Friday, May 27, 2011

The Right to Liberty


All beings, human and other, shall be free from enslavement.

Yes, there are still enslaved humans.
It is usually about the slaveholder's need for money.
A slave costs only an average $90 today,
making it hugely profitable to the slaveowner.
Big business.
Quarries, farms, sweatshops, and brothels are where millions slave.
In the U.S., the states with the largest number of trafficked "persons"
are California, New York, Florida and Washington, DC.

  This right has been declared many times.
The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Article 4 states:
"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery
and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." 
The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990),
Article 11 similarly states:
"(a) Human beings are born free, and no one has the right to enslave,
humiliate, oppress or exploit them,
and there can be no subjugation but to God the Most-High.
(b) Colonialism of all types being one of the
most evil forms of enslavement is totally prohibited."

To declare is easy, to enforce is not.
Humans make very profitable labor.

This issue is so contemporary, that now
there are many non-profits organization that combat it,
see a partial list here.
And so many new ones keep popping up:
2004, Stop Modern Slavery  Washington, DC, at a local level.
2008, Harvard College for Free the Slaves for college students.
2009, Stop Slavery, Asia, where the most slaves are found.
Stop Child Slavery Now has a great website with lots of info
and even state by state news on the topic.

To declare is easy, to enforce is not,
but the good news is, many are working on this...


43 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this is very true. I would also declare the right to freedom but as said above, declaring is the easy part. So many people are taken advantage of all over the world and many just turn the other cheek. It’s hard to really understand the horror of slavery until you really take the time to want to understand. Education on the matter is so important; unfortunately some people aren’t even aware at the fact that people are still enslaved. It may even be that they know but can't accept it as slavery and call it something else.
- Ma Mo

Anonymous said...

I agree with Ma Mo, loads of people don't know that slavery is still going on in the world. I think the people as a whole should become more educated on this subject and maybe then we can come closer to abolishing it. SJB

Anonymous said...

Slavery unfortunately is still prominent today and the sad part is, that not many people know this. I believe that people need to become more educated and aware with whats going on in the world. If people really do not recognize that slavery hasn't truly been abolished, what else aren't people aware of?

Alexis Herrero

Anonymous said...

I had no clue slavery was still happening till I read this post. It's very sad, it's also sad that it's still happening and nothing major is being done to stop it. But like said above people all around the world need to be aware that it is still going on, then we can possibly help stop the issue at hand. C.M.A.

Anonymous said...

It is 2011 and it is shocking to know that slavery still a problem in the world. It is sad that slavery does not distinguish between nationality, skin color, ethnicity, child, teenager, woman or man. Definitively the best way to fight this horrendous crime is educating the community, increasing the punishment of those who promote slavery, and reporting these cases to the police. LCL

Anonymous said...

When reading this blog post my mind came back to this documentary I watched called "Born Into Brothels." (http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/bornintobrothels/) It deals with children in India who grow up in brothels without any means to a proper education or childhood. Sometimes we just think of slavery as using a human being as a labor worker, but these children are being enslaved into this lifestyle and their long term possibilities are being diminished. Slavery is everywhere in many different forms and we need to open our eyes to it. - K.A.S

Anonymous said...

It is so important to be educated on a subject like this. Like myself, many people probably didn't even realize that slavery was still going on around the world. The idea of it is horrifying to me. We are all humans and we all deserve the right to be free.

N.Av

Anonymous said...

I'm frankly stunned that at this day and age, legitamate slaves are still being manufactured; that plainly perturbs me. However, I my self am a servant in my own way, so I can pay relavance towards slavehood.

F.H
06/01/11

Anonymous said...

I believe that the slave trade is just another symptom of poverty. If people had access to education and resources, they would be less vulnerable and less likely to sell themselves or their children into slavery for money. I realize that this is much easier said than done, but recognizing the heart of the issue is a step in the right direction.
-A.B.

Dan said...

The value of a human life cannot, and should not, be measured in dollars and cents. The scum that deal in the trade and trafficking of slaves and those that employ such labor comprise the worst of humanity. Their mere existence tarnishes us all. The fight to end these practices and bring justice to those who perpetrate these evils is a noble and worthwhile cause.

Dan M.

Anonymous said...

No matter how hard one may try to stop something so horrifying. In this world there will always be a little bit of everything. Slavery will be something that as much as we may try to get rid of we probably never will. So much of it is kept hidden from us that we may never find out. Everyone has the right to freedom but others unfortunately can't enjoy this right.

-M.Quintanilla

Anonymous said...

