Present Day Slaves and Their Owners...

 Last evening, someone at our church briefly mentioned children today being sold into slavery. (Slavery is still happening today, all over the world, even in America - sickening to think of but it is a fact.) It got me thinking again about a post that has been rolling around in my head for a year or so....

Last year, I heard about the show Oprah did on the little boys in Africa being sold as slaves to work on small fishing boats. One day I just happened to see an advertisement that she was doing a follow-up program. I was interested in the topic, so I made a point to watch her program that day. (I do not watch Oprah as a rule.) She told of little boys as young as 6, maybe even younger, that are being sold by their parents to fishermen. Most of the boys will spend their entire lives fishing. 16 hours a day or more they are in small row boats with 3 or 4 other boys or men.

16 hours a day, 7 days a week they work in those little boats. That's right. EVERY day.

They are nearly starved and are abused horribly by their owners. If they are fortunate enough to live to adulthood, and are able to earn their freedom, most of them buy a little boat of their own, purchase a few boys and continue on fishing 16+ hours a day, 7 days a week.

My heart breaks for those little boys.  No childhood, no breaks, no fun, no mother to hold them when they are sick, no love. Can you imagine such a dreadful life?

Although I would love to be able to hate the men who own them and treat them cruelly, I can not. In fact, I find myself having less compassion for the parents who sell them, than on the men who buy them. I have never been in their situation, so I know it is wrong of me to judge them, but to sell my child so I can have money to eat. Hmm. No. I would rather die. Maybe these parents are delirious with hunger and don't really know what they are doing, but I'm sorry, if I was even slightly in my right mind, there would be no way I'd be able to sell my child to someone I KNOW will horribly mistreat them.  Sorry, I digress...

Back to those vile men, I would love to hate those abusive, little boy buying, men. But instead, when I think of them I think of the hopelessness of their situation --being trapped in that horrid, horrid cycle. How they must hate themselves, I can only imagine. Oprah interviewed people who are trying to free the young boys by buying them back from those fishermen.  (I try not to be overly cynical thinking about it. Oprah Winfrey and all her money could certainly, if she TRULY cared, free those boys. If she honestly cared, like she says she does, wouldn't she give anything and EVERYTHING to free them? --- Just as God has done for us, giving up what He treasured most -- His own Son,  for us...) But who gives any thought to those poor wretched men?  I weep for those boys-- and I weep for those men whom no one seems to care about... they are totally lost, what despair they must live in....  who will reach them with Christ's love... who cares for them?