This sermon was given by Rev. Judith Campbell on September 26, 2004 at Stevens Memorial Chapel.

 

Human Trafficking

 

There are different estimates of how many slaves there are in the world today. One report I read said several million, another said between 6-800,000, and some 20,000 of those are living lives of quiet desperation here in the United States.

 

As an adult - an irresponsibly head in the sand, naïve adult - I think I only first became really aware of contemporary slavery, called human trafficking, at a UU General Assembly some years ago, when it was put forward as a study action issue.  I am ashamed to say that I really didn’t know until then that human slavery still existed, and I regret to say that after that, I did nothing more to educate myself about it, being content that my denomination was “looking into it” and figured I would learn more on an “as needed” basis.

 

That opportunity was handed to me when the UU children’s magazine decided to tackle the issue in their magazine. ”Is this really a subject to put in a kids’ magazine?”, I asked the editorial team at our first “Changed format” meeting.  The answer was, “Absolutely. We must start making our kids aware of the world as it really is as soon as we can, and how even kids can make a difference.”

 

For your interest, the original UU&ME kids magazine was a 16 page quarterly with a rather small circulation.  Now it is a 4 page magazine, ands it is part of our UU WORLD our denominational magazine; it has a circulation of 150,000 and goes out 6 times a year to UUs all over the world. 

 

We were struggling with this major format change  and a really tough subject.  My assignment was to write a Rachel and Tony story where the kids find out about the “Rugmark” organization and how it is helping to find and free bonded children who are sold into servitude in the Oriental rug trade.  The child is “sold” often by desperately poor parents as collateral for a loan.  A loan which keeps getting bigger and bigger through “interest” and conjures up fines and other penalties, so it can never actually be paid off and is in some cases even passed on to another child in the family. The bonded children are even charged for the miserable food they are given which is added to the bill, so they can never outlive the loan, and in some awful instances, when one child dies in servitude, another will be collected from the family for payment of the ever increasing debt. 

 

This hit me right in the face. And then, as I was collecting material for this talk, I found this book, written in 1998, by a then 16 year old boy, who heard of the practice and was so horrified when he learned how widespread it still was, learned as much as he could, and at only 16 with the full support of his parents, actually traveled to some of the countries where this is commonplace and even participated in some rescues.  The book, his odyssey, includes vivid and tragically disturbing pictures and first hand accounts of tortured and bonded children. And 15 years later, in 2004, humanitarian agencies are still working to locate and free these children.  To find out what the UUA is doing about this, you can go to the web site and look up contemporary Slavery or Human Trafficking. I have brought with me the name,  address and e-mail of a number of agencies that are working in this area.  Even here on our privileged little island we have the power to free an enslaved human being or family. 

 

Think about it: for a donation of $30 anyone here can free a whole family.  That is just how worthless human life is in some parts of the world.  Humans are disposable throwaways and biodegradable, after having been completely degraded and used up.

 

Let me tell you of just two organizations that are managing to do something about this.

 

The Polaris Project is an organization that rescues women and children (of both sexes) from the sex trade.  Think of the beautiful cherished little girl which we blessed and welcomed into our collective arms this morning.  And think of a child just like her in five or six years time enslaved in a brothel; and it’s big, big business.  Disgusting horrible business that keeps flourishing because people are willing to pay and then walk away.

 

Rugmark is an agency that works by convincing rug manufacturers to agree not to use child labor or bonded children to make their rugs. In return, the manufacturers can use the Rugmark label on their carpets, guaranteeing that that particular carpet was not made by bonded or enslaved children. Through public awareness campaigns, it is hoped that carpets with the Rugmark label will eventually claim an ever larger share of the market. 

 

Human Trafficking is about making money big money off a cheap product that is too weak and powerless and terrified to fight back. One way to put an end to these practices is through economic sanction.  In other words, refusing to trade with, supply or buy any products from those countries which allow the purchase and sale of human beings (virgins and young children preferred) for the sex trade, or who produce products by slave or indentured labor.  There are some countries that have agreed to work towards putting an end to these practices.  I mentioned them earlier today.

 

But there are still some countries, who despite international pressure from governmental and humanitarian agencies, look the other way, rake in the profits and cast away the remains. 

 

International humanitarian organizations are using public awareness campaigns and direct search and rescue operations to have an effect.  But it’s not a high profile public issue here, especially in an election year.  But we can and must get involved and keep up the pressure on our legislators not to let this slip through the “Election hoopla’ and national mud slinging Olympics.

I mean, what is one little kid chained to a carpet loom in the face of a national election budget that would pay off half the national debt?

 

It is one little human being chained to a carpet loom, and there is a way to do something about it.  And I have it here for you to pick up before you go home today.

 

It is not a pretty subject. This is not a pretty sermon or even a nice one. But, writing it and offering it to you this morning is a positive action step I can take.  I will send money when I get home.

 

When we say the words together, “Love is the doctrine of this Church, and Service is its prayer”, this is what we are talking about.  I’m proud of that.

 

 When people ask me about my religion, I sometimes refer to us a service organization with a higher purpose answering to the call of a higher power.

 

Prayer and meditation is one way that some of us practice part of our Unitarian Universalism, but after that, after the Sunday service, we get to roll up our sleeves or get out the checkbook or we hit the road.  Ours is a seven day a week religion because the hurt and the injustice won’t stop or go away unless we do something about it.  And we do. That’s why we are what we are and we do what we do. And we don’t require conversion to our way of thinking to try and make things better for all manner of living things. We just go ahead and give our best shot.

 

Enslaved people and bonded children most often come from the poorest sectors of society. They are often illiterate. And some have been down for so long, they don’t know any other way.  They are too poor, ignorant and afraid of vicious retribution if they rebel in any way or speak up.  Education is part of what some organizations are doing, educating the enslaved and bonded people themselves. Letting them know there is a better life for them, that there are people trying to help them.  We can be part of that effort. We must be part of that effort.

 

If Love is the doctrine of this church, the quest for truth its sacrament and Service  its prayer, then “Let us pray, folks”…..Let us get out there and do it!

 

Amen.

 

 

RUGMARK……..is a global non-profit organization working to end child labor in India, Pakistan and Nepal.  A RUGMARK label is your best assurance that no illegal child labor was used in the manufacture of that particular carpet.

Call 202-347-4205 or E-mail….info@RUGMARK.org or just RUGMARK.org

 

The Polaris Project  www.polarisproject.org  rescues adults and children from sex trade.

 

www.freetheslaves.net   for $30 you can actually free a family.

 

And for more opportunities to help go to….

 

Free the slaves activism site at http://activism.freetheslaves.net/