Following on from Part 1, which I posted yesterday, here are some suggestions that guest blogger, David McNeish, makes about how we can make for real, sustained change to the ongoing slavery that many find themselves due to poverty:
The following are some suggestions for change that are curiously absent from the website.
Pray - this was the silent powerhouse that fuelled abolition 200 years ago. Can we really say we don’t need it now?
Give sacrificially- not just a few pounds in response to an emotional film, but sustained ongoing giving. It is only the starting point though- charity is not enough. We need justice.
Reduce consumption - we need to stop demanding cheap goods, and start demanding total abolition of slavery in all its guises. See here for more information.
Campaign - there are so many things needing done – here are just three practical examples, with links for further information on each of them:
- Sustain pressure on the UK Govt to implement the Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, which they recently signed. Whilst the signature is a success, it is meaningless with out action to prevent people trafficking. See Anti-Slavery Website.
- Buy fair trade chocolate - the relationship between consumption and slavery is very complex, but with chocolate it is clearer. Only fair trade chocolate guarantees that slaves were not involved in your treats. You can also write to the major chocolate companies asking them to tackle the problem. See here or Not for Sale Website.
- Call on Government to support a currency transaction tax – this would curb damaging international speculation on currencies as well as generate revenue to fund international development to tackle the root causes of poverty and slavery. See here. To find out your MP and contact them see They Work for You website.
Commit to the long haul
Wilberforce was not popular, he was told tackling the problem would cause economic ruin. That argument hasn’t changed! But justice can and will prevail. God did not specify geography or give time limits when he said:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners”
Isaiah 61 v1
Please note there is an update on the changes made to the Amazing Change website. See here for more details.
Tags: Slavery, Wilberforce
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