Slavery is a concept that's as old as the bible. I'm serious, read the book of Exodus chapter 21 and you'll see what I mean. My point is slavery is one of those things that civilized society at some point considered to be normal, even though we now know it's not the case. But how and why is this possible? How could so many people have agreed that such a horrible thing was ok and acceptable?

Javier H.

Anonymous said...

Human slavery is still happening all over the world. Business use slaves to profit. The United Nations and the United States of America need to punish severely those offenders of human slavery, trafficking and involuntary fee labor. Getting rich of the back of slaves is more than cruel and injustice. People should organize and form an organization, like CrimeStopper where people can report anonymously offenders to bring to justice. We need to get together and do something constructive to stop the abuse. By: L.J.B.R.

Anonymous said...

I am not surprised that this is happening in the world. So many bad people out there. It sucks how some gain such bad reputation for cruelty. And i do not understand how someone could be so heartless and put them through horror. It also sucks that we cannot do much about the situation but spread the word. G.A.

Anonymous said...

Well said Ma Mo. I will have to agree to your post. The turning of the other cheek is good in some cases but not all the time.
Sarah M

Anonymous said...

Slavery is wrong. Plain and simple. I did not know that it was still going on around the world today. After I read this blog entry, I researched the human trafficking and found an interesting article that I would like to share.

http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/overview
----Lauren Franco

Anonymous said...

Why does slavery still exist? A simple economic principle: the best way to maximize profits is by minimizing the cost of labor. In today’s global economy, the high demand for cheap products and services has created a massive market of men, women and children who are forced to work against their will, for little or no pay, and under constant threat of violence. Even though there are laws against slavery, like the post says, it is difficult to enforce them. What can we do about it? Fortunately, we are taking the first step to solving this issue which is raising public awareness that slavery still exists. Another thing we can do is to further educate ourselves of the products derived from this labor and refusing to purchase them.
LC

Anonymous said...

People say slavery is wrong and they are totally against it but they still go to the brothels, they go to the flea market and buy the clothes made at sweat shops, so technically they are financially supporting the slave trade. Slavery is wrong and it should be stopped all over the world but if we keep supporting it it will keep happening.

Carlos G.

Adrian del Pino said...

Slavery should not still exist, if you ask me slavery should have never existed. I believe that no man, women, or child should be owned. We are all children of God and we should all be treated as such. We all should have the right to live our lives as we see fit not by someones orders or demands. Everyone should have the right to work for payment. I don't believe in slavery, its wrong, don't you think?

AMD

Anonymous said...

It's very sad to see that in today's society, some people are still enslaved and treated poorly. Human beings are free beings in the sense that they are free to choose and act according to the law. I do agree with "To declare is easy, to enforce is not," because this is true and it is seen everyday all over the world.

H.D.A

Anonymous said...

I had no idea slavery was still in effect to this day. It's so saddening that people still live like that.

-Alli Brecht

Anonymous said...

We all desire freedom for ourselves, so why not grant it for others.

Stefan H.

Anonymous said...

Slavery is a very difficult topic to cover. However, this blog covers it very well describing its causes and how to resolve them in a legal way. Slavery is very hard to control though. Most of it takes place in western civilizations, mostly Europe. It involve slave trades where people are not only exchanged for labor, but sexual favors and body parts. Robert S.

Anonymous said...

It took a while for me to be able to articulate my thoughts on this. Anger, fear, sadness, and hope are what filled my head during and after reading the topic. My anger is geared towards those individuals that could possibly take away the rights of a person. I fear that this will not pass, for their will always be people who are selfish, people that will force others to do their bidding. I’m sad because we thought that we have come so far and still have so far to go. Yet I am hopeful, seeing that there are people out there standing up for what’s right let’s me know that there is still a chance to move pass this.

Sheeda M.

D.Zabala said...

Slavery is unfortunate but it is a reality in the world we live today. Greed for money and power easily blinds people and gets them to commit harsh crimes like child enslavement. Nike is a perfect example of a powerful business committing child labor. They have been publicly accused of child labor yet many people still ignore the facts and keep buying Nike shoes.

N.Cruz said...

The United States was founded on the concept that all people are born with a right to freedom, but yet slavery is still a major issue throughout the nation. Many businesses are prospering and making profits through child labor and slavery. Each and every one of us has contributed to slavery and child labor by purchasing merchandise that is labeled “Made in China”.

Anonymous said...

I believe slavery is a person's way of exerting power and control over someone else. This might be due to insecurity but whatever the reason, slavery is wrong. Everyone has the right to freedom. We must enforce this now to teach our future generations that slavery is not right and completely unacceptable. Etel

Anonymous said...

