People who are fortunate enough to live in a society where an issue like slavery is so far removed can find it difficult to understand the institution. Slavery is an institution. It goes far beyond one person taking ownership of another. Slavery, as an institution, is an organization, a mindset and culture. Slavery encompasses enslaving the mind, body and spirit of the slave. It affects the way a society interacts and how the slaveholders perceive themselves and each other. Slaveholders rob their slaves of their humanity and at the same time transcend their own humanity. When a slaveholder takes away the freedom of another man, he sees himself as more than human, superhuman, while the slave become subhuman.
The reason for this is because freedom is a divine quality. The freedom to act, speak, and think is incredibly powerful as well as undervalued. The worth of freedom cannot fully be realized until someone else takes it away. The lack of freedom is what transforms a man into a slave. A slave is no longer an individual, but rather the extension of the will of their master. They become subhuman and regaining your humanity, once it has been stolen is incredibly difficult.
Freeing a slave requires much more than simply giving them physical liberty. Their minds and souls must be liberated as well. A slave free in body alone is still a slave. No nation or people is immune from the disease of slavery. Slaveholders pass on their “superhuman” mentality to the next generation. A person who is incapable of recognizing the humanity of other people is an endangerment to everyone.
Slaves are the ultimate victim of this institution. It is even erroneous to call them “victims” because that word implies humanity. The institution strips them of that right and leaves them as subhuman. Subhumans are property to be traded and used as seen fit by their masters. The greatest offense of this institution is that they no longer see themselves as an individual. If you are treated as property long enough and your spirit is torn then you begin to stop seeing yourself as a man.
One of the foulest atrocities man has created is the institution of slavery. The process of escaping that institution and regaining your humanity is grueling yet millions of women and children go through this process daily. Currently, there are 35.8 million people in the bonds of slavery and about 60,000 of them live in the United States. Texas is ranked 2nd in human trafficking (behind California).
That is the grueling process millions of women and children go through daily in ISIS. This is the process Nadia Murad is going through right now. Nadia Murad was a sex slave for about 4 years before she escaped. She now works as a Human Rights Activist. She is the picture of strength and resilience.
To learn more about modern slavery please click here or here.
