If you think that slavery was completely abolished after the thirteenth amendment, think again. Modern day slavery is alive and well-meaning it has, and is continuing to, destroy millions of lives every day. This epidemic is spreading like wildfire, but the A21 Campaign is on a mission to end slavery once and for all.
A21 was founded in 2008 by Australian activist, evangelist and international speaker, Christine Caine. Caine was introduced to the horrors of human trafficking in 2007 when she was walking through an airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, and was confronted by many handmade posters of missing children. When she later understood that these children were trafficked, she knew she had to do something about it. Caine and her husband started the campaign with their website stating: We are a nonprofit organization fueled by radical hope that human beings everywhere will be rescued from bondage and completely restored. We are the abolitionists of the 21st century. We work with you to free slaves and disrupt the demand. Their vision? Freedom, for every human being on the planet. Their mission? Abolish slavery everywhere, forever.
Caine believes that the only way for the abolishment of slavery to happen, one must first acknowledge that it exists. She states that “it (human trafficking) happens when the world closes their eyes and pretends something isn’t happening. We want a whole lot of goods and services and we don’t really want to pay, but it’s got to come from somewhere. When you no longer care about the process of how something gets to you, but you just want the end result, then you close your eyes to what’s going on.” There are millions of slaves involved in a $150 billion sex-trafficking industry. Only one percent of those slaves are ever rescued. A21.org says that “those statistics are daunting – and they lose the human element. The heart of our organization is the one. The one woman, the one man, the one child trapped and exploited, unable to see another end to their story. But we see the one, and we fight for the one, and we sacrifice to restore the one… to give them freedom and independence and a chance at a better story.”
One of the largest campaigns that A21 puts on is called the End It Movement. Red X’s are used to shine awareness on modern day slavery. Feb. 13 is known as “Shine a Light on Slavery Day” and people draw these red X’s on their hands to show support for the campaign. A21 wants to bring awareness to people on this day to remind us of the millions of lives that need saving. If you want to do more than just bring awareness to the cause, The A21 Campaign offers suggestions if you’re unsure of where to start. Their website offers ways to fight trafficking, volunteer or just donate! Donating may seem minuscule compared to everything else, but every penny is vital and it’s just as important! These funds go toward more than just bringing awareness to this life-saving cause. It goes toward helping recovered trafficking victims in the shelters and transition houses the organization provides. They are provided with “post-trauma restoration processes” which provide survivors with medical and psychological care, legal assistance and life-skills training in hopes to keep them from being re-trafficked.
“I really believe there is a life beyond everyone’s past, and there is a hope and a future. And if you commit to the process of restoration, you can overcome the obstacles and hurdles and the pain and the suffering and be made whole.” -Christine Caine
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