One of the many misconceptions around modern slavery is that it doesn’t happen here in the United States. As so many of our friends in the modern-day abolitionist movement are showing daily, though, slavery is happening in this country and, like any crime, we need strong, clear and enforceable laws in place to end it.

That is why the report released today by the abolitionists at  Shared Hope International is so important. The Protected Innocence Initiative provides a comprehensive analysis of the sex trafficking laws of each state, with a particular emphasis on their application to protecting children. The report also provides recommendations for how such laws can be improved, and finally provides a grade to each state on the effectiveness of their laws in addressing child sex slavery.

The combined effect of Shared Hope International’s analysis, recommendations, and grading is, in their words,  “a comprehensive strategy to promote zero tolerance for child sex trafficking.” Deep and detailed analysis like this is the first step in changing laws to better address child sex slavery. The next is convincing lawmakers to strengthen these laws.

That is where we all come in. Look at your state’s report card. If you don’t like what you see, consider contacting your state legislators and referring them to this report.

There is a spark within each of us. Fan the Flame.

At the Freedom Center, we seek to inspire everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today. That is why we ask visitors to our exhibit Invisible: Slavery Today what they will do to stand up for freedom,  and why we share those statements with others in the exhibit. Because making a statement to your friends and neighbors that, for example, you want an end to modern slavery, is often more powerful than we realize. And courageous.

These statements can be made everyday and everywhere. And now our friends at slaveryfootprint.org have developed an innovative way for you to make your statement while you’re shopping this Friday.

The abolitionists at slaveryfootprint.org, who have developed a tool that lets you see how much slave labor goes into the food, goods and other products we all use everyday, are giving you a voice - through their Made in a Free World App – to tell the world you don’t want goods made by slave labor.

In their words:

“how you spend your money matters to companies. So this Black Friday while you are shopping, open the Made in a Free World App and send letters to the brands that you buy. By doing this, you are letting them know you want the things you buy to be made in a free world. It’s that simple.”

It is that simple. And that powerful.  So if you’re taking advantage of the deals Friday, take a moment and make your statement.

There is a spark within each of us, fan the flame.

Last year I had the distinct pleasure of giving a tour of the Freedom Center to a group of international visitors that was comprised of representatives of four different continents; Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. As we were discussing issues of enslavement at the Anderson slave pen, one of our distinguished guests from Chile posed a question that forced me to pause. Her question was so simple: why do you celebrate Columbus Day here in the United States? Her reasons for asking were profound: he never landed in North America, he did not actually “discover” anything, and he was responsible for enslaving thousands of indigenous peoples in the areas where he did reach land. And yet, every year the United States celebrates these events with parades and federal holidays (which are a huge inconvenience for the rest of us whose daily routines are not altered on that particular day). I discussed the concerns many of us have regarding the continued acknowledgement of this holiday, and I discussed the difficulty in changing long standing traditions and concepts in our nation. It was the best I could do at the moment. However, as we have arrived at another Columbus Day, I wonder if we still celebrate because of the many benefits that we, as Americans enjoy as a result of perpetual enslavement around the world.

In the antebellum period of United States history, it was easy to recognize the benefits of enslavement. Back then, the 1% contained a large number of plantation owners who owned several hundred enslaved people, while the 99% was comprised partially of those enslaved people. Products like cotton went north to textile mills that manufactured goods that were sold to other merchants who purchased those goods and sold them in markets where the goods were purchased by folks who earned wages based on slave labor. Entire industries grew out of the need for slave labor and the benefits of that labor. The traditions and concepts of enslavement in America at the time were so entrenched into society that it took a ghastly Civil War, several rounds of legislative changes, and another century of senseless killings before freedom could even be seen on the horizon. And even then, we still have those heinous traditions and concepts bubbling to the surface in the hearts and minds of people in this country who still don’t get it. 

But, even those of us who get it still benefit from enslavement in our society today. Many of us choose to make purchases based on price, even if that means the cheaper product was made by the hands of slave labor. We buy fast food burgers made from beef from cattle that graze on lands that were once rain forests. Many of those lands have been cleared by slave labor. The coffee we drink, the diamonds we buy, the products we use daily often come to us courtesy of the evil underbelly of the contemporary slave trade.

Maybe that is why we cannot seem to break the traditions and concepts of recognizing Columbus as some larger than life figure whose actions were meant for the greater good. If this is still your mindset, ask someone whose people still suffer the effects of oppression how they feel about it. And, if you want to change things in our world today, do your research and make wise purchases of fair trade products. While we can all do so much more than that, it only takes a spark to get a fire going.

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame

Yesterday the U.S. State Department released the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.  What is the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report?

