One of my resolutions not just for the New Year, but for life in general is to cut down on waste. I came across this article about 3 weeks ago and I posted it on my FB page. Only 2 people interacted with it either because our society doesn’t want to know and or acknowledge how the things we so desperately desire are made, or they just don’t care.
I read an historical fiction book a while back that brought to my attention that slaves are used to mine our precious gems, particularly diamonds. I was aghast. I had this image of all the women I knew who wore these huge diamond rings, earrings, tennis bracelets to display their worth or their status in society, but at what cost? The cost of a small child being forced to work in dangerous and horrific conditions so they/we could feel better and superior? I even mentioned to several of my female friends who have an “impressive” collection of fine jewelry what I had just learned about the use of slaves to mine our precious gems, their response was, “oh well, I still like wearing my diamonds”. I tried not to judge because I myself felt the same way up until the time I read about slave mining. I made the decision right then and there that I no longer desired diamonds and told my husband I didn’t need expensive jewelry for any gift and I held him to that, and surprisingly, he seemed okay with it(actually, I think he was happy about it).
I came across this article on modern day slavery today on Pens and Papers’ blog and decided that we need to share the word as often as we can to make people aware of the horrific treatment of fellow human beings as a result of our coveting of material things to keep up with the Jones and to inflate our own self worth. So, please help spread the word about human slavery by sharing this article across all your social media platforms. It’s a long read, but it is worth your time to save precious human lives.
On the new triangle trade, and the surprising connection between modern slavery and ecological disaster. Source: Your Phone Was Made By Slaves: A Primer on the Secret Economy
A Plus Attitudes 
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