better lives, education, etc. by certain people who end up selling them to brothels and inns as prostitutes. The girls end up working to pay off the debt paid by their owner from the previous seller. And once the "debt" has been paid, they are sold to another brothel or inn, and the cycle repeats again. And sometimes slavery extends from one generation to another. Whole families are forced to labor for people who have lent them money for things they could not pay for such as a burial ceremony or for medical expenses. If the parents are not able to pay off the debts in their lifetimes (due to sky-rocketing interests or inaccurate accounting), it is passed on to the next generation, and so on. It just makes me wonder, what life is without freedom. When you live in constant fear of being beaten, when you live on a meal a day- I wonder how one keeps on living. I can't imagine life without freedom. I believe man is born free. I believe in the Supreme Being. I believe He meant for us to be free. I'm only sixteen. I'm quite new to the outside world, coming from a sheltered environment. Most of the time, my windows to the real outside world are the books and magazines or television programs I watch. I'm passionate about helping people, I want to be socially and globally aware. I can't stand the fact that other people live to survive, while others live in luxury. What can I do? That's the most important question. Do I wait until I'm president or even until I'm old enough to work? I don't think I'll ever become president nor do the people suffering from this kind of injustice be willing to wait for another 30 years or so to be free. I want to work on it now! And so, educate me... Educate me on how to make a single and seemingly minute voice be heard! « return.