Regarding villages trapped in bonded-labour slavery: "In these communities, across different continents, languages, economies, and governments, the same story keeps unfolding: no matter how powerless and poor, with just a little help, people will do whatever is needed to get slavery out of their lives and homes. Over and over, when a community believes there is a realistic possibility of freedom, it becomes unstoppable - even when there is risk.
"Understanding that fact is crucially important, because when it comes to ending slavery community-based freedom may be the best strategy of all. Rescuing individual slaves can leave the criminal slave-based businesses intact, and soon a new slave has taken the place of the freed one. But when a whole community drives out the slave traders and the slaveholders, freedom is firmly set in place. Breaking the cycle of slavery will also free a community to smash through other problems that support slavery, like illiteracy, poverty, and disenfranchisement. Slavery is a blood-sucking parasite that leaves a community paralyzed and stupefied. Get rid of slavery and, with a little help, a village can actually slave-proof itself. The process of confronting and defeating slavery shifts power to the community, which means achieving community goals like good education and economic stability becomes possible. In turn, education, economic stability, and learning to work together are a vaccination against slavery. Without slavery incomes go up, children go to school, and corruption falls. There will still be problems, of course, since every community is made of people who have different interests and goals, but now the community is moving forward without the dead weight of slavery holding it back. "
- Kevin Bales, Ending Slavery, p79.
The campaign of 10,000 push-ups raised awareness about human trafficking, slavery, and forced prostitution, reaching 70,000 people directly and 750,000 in print. Show your support by learning more about the problem, and the many ways we can fight it, while sharing what you learn with your friends. Together, we can crush slavery!
