We rest in satisfaction unknowingly learning the world has successfully put an end to slavery, is a deliberate illusion. The modern world claims to have ended slave trade not slavery –finds a degree of justification. The truth is that the human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, forced marriage and the forced recruitment of children to use in armed conflict are some customarily accounts of slavery. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there are currently an estimated 21 million forced labor victims worldwide, creating US$150 billion in illegal profits in the private economy each year.
Every year December 2 is commemorated as “International Day for the Abolition of Slavery” to multiply the fight against this existing menace. Contrary to the claims of factions of people in modern world having had wiped out slavery –is what ill-matches the ground realities, facts and figure whilst admitting the existence of slavery in altered form. Although we are not slaves in name, and cannot be carried to market and sold as somebody else’s legal belongings, we are free only within narrow limits. For all our claims about liberation and personal autonomy, still there are few choices that we are free to make.
Slavery was a course in history, where it was favorable for the colonists to use slavery as a labor force. The decline in population of indentured servants exacerbated the situation, as time progressed; slavery became more and more imminent. Morality was not taken into consideration, because of the settlers were only viewing slavery from a economic view, rather than a humanitarian point of view.
In the 1600’s, when tobacco was founded by John Rolfe, tobacco became the main source of income for most of the colonists. To the planter, slavery was the ideal form of labor that were the most beneficial to productivity of his crop. The economic prosperity of the colonies was primarily dependent on the amount of tobacco produced. The growing of tobacco needed a large amount of land, with a large stable work force. The increased demand for a large, stable work force combined with the availability of African slaves, led to the use of slavery in the colonies. During the late 17th century, the indentured servants were running away from their masters’ farms, if a slave had run away from their master’s farms, and then the slave would be easier to discern because of the color of his skin.
Attribute to civil right and anti-abolitionist movements, playing their parts challenging these obsolete practices by building huge restraints to curtail them to minimum. The Africans subsequently got rid of slavery and now enjoys key positions in various international organizations, and prominent states. The black skinned Barak Obama, at present is the president of United State of America, once this dream was unimaginable.
History records dominant ignorance serving a strong foundation to mental slavery, a worst form that poisoned man’s free thoughts annihilated his free will and exploited his physical potency. Surveying the past accounts discloses, illiteracy served vital to pushing men to depth of manifold gloom and obscurity. Beginning from starvation and drought, slavery earned cultural orientation where economic dependence of a man on the other played its vicious play. Man ruled by supra-religious dictates than logics warmly welcomed the modified recreation, terming it their fates to endure. Therefore, Frederick Douglass, an African-American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman, whose history is marked by anti-slavery movements, like abolitionist movement and incisive antislavery pieces, once said “Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.” Regards to emergence of rationalism associated with the virtue of knowledge and wisdom that men learn to live a life free of all artificial flawed restraints.
At present man to a non-appreciable degree enjoys liberty, freedom to practice a religion, freedom of thoughts, freedom of speech, as per provisions of universal human rights declaration. Yet there are many parts of the world where ridiculous cultural practices, customs, traditions and flawed religious interpretations, coerce man to unarguably abide by them. Afghanistan is the land where all form of modern slavery, pivoted to tangible foundations, exists.
The world over reaps the fruit of modernism whilst Afghanistan suffers servitudes, child debt bondage, women sexual harassment and other conventional slavery. Extreme poverty, lack of awareness about child rights, weak law enforcement and strong conservative traditions are among the problems which have pushed many minors - boys and girls - into situations of peonage.
In poor rural communities, child slavery and debt bondage practices are growing, but are often disguised as marriage, labor or family affairs not requiring state intervention. Selling of children and servitude - have the very characteristics of modern slavery. Even male sex recruit adolescent boys for sex and entertainment, while local authorities remain powerless in stopping the practice.
Children who experience forced marriage and servitude often suffer physical, sexual and mental violence, according to experts. Research conducted by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission has also indicated widespread domestic violence against children and their inability to access protection services. Destitute parents sometimes also offer their young daughters as “loan brides” in order to pay off loans settle family or tribal feuds and achieve other social and economic benefits. Human rights abuses in Afghanistan are too often wrapped in euphemisms and exoticism. Drug smugglers that pay poor farmers in advance for opium production, often demand young brides when farmers fail to produce opium and lack other means to repay their loans.
The records of department of women’s affairs and a local rights watchdog hundreds of cases of the selling of children, especially girls, are reported annually whilst multiple such cases left unreported. All these practices take place under the very nose of government whilst the government is blind and deaf to see and hear the pains of hapless Afghans who are left to the beasts of corrupt and unvigilant system and administration. The police, judicial system and courts are notoriously corrupt and biased one can’t afford to seek justice through them. The government and corresponding institutions must wage fight against modern form of slavery that has earned firm foundation in this piece of land and bring ill-fame to us.