Ending Modern Slavery -By Ike Willie-Nwobu

On August 23 annually the United Nations marks the International Day for Remembrance of Slave Trade and its abolition.

The Slave Trade always invokes the strongest feelings in those connected to its direct victims, in many ways. The reasons are not far-fetched.

Humanity has a long and painful history of being scarred and scared. Scarred by self-inflicted wounds which would not just heal, and then scared to death by the thought of further inflicting wounds on itself. It is at once a treacherous and torturous trajectory.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade raged like a storm for decades. In those years which  have gone down as some of the darkest and ugliest chapters in the history of humanity, entire families and generations were sundered as human beings were snatched away from their homes and countries, commoditized and taken to Europe where they were sold to be subjected to the most harrowing atrocities.

The painful history of the slave trade is the chief reason race relations are so fraught today, stretched to breaking point by a history marked by pain and inequality.

Recently, strenuous efforts have been made by those who would rewrite history to argue that the slave trade was beneficial to its victims. The State of Florida in the United States recently attempted to introduce this kind of warped teaching into its school curriculum.

There is certainly a limit to how far this kind of lies can stretch. But there is no telling how far just yet.

The Slave Trade may have been abolished more than a century ago, but rather than go away completely, it has evolved, taking on new forms.

One of these forms is human trafficking which in many ways eerily invokes the slave trade in its worst forms.

A transnational crime that speaks to the worst forms of the slave trade, human trafficking has emerged as a global challenge and a global threat packed into one.

It dovetails nicely with drug trafficking, which feeds unimaginably cruel forms of exploitation and violence against people, especially women and children.

There is also the specter of forced Labor  and other very exploitative forms of labor which propagates the exploitation of people,  especially women.

Tackling modern-day slavery is a question of justice. Since it has become apparent that the slave trade yet resonates in modern and sophisticated ways, breaking the chain is an urgent task which requires urgency and immediacy.

Global successes have been recorded in tackling organized crime, but there is a need for more action. What is required is not as much legislation as is the political will to tackle what is a growing menace.

Addressing the root causes of modern slavery will go a long way. The factors that predispose people to modern slavery are neither secret nor mysterious. There is poverty, there is conflict, and there is weak law enforcement.

Many people who are poor usually have no qualms whatsoever about picking up what is left of their miserable lives and trying their hands and fate elsewhere. The grass is always greener on the other

Side until it is not and f or this people, anywhere but where they are, typically does it until they actually find themselves there.

When they find themselves exposed to all manner of backbreaking conditions, they are often torn between going back to their countries and remaining in their new places and grinding it out. However, it is always a matter of being torn between two hells.

There is also the question of conflict. The reason conflict is so insidious is that is spawning all kinds of situations for people, some of them more dangerous than others.

Conflict often forces people to flee their homes. Once in flight, and away from the place they have felt more secure all their lives, they are then exposed to all manner of possibilities.

Then, there is weak law enforcement. When law enforcement lacks efficacy and, more importantly, compassion, people groan under it. The reason modern slavery thrives in many places is that law enforcement is weak and indulgent.

Improving law enforcement can well break the cycle of modern slavery. It can only be A good thing that a day like this is remembered. Until it is not, calling to mind the horrors of the slave trade would help efforts to combat all forms of modern slavery.

A world pivoting towards justice and equality for all can never be seen to condone any form of exploitation against people.

Ike Willie-Nwobu

Ikewilly9@gmail.com