Does Slavery Still Exist?

I used to think slavery only referred to the one that existed in the United States of America during the 18th and 19th centuries. I didn’t realize how the majority of the materialistic items we own are built and manufactured by slaves. Slavery can even be seen as the laborers from Thailand who are peeling numerous amounts of shrimp. It is surprising to see how the slave laborers from Thailand are not associated with their names, but rather numbers. “Tin Nyo Win was No 31” and he is still a participant of the pervasive human trafficking in Thailand. Thailand is “one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers” and this is only true because they accomplish this goal in an inhumane way.

The answer to the question of my blog is sadly yes. Even though it was said that slavery is put in the past, it is even more present today. There are many instances where people are forced to do labor. The slave laborers from Thailand receive threats if they do not get up in time to start the tedious work of peeling shrimp. “They heard a kick on the door” which basically resembles the start of their horrendous work. Yes I know I am talking about slavery in Thailand, but it does exist in the United States of America as well. The human trafficking in the United States is somewhat an “invisible crime.” You may not notice, but human trafficking is still prevalent today.

There are similarities in that human trafficking is similar to the enslavement of all African Americans. “[Slaves] [had] no accurate knowledge of [their] age” and this was usually the case since it would somewhat make the slaves feel subservient to their master. This is just like how the laborers in Thailand are not addressed by their names but instead are addressed by numbers that give no significance. African American slaves would wake up to the sound of a horn instead of it being a kick on the door. “All [had to] rise(wake up)” even though they were tired. The laborers in Thailand wake up to the sound of a kick on the door at 2 in the morning.

It is important to not take the life you have for granted. For instance, there are and were many times in my life in which I would complain about my difficulties in life. I didn’t realize that there were many others who are going through worse situations.