Slavery... more prominent than ever

I got an e-mail from my dad today. And made a heartbreaking realization about the world I live in. One so drastic to my heart this morning that I had to blog it or something to just let go of it a little.

Even as a kid I never understood the evils of this world we live in, and I have learned better than to dwell on them completely or life itself will be lost in my heart and mind... but what do I do with something that comes and hits me in the chest with its obscenely painful reality? I can't just let it pass me and go back to my cereal. I can pray about it! And I will!!! I will pray about it everyday.

But there must something I can say about this. Some way I can make a change in the world around me. So I will do what I know I can to change the world. I will pray... and I will tell who I can, and make awareness, and if God brings me the opportunity to stand up and say something, I will not let it pass. For now, I will tell everyone who is reading this blog what I found, and what I see. Thanks for looking if you were here today.

Here is the website reference to the facts I am posting:
http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/department_of_labor_releases_list_of_slave-made_goods

From an article titled "Department of Labor Releases List of Slave-Made Goods", came these numbers about slavery that exists right now today in the world:

"There's a long, detailed list that's a little blandly formatted, but it indicates whether goods in a certain country are made with child labor, forced labor, or both. It's important to keep in mind this doesn't mean all goods from that sector in that country were produced with exploitation. Here are some of the worst offenders for forced labor or slavery specifically:

Bolivia: nuts, cattle, corn, and sugar
Burma: bamboo, beans, bricks, jade, nuts, rice rubber, rubies, sesame, shrimp, sugarcane, sunflowers, and teak
China: artificial flowers, bricks, Christmas decorations, coal, cotton, electronics, garments, footwear, fireworks, nails, and toys
India: bricks, carpets, cottonseed, textiles, and garments
Nepal: bricks, carpets, textiles, and stones
North Korea: bricks, cement, coal, gold, iron, and textiles
Pakistan: bricks, carpet, coal, cotton, sugar, and wheat"

My thoughts:
This brought me to tears today, reading about this. I think what struck me most significantly was the painful realization of the irony that we put Christmas decorations on our trees during one of our most cherished and sacred holidays, that are created by the hands of the oppressed... and our children play with toys that come as a result of somebody losing their freedom... their freedom to play, their freedom to dream, their freedom to live!

That's more than ironic. That's beyond oxymoron. Its totally wrong. Its the epitome of insensitive, unjust and immoral behavior. And how can a country founded on Christian morals-- or any country that heralds itself on hope, dreams and compassion -- allow this kind of injustice to infiltrate its borders and benefit its economy?!?! HOW, PLEASE TELL ME?! Liberty and justice for all!? Unless you are making us lots of money and you do not live within the borders of our country!

Almost every democratic country has some form of understanding that slavery is WRONG! So this isn't just the United States I'm talking about here. We have the ability to make an effort to stop slavery. We can at least do what we can to stop it from tainting our own countries. Freedom and hope and dreams and play are the right of everyone. Not the select few. Even if we can't free every slave or stop every evil, we can stand in the belief that this is true and that we are not tolerant of any violation of that truth!

We can do something! One person can change the world! You don't even have to move. You just have to stand up!