I wrote this essay for my English class. I hope it drives you to take action and do something about the wrongfulness of this situation.
Zee R.
Writing for High School Level 1
18 January 2012
“I
expose slavery in this country, because to expose it means to kill it. Slavery
is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of the truth is death.”
(Frederick Douglass) Slavery is a big
deal, and even though people don’t think it’s still present, it happens all the
time. And of course, he’s talking about the slavery back in Civil War times,
but, there is still slavery in this world. One form of this modern day slavery
is child trafficking. Every year in Africa, there are millions of children
being smuggled across borders, sold, and forced into labor or prostitution. The
majority of children who are trafficked range from twelve to sixteen years old
and work an average of twelve to fourteen hours a day. There are about 19 million children
in Africa, and over 1.2 million are victim to child trafficking. Child
Trafficking is an evil action that should be abolished.
Child trafficking is a huge deal that people don’t much.
What they don’t realize is how eminent it really is. Just about everyone likes
chocolate, right? Well, boys in Africa are used for labor on cocoa farms,
harvesting cocoa beans to make chocolate. They are brutally abused and undernourished.
They are exposed to very dangerous illnesses, pesticides, severe heat, and use
dangerous tools that twelve-year-old boys should not be allowed to use. The
children have cuts and scars all over. These children get little to no food and
most sleep in a single room with about fifteen other boys. The rooms have no
windows and the doors are locked every night to ensure the children don’t try
and escape. This kind of event goes on unnoticed by authorities because the
farms are usually hidden and discreet. Children attempt to escape but almost
always get caught, then beaten. Occasionally, one of the boys will escape and
report the farm to the authorities, but that rarely occurs. Most companies
don’t know that the chocolate they sell is produced from these children’s hard
work, but some do and use what’s called “fair trade” chocolate.
Another part of child trafficking is forced prostitution.
Traffickers will take advantage of the desperation of a young girl who is
looking for any way possible to help out her family, and use her. He will
either keep her for his own pleasure, or he will sell her to another
trafficker. They target girls more than women because girls are worth more
money, especially if she is a virgin. Sometimes, the parents will even sell
their child in order to get the trafficker’s money. Some men will pay about
$700 for a single night with a virgin girl. Most of these girls are twelve to
fifteen years old. It is a tragic event, but most people overlook it as it is
disguised inexplicably well.
The smuggling of children in Africa
is immense. Many will lure the children into their grasp with false promises of
jobs and/or food, then capture them and keep them imprisoned. They are taken
over borders and used on cocoa farms, as domestic servants, or sold. These
children will eagerly go with them to earn money to help their families; money
that they’ll never get. These children are lied to and treated horribly. They
are either sold or kept for the trafficker’s own personal use.
You can be a part of stopping Child
Trafficking by raising money to donate to an organization. There are plenty
that will do everything they possibly can do to abolish this wrongfulness.
Also, be aware of the coffee and chocolate and things you buy. Check it to see if
it’s fair trade before making the decision whether to buy it or not. Raise
awareness in your area. Encourage people to donate to a certain organization.
Arrange a fund raiser to earn the money for that donation. You can also talk to
your pastor about arranging a mission trip to an impacted country you would
like to help. There are many ways you can make a difference on this world, and
lots of helpful people to do it with you.
Slavery still exists, and it can be
stopped. Not enough people know about it for it to be ended though. Douglass
said it right. Modern slavery is a big “monster” in today’s society. Forced
labor, prostitution, and child smuggling are tremendous issues in many
third-world countries as well as Africa. I challenge you to do everything you
can to help abolish slavery once and for all. This kind of ordeal simply cannot
happen anymore! Some organizations that can help are: www.freethechildren.com/donate/, www.notforsalecampaign.org/donate/, www.unicef.org/za, and http://generation4justice.com/?page_id=33
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