The TIP Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts and reflects the U.S. Government’s commitment to global leadership on this key human rights and law enforcement issue. It represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it. The U.S. Government uses the TIP Report to engage foreign governments in dialogues to advance anti-trafficking reforms and to combat trafficking and to target resources on prevention, protection and prosecution programs. Worldwide, the report is used by international organizations, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations alike as a tool to examine where resources are most needed. Freeing victims, preventing trafficking, and bringing traffickers to justice are the ultimate goals of the report and of the U.S Government’s anti-human trafficking policy.

For more information about the TIP Report click here.  To download the 2011 TIP Report click here.

During yesterday’s remarks Ambassador CdeBaca said, “If you go to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center today, you’ll see an exhibit on modern slavery and how it affects you because they realize that the walk to freedom didn’t end 150 years ago; it’s a journey that someone is having to take every day.” The exhibition he is referring to is Invisible: Slavery Today, which opened in October 2010.

The Freedom Center is proud to be an active participant in educating the local, national and international community about the ongoing fight for freedom across the globe.  We wish to thank the State Department for its continued efforts to not only educate but eliminate human trafficking and other human rights violations.

The road ahead is difficult, but if we mirror the courage, cooperation and perseverance of those who opposed/fought slavery during the Underground Railroad era, we can be a part of the modern-day abolitionist movement to make contemporary slavery history.

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” -Maya Angelou

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame!

Welcome back to my corner! Today, I’d like to talk about connections…. You’ll have to keep up with me because I may seem to be jumping from one subject to another, but they will all end up being (you guessed it!) connected!

So, our staff was having an internal discussion the other day about… connections… and in the discussion we were looking for “opportunity areas”. One opportunity area, no matter how well we are currently doing it, is to make more (and better) connections between historical and contemporary issues. Since I’m guessing you’ve glanced at our website, you know we talk about American slavery, the Underground Railroad, and Contemporary Slavery, but what about everything in between?!?! What else do we talk about?!?! And, what connects everything together?!?!

[JUMP] The Freedom Center has what we refer to as UnFreedoms – basically the antithesis of Freedom; UnFreedom, that which hinders the freedom of others. We’ve created a catchy little acronym for our UnFreedoms – it spells out R.I.G.H.T.S. (genius I know!). Racism, Illiteracy, Genocide, Hunger, Tyranny, Slavery. The UnFreedoms are the focused lens through which we hope to bring awareness, education, and advocacy around contemporary issues. We want to be relevant; we want to make connections to (past AND present) issues, and we want to connect to people!

[JUMP] The Freedom Center is all about FREEDOM – surprise! We believe that freedom (or the lack thereof) connects everything together. As Moshe Dayan said, “Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.” In every civilization, on every continent around the world, since the beginning of time, freedom has been challenged or denied – and freedom has been fought for! Even in our foundation (the Underground Railroad), we tell about the desire for freedom, the fight for freedom, and the triumph of obtaining freedom! We connect our core values (Courage, Cooperation, and Perseverance) through the ages.

[JUMP] There have been several studies done in recent years about YP aka Young Professionals aka Generations X,Y, and Millennials. What do they want? I’ve heard… we don’t necessarily want to talk about racism, we don’t necessarily want to talk about the past, and we don’t necessarily want to talk about the fights for this or that. We’re a multicultural generation, an action-oriented generation, a group that wants relevancy, global views, and immediate use/gratification. We want efficiency and effectiveness. What does the Freedom Center have to offer? A platform, a hub, a resource, an openness to what is going on in the world. Even more, the Freedom Center offers the connections that tie together what has been done, what is being done, what we can hope to do in the future.

A few of my favorite YPs from my graduate days in England!

[Final connection] The Freedom Center can be many things to many people. We talk about African American history – rather we talk about AMERICAN history. We talk about the importance of the museum’s foundation in the Underground Railroad and slavery. We talk about Freedom. We talk about contemporary issues. We are a cultural center and a museum of conscience and a museum of ideas. Does that mean that we’re too many things?!?! NO, at least I don’t believe so – because we make connections. Connect with us – do it today!

There is a spark within each of us…. Fan the Flame!

CNN recently established a new project called the “CNN Freedom Project.” Through this project, CNN aims to: end modern-day slavery and shine a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of the victims, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life. CNN also presents horrifying stories and facts about the current state of human trafficking. Here are some shocking facts:

1) According to Kevin Bales, the average price of a slave has decreased over 200 years. In 1809, the price of one slave was $40,000 (adjusted). In 2009, the average price of a slave was $90. This represents a 100% decrease in the value of slaves over 200 years.

2) Human trafficking exists in towns and cities across the world, including the US. Young women and girls are forced into prostitution in towns like Toledo, Atlanta, Wichita, and Los Angeles. Accounts of human trafficking victims have also been found in salons, restaurants, and hotels across the country (Amanda Kloer, Editor with Change.com)

3) Some of the products you use – jewelry, shoes, coffee – may have been made by human trafficking victims (Amanda Kloer).

