A Halloween Horror Story

    

     I was going to write this last night but collapsed on the couch instead.  It was a fun but exhausting Halloween.  And as I watched the kids run from house to house it got me thinking.  I recently read a book called Facing the Monster: How One Person Can Fight Child Slavery, by Carol Hart Metzker.  It was not my usual fare.  I rarely read non-fiction.  But it is a topic that has been on my mind a great deal lately.  It was written more as a memoir of the author's experiences with her work as a Rotarian and how she was first enlightened as to the plight of so many children around the world and what she did and is continuing to do to help end such a terrible atrocity.  Unlike some other books about various causes this one did not make the problem seem too big to tackle, though it is rampant and the shear magnitude of enslaved children world wide is staggering.  Instead the author sought to encourage hope and show the reader how making even a small difference matters.  But be warned once your eyes are opened to what is really happening, not just in distant countries but right in your own back yard, you will never see things the same way again.  Simple things like trick-or-treating will hide a darker secret.  Such as most of the chocolate candy we all consume this time of year was produced not just with slave labor but CHILD slave labor.  Children who likely will never even get a taste of said chocolate.  So what is the answer?  Boycott Halloween?  Never eat candy?  No.  But be aware of where your treats likely came from.  Learn about the problem.  Speak out.  Write to companies and ask them to be responsible.  Demand anti slavery legislation.  Support those in the trenches fighting to end slavery around the world.  Because it still exists whether we're aware of it or not.  For more information or to track your slavery footprint visit slaveryfootprint.org and like Walk Free or Made in a Free World on Facebook.  
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/imagensevangelicas/8321844602/">Imagens Evangélicas</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>