Only 5 Days To Go!

It's only 5 more days till I start making a public spectacle of myself, and to be honest, I'm getting nervous!

1) I'm really not sure I can do 50 push-ups in one go.
2) I'm feeling rather alone in all this.
3) I'm rather afraid of making a fool of myself!

So it's time I reminded myself (and you!) why I'm doing this.

Did you know we have around 27 million slaves in the world? We’re not talking about the corporate ladder here, but children worked to death by age 14, picking 2-5% of the cocoa that goes into the chocolate you eat, women and girls as young as 6 sold into forced prostitution and internet porn businesses. The average price of a slave has fallen to US $90, and in some countries you can buy a slave for only $5. Enslaved children in Ghana are thrown overboard to untie fishing nets, with rocks tied to their ankles. Who cares if they don’t make it back up? It seems that people have become as expendable as paper cups.

And big business it is – In 2005, the International Labour Organization estimated a global annual profit of US$ 44.3 billion from all forms of slavery, and $33.9 billion from commercial sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world.

Why? When you combine a profit margin of 70% or higher, virtually unlimited demand, and desperate poverty producing an unlimited supply of goods that virtually ship themselves “if you kick ‘em hard enough” - it’s a business model that many find simply too good to refuse.

Siddharth Kara’s 2006 research revealed that you can purchase a trafficked girl in Western Europe for an average of US $4 800 (a stunner of course, and already “broken-in” so you’ll get no trouble), then you can earn an average of US $10 570/month by renting out her body.

And this is not just restricted to a few undeveloped countries. UNODC reports that people are trafficked from 127 countries, to be exploited in 137 countries, including Australia.

As you can agree, this sickening social disease must stop. But the good news is that we can eradicate slavery in our lifetime, if we all do our part. I’m greatly encouraged by Dr Kevin Bales’ comprehensive 25-year plan outlined in his book “Ending Slavery”. There are a great many things we can do at a personal, business, community & government level. And how do we get the government to listen? Public opinion.

So that’s why I’m doing my 10 000 push-ups – to bring the issue to your awareness, and ask you to tell everyone you know about this crazy bloke who’s so upset about slavery that he’s out doing push-ups in Martin Place, 8:30am & 12:30pm every day for 100 days.

Please support me in spreading the word about this terrible injustice. Read more of this website, sign the petition, join the facebook cause, and take the pledge to invite all your friends. Let's abolish slavery together!