This is my EarthAnd it's fine
It's where I spend the vast majority of my time
Slavery is illegal in every country, yet as of 2006 there are as many as 28.4 million slaves in the world. In 2007, the slave trade made 32 billion dollars. That’s more than Nike, Google, and Starbucks made in the same year combined.
Most of these slaves are in bonded labor (or debt bondage), a whopping 18.1 million. Another 7.6 million slaves are in forced labor, like the kind we hear about in Congo with diamond mining. At least 2.7 million slaves are also trafficked.
Sex trafficking is among the most common forms of slavery. Victims are usually either sold by their family members living in poverty, or deceived with a job or other offer. Typical schemes are ones like being offered the opportunity to go to America and work at a fast food chain like In-N-Out.
There is a handful of other tactics used to deceive these people, such as fraud, threats, marriage offers, or even outright abduction. When the scheme is revealed, these women are repeatedly gang raped and drugged into submission. Some children as young as three are forced into the trade.
Unlike many global issues, however, this isn’t one that can be written off as a problem of underdeveloped countries. Every year, anywhere between 800,000 and 1.8 million people are trafficked into the United States. It’s something that happens inside the US borders in plain sight, in our own backyards. 80% of these are women, and 50% are children.
Furthermore, because slavery is so prevalent in manual labor, nearly every product purchased here in America is produced in some way due to slaves. Many products that we use everyday are made in part thanks to slavery. There’s a very well put together survey that can tell you about how many slaves are supporting your life. It can be found at http://slaveryfootprint.org.
If you want to know more specifically about human trafficking, you can check out this website: http://www.callandresponse.com/
(Source: omg-facts.com)
I’m writing because I need your help right now. Corporate lobbyists for a few oil, gas and mining companies are fighting hard to water down European transparency laws that could help millions of people escape poverty. If their efforts are successful billions of dollars of payments they make to African governments will remain secret, fuelling corruption and starving vital services like hospitals and schools of funding. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Today we are stepping up our campaign on this issue. As key decision makers across Europe prepare to meet and discuss the laws, we are launching a powerful new advert in the Financial Times and other major newspapers across Europe. We’re showing people how the law risks being watered down.
But we need your help to add to the pressure. Click here to automatically sign our petition, which reads:
Dear European Leaders, Please stand up to corporate lobbying against proposed EU laws requiring oil, gas and mining companies to publish payments to foreign governments. Pass strong laws that will help citizens spot corruption and ensure the money is used to lift millions of people out of poverty.
The new laws are a once in a generation opportunity to lift the lid on these secret payments that allow unscrupulous leaders to siphon off some of the profits. We can’t afford to miss this opportunity to get it right.
Please help intensify this pressure by signing our petition calling on leaders to stand up to this fierce corporate lobbying:
http://act.one.org/go/520?t=4&akid=3135.5768497.zrnBtQ
We’ve seen the damage the resource curse can do in countries like Equatorial Guinea which has vast wealth from oil but huge inequality. Seven in ten people live in poverty despite the country having a greater average wealth per person than some European countries. The proposed new laws provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn the resource curse into a blessing. Let’s not waste this. Call on European leaders to show their mettle and stand up to corporate lobbying:
http://act.one.org/go/520?t=6&akid=3135.5768497.zrnBtQ
If enough of us join together we can help millions of people lift themselves out of poverty.
Thanks for all you do.
Stuart McWilliam, ONE.org
ONE.ORG | PRIVACY | SUBSCRIBE | UNSUBSCRIBE | CONTACT US | ABOUT
