Slavery and Human Trafficking - What you need to know

From Free the Slaves. Real slaves. Today. 27 Million.

And some are in the US....

Out of the Loom

From freetheslaves.net Out of the Loom

Rambho was tricked into slavery after his father died. He worked 16 hours a day weaving carpets. When his fingers bled - the slave owner dipped them in oil and lit them on fire. That was before the raid that changed Rambho's life forever. Rescued Rambho and 10 other boys were rescued by Bal Vikas Ashram - a grassroots organization in northern India that not only frees children from slavery, but houses them for six months as they recover from years of abuse, educates them and helps them learn to play again. Activists from the Bal Vikas Ashram also go to the remote villages where the traffickers sweet talk parents with false promises.  The activists explain what is really happening and help vulnerable parents organize to demand their rights and earn a living.   Back Home Today, after 6 months in the ashram, Rambho knows how to read and write. He is back home and activists have helped his mother reclaim the family home that was lost when her husband died. Rambho says he wants to be a guard when he grows up. He wants to keep other children free from slavery. "I won’t let anybody go there even by mistake. I’ll tell them that they hit you and they beat you and I would not let them go there ever."  Help other children like Rambho get free and stay free. You can make all the difference. To read the whole article and to help please go to Free the Slaves

Slave Dreams and Danger

It is hard to imagine how so many in today's world are forced to suffer. Slavery should have died centuries ago. We thought it did. But it didn't. The following article comes from Free the Slaves Ramphal Dares to Dream
Ramphal and his entire family were slaves in the rock quarries of India for as long as anyone can remember. Slowly - with the help of grassroots activists, Ramphal and the other slaves in his village realized that freedom was possible. Getting there was dangerous. Life in slavery "If I would move in my house or out of my house, if I want to sit somewhere, get up, if I want to eat, if I want to drink - anything that I wanted to do - I required permission." The villagers of Sonnebarsa began meeting with other slaves across the area and demanding their rights. Violence broke out at a meeting. A slave owner was killed. Slave owners retaliated by burning Ramphal's village. What little the families had was gone. Nine slaves were jailed and charged with murder. Ramphal was one of them. Land of the Free Other freed slaves in the area took in the desperate families, still some babies in the village died. Legal activists worked to get the slaves out of jail. Grassroots activists applied for leases to mine nearby rock quarries. They won the leases. The men were freed. Finally the villagers were able to build a new village - Azad Nagar or 'Land of the Free'. Freedom Today Ramphal is still giddy with freedom, "I’m just so happy with this new life that I’ve got and it gives me so much joy, the fact that I can control my own mind, my own thoughts, my own movements.  I can’t even look back at my earlier existence."  Ramphal's children are going to school for the first time. He has dreams of opening his own business but won't share the details. He is just getting use to the idea of daring to dream.    To see the rest, please go to https://www.freetheslaves.net/NETCOMMUNITY/SSLPage.aspx?pid=238&srcid=183