Article 4 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." And yet, as Kevin Bales says, "...there's actually a very large number of slaves in the world today-our best estimate is 27 million. And that is defining a slave in a very narrow way; we're not talking about sweatshop workers or people who are just poor, we're talking about people who are controlled by violence, who cannot walk away, who are being held against their will, who are being paid nothing." Contrary to common belief, slavery has not disappeared from this world. A couple of years ago, I read a book based on the true story of a Pakistani boy. His name was Iqbal Masih, and he was a child slave working in a carpet factory. He, among with many other children, worked 14 hours a day and was constantly abused by their owner. But what makes him special is that he stood up to his owner, escaped, and helped other children who were like him. I truly believe that he was a very brave freedom fighter, and that he impacted the world positively.
I believe that it is necessary to end modern-day slavery because these acts are directly violating human rights. The victims are worth being fought for because they too, are human and deserve every right we do. Stories vary around the world, but we have a general idea of how child slaves are treated, and it is not something anyone deserves to go through. After working at the carpet factory since he was 4, when he was 10, Iqbal fled from the factory and the bondage for good and joined the BLLF (Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan). After joining the BLLF, Iqbal helped save many other child slaves in Pakistan, also giving speeches around the world. I think that what made him so successful and what made him able to move so many people was the fact that he'd been there. He was once one of those children he spoke for, and he understood how and what they felt. He knew these children were worth figting for because he knew just how much they suffered. And Iqbal helps us realize that these children, the victims, are worth fighting for because they deserve a chance at life too. He helps us realize that while we live the previleged life, some people of our very own age work all day and aren't treated humanely. He helps us realize that we, who have it all should take a stand to fight for those who don't.
Another reason I think modern-day slavery needs to end is because it can give hope to other people, other people who are suffering. As we try to end slavery, and as we are doing now, we can't get rid of it all at once. It takes time, and little by little, people are freed. The reason why we need to keep fighting for the victims is because when those who suffer, hear stories about people similar to themselves get freed, they find hope. They find hope that they too, one day will get to walk around freely without anyone restraining them. Not only does it give hope to those out there to be saved, it spreads the word to people who can help. Both are evident in Iqbal's case. After his escape from hell, Iqbal gave speeches, speaking out against child slavery and encouraging other children still bonded to their owners. This helped free many other children. Iqbal didn't just reach those in need of help, he also impacted those who were watching from far away. One of these cases was of Craig Kielburger, a 12 year old Canadian boy at that time (1995) who was inspired by Iqbal's work and his death to devote his life to being a children's rights activist. So this is another reason why we must keep fighting to end modern-day slavery: one's actions can impact others, and we can always spread the word and hope to others to keep the fight going.
I believe that Iqbal Masih is a true hero. He was a boy given a life with no freedom, yet he went above and beyond to stand up for his rights and defy his "destiny". Althought not everyone might notice, slavery is an on-going problem; it is not a situation of the past. In fact research shows that there are more slaves in this world right now than there have ever been in the past. We must spread the word and join the fight to end modern-day slavery because it is what is right; everyone deserves to have certain rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights doesn't exist just to look nice; it is really what should be the standard rights of a human. Iqbal once said, "Right now at this moment, 6 million Pakistani children are weaving carpets with tears" (not exact-it's been translated). This shows the enormity of child slavery, and that's just in Pakistan. Some argue that these kind of problems will never really go away. Maybe it's true. But does that mean we should stop trying to solve them? Does that mean we should just ignore these problems and go around hating on the world, it's leaders, and it's imperfections? No, it should further motivate us to be aware, and take action to make a better world, just like Iqbal did.
