In my small group in New York City, most of our members knew little about this subject before joining. Like most people, I thought slavery was largely a thing of the past, and that if it still existed, it was rare and confined to places far away. I was saddened and shocked by what I’ve learned about the many faces of slavery and its prevalence everywhere including right in my own home city.

As a relatively new group, we have come together with the primary aim of raising awareness about all forms human trafficking, including both sex trafficking and labor trafficking (which often gets less attention in the media), as well as related issues. We have spent a couple of years putting together our web site FightSlaveryNow.Org, in order to compile a comprehensive resource for citizens like yourself and your fellow students. Additionally, the Files section of our Meetup site is a trove of documents and all kinds of information about aspects of this issue.

What, in your opinion, are the most imperative aspects of a movement such as this? The most startling fact about modern-day slavery is its prevalence almost everywhere in the world. 27 million men, women and children living in some form of bondage. Modern-day slavery is a crossroad for many other social justice issues such as poverty, equality for women, racism, globalization of trade, labor rights and much more. It is promising that opposition to slavery cuts across all the many lines that too often divide people of good will, be they political, ethnic, religious, gender or race.
What advice do you have for a group of only 400 eighth-grade students? Think positive! 400 is a HUGE number of people, IF each one takes some small action. Read. Both online and in print. Find out all you can. Share. Raise awareness, spread the word, make ripples to create waves. Act. Support Fair Trade. Start a club to support one another, brainstorm and keep up momentum. Write to your representatives. Scrutinize the procurement policies of your school, your place of worship, your local government.
What techniques are best for utilization and will benefit our group well? Find out about a charity or non-profit organization in or near your hometown that assists victims of this abuse. Then plan awareness raising fundraisers by screening a film, having a bake sale, clothing drive or raffle event. The SLAVERY MAP is a hugely helpful tool for illustrating how close to everyone’s home modern-day slavery is.
Could you or the site offer any vague form of assistance in our movement? The best pages on our website to reference are “The Ethical Consumer”, and “What You Can Do”. Because of your age group, your peers might be especially interested in “Street Children” and also in the issue of slavery in the production of chocolate, especially the complicity of companies like Hershey’s and Nestle’s.
What information about slavery can you provide us with? Our website is fairly comprehensive, but there is a page on our Meetup site, the first listing on the Message Board: INFO & LINKS that will provide further information including book reviews, useful quotations, and links to many other organizations around the world.

On behalf of all our members, I wish to extend my appreciation to you and your fellow students for delving into this difficult subject. We wish you the best of luck!

Peace, Justice and Freedom…
Avra Cohen
Co-organizer, Fight Slavery Now!
FightSlaveryNow.Org