When faced with great challenge, the tendency for most is to be overwhelmed, or to take overly simplistic views of the problems being faced and attempt simplistic solutions. In this case, the simplistic solution always leads to frustration, as the problem never seems to be fully dealt with. This happens all the time and a brief look at the news will show growing fatigue, as the problems we face never seem to go away.One such problem is slavery. Today, it is normally referred to as human trafficking and it is everywhere. It exists in fields and brick kilns in India and Pakistan. It also exists in suburban neighborhoods in every major US city and quite a few small towns as well. It is second only to narcotics in terms of the revenue it generates for organized crime. It is more brutal today than it ever has been. Unlike in older societies, where there was an economic interest in taking care of the investments slaves represented, today, people are fully disposable. The supply is almost unlimited and the demand is on the rise. According to Kevin Bales, author of Disposable People, the average going rate for a human being in the US before the Emancipation Proclamation was $50,000 adjusted for inflation. Today it is $30. Also, this product can be sold over and over. As big as the problem is, the factors that push people into slavery are even bigger.
Thus, concentrating on the end result of slavery alone always leads to frustration because it never seems to go away. There are laws against slavery in nearly every country on earth and it still exists in every country on earth. Lack of progress leads to compassion fatigue. The more heinous the problem, the faster this happens. In such a state, very simplistic solutions like buying people out of slavery end up getting implemented. This is a truly heinous problem. It is also a very complex problem. However, to every complex problem, there are complex solutions. Embracing this complexity, more holistic approaches to confronting the issue on all levels appear. Concrete plans of action start to develop and, with solid steps to take, we find our way out of compassion fatigue and back on the path to complete abolition.
This abolition will take place as we embrace the full spectrum of strategy to confront all the contributing factors of poverty, crime, corruption, disease, war, etc. that lead to slavery. It is this full spectrum we will now explore.
Photo by mvcorks and used under a creative commons license
