Slavery is not a thing of the past

[cigsandcoffee]

On another thread, a poster said something to the effect that humanity had come together to end slavery. If it is a common false perception that slavery is an issue of the past, then it is in no danger of being ended anytime soon - some activist groups estimate that there are over 20 million people still living in bondage.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/slavery1.html

When a ship carrying hundreds of people was recently turned away from Benin, Africa, officials suspected that the children on board were human slaves. The incident once again brought attention to the problem of slavery. At this moment, millions of men, women, and children—roughly twice the population of Rhode Island—are being held against their will as modern-day slaves.

Sometimes referred to as bonded laborers (because of the debts owed their masters), public perception of modern slavery is often confused with reports of workers in low-wage jobs or inhumane working conditions. However, modern-day slaves differ from these workers because they are actually held in physical bondage (they are shackled, held at gunpoint, etc.).

Modern-day slaves can be found laboring as servants or concubines in Sudan, as child "carpet slaves" in India, or as cane-cutters in Haiti and southern Pakistan, to name but a few instances. According to Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest human rights organization, there are currently over 20 million people in bondage.

The slave trade in Africa was officially banned in the early 1880s, but forced labor continues to be practiced in West and Central Africa today. UNICEF estimates that 200,000 children from this region are sold into slavery each year. Many of these children are from Benin and Togo, and are sold into the domestic, agricultural, and sex industries of wealthier, neighboring countries such as Nigeria and Gabon.

Much more at link.

[cigsandcoffee]

1. I know it's not Tweety or Ann Coulter....

...but you'd think some folks here would care a little bit about this issue. It's sad stuff.

[Poppyseedman]

2. I have always thought the black leaders of today are pretty hypocritical

when bleating about reparations and never addressing this current human tragedy of modern day slavery.

makes me think it's all about money rather than righting real injustices

[cigsandcoffee]

3. I think the onus is on all leaders of the free world to address this.

I guess there are only so many issues that can be considered at one time. This one has mostly been put "on ignore."

[uppityperson]

4. right now for me immediacy is more important, but I agree

slavery is mostly ignored. As is Africa.

[itzamirakul]

7. I don't know if black leaders who talk about reparations here in

America are hypocritical. They are talking about some form of restitution for something that actually happened in THIS country.

In the meantime, dealing with slavery in other countries cannot be tied to reparations for slavery in this country so they deal with it separately. They are entirely different issues.

When Japanese people received reparations for the internment camps they were restricted to during WWII, they did not add on the problems of Japanese people living in Japan today. If they are interested in the humane treatment of today's Japanese citizens, I am sure that they handle that situation separately.

The same would hold true for Jewish people and the reparations they have received from Germany. They don't drag in the problems of their brethren who live in the Soviet Union or in other countries. Each of those situations is treated differently and separately.

BTW, why the disrespectful term, "bleating?" When reparations are discussed, their are intelligent questions raised and appropriate language used. It sounds so "Rush Limbaugh-ish" to accuse these black leaders of "bleating" even though one personally may not care for them.

[Poppyseedman]

8. Reparations on their face seem like a a just and decent thing to

consider. The issue is far more complex than black leaders are making it out to be. The reason I used the word "bleating" is real simple.

The vast majority of the american black leadership discussions about reparations are not really based on anything remotely resembling a cogent reasoned plan to address the issue fairly and justly.

It winds up sounding like bleating to me for money...............because of my skin color

My family moved to NY in the late 1880's. I had nothing to do with slavery or oppressing blacks. Why should I be penalized monetarily for something I had nothing to do with ?

[itzamirakul]

9. The issue for reparations for African Americans is probably no

more complex than the issue of Jews seeking reparations for their treatment at the hands of the German people during WWII or that of the American Japanese who received reparations from the American government. It is the payment of money or some other form of restitution in payment for unfair, unequal and unusually cruel treatment.

Could you tell me even one thing that the American black leadership has said that makes you feel that their discussions are not "really based on anything remotely resembling a cogent reasoned plan to address the issue fairly and justly?"

You say that your family moved to NY in the late 1880s and that you had nothing to do with slavery or oppressing blacks, so why should you be penalized monetarily? Please consider the following:

1. From what I understand, African American leadership is not requesting individual payments of money to be made to each American black person. Therefore, no American citizen would be penalized monetarily. Rather, it has been suggested that some sort of financial arrangement be made to ensure college educations for black students, or perhaps some sort of income tax relief for a period of time - but certainly NOT ACTUAL PAYMENTS OF DOLLARS IN THE POCKET. So in no way are they requesting money from your pocket.

2. Slavery ended by law in NY in 1824, but was not fully implemented until 1827. In actuality, African Americans throughout this country were second-class citizens, living under a system of Jim Crow and institutionalized racism until 1963, so in that way, by participating in the segregation practices that were predominant in America, your family and perhaps even you, depending on your age, DID participate in the oppression of blacks. Perhaps you did not mean to do so, and probably never even thought of it like that, but you did participate in the oppression of blacks because that was "just the way things were in those days." Unless your ancestors and perhaps yourself were active in refuting such racial benefits to yourselves based on your skin color, unless they were abolitionists and unless you have been personally involved in the on-going battles for civil rights, then, yes, your family did benefit and you continue to benefit from the oppression of blacks, even today.

3. I am assuming that your family did not actively participate in the internment of Japanese during WWII either, yet they allowed that internment by going along with the government when that plan was implemented. Yet, for whatever restitution those Japanese families finally received, your family, and perhaps you, were a part of repaying because the money came from American tax dollars.

From what I understand, the proponents of reparations for slavery are requesting the same sort of policy - they are not requesting that you somehow be charged extra dollars to pay for those reparations. Today we are spending billions of dollars to wage war with a country for absolutely NO REASON. There is absolutely no reason to spend MILLIONS of dollars each month and BILLIONS of dollars each year to fight the Iraqis in a never-ending war. It would seem that Americans would prefer to spend those killing-dollars to instead finally settle its debt to black America.

For sure, the majority of today's Germans did not participate in the holocaust, nor was today's German government the cause of such cruel and inhumane treatment, but international courts have ruled that today's Germany is in some way responsible and must pay for the behavior of its' forefathers and thus many Jewish families have received various forms of reparations. They have been paid for confiscated property, art treasures, etc.

4. When your family immigrated to America in 1880, they arrived in a country that had largely been built on the backs of black slave labor...UNPAID black slave labor. Although your ancestors may have worked long and hard in order to succeed in America, they enjoyed the fruits of white privilege from the time of their arrival and you, their descendant and heir continue to enjoy those privileges (assuming from your post that you are white.) Just think of the many historical structures still in use today that were originally built by slave labor. Did you know that Wall Street itself was constructed by unpaid black slave labor? And Wall Street certainly plays strongly into all of our lives. Black slave labor allowed white leisure time...time to plan, time to create, all with the strong black bodies to implement the foundation for those plans and creations. Yes, the most ongoing gift that black slave labor provided was white leisure time. The gift that just keeps on giving.

[sweetheart]

5. past?

http://www.iabolish.org/slavery_today/primer/index.html

In relative terms perhaps...

[goclark]

6. We care a lot but we are a voice in the wilderness nt