Slavery Still Exists

Yes, slavery exists. Even in the United States. Even in our own communities.
Tragically, slavery is the daily reality for more than  30 million people in the world today. Children make up a large part of that percentage. For those who exploit them, they are a cheap commodity to make a large profit for a product or service. Human trafficking, the selling and transport of human beings, is a hugely profitable business.
Slavery takes on many forms around the world. I have read story after story of children, as well as adults, who are forced to spend virtually all of their awake hours rolling cigarettes, knotting rugs, or making other products. They do back breaking work in agriculture, rock quarries, brick kilns. They are hidden in houses as inhumanely treated servants in American homes...
...they are raped daily as part of a pervasive and booming sex trafficking industry.
Some victims are trapped in slavery after being tricked, often with a promise of a legitimate job that would provide income for their family. Some are simply kidnapped. Some are sold by their families in order to survive, including children who end up in the sex industry.
The most common way slavery happens is through indebted servitude. It begins when a person accepts a loan from a moneylender, often in order to purchase basic necessities such as food or medicine. The person (and often his or her family as well) are held as collateral against the loan. Because they are collateral, their work does not repay the debt but belongs to the moneylender. Unable to earn money independently, the family is unable to repay the illegal debt and it is passed down from generation to generation, creating hereditary enslavement for illegal debts as small as $25.
Among those who benefit are major companies whose products we buy.
At the start of this century, it was revealed that many chocolate companies, include Hershey's and Nestle's, buy cocoa from plantations who kidnap and enslave young children to work their plantations. Most of them have not made significant changes in this practice.
However, a number of chocolate companies have risen up, with policies that ensure fair and ethical practices are being used by the growers.

I’ve collobrated with Central Valley Justice Coalition to provide  information about slavery, ways to get involved, and resources to help you at CVJC's Website