Centuries ago we gradually came to a halt in slave trading. Seeing human beings as commodities of equal standing with other items of trade remains a repulsive thought. And it is a disheartening part of our history as humans. Sadly, the extent of this form of trade happened more in Africa, known as the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Slaves taken from the continent became the workforce in the agricultural fields of Europe and America.
Today they have become the black community in these places. An example is African Americans. But beyond the Trans-Atlantic slave trade there existed others. According to Britannica, “slavery has existed throughout the world since ancient times, and trading in slaves has been equally universal.
Enslaved persons were taken from the Slavs and Iranians from antiquity to the 19th century, from the sub-Saharan Africans from the 1st century CE to the mid-20th century, and from the Germanic, Celtic, and Romance peoples during the Viking era.
One of the notable slave traders is Pedro Blanco from Spain. We have been told of Edward Colston too, and others. All is now in the past. But modern slave trading, and slavery, is still around with us. One major source of this occurrence is illegal immigration. Illegal immigration has remained a desperate move being undertaken by many individuals.
Some of the reasons why people desperately seek to relocate from their homeland could include, but not limited to; economic reasons, social reasons, environmental reasons, religious/political persecution, and wars/conflicts. As illegal immigrants make their way through rough circumstances with the help of smugglers they are ignorant of what awaits them in their destination of interest.
They aren’t away that most governments in developed countries don’t permit illegal and undocumented immigrants to obtain privileges in their society. As this happens human traffickers see an opportunity to exploit the vulnerable immigrants, trading them for gain. These immigrants helplessly fall victim to the heartless conduct of human traffickers who subject them to forced labour or into prostitution.
This vulnerable group is not finding life easy abroad. And sadly, their ordeals are scarcely taken seriously by their home governments or the host governments. Also, few persons are being prosecuted for human trafficking crimes yearly. Things must not be allowed to continue this way. Yes, we can’t stop people from moving out to seek a good life but the decision to migrate mustn’t be taken on the basis of mere sentiments.
Further, governments must begin to take development as a priority. If the countries in the 3rd world category had shown the commitment to produce a prospering economy within their territories we wouldn’t be having a thriving human trafficking business. The fight against human exploitation must be taken seriously, and it begins with reducing illegal migration.
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