"Look, we didn't know"

I've tried at least 10 times to begin writing this blog, and yet no sentence has been able to stick. I keep trying to grip my reader with an intense or informative formation of words so that you might finish reading my post.
My heart so badly want everyone in the world today to understand the torture and injustice that is happening as I type these words. By the time I get finished writing this, 10 children will have entered child slavery.

I can still remember learning about slavery in school. Learning about the injustice between races and social groups that, for hundreds of years, caused certain people to suffer for reasons that hold no value. I remember wondering that if I were born in that time period, would I have fought against slavery, or would I have accepted it as the norm?
And then I can recall learning about the people who stood up for Truth and dedicated their life, their time, and their resources to doing whatever they could to abolish slavery...and it took more than a day. It took more than a few weeks. But it took.

Slavery was abolished...or so we thought.

Over the last couple decades, slavery has taken a much deeper route. It is not confined by color, race, ethnicity, or social class. It has no respect for age or self-worth. But then, when has it ever?
It is found world-wide, including our America, "Land of the Free". Every year, 14,500-17,500 children are trafficked into the United States ALONE (humantrafficking.org). These children are most often forced into the sex trade, where they are forced to service up to 20 clients a day. The most wanted age-range are girls between 12-17 years old.

If your stomach isn't sick yet, there's something wrong.

I will post some links to a few sites that will connect you to more stats and information. But please don't forget that these numbers are made up of faces. That they are not merely statistics on a page, but hundreds and thousands of souls and beating hearts that have been robbed, not only of their childhood, but of their entire life.

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. It is an overwhelming issue, and I find myself (quite often) freaking out because I want to save every child and adult, yet I don't know where to start. Start by learning. Empower yourself so that you may empower others. Raise money. Find a walk to raise awareness and invite friends.

Be aware, and Do what you can.

"Don't excuse yourself by saying, "Look, we didn't know." (prov. 24:12)

http://www.sctnow.org/
http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_exploitation.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/domestic-sex-trafficking-increasing-united-states/story?id=10557194
http://www.childrenofthenight.org/?gclid=CMWzg-67sqYCFRVx5Qod5029pQ
http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/united_states_of_america