This morning, I woke up to good news that CNN has joined a noble cause - the fight against modern-day slavery. The mega news network has launched a year-long project: The CNN Freedom Project which is designed to "...shine a spotlight on the horrors of modern-day slavery, amplify the voices of victims, highlight success stories and help unravel the complicated tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life."It's shocking to note that it's cheaper to buy a slave nowadays than it was in the 19th Century.
CNN reports that today, the price for a slave is about $90 - compared to $40,000 in the 19th Century. There're about 10 million to 20 million people held in slavery worldwide.
Geographically:
- Asia-pacific accounts for 1.4 million slaves.
- Latin America accounts for 250,000 slaves.
- Middle East accounts for 230,000 slaves.
- Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 230,000 slaves.
This cruel, inhuman and degrading practice is reminiscent of the lowest point in human history and violates every international human rights standard.
The CNN Freedom Project underscores the necessity and urgency to end slavery in all it's forms and bring slave traders and owners to justice. It will bring to light the realities of modern-day slavery in the backyard of modern democracies - including the "land of the free", and challenge governments to stop looking away.
Thank you CNN for joining the fights against modern-day slavery and for raising the bar of media reporting. It takes reputable news networks, human rights organizations and people of good conscience worldwide to challenge governments to move quickly and put an end to untold violations of basic rights.
For more information about the project and how you can help, visit cnn.com/freedom.
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