4) Estimate number of slaves in the world? 10 to 30 million, according to policymakers, activists, journalists and scholars (Manav Tanneeru, CNN)

Takes a look at how people around the world are taking a stand against slavery.

What can you do to end modern-day slavery? Click here to access more than 100 different resources and anti-slavery organizations. CNN also provides an in-house team in place to assist readers and viewers with specific questions. You have a voice. Fight to end modern-day slavery!

CNN’s Sara Sidner sat down with India’s Labor Secretary Prabhat C. Chaturvedi following her recent report on modern day slavery.   Her report featured generations of individuals trapped in a system of bonded labor.  Chatirvedi acknowledges that bonded labor is an issue in India, however, he feels the term slave is inappropriate.

Below is an excerpt (and watch a longer response in the video above):

SIDNER: Did anything in that story surprise you?

CHATURVEDI: We are aware of the problem of bonded labor and also of child labor in this country … the story that you are doing relates to bonded labor and children working in the brick kilns.

SIDNER: Would you call this modern-day slavery. This bonded labor?

CHATURVEDI: Certainly not. It is not slavery. As I said, it is a problem of poverty.

SIDNER: These people say that they feel enslaved. They have no other option, they are beaten, they are not paid, they are hungry some of them. Doesn’t that sound like slavery to you?

CHATURVEDI: I would never use the word slave.

The NURFC opened the first, permanent museum quality exhibition on modern day slavery in October 2010 titled, Invisible: Slavery Today.  The exhibition features the five most common forms of exploitation: forced labor, bonded labor, child labor, sex trafficking and domestic servitude.  Bonded labor is a form of slavery and using the term slave is appropriate.

What do you think?

__________________________________________________________

To read Sara Sidner’s “Generations pay off debts through slavery” click here.

To read Sara Sidner’s “Fear accompanies road to freedom” click here.

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame.

Detective Ken Lawson of the Columbus Police Department to speak at the Freedom Center, Saturday, February 5, at 2:00 p.m.

With all of the ongoing conversation surrounding the anticipated sex trafficking at the Super Bowl this weekend, (http://abcnews.go.com/US/super-bowl-task-force-combat-child-sex-traffickers/story?id=12760440&page=3)  the Freedom Center’s presentation by Detective Ken Lawson of the Columbus Police Department is most timely. Detective Lawson works daily on the front lines of combating human trafficking in Ohio. His presentation will offer a window into human trafficking here in our own state and will offer suggestions for what we can do at a grassroots level to help combat this issue.

As you surely know, in October,  the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened the world’s first and only museum-quality permanent exhibition on modern day slavery and human trafficking. The stories told and information presented in this exhibition are powerful. Certainly, the goal of this exhibition is to move people to action – to become modern day freedom conductors. I would invite you, your photographer and/or camera crew to visit us tomorrow for Detective Lawson’s presentation.

The more aggressively we communicate the facts surrounding human trafficking – yes, even here in Ohio – the sooner we can end this atrocity. To that end, tomorrow at 2:00 PM, the Freedom Center will welcome Detective Ken Lawson of the Columbus Police Department.

This presentation is free with admission to the Freedom Center.
Reservations are preferred, but not required:  513.333.7705.

There’s little doubt that the news media is becoming more aware of the crime of human trafficking.  As coverage expands, so should public awareness.

Typical of the way in which traditional media is now paying attention to trafficking is this weekend article in the Miami Herald, long considered one of the nation’s best newspapers.  The article profiles the plight of some 30 Filipinos who came to South Florida with the flimsy promise of good paying jobs in posh country clubs.

The story’s first paragraph sums up their treatment:

For up to 16 hours daily, (the Filipinos) worked at posh country clubs across South Florida, then returned to deceptively quiet houses in Boca Raton where they were captives — and in the most dreadful cases, fed rotten chicken and vegetables, forced to drink muriatic acid and repeatedly denied medical help.

(more…)

Following on the heels of the just-completed official state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, his government’s semi-official English language newspaper, China Daily, reports that trafficking of women out of the country appears to be on the rise.

The report quotes a senior police officer in the government’s anti-trafficking office as saying that the victims are mostly from poor rural areas, who are trafficked into forced marriages or prostitution.

“. . .(T)here has been a growing trend for organized transnational human trafficking crime groups to target Chinese women for forced prostitution in foreign countries,” said the official, Chen Shiqu, director of anti-human trafficking office under the Ministry of Public Security.  “Many of the trafficked women were cheated by criminal suspects under the guise of overseas study or high-paid jobs and then forced into prostitution,” Chen added.

