But how does this happen? Human trafficking is a disgusting business, and slave traders have worked it out to a science. They move from country to country - the poorer the better - looking for people who are desperate for money, lying to their targets and offering supposedly well-paying and legal jobs in other countries. This façade disappears as soon as the victims sign up, revealing a dehumanizing world of abuse and sadism.

Escape is typically impossible, slave owners use extreme force, coercion, and abuse to maintain power; even if they were to escape, trafficked slaves lack legal travel documents to aid their escape. These modern-day slaves are often raped by "clients" wishing to "try the merchandise," and they often go through several middlemen before reaching their destination, being sold for an average of just $90. Refusal is not tolerated. As a former slave testified:

"If I refused [to have sex with clients] I was threatened. He was pointing the gun to my head, and he was saying.. 'If you don't do this in the next minute, you will be dead'. He has the gun, he was just saying, do this or you will be dead." (via Amnesty International)

Children are also targets of trafficking. As with women, slave traders target places in abject poverty and use deceptive tactics. Often, parents willingly sell their children into slavery, evidencing the horrible poverty many of these people face; surely, only when living in a hellish financial misery could someone sell their child to support the family. Trafficked children are treated horribly, all their personal items stolen to prevent their escape. They are constantly threatened, commonly told that if they do not satisfy their "clients," the traffickers will kidnap one of their siblings, as well. Violence surrounds these victims, forcing their compliance.

Not only are women and children trafficked into the sex trade, they're also brought into the agriculture and mining trades and made to work in sweatshops. In fact, it is very likely that something in your house at this moment, or something you have eaten today, was made by slave labor. Slave traders' profits may be high, but their morality - and their humanity - is at an all-time low.

We cannot let this continue - not just because we are Jews, a people who have been victimized countless times, but because we are human. We cannot stand idly by people who exploit, dehumanize, and torture innocent people. We must stand up and do something for these people who cannot stand up for themselves. We must, as NFTY's social action theme suggests, give our voices to the silent.

How can you help? A great way to quickly make your voice heard is to email your Members of Congress. (Learn how to contact your Representative or your Senators here.) To write an effective email:

• State your purpose in the first sentence of the letter.
• Know what you're talking about (and hopefully you do after reading this blog post!)
• Be courteous; don't attack your Member of Congress' viewpoint.
• Be passionate.
• Be practical.

Teens can also bring this issue back to their temple youth groups (known as"TYGs"). Just educating one person makes a difference! For more information, visit any of these anti-trafficking resources:

• FreeTheSlaves.net
• The Not for Sale Campaign
• Amnesty International's Human Trafficking page

To subscribe to Wise Temple's social action-centered Global Updates, email me at nmarkiewitz@gmail.com.