A Moral Obligation to Help Enslaved, Trafficked

A senior fellow with the Discovery Institute says Americans must speak out if the problem of slavery is ever to be effectively dealt with.

Although many think slavery is a thing of the past, it is a present problem. Many adults and children are brought to the U.S. with promises of jobs and education but are forced into prostitution or unpaid labor. Bringing attention to those facts on the eve of the new year, President Trump proclaimed January “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.”

Wesley Smith of the Discovery Institute tells OneNewsNow that youth runaways are often forced into the trade.

Smith

“[I]t’s a much bigger problem than I think any of us understand,” explains Smith, “because it’s not open and visible in the same way that antebellum slavery was where [they] had slave crews and that kind of thing. [T]hat awful evil was there for everyone to see. This is hidden in the shadows – but it’s very real.”

According to Smith, some do not seek help because they are isolated by their inability to speak, read, or write English. The chair of the Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism contends that people should be compelled to help.

“One [reason] is the unique dignity and sanctity of all human life,” he explains. “And, of course, being enslaved violates that intrinsic dignity of human life – as well as a moral obligation. That’s the other side of human exceptionalism: as human beings we have duties to each other. And one of them is if we see one of our brothers or sisters in this kind of evil circumstance, we should do what we can to help them.”

The Department of Homeland Security has a confidential help line (866-347-2423) and there is a national human trafficking hotline as well (888-373-7888).