Chen didn’t offer any numbers to back up his claims, but he did refer to statistics from Malaysia saying a total of 5,453 Chinese women suspected of engaging in prostitution were detained by the end of November.  He also noted that Chinese police have cracked 9,165 trafficking cases and rescued 17,746 women since April 2009 when the Ministry of Public Security launched a special campaign.

What are careful readers to make of this interview?  On the surface, it appears that China is taking trafficking seriously, and is increasingly eager to let the world know that it is attempting to combat traffickers.  But according to many outside organizations, China’s efforts to protect its citizens, and to observe basic civil and political rights, remain weak.  One such conclusion, by the respected Human Rights Watch, was issued just prior to President Hu’s visit with the Obama Administration. It stated that China’s own efforts to conform with broad human rights protocols have so fair failed.

The China Daily report can be interpreted as a public relations effort to counter its poor international reputation on human rights.  Or, to be fair, perhaps the newspaper account is just what it is: a reflection of a huge nation’s growing concern about the trafficking of humans into forced labor and sex slavery.

Whatever the interpretation, the fact that China Daily sees fit to cover the trafficking issue is a positive step in a nation that is too often opaque to outsiders.

Among the 225 high profile people invited to Wednesday’s White House state dinner for Chinese President Hu, one stood out for anyone hoping to see progress from China on respecting human rights.

None other than Kenneth Roth, the President of Human Rights Watch — one of China’s most persistent NGO critics — got one of the treasured invites for the glittering event.  Less than a week ago, Human Rights Watch gave China a failing grade for showing a lack of progress in upholding citizen rights. The Obama Administration, hoping to show respect for the Chinese leader and, in return, obtain concessions, or at least the start of concessions, on a wide range of critical policy differences, rolled out the red carpet, the exquisite crystal glassware and cutlery, and a quintessential American menu.  In subdued and elegant formal wear, the two leaders proffered several toasts on prosperity, friendship and continuing dialogue.

It was an impressive, glittering evening, a carefully staged and highly public event in which nations communicate to each other in sometimes subtle, sometimes blunt language, all encased in pomp and circumstance.

The presence of Roth on the guest list was an umistakable message from our government to its Chinese counterparts:  get serious on curbing human rights abuses. Roth played his part to the hilt.  Asked why he thought he had been invited to the soiree, Roth replied, “I was invited as a statement to President Hu.”

None of this may may end up doing anything to cause the Chinese to ease up on the government’s restrictions on civil and political rights.  Up to now, the country has shown little inclination to even respond to its critics, other than to suggest, often with a sneer, that how political protest is dealt with in China is an “internal matter” that is no business of other nations.

Still, one can hope that President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Administration’s China team have secured at least the start of a progressive step from the Chinese on human rights, and on a host of other issues in which Beijing often acts like a petulant teenager, according to many diplomatic observers. On human rights, Hu — for the first time — signaled a tentative willingness to at least consider respecting citizen rights.

In a report by the New York Times, Hu said at a White House news conference that China “recognizes and also respects the universality of human rights,” a palpable shift for a government that has staged a two-year crackdown on internal dissent and imprisoned a Nobel laureate. Until Wednesday, the Times report continued, recognizing credos like democracy and human rights as “universal values” had been all but taboo in Chinese political discourse, although China has signed the United Nations convention that enshrines the principle of universal human rights.

Words, of course, are easier than deeds. “I don’t equate new rhetoric with new reality in China,” said Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a Brookings Institution scholar who was President Bill Clinton’s national security adviser on China issues. “But at least new rhetoric is better than nothing.”

All of this is encouraging, if it leads to a more open society in China, and among other reforms a crackdown on widespread human trafficking and forced labor practices within the vast nation.  A good starting point would be the release of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Prize laureate and political activist who languishes in prison as the leader of the Chinese government clangs crystal with the American President.

A human trafficking case described as the largest in U.S. history continues to grow.  Two more individuals were indicted in Honolulu last week for their alleged involvement in an illegal scheme to force more than 400 farm workers from Thailand into brutal work in Hawaii and throughout the nation.

Previously, six people were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for their role in luring the Thai workers with false promises of steady, good paying jobs, and then treating the laborers as little more than slaves.  The trafficking ring operated from 2001 through 2007, according to the Justice Department.

Whether it’s the largest trafficking case on record is not nearly as important as the lesson it provides in human trafficking 101.  All the elements of a classic forced labor exploitation are evident:  force, fraud, coercion and, apparently, big profits for the traffickers.

According to accounts of the ordeal as published in the Salt Lake City Tribune, the Thai workers agreed to pay an employment firm, Global Horizons, an upfront “recruitment” fee of $24,000 each, payable by taking out usurious mortgages (of up to 800% interest) on their rice farms in Thailand.

As more attention is paid to trafficking, the debate about its actual extent and impact is likely to continue to grow.  But whatever the actual data is, there is no doubt — as this case amply demonstrates — that trafficking exists, and that real people can and are its victims.