This month has been another tremendous success. Over the last four weeks we have had 137 people visit our website from 20 states and 5 different countries, including Canada, India, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to the webpage traffic, Jon led a seminar and discussion about Modern-Day Slavery for the college group of First Baptist Church of Wylie. Every day more people are becoming aware of this important issue in our society and the world.

When talking to people, the most common response I get is surprise that slavery exists in the United States. Often, people think that slavery, if it exists at all, is only found in developing areas of the world where laws are not enforced and the governments are corrupt. When they find out that this happens all around them, possibly even in their neighborhoods or cities, it hits them in full force. Suddenly, the problem of slavery seems real and widespread, and they are usually shocked and interested in learning more about it.

Based on reports from the US Department of State and the US Department of Justice, Kevin Bales estimates that there are 14,000 to 17,500 incidents of human trafficking in the United States each year. While the vast majority are trafficked into the sex trade, slaves are also exploited for forced labor on farms and in restaurants as well as for use as domestic servants. The majority of these slaves are women, although men and children are often slaves as well.

Unfortunately, while slavery occurs at an alarming rate in the United States, very few cases are brought to justice. In the January 2009 the US Department of Justice released a report indicating that only 1,229 cases of human trafficking were reported in 2007-2008. More needs to be done to stop human trafficking and slavery within our borders, whether it is increasing awareness campaigns, focusing our law enforcement to counteract this growing problem, or strengthening legislation against slavery and slaveholders. We need to step up and make these changes happen.

While it may seem like we do not have much ability to change the world, we can make a huge difference simply by exerting political influence in our country. Writing emails to our congressmen is one of the quickest and most effective steps we can take. While these letters may not always be read by the congressmen themselves, they are at least read by aides who update the congressmen on the important issues of their constituents. This affects how they vote in Congress and where they focus their attention. Therefore, it is incredibly important that they know we are concerned about human trafficking and modern-day slavery. For more information on how to write your congressman, go to our website at http://www.1865continued.org/politicalactivity.html.

Thank you so much for your concern and support. Never forget that the collective actions of our generation will shape the world for those that follow.

Kelsey Snapp
1865 Continued: The Fight against Modern Slavery
www.1865continued.org