The fact that slavery exists today saddens me, not onlybecause it is the possession of another person, but because it shows humankindhas not changed or matured. The fact that slavery has ended in North Americameans nothing - there are still 200 million slaves in the world, and the UnitedStates doesn't seem to be doing anything about it.

Slavery still exists inAfrica, Asia, and even as close as Latin America. In Africa, chattel slaverymeans that a person can become another person's property for life. Imagine, aperson can be traded, inherited, and owned, like an animal!

During thewars in Sudan, one side captured and enslaved the other side's soldiers andcitizens. In Mauritania, there have been reports of 390,00 chattel slaves who arebeaten, deprived of food, and given the "insect treatment," whereslaves have tiny ants placed in their ears and then a scarf is wrapped aroundtheir head.

India is estimated to have 15 million children living andworking in enslavement. The ASI (Anti-Slavery International) calls one group"carpet slaves" because of the horrid way they are kidnapped from theirfamilies and made to labor under terrible conditions making rugs for Westernmarkets. In Brazil, a commission reported that 26,000 slaves, mostly Indians,were taken to farms to make charcoal.

These facts, although painful andhard to believe, are proof of the horrors that occur in the world without muchAmerican awareness, compassion or help. I didn't even know there was still such athing as slavery in our world until I read about it. America is such a wealthycountry, and we often forget that others are not as lucky as we are. Americansshould do everything in its power to try to stop slavery.