World Day Against Child Labor 2011

In a modern age where days should be ones of celebration, once again we find ourselves forced to reckon with the evils humanity is capable of, once again we commemorate the worst of exploitations, today is World Day Against Child Labor. The International Labor Organization estimates that there are still 215 million children engaged in illegal labor, with half being in the worst forms of slave labor. This includes, but is of course not limited to, the sex trade, child soldiering, bonded labor and the illegal drug trade. The text of their new report.

Like most forms of child exploitation, illegal child labor is born from the womb of poverty. Many children are forced to work solely for their family or for themselves to survive. Many children will not eat if they don't work. And of course this type of desperation gives greed and evil ample opportunity for the most egregious forms exploitation.

Please let your voice be heard today and everyday for the innocent victims of illegal labor. Please make sure the products you consume are slave labor free. Ask your congressmen to support the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. Please live simply and give whatever you can to legitimate organizations that fight poverty. Inform yourself. There are also many informative and inspiring videos on the ILO's YouTube page. From all of us at COH, thank you for defending the defenseless. Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless. Thank you for helping organizations like International Justice Mission give justice for the oppressed and exploited.

Child Prostitute in Ghana

Happy Birthday!

Conspiracy Of Hope turned one year old this week. For all of you who have given of your hearts, time and resources....words cannot express my gratitude. I am deeply humbled by your compassion, your commitment and your passion for justice. There may not be a greater calling than to be the voice of the voiceless and to defend the defenseless.


William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army said "While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end!"

And if I might be so bold to put words along side his, "While children are chained to workbenches, as they are now, we'll fight; while children are maimed and forced to beg, as they are now, we'll fight; while child soldiers are forced to kill, as they are now, we'll fight; while children are being brutally raped in brothels and basements, as they are right now, we'll fight, we will fight to the very end!"

Please join us in the fight. Millions of children live in slavery right now. They are powerless and we, we have the means to fight, if we can find the will.

Here's to year number two. To freedom. To justice. To the end of slavery.

In Their Own Words. The Child Soldiers.

Another hideous facet of human trafficking is the use of child soldiers. According to UNICEF there are 300,000 children serving as soldiers, guerrillas, spies, sex slaves (for their superiors), and suicide commandos in conflicts in 50 different nations. Children as young as five are stolen from their villages, forced to kill their families, robbed of all innocence, and psychologically brutalized. The following are their words. Their names have been abbreviated to protect them and their families.

L-., age 7

The rebels told me to join them, but I said no. Then they killed my smaller brother. I changed my mind. (source: Radio Netherlands)

A-., age 12

I was very scared. It was an attack on the paramilitaries. We killed about seven of them. We had to drink their blood to conquer our fear. Only the scared ones had to. I was the most scared of all, because I was the youngest. (source: Human Rights Watch)

D-., age 16

I was attending primary school. The rebels came and attacked us. They killed my mother and father in front of my eyes. I was ten years old. They took me with them...taught us to fight. The first time I killed someone, I got so sick, I thought I was going to die. (source: Radio Netherlands)

A-., age 16

I was forced to do amputations. We had a cutlass, an ax, and a big log. We called the villagers out and let them stand in line. You ask whether they want a long hand or a short hand [amputation at the wrist or the elbow]. The long hand you put in a different bag from the short hand. If you have a large number of amputated hands in the bag, the promotion will be automatic, to various ranks. (source: Newsweek)

D-., age 16

When we attacked a town, we would rape people. When we saw a lot of girls, we'd rape. Even I had a woman. I was twelve at the time. She was about 15. Our commanders said all of us had to have a woman. If we didn't they'd kill us. (source: Radio Netherlands)

Warning. The next quote is extremely graphic and disturbing. I really anguished about including it. But we need to know what these children go through on a daily basis. Just be warned. It's that brutal.

K-., girl, age 13

We were taken to a mosque in Kissy [Sierra Leone]. They killed everyone in there..... They were snatching babies from their mother's arms and tossing them in the air. The babies would free-fall to their deaths. At other times they would also chop them from the back of their heads to kill them, you know like you do when you slaughter chickens....One girl with us tried to escape. They made her take off her slippers and give them to me and then killed her. One time we came across two pregnant women. They tied the women down with their legs eagle-spread and took a sharpened stick and jabbed them inside of their wombs until the babies came out on the stick. (source: Physicians For Human Rights)

This unconscionable and detestable type of child exploitation must stop. If you want to get involved, here are some organizations that fight to stop the use of child soldiers. World Vision, Invisible Children, Coalition to Stop the Use Of Child Soldiers, and War Child International.

Also, P.W. Singer's book Children At War is a rather exhaustive volume on child soldiers if you would like to study this aspect of human trafficking in more depth. The previous quotes were collected there, along with many others.