Fighting Slavery's Legacy of Racism through Transformative Education

“Slavery is both a historic horror and a contemporary outrage.”- António Guterres- Secretary-General United Nations. You are not alone to question why there is a need for us to have an International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. For many of us as far as we know slavery was abolished. However, the manifestations of slavery still exist. Slavery has been repurposed and repackaged. Slavery takes place daily in the spaces we occupy, yet we are clueless to this human rights violation. The popular narrative is for us to think of slavery in some far away land, where the language is different from what we speak and where the cultural differences are many. However, as human beings regardless of our language, educational background, skin colour or religious beliefs we share a common heritage. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was profitable, so too modern day slavery. The fact is slavery is a big business; the financiers of slavery will do anything to ensure that this scourge against humanity continues. Regrettably, the perpetuation of slavery is done with our implicit consent. The sad reality is that many of us turn a blind eye to this horror against humanity. In many instances there are no physical chains and shackles on the victims concerning modern day slavery. The victims are made to feel helpless as their dignity is often stripped away making them vulnerable to the evil that exist. Slavery is a calculated process to entrap the victims. The progression is one to belittle those who find themselves as victims of modern day slavery. Slavery is coerced and learnt. It is usually done on a platform of racism. The enslavers believe themselves better than those who are enslaved. We all require personal freedom not only for ourselves but also for our families. Pulitzer Prize winner, Toni Morrison in her 1987 book, Beloved, addressed brilliantly two important issues. One was the horror of the Middle Passage and the other was the horror of slavery. Historically, known as the Middle Passage, the slave trade involved European powers from the 16th century until the 19th century. Slavery was abolished in Jamaica in 1838. The slave trade accounted for the abduction and death of millions of Africans who boarded like animals on many slavers/ships and were then sold at various ports of call across the Caribbean and the wider Americas. Morrison mourns them in her first chapter. “Sixty million/ and more”. We all want and desire freedom and no one, no institution should be allowed to take that freedom from us. It is for this reason why there is a reason to observe this very important international day. International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is observed on December 2 each year. It provides an opportunity for governments, organizations, and individuals worldwide to come together and take steps to eliminate modern slavery and support survivors. The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The theme for this year’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is Fighting Slavery's Legacy of Racism through Transformative Education' and it emphasizes the continuing effects of the transatlantic slave trade's legacy of racism. History of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1986 to coincide with the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949). This day serves as a reminder of the commitment of the international community to eradicate all forms of slavery and exploitation, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The numbers concerning modern day slavery are mind- boggling. An estimated 50 million people are in modern slavery, including 28 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriage. Alarmingly, almost one in eight of all those in forced labour are children. More than half of these children are in commercial sexual exploitation. The International Labour Organization (ILO) adds, that almost four out of five of those in forced commercial sexual exploitation are women or girls. Modern slavery is used to describe abhorrent practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking. Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power. Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world, and cuts across ethnic, cultural and religious lines. More than half 52 % of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages can be found in upper-middle income or high-income countries.

Main Types of Modern Slavery. Slavery has evolved and manifested itself in different ways throughout history. Today some traditional forms of slavery still persist in their earlier forms, while others have been transformed into new ones. The UN human rights bodies have documented the persistence of old forms of slavery that are embedded in traditional beliefs and customs. These forms of slavery are the result of long-standing discrimination against the most vulnerable groups in societies, such as those regarded as being of low caste, tribal minorities and indigenous peoples. Forced Labour. Alongside traditional forms of forced labour, such as bonded labour and debt bondage there now exist more contemporary forms of forced labour, such as migrant workers, who have been trafficked for economic exploitation of every kind in the world economy: work in domestic servitude, the construction industry, the food and garment industry, the agricultural sector and in forced prostitution. Child Labour. Globally, one in ten children works. The majority of the child labour that occurs today is for economic exploitation. Evidently this goes against the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes “the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” Trafficking. Trafficking in persons means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. The consent of the person trafficked for exploitation is irrelevant and If the trafficked person is a child, it is a crime even without the use of force. Collaborative Effort. On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, we remember the victims of the past particularly the millions of African people ripped from their homes, exploited, brutalized or killed during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Undoubtedly, countries must legislate, protect the rights of victims, and eradicate the practices and conditions that allow modern slavery to flourish. We also need companies to play their part, by ensuring their businesses are in compliance with human rights practices and international labour standards. Those who can should shine the light on these abusive practices and the denial of fundamental human and labour rights. In addition to governments and agencies of the State, journalists and human rights advocates must use their platforms to heighten awareness surrounding the issue of modern day slavery. The education system also has a great part to play. In fact the teaching of history education should be compulsory in all primary and secondary schools across the Americas. In the Caribbean, there needs to be an overhaul of the CSEC and CAPE history programme of study. Our religious community and civil society must also be more forceful in tackling modern day slavery. Those of us who are privileged must speak on behalf of the voiceless and bring attention to this human tragedy. What this therefore means is that a collaborative effort is required to tackle modern day slavery which is rooted in racism and colourism. Together we can. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #InternationalDayfortheAbolitionofSlavery #ModernSlavery #AbolishSlavery