What do you think about when you hear the word slavery? Most individuals would automatically think of African American slavery that took place in the South during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Slavery has been in existence since the beginning of time. It can be seen in the Bible and when explorers came to the Americas in the 1600s they enslaved Native Americans. If you think slavery is not in existence today, you are incorrect. Slavery today is more prevalent than ever before. In fact, there are more slaves today than there were in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Slavery that exists in the 21st century is referred to as modern day slavery. Slavery today is primarily made up of human trafficking. The photo above is of many human trafficking victims crowded into a small unsanitary living space. Jodi Cobb was the photographer for this photograph that accompanied an article titled 21st Century Slaves. The article and photo appeared in an issue of National Geographic Magazine. The photograph is fairly small which makes it difficult to see if the victims are female, male, or what their ages are. The focal point of the photo is what appears to be one young girl only half clothed standing up in the back of the room. The girl looks to be around 5-7 years of age with dark hair and dark tan skin. The text on the left reads, 21st Century Slaves which sums up what the photo and article are about.

The first thing that strikes me about this photo is the young girl standing in the background of the room. Her dark hair and tan skin depict that she could be from a country in Asia or the Middle East. However, that might not be the case since many victims are transported across international borders. By the looks of the living conditions it seems that this site of human trafficking could be located in a third world country. The young girls expression seems to give viewers the impression that she is lost and in a state of denial. I am unsure as to how she became a victim of modern day slavery. She could have been sold into the sex trade, born into it, or even abducted. Her story is unknown, but what I do know is that she is a very young human being who is being taken against her will and treated as property. This young girl is someones daughter, granddaughter, cousin, friend, or even a sister, but mostly importantly she has been robbed of her childhood and scarred for life because of human trafficking.

The lighting of this picture is dark towards the front of the room, but light is being shed on the young girl in the back of the room. I think the light being put on the young girl was intentional to make her the focal point of the photo. It is even possible that the light could be coming from a window. This was maybe done because young women are the most vulnerable victims to human trafficking. To me, the shining light means that there is hope that light can be shed on the issue of human trafficking and that someday there can be a world free of the sex trade.

All in all, human trafficking is the slavery of the twenty first century. Whether or not people choose to accept the fact that modern day slavery is a real thing it will continue to exist no matter what. Human trafficking continues to exist because it is ignored. Not enough people know about this social injustice. Pictures like the one above and the article it accompanies are how people become educated on this topic. For me, I learned about this topic through a symposium at my school in which Theresa Flores spoke about her own battles with human trafficking and how she survived. She truly is an inspiration to not only those who have been victims, but also those who want to stand up against human trafficking. Theresa Flores has taken a negative situation and turned it into something positive. She began a project called SOAP, which focuses on rescuing victims by placing bars of soap in hotels during big sporting events with a number to call on them. It is because of people like Theresa and photographs like the one above that bring hope for a world free of modern day slavery.