Don’t Be a Coward…

Ben Cooley of Hope for Justice (more about HfJ at https://moderndayslaveryblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/hope-for-justice/) has been in Belfast with his team over the weekend and conversations with friends there have been dotted with things he had said that have inspired people. One of the things that has stood out is this: when asked what can be done NOW to fight the problem, he suggests…research.

Research – finding out more about the problem in your area, in your country, globally. Finding out who enslaves other human beings. Finding out what happens to the slaves. Finding out what the effects of this are. Finding out what is done to help them. Finding out what YOU can do to help.

In the society you and I live in, we have access to so much information; sometimes, too much. Let’s put this to use. Let’s use the open door we have to access information, to then use this as a tool in the fight against trafficking. The A21 Campaign suggests that this is 80% of the battle at the minute, as so many people still don’t know enough about it.

What about choosing one topic this week to research for yourself? Could be Fairtrade products; what your MP is doing to fight trafficking; what happens in an area of slavery you may not know much about (child soldiers? sex exploitation? forced labour? debt bondage?), or something that you find particularly breaks your heart about this evil trade. Share this with your friends (including us!). On that topic, is contributing to this blog something you’d like to explore? Let us know!

”There is but one coward on earth, and that is the coward that dare not know.” W.E.B. Dubois

What would YOU like to read about?

Thanks so much for visiting the blog. We’ve been overwhelmed at the response it has got since it went live a few days ago. We are not experts and we need you to be as much as part of this as we are: so we’re asking you, what would you like to read about on here? We have a list of exciting posts coming up in the next few weeks (see the sidebar’s ”upcoming posts” <–)…but what else?
What would be useful to read about?
What are the areas you aren’t sure of?
What do you need to know in order to equip you to fight modern day slavery?

Leave a comment on this post (just below!) and let’s get a conversation going.

Thanks again for being ‘here’!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Modern Day Slavery blog. What began as a Facebook group aiming to raise awareness of the different forms of modern day slavery, as well as ways in which you and I can help fight them, has branched out into this blog – one which aims to explore issues relating to those of slavery and human trafficking from a range of perspectives.

It will endeavour to:

1. Better inform readers on the problems of human trafficking and slavery.

2. Provide insight into how we as readers should act and continue the fight against human trafficking by highlighting stories of people who are doing so as well as organisations to support.

3. Be helpful in understanding the links to many aspects of society that may not be visible to many.

This is very much a collective conversation – the authors of the blog are normal people whose hearts are broken over the issues and who are searching for deeper understanding and solutions. Join us in this conversation. Join us on this journey.