Modern Slavery

Sometimes I amaze myself at just how clueless I am. When listening to my grandchildren I only understand about 10 percent of what they say. When I drive off the paths I take most days, I see things that I forget about. I see poverty and shacks in which I am sure hunger stalks. I walk in crowds and see empty eyes and blank faces that show a complete absence of the love Creator God has for them.

Occasionally I hear things that shock me to the core.  There are employees working in private homes who are forced into serving and/or fraudulently convinced that they have no option to leave. Women, men or children are forced into the commercial sex industry and held against their will by force, fraud or coercion. Human beings are forced to work under the threat of violence and for no pay. These slaves are treated as property and exploited to create a product for commercial sale. Individuals are compelled to work in order to repay a debt and unable to leave until the debt is repaid. It is the most common form of enslavement in the world.Women and children are forced to marry another without their consent or against their will. Slavery is alive and well in many forms.

You might think these evils exist in the third world, in places far away. Not so. Here in Lafayette we live between two of the largest centers of enslavement: New Orleans and Houston. Human trafficking is a real, enormous and very near evil. Estimates of the number of slaves today range from around 21 million to 46 million. Obviously statistics are difficult to compile on such dark underground activity. People, especially the young, turn up missing every day. It is generally assumed their absence is voluntary, that they are runaways. In fact, some such absences may begin that way, but as the absentees run out of money and hope they become easy targets for predators.

What can we do about slavery? We can learn as much as possible about the problem and how to identify potential victims. We can push the issue to the forefront by promulgating what we learn. Perhaps most importantly we can pray alone and in groups.

There is a misunderstanding that the bible condones slavery. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the days scripture was written, slavery was much more visible and a reality for many. The gospel is about freedom, about breaking chains and living bound to our God and to no man. Shouldn’t we as Christians lead the fight against every form of bondage, spiritual, mental and physical?