If you look at social media today, you may see a bunch of red “x’s” on your feed. That is because today is the End It Movement’s National Awareness Day for slavery and human trafficking. This is an epidemic that goes largely unpublicized but not unnoticed, epsecially to the millions that it affects- that’s right I siad MILLIONS!!! Slavery has become a multi-billion dollar underground industry that is occurring right under our noses, in our back yards, and in our communities. The worldwide slave industry will rake in approximately $32 billion this year. That is more revnue than Google will bring in. In this special edition of the Mindful Minute, I make no claims as this being an orginal study on my part. My facts, my statistics can be found at http://www.enditmovement.com. I am merely attempting to use the small voice and audience base that I have to spread the word and raise awareness of this horrendous institution that still exists today.

There are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today. That is more than at any other point in history. How is this possible? Slavery comes, largely, in 3 different formats. One of the most widely used methods is bonded labor. This is simply labor that is forced upon someone or a family that owes a debt. This can include anything from manual labor under armed guard in Pakistan, or women shipped off in Brazil for sex trade. The second form of slavery is forced labor. This is what we think of when we hear the word slavery. People are simply forced, against their will and often at the threat of harm or death, to perform manual labor. This usually occurs in the industries that have little regulation such as agriculture, fishing, mining, and prostitution. The last form of slavery and the form that affects the United States more than any other is human trafficking. Human trafficking, primarily used as sex trafficking is having a major impact on the United States today. In fact, human trafficking is tied for the scond largest international crime industry in the world with the illeagal arms industry.

Many people ask where this is taking place. The answer is everywhere. There are believed to be 161 coutries today that have some type of slavery within their borders. This includes the United States- yes the United States- where there are approximately 200,000 people working in United States as slaves and an estimated 17,600 will be trafficked this year. This is taking place in our own back yards. A study was done and the Super Bowl is the single biggest human trafficking day in the U.S.  And for my East Tennessee readers, don’t think that it isn’t happening in our community here in the Bible Belt. The I-40 corridor, as some call it, is one of the biggest thoroughfares for human trafficking in America. The route that extends through East Tennessee and then branches down I-75 leads to one of the biggest cities known for trafficking, the city of Atlanta.

Slavery is destroying our youth as it targets our young people in this country and worldwide. Every miniute, 2 children are taken away from the life they should be leading- playing, learning, and growing- and sold into slavery. That means that 2,880 children are sold into slavery EVERY DAY! In fact, the average age of a slave in the U.S. is 14 years old and 50% of all trafficking victims are children.
What can we do?  Go check out http://www.enditmovement.com and learn how you can join the fight. It is free to sign up and you may donate if you wish. Our goal, is to raise awareness of this mostorous palgue that Americans believed was extinct after the Civil War. Sign up and start spreading the word about human trafficking in the United States and about slavery worldwide. I encourage you to raise awaresness of this epidemic. I encourage you to tell others about it’s horrors. I encourage you to be diligent and learn the signs of trafficking in your area. I encourage you to be in it to END IT!!

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

source:
http://www.enditmovement.com