Slavery dates back to hundreds of years ago, if not thousands of years. It has infested the society since the beginning of ancient Mesopotamian civilization to 300 years ago in the United States, unfortunately, it still plagues some regions like Africa. The blight of slavery has always been a blot on our so-called progressive society. Slavery was and continues to be a blatant disregard of ethics and morality; tragically, it is so deep-rooted that it does not seem to be ending anytime soon.
Slavery changed over time; people were discriminated against and forced to work as slaves based on their race, ethnicity, origin, beliefs, and the like. The core idea of slavery, namely, is that some people are superior to others, never changed. Oppressed people, no different from you and I, have been and continue to be forced into marriage, non-consensual sex, bonded labour, menial tasks that degrade human dignity. Despite the face and contours of discrimination changing, slavery has never been abolished in the true sense.
Slavery takes endless different forms; people are kidnapped and trafficked around the world, these individuals become victims of an enormous web of illegal activities. In some places, people mortgage themselves or family members to repay debts or loans. This is called bonded labour and in India majority of these people are Dalits, the so-called "untouchables" who belong to indigenous tribes. Slavery of this kind has become a flourishing business.
The slave ‘market’ or ‘business’ generates approximately 150 billion dollars every year, and roughly 40.3 million people are stuck in this unforgiving loop of injustice. Women get forced into unwanted marriages, children are starved and forced to beg on roads of metropolitan cities, men get forced to work for inhumane hours of back-breaking, manual labour. Although we all live on the same planet, millions of us are still victims of slavery. Unless we acknowledge that it continues to corrode the fabric of human dignity, we will never be able to abolish it. We, the youth, need to take action and stand up for the rights of the downtrodden and exploited fellow beings. I fervently hope and pray that corrective action is taken and that this injustice ends.
Petition to end slavery: https://www.endslaverynow.org/act/action-library/sign-the-petition-for-the-end-modern-slavery-initiative