Human Trafficking 101 by Noelle Damico

As I write this article, I finish a salad adorned with fresh tomatoes, sip some organic coffee and savor a piece of chocolate fudge. My gold wedding band catches the light. As I follow the light’s trajectory across the wall, I pause to wonder about how these items came to me.

Were my tomatoes picked by a person who was enslaved? I don’t know; I bought them at Publix, which sells tomatoes grown in Florida fields that were worked by farm workers who were manacled, confined in a box truck and forced to harvest. My coffee says it’s organic, so it’s pesticide-free; but what do I know about the wages or working conditions for the people who harvested the beans? No better with the fudge or my wedding band—the U.S. Department of State reports that children have been trafficked to harvest cocoa and mine gold.

Slavery is alive and well in our twenty-first century globalized economy. Every day, we participate in economic systems calibrated to deliver us the cheapest possible goods and services—some through slave labor. We are outraged by modern day slavery but, while it’s easy to be against slavery, it’s hard to know when we’ve bought something that perpetuates it. And it’s even harder to discern the most effective ways we as a church can contribute to a society-wide response to the human rights violations that are both the cause and consequence of modern-day slavery.

What are we prepared to do—and not to do—to promote the fullness of life Jesus Christ intends for each person? Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon that calls for our best thinking, our deepest commitment and our most conscientious assistance and advocacy.

What are examples of human trafficking? What is the PC(USA) doing to stop this form of modern-day slavery. To find out, read the full text of th is article in the March/April 2010 issue of Horizons.

Call 866/802-3635 or subscribe to Horizons or order the March/April 2010 issue (HZN-10-210; $4 plus shipping).

Noelle Damico is an ordained minister who serves as the Associate for Fair Food in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, coordinating the PC(USA)’s Campaign for Fair Food.

Photo: Silenced Terror by Brendan Maguire/World Wide Lens Photography.

Other Articles Online This Issue


What are examples of human trafficking? What is the PC(USA) doing to stop this form of modern-day slavery. To find out, read the full text of th is article in the March/April 2010 issue of Horizons. Call 866/802-3635 or subscribe to Horizons or order the March/April 2010 issue (HZN-10-210; $4 plus shipping).	Human Trafficking 101 by Noelle Damico As I write this article, I finish a salad adorned with fresh tomatoes, sip some organic coffee and savor a piece of chocolate fudge. My gold wedding band catches the light. As I follow the light’s trajectory across the wall, I pause to wonder about how these items came to me. Were my tomatoes picked by a person who was enslaved? I don’t know; I bought them at Publix, which sells tomatoes grown in Florida fields that were worked by farm workers who were manacled, confined in a box truck and forced to harvest. My coffee says it’s organic, so it’s pesticide-free; but what do I know about the wages or working conditions for the people who harvested the beans? No better with the fudge or my wedding band—the U.S. Department of State reports that children have been trafficked to harvest cocoa and mine gold. Slavery is alive and well in our twenty-first century globalized economy. Every day, we participate in economic systems calibrated to deliver us the cheapest possible goods and services—some through slave labor. We are outraged by modern day slavery but, while it’s easy to be against slavery, it’s hard to know when we’ve bought something that perpetuates it. And it’s even harder to discern the most effective ways we as a church can contribute to a society-wide response to the human rights violations that are both the cause and consequence of modern-day slavery. What are we prepared to do—and not to do—to promote the fullness of life Jesus Christ intends for each person? Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon that calls for our best thinking, our deepest commitment and our most conscientious assistance and advocacy. What are examples of human trafficking? What is the PC(USA) doing to stop this form of modern-day slavery. To find out, read the full text of th is article in the March/April 2010 issue of Horizons. Call 866/802-3635 or subscribe to Horizons or order the March/April 2010 issue (HZN-10-210; $4 plus shipping). Noelle Damico is an ordained minister who serves as the Associate for Fair Food in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, coordinating the PC(USA)’s Campaign for Fair Food. Photo: Silenced Terror by Brendan Maguire/World Wide Lens Photography. Other Articles Online This Issue Let My People Go . . . Human Trafficking 101 I Dream of Immokalee Joining the Battle Against Sexual Exploitation of Children: ECPAT USA Going in Circles (On the Road Again) What One PW Is Doing (One TassaTag at a Time) Discernment (Who Is Leading?) Mosaic Faithful Parenting (Whose Child Is This?)	Current Issue MAR/APR 2010 About This Issue Contents FREE Resource How to Use In Our Next Issue to Horizons or call (866) 802-3635 the March/April 2010 issue, HZN-10-210 ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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