Emancipating The Enslaved

“Free yourself from all forms of slavery
No one but you can free your mind
Irrespective of how tough it might look
You have the power within
To get your mind emancipated
It begins with you
The call for freedom”

_Sams

“Never had I thought she would ask me to go out at such odd hour! Unbelievably, I saw myself in the busy street of some localities, chasing cars and walking or standing with passersby and convincing them to patronize me while she sits at home with the make up kits, television and phones as her company keepers. But I can’t choose not to go even if I had a choice, all because of my safety. That wasn’t what I was actually promised. I became addicted to my way of life as time rolls by. Oh, It was hell! But as I count my acquisitions I couldn’t quit even if the thought of it occupies my heart at times, I just have to go on so as to take care of myself and other beneficiaries back home. Hmm! The day became my night and night, day! My life, my story, my journey!
I guess you know what am talking about. But if you don’t, then I have succeeded in letting you know that none but ourselves can free our mind! I stoop to conquer. My mind is now emancipated.” _Anonymous

…none but ourselves can free our mind! Yes, that’s what she said. What else do you have to say about that? Alright, friends, let’s get our minds emancipated, if they are not yet!

A Slave according to dictionary.com is a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another or entirely under the domination of some influence or person. And to enslave is to control someone’s actions, thoughts, emotions or life completely. Also according to the Abolition Project on slavery, we were told that slavery refers to a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and at what they work. There are more slaves in the world today than at any point in history. Slavery didn’t end with abolition in the 19th century. Modern slavery blights our society and harms people all over the world. And because it still harms, it therefore calls for us to put an end to it and this starts right with “us”. Let’s stop reading statistics and start changing them!

Stories have been told of modern day slavery countless and also using different mediums to speak of it. Some of us don’t know that we’re being enslaved and just feel whatever we are experiencing is just part of a normal daily activities they or any other persons are into. But did you know that anything you engage in that takes your joy and freedom makes you a slave to it? Today’s slavery focuses on big profits and cheap lives. It is not about owning people like before, but about using them as completely disposable tools for making money. There was a time when slavery was legal and people considered it morally acceptable and economically essential. The battle to build a global consensus that slavery is unjust and unneeded has been won. Now we need to finish the job by freeing those still trapped in bondage.

You can help people break free from this modern day slavery by giving people the right tools to sustain their lives. Teach people to become independent. When people are free, the entire community can resist and protect themselves. Instead of benefiting from slavery, why not become a freedom fighter by helping people to break free through these steps:

• Investigate and identify people who are easy prey for traffickers
• Provide technical training and financial support to organizations who are already at the front lines
• Unite at a community level by educating villagers and others
• Sustain freedom by helping former slaves to survive and thrive through counseling, skills training and financial assistance.

Together, we can safeguard the vulnerable and those who would enslave them.

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