Geplaatst:11 apr 2007 11:42 - Gewijzigd: 11 apr 2007 11:42

Slavery campaign closes gaps among U.S. evangelicals

DALLAS - U.S. evangelical Christians are divided on global warming, the minimum wage and other issues, but they are united behind a new campaign to end modern slavery around the world.

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Following a trail blazed two centuries ago, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and Focus on the Family, two U.S. evangelical groups whose leaders have disagreed over other issues, are both supporting a campaign against bonded labor, human trafficking and military recruitment of children.

The campaign, "The Amazing Change," was set up by the makers of "Amazing Grace," a movie about the efforts of William Wilberforce, himself an evangelical, to end British participation in the slave trade 200 years ago. "We are carrying forward the banner of evangelical concern