Poverty is one of, if not the leading factor that leads to the exploitation and trafficking of people. Desperate people in desperate situations act in desperation and there are always opportunistic evil men lurking in the shadows.
Current estimates are that it would take 50 billion dollars a year to end world poverty. If that is correct than truly, at least that part of the human trafficking equation should, and can easily be eliminated.
The following statistics are not meant to disparage America or Americans, they serve as a starting point, certainly other countries will have similar spending patterns.
Americans spend more on gambling then groceries. Upwards of 100 billion dollars a year. Twice the going rate of ending poverty.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that a combined $276 billion was spent or lost in 2005 on health care, lost productivity, premature death, auto accidents and crime relating to drug and alcohol abuse. That was in 2005, the numbers now are closer to 6 times the going rate to end poverty.
Americans spent $705 billion for entertainment and recreation in 2004, according to a Unity Marketing study Entertainment and Recreational Products Report. 14 times the cost of ending poverty.
Junk food and soft drinks over 200 billion.
In 2000 spending on the lawn and garden industry equaled $85 billion. Of that, $6.3 billion was spent on lawn and garden accessories like sundials, fountains and sculptures.
I could go on. About tooth art, vacation homes, air conditioned dog houses. Valentines day, Easter, Christmas and Halloween.... Sports cars, 52 inch plasma screens, 5 dollar lattes and 20 billion dollar annual bottled water sales....
Half of the world lives on less than 2 dollars a day. 2 dollars! Or an ATM fee, a late charge for a movie.
Even if it were 500 billion instead of 50 billion to end poverty, it's still well within reach by only cutting out waste and luxury. Once again if only we would would heed Gandhi's words and "Live simply so that others can simply live". Literally, a lifestyle change can save a life.
What would it cost to end poverty? That's not the question we should be asking. Instead....
What will it cost if we don't?
"Live simply so that others may simply live" is not a twitter-worthy platitude printed on an inspirational poster beneath a majestic animal doing what majestic animals do in front of a breathtaking (and majestic) landscape. It is a mandate, attributed to Gandhi, that is as relevant today as it was when it was uttered.
On the front-lines of the battle against human trafficking, NGO's, human rights organizations and civil governments continue to be hindered by budgetary shortfalls. People are continually exploited, abused, enslaved, and killed because those with the will and the expertise to fight for justice lack the resources to do just that. Economists tell us that it is not a zero sum game, that there are plenty of resources to go around. But hoping and wishing for financial equality and the realization of that desire, are a universe apart.
What is within our reach is living responsibly and sharing with those less fortunate. Ordering a small instead of a large coffee a day can double the income of the estimated 300 million people who live on less than a dollar a day. Drinking tap water instead of bottled water can save hundreds of dollars a year, money that could be used to dig clean water wells in villages where women and children are forced to walk hours a day on poorly lit roads to get water from polluted sources, all the while in danger of being kidnapped and trafficked or even killed. A two pack a day cigarette habit can mean two or three thousand dollars a year into the coffers of organizations like IJM and Not For Sale in their continuing fight against modern slavery. Down-sizing our houses and cars can save tens of thousands of dollars in utilities, fuel, mortgage payments, interest, insurance and upkeep. The liquidation of our surplus possessions can take what is gathering dust in our closets and attics and turn it into freedom for the 30 million people enslaved today.
St. Basil the Great said, "The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear moldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes". In a very real sense our excess can fill the vacuum of their lack, may even be the difference between life and death. This voluntary reduction and redistribution of resources is the most straightforward and potentially powerful way ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
We live in an age of politicking and activism where environmental concerns make the front pages as much or more than humanitarian ones. But these two things are interrelated in a very complex way. In the age of globalization we truly have become a global community where even the smallest actions have long reaching ripple reactions. When we are wasteful with resources there are more than just environmental repercussions. The resources we use cost money at every level of extraction, refinement, and consumption. Again, that money could be saved and sent to anti-slavery organizations. Reduction, recycling, and reusing are not just the tenets of a conservationist philosophy, they can be turned into very real weapons in the hands of those who war against evil men who enslave and exploit for profit.
But however we choose to reduce consumption, any amount is better than none. Just a few dollars a week can have a profound affect. And I think once you see what those few dollars can do you will become so emboldened, so enlivened, that "living simply" for such a beautiful cause will become your passion.