It is hard to hear about it and really believe that this is still going on in this day and age. Human trafficking is such a scum bag way to gain disgusting amounts of wealth ($32 billion a year to give a ballpark figure) but it happens everyday. I agree with what the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam say that "human beings are born free, and no one has the right to enslave,humiliate, oppress or exploit them". -D.C.

Anonymous said...

The Right to freedom is the right to live the life the way every person wish to live it. Slavery is the worst circumstance that a person can face in the look for freedom; is the opposite situation to it. Declaring the right to freedom is the best way to generate awareness to this ancestral practice that we thought was a practice of the past. A.L.

Anonymous said...

Slavery was the worst thing humanity has ever done. It is unimaginable that slavery still exists today. How can a person enslave another person? People are all equals in the eyes of the Creator and no one is superior to another. We all deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Freedom is the sweetest thing. Take away that freedom and you take away the soul of humanity. It is inhumane meaning NOT OF HUMANS to do such a thing. It is appalling.

Angel M.

Anonymous said...

Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart

Live free and beauty surrounds you
The world still astounds you
Each time you look at a star

Stay free, where no walls divide you
You're free as the roaring tide
So there's no need to hide

Born free, and life is worth living
But only worth living
'cause you're born free.

FOR ALL YOU YOUNG KIDS..... this was a song written in 1966 as the soundtrack for a movie by the name of "Born Free".
Slaves? We should have NO slaves in today's day and age!!
-Ana DM

Anonymous said...

I had no idea that till this day we still had slaves in the United States. This is a free country, we should have NO slaves! Everyone has their own rights and someone needs to put a stop to this, plain and simple.
-Krystal Garcia

Anonymous said...

It does not matter how many great figures have worked towards abolishing slavery, stubborn and racist people will always live no matter what. In order for complete domination over freedom then the right to metamorphosis must be abolished as well as the right to govern and the right to security. If those rights exist then in this current world there will always be slavery. -J.J.V.

COL said...

Slavery is no longer a black and white issue. The selling and mistreatment of another human being regardless of their age, race, circumstances and sexuality will never be acceptable to me. The fact that this issue is so easily viewable and conceivable in other countries is terrible. Asia is the country that the United States does the most importing from. This could definitely send the wrong message.

~COL

LML said...

Slavery is unacceptable, we're all equal and slavery should no longer be happening but it still is. Something has to be done to abolish it completely because everyone has the right to be free and do whatever they want with their lives.

Anonymous said...

I agree with LML, slavery is completly unacceptable. I still don't know why it is still occuring. as you said it may be hard to enforce but luckily we have many organizations working on preventing this.
A. Lazo

Anonymous said...

Throughout the years, we have been thought about the right to freedom, but the fragile reality of this right has been a constant in history and in the present time. We all have the right to freedom, we were born with it and nobody ever should take it away from us. But how many more years have to pass so we all are aware of it and start implementing solutions to the problem such as justice and equality for all races? D.C.R.

Anonymous said...

Personally this takes me by surprise because I did not know that slavery still exists. Every human has the right to be free because no one has the right to enslave others with the purpose of getting profit out of them. It is so sad that up to this day we can still see slavery around the world and although there are laws prohibiting this action, there are some people who still practice this abuse. I declare the right to freedom. O.V.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the right to freedom. I believe everyone and any living creature should have that right as long as it is not harmful to others because too much freedom can result in selfishness, greed, revenge, jealousy and killing those cons belong to us human because we have created those. But the right to freedom does not just involve us it also involves animals and plants. We have to respect the freedom that is given to us and take responsibility for it.
Chelsea M.

Anonymous said...

It is grisly to know there are millions of human beings enslaved in today's modern world. Women, children, and men do not have a price tag. I ask myself how can someone deliberately humiliate,hurt and deprive humans of there "Right to be FREE". SAMROG

Anonymous said...

The Declaration of Independence is what came to my mind when I first read about "The Right to Liberty". The Right to Liberty is one of the three rights listed on The declaration of Independence ;Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers believed that people are born with natural rights that no government can take away, that the government exists to protect these rights. Because I feel I did not have that right in my country (Cuba), it was one of the reasons I came to this country where I feel all my rights are respected. YS

Anonymous said...

This essay points out a very interesting point, in the thirteenth amendment it says the United States constitution abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, but what about voluntary servitude? I was reading an article about voluntary servitude online called “Voluntary Servitude Reconsidered” and in the article it talks about Etienne de La Boetie exploring the subjective bond which ties us to the power that dominates us. So to me this poses the question why do we obey?
J.B.

Anonymous said...

The right of liberty or slaves of a system. If you've gotten in your car at one point and driven home or a place and when you arrived, you asked yourself how'd I get here? Then your a slave of your routine. At one point or another we will all realize what can set us free! MM