"Slavery thrives in the shadows. An estimated 27 million live in bondage today – yet we know about the plight of so few of them. The battle to end slavery begins by revealing it.Slave labor is alive and well but it's hard for us to believe it's in our own backyards, next door, or a couple floors up. This tool will help us to shed light on cases that are happening in our neighborhoods so that we can begin to grasp the scope of this rising issue and serve as fuel for change in legislation, social consciousness and grow our effectiveness to combat this growing problem.
Slavery Map was born out of University of San Francisco Professor David Batstone's Not For Sale Campaign, which began when the death of Seetha Vemireddy, a 17 year-old bonded slave at the Pasand restaurant in Berkeley, CA, came to Batstone's attention. By learning to recognize forced labor and report it, you can help people like Seetha gain their freedom. Slavery Map was created for this purpose."
- David Batstone, "Not For Sale"
Modern slavery is one of the many social justice issues studied by the interns involved with the New York City Urban Project. In order for people to join in the fight against injustice, people have to know what they are up against. Slavery Map allows modern day abolitionists to alert the ears of mainstream society to the cries of the oppressed. It provides a way for the public to gauge the sheer magnitude of this evil that plagues the city and the world. The Map is covered with yellow flags, each one signifying an instance of human trafficking that has been reported to law enforcement. The already overwhelming image of New York City peppered with yellow flags intensifies when the number of incidents that remain unreported or undiscovered are taken into consideration. Slavery Map renders impossible the excuse of ignorance, transforming the way people see their neighborhood. This crucial tool powerfully educates the viewers about both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of human trafficking around the world.
i am incredibly blessed already to be acquainted with the new york city urban project, and i am praying for His continual blessings and His life changing message to continue to impact our lives and our communities. personally, i have a passion for truth and justice and so to see fellow students actually diving into it encourages me in so many ways. i know intervarsity has it up and running in many areas around the US but i'm hoping that in the near future, we'll see this initiative exploding in all campuses around the country and to the nations for a new student volunteer/missions movement of students and lay people and organizations and Churches being unified in obeying and exalting Christ!
ReplyDeleteAs I read your post, I was reminded of the great words of the two Luthers. The German one said, "How soon 'not now' becomes 'never'." might be apt for the struggle we face when it comes to fighting mordern day slavery. The American one said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". God was not silent, He spoke and has even made his dwelling amongst us. Stay blessed and may the strength of his Holy Spirit continue to be your strength.
ReplyDeleteToukam