Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Tomorrow, December 2, is the United Nations Day for Abolition of Slavery
the following is taken from a forward:
Over One Hundred Children Freed from Slavery
Dear Friend,
Recently 129 more children were rescued from slavery. Free the Slaves played a pivotal role.
Last month FTS met with staff of the U.S. State Department to urge them to do something about the plight of boys kidnapped and subsequently enslaved in fishing camps in Bangladesh.
Gangs abduct boys or lure them by false employment promises, and then they bring the boys to Dublar Island and sell them to the mafia for US $15 each. The boys, as young as 8 years old, are forced to work up to 18 hours per day, seven days a week. They have no means of escape. They are fed poorly, receive no medical care and sleep on dirt floors. The guards sexually abuse many of the children, and if the children do not work fast enough or refuse to sleep with the guards, they are beaten. If they die they are just thrown in the sea. Powerful people in Bangladesh know that this is happening, but their relationship with organized crime outweighs the rights of child slaves. Law enforcement people look the other way. But we don't.
Today many of the boys are back with their families and are being helped to recover. The US State Department used the information Free the Slaves provided to pressure Bangladeshi authorities to finally take action.
By supporting FTS, you contribute to the eradication of slavery. Tomorrow, December 2, is the United Nations Day for Abolition of Slavery. As a supporter of Free the Slaves, you know that slavery still exists. Please continue to
support us so that together we can help more children to freedom.
Sincerely,
Jolene Smith
Executive Director
Take action by signing our
Anti-Slavery Petition. You can also help by
forwarding this message to ten of your friends.
Free the Slaves is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Free the Slaves
1326 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: 1.866.324.FREE or 202.588.1865
Fax: 202.588.1514
| lily* || 2 || 9:59 p.m. |
lily*, thanks so much for the info about this campaign, this is something really important, hopefully more and more people will join in.
if you're interested, there's also kevin bales' disposable people book that looks into modren slavery. the opening chapter is quite shocking.
Aleksu, at
11:36 p.m.
