On June 19, 1865, more than two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil War, these powerful words were finally read in Galveston, Texas: “All slaves are free.” Texas was the last Confederate State to free thousands of people from slavery. This momentous day went down in history as Juneteenth, commonly known as Freedom Day.

Every year, Juneteenth parades and speeches across the country honor the end of legal slavery and freedom of every American, one of the greatest human rights victories in United States history.

Unfortunately, 148 years after the first Juneteenth and 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, we have not ended slavery. There are more slaves today than at any other point in history, and thousands of these people trapped in slavery are right here in the United States. They are in brothels, factories, agricultural fields, and, shockingly, our neighbors’ homes. Slaves have even been found working for foreign diplomats in the U.S.

Slavery has gone on far too long. To end it will take all of us working together. This means, individuals, organizations, businesses, and governments working side by side, using their talents and voices to bring justice and freedom to people in our country and the entire world.

As we celebrate the abolition of legal slavery, let’s get it out of our system once and for all.

The modern era of travel has it’s upsides, downsides and hidden dark sides. Many of us board a plane, sit near strangers, and never give a second thought to whether or not the person across from us is there of their own accord. The reality is, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 slaves are trafficked into the U.S. every year. Some of these people are brought by plane, hidden in plain sight. This came to the attention of a few flight attendants and now commercial airlines are starting to take a stand against against modern day slavery.

Four United States-based airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Allegiant Air, and North American Airlines, are now part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Lightning Initiative; a training program to empower airlines to fight traffickers who use their planes as tools for injustice. Employees spend days learning how to recognize, report and prevent instances of people trafficking in other men, women and children from all part of the world. According to the United Nations, common signs that someone is a victim include fear or anxiety, physical injuries, inability to communicate freely, and unaccompanied minors.

It’s evident that these airlines are taking crucial steps towards breaking the system of slavery in transportation agencies. However, this is not the only industry that has a role to play in helping end slavery. Businesses, governments and individuals all over the world have the ability to educate themselves and others on how to recognize, prevent and report instances of slavery.

Together we can end this age old crime and get slavery out of our system.

Government-run forced labor camps might seem like something from the movies, but for countries such as North Korea and China, it is a reality. North Korea is known to imprison individuals, and entire families, in forced labor camps. Shin Dong-hyuk, a survivor, born and raised in a North Korean forced labor camp, shares horrific stories of starvation, severe punishments for minor mistakes, and public executions.

In China, around 190,000 people are forced to work in over 300 labor camps. Police officers often assign prison sentences without allowing people their day in court. Prisoners are forced to work anywhere from a few months to four years in labor camps without ever having a trial or proper appeal processes.

The camps are meant to be “re-education through labor” centers for petty criminals. In actuality, camps are centers for injustice and abuse. According to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders, prisoners work up to 20 hours a day to produce common household products and provide manual labor on farms and other industries. Critics have accused officials of accepting bribes to shorten prison sentences and serving prisoners inadequate meal portions and poor quality food. In addition, prisoners are often tortured and face other treacherous conditions. They receive little or no pay. All the while, labor camp officials greatly profit from their work.

Recently, cases of people sent to forced labor camps for apparently causing political unrest, are found in headlines all around the world. For example, last week CNN interviewed Liu Xiuzhi, who spent a traumatic year in a labor camp after repeatedly criticizing the government for failing to protect her from a dangerous neighbor. The controversial nature of these political cases helps bring attention to the troubling conditions all prisoners in forced labor camps endure.

Chinese government officials have heard the concerns of local and international organizations and recently stated they will reform the labor camp system. However, it is unclear what type of reforms the government has in mind.

What is clear, is we all need to help make sure everyone and everything is made in a FREE world. Free from injustice, abuse, forced labor camp imprisonment, and any other form of slavery.

Together we can get slavery out of our system.

Ghana might feel like a faraway place with no real connection to your life. Yet, in reality, we know that 25% of all fish caught in Ghana are exported to European countries. Some of this seafood is caught by the 7,000 - 10,000 child slaves on the shores of Lake Volta. These young kids are forced to fish up to 17 hours a day in unsafe conditions, they often catch malaria or other water-born disease and many children die.  

Unfortunately, slavery in the fishing industry is also prevalent in other countries, such as New Zealand and Thailand. Workers are often lured from different countries with the false promise of receiving an education or a good job. Instead, they are enslaved and often tortured. Fish caught on these same boats have landed in stores and on tables all over the world, including the United States.

At Made In A Free World, we know that people are closer connected to slavery than they may think. And we all have a part to play in changing the system.

Please visit www.madeinafreeworld.com/ghana, watch the video, share it with friends and family, and consider making a donation. Your contribution is an investment in the lives of these children who, with the right support, will one day break the cycle of oppression in their communities.

In 1917, Salvation Army volunteers traveled to France and made doughnuts for WWI soldiers. In 1938, this service led to the first National Doughnut Day. Since then, every first Friday in June, doughnut fans across the country enjoy discounts and free doughnuts from their favorite stores. But while National Doughnut Day started as a service to troops, the doughnut in your hand might not have such positive roots.

Americans eat 10 billion doughnuts every year. As much as half of palm oil, one of the ingredients in doughnuts, may be the result of slave labor. More than 80% of the world’s palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. According to the U.S. Department of Labor men, women and children are often trafficked into Malaysia and Indonesia from other countries, stripped of their passports, and forced to make the oil we then use for our beloved fried dough.

Companies such as Nestlé and Dunkin’ Donuts have heard the concerns of people all over the world and promised to switch to sustainable palm oil. Yet, there is still a long way to go until doughnuts are slave free.

Let’s get slavery out of our system.

At Made In A Free World we believe in changing the system in which slavery thrives. We have partnered with an amazing organization in Ghana called Challenging Heights for our first on the ground project. James, the founder of Challenging Heights, was once a child slave on Lake Volta and understands firsthand the horrific conditions children face daily on the lake.

Challenging Heights carefully identifies children who need to be rescued. Once rescued, these children receive education, counseling, human rights lessons, and microbusiness training. These services are not only provided to survivors, but also their families. Communities are also given access to financial credit agencies. All of these efforts help in eliminating the use of forced child labor in order to change the system of slavery in Ghana.

Challenging Heights assesses their work and impact regularly to ensure they are employing the best tactics to put these children on a path to freedom. We share the belief that, given a chance, these children will change the future of their entire communities.

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