I believe that it is necessary to end modern-day slavery because these acts are directly violating human rights. The victims are worth being fought for because they too, are human and deserve every right we do. Stories vary around the world, but we have a general idea of how child slaves are treated, and it is not something anyone deserves to go through. After working at the carpet factory since he was 4, when he was 10, Iqbal fled from the factory and the bondage for good and joined the BLLF (Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan). After joining the BLLF, Iqbal helped save many other child slaves in Pakistan, also giving speeches around the world. I think that what made him so successful and what made him able to move so many people was the fact that he'd been there. He was once one of those children he spoke for, and he understood how and what they felt. He knew these children were worth figting for because he knew just how much they suffered. And Iqbal helps us realize that these children, the victims, are worth fighting for because they deserve a chance at life too. He helps us realize that while we live the previleged life, some people of our very own age work all day and aren't treated humanely. He helps us realize that we, who have it all should take a stand to fight for those who don't.
Another reason I think modern-day slavery needs to end is because it can give hope to other people, other people who are suffering. As we try to end slavery, and as we are doing now, we can't get rid of it all at once. It takes time, and little by little, people are freed. The reason why we need to keep fighting for the victims is because when those who suffer, hear stories about people similar to themselves get freed, they find hope. They find hope that they too, one day will get to walk around freely without anyone restraining them. Not only does it give hope to those out there to be saved, it spreads the word to people who can help. Both are evident in Iqbal's case. After his escape from hell, Iqbal gave speeches, speaking out against child slavery and encouraging other children still bonded to their owners. This helped free many other children. Iqbal didn't just reach those in need of help, he also impacted those who were watching from far away. One of these cases was of Craig Kielburger, a 12 year old Canadian boy at that time (1995) who was inspired by Iqbal's work and his death to devote his life to being a children's rights activist. So this is another reason why we must keep fighting to end modern-day slavery: one's actions can impact others, and we can always spread the word and hope to others to keep the fight going.
I believe that Iqbal Masih is a true hero. He was a boy given a life with no freedom, yet he went above and beyond to stand up for his rights and defy his "destiny". Althought not everyone might notice, slavery is an on-going problem; it is not a situation of the past. In fact research shows that there are more slaves in this world right now than there have ever been in the past. We must spread the word and join the fight to end modern-day slavery because it is what is right; everyone deserves to have certain rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights doesn't exist just to look nice; it is really what should be the standard rights of a human. Iqbal once said, "Right now at this moment, 6 million Pakistani children are weaving carpets with tears" (not exact-it's been translated). This shows the enormity of child slavery, and that's just in Pakistan. Some argue that these kind of problems will never really go away. Maybe it's true. But does that mean we should stop trying to solve them? Does that mean we should just ignore these problems and go around hating on the world, it's leaders, and it's imperfections? No, it should further motivate us to be aware, and take action to make a better world, just like Iqbal did.
This blog made me think about world around me. I never worked for someone by their order, and I never even work. But I knew many children are working from younger age than me. Having no human rights that they naturally have to have. You claimed we must spread the word and continue fighting for victims. I agree with it. I can’t help children right now, but if many people fought for it and keep fighting makes force people to fight for and someday it’ll success. I noticed that having human rights, having education and having a freedom to do what I want are really fortune and not a natural thing. It would be a wonderful world if all the people had human rights and having a freedom. But obviously real world is not like that. I think it is our responsibility to fight for it even you can’t really do big thing. That’s why I think it is worth fighting for.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think thinking from the view of owners will help us getting near to the goal. When we look at the problem from view of owners who uses slaves makes us know why they want to have slaves. After when we know why they want to have slaves, we might be able to have a solution. I think they want to have slaves because then they don’t have to spend money for labor cost. These are all because they want to have more money. So I think all the government can check all the companies selling things and if they are using slaves the government can stop them selling things until they started to have improvements. Maybe this is not a good solution but we could still think of other ways when we think from other viewpoint.
This blog made me think about whats happening in are world and what i could do to help it. CHILD LABOR IS NO JOKE!!! What this kid was able to do before he died at the age of 13 was amazing. Thank you Iqbal Masih!!!
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