Free to Work

                "Happy Thanksgiving!"  echoed in the halls of my workplace late yesterday afternoon as coworkers were leaving for the day.    Lunchtime conversation centered around where everyone was going, or who was coming, what food we were going to prepare, and the timing of events around the "big game".   We were all looking forward to a day or two of holiday.  Most likely the atmosphere was the same at your workplace.

                But did you also hear the usual complaints about the hours, the pay, the boss, the benefits package,  the facility, a coworker, an assignment, etc., etc.?   Well, consider this:

• Were you hired fraudulently?  That is, did the boss promise wealth and benefits that were an outright lie?

• Are your hours 14-16 hours a day, with a brief break in the middle of the day for a bowl of watery soup or rice?

• Do you work for no pay?

• Or if you do receive compensation, does the boss take most of it back to cover your "expenses", i.e.  a hovel to live in and the watery soup to survive on?

• Are you free to  come and go from your job site as you wish?  Is anyone keeping you there under threat of violence or death?

• Are your children forced to work alongside you?

                This is the "daily grind" for millions of families around the world today.  They live in areas where there are no opportunities for education, to learn job skills, to work for an honest company--there is no such thing as "employment options".  And everyone in their extended family and community are in the same situation.  This makes one so very vulnerable.  So  what would you have do if your children were starving?  What if someone in your family was ill and you were promised medical treatment?  How would you respond if someone promised your children could go to school if you would come work for them? 

                My challenge to us today is to think about our work life - and be so very thankful .  I realize some reading this may really be truly struggling in their job, or even be unemployed.  You can be thankful for family and friends who are able to help you.  Be thankful for community resources that can help you through this time.  Be thankful for the opportunity to learn new job skills. 

                When we consider the plight of the enslaved, we have nothing to complain about--and everything to be thankful for.

Become Aware . . . Begin to Care

        Welcome to "Aware to Care" ~ a blog to help inform and educate my friends, family and hopefully other readers, that slavery still exists, and that yes - there is something just one person can do to make a difference.

        To begin, let's take a quiz. (Don't be intimidated - just 2 years ago I would have "flunked" this!)

  1 - In the world today, there are . . .

        a.2 million slaves    b.16 million slaves   c.30 million slaves   d.none - slavery ended in 1865

  2 - After drugs and weapons, human trafficking is the 3rd largest and fastest growing criminal 

        enterprise the world.          True or False? 

  3 - This is such a huge issue - I could never make a difference!      True or False?

 Before I give the answers, I think some definition of terms is in order.

        SLAVERY = someone is a slave when they are forced to work under threat of violence, paid nothing  beyond sustenance, and unable to walk away.  There are many forms of slavery: forced adult and child labor, child soldiers, domestic servitude, and sex slavery

        HUMAN TRAFFICKING = the recruiting, transporting, harboring, receiving, or obtaining a person for the purpose of compelled service

        In 2007,  U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), estimated up to 27 million people around the world lived in slavery.  In 2011 the "Not For Sale Campaign" is estimating that figure is over 30 million.  

        In a U.S. Customs & Immigration Enforcement Report from April 23, 2011, I quote, "With an estimated annual revenue of $32 billion, or about $87 million a day....human trafficking is tied with arms dealing as the world's second largest criminal enterprise, behind only drugs."

        These statistics are sobering.  And overwhelming.  There is no way we can wrap our minds around these kinds of numbers.  But in the weeks to come, I hope to change those numbers into a face....a story...a tear...a smile.  

        I want to introduce you to men and women on the front-lines rescuing  children and women from sex slavery, working for an enslaved laborer, freeing child soldiers.  You'll meet a school teacher who hosts "Freedom Parties" to help support cottage industries of rescued women; a young law student who is answering God's call to serve those who suffer injustice; an 11-year old entrepreneur who is helping fund an African orphanage that rescues child soldiers and AIDS orphans.  And I'll probably share my own story, too.   I want to help all of us know how we can care, through our prayers, how we shop, and how we serve.  And who knows?  Maybe God will call one of us to the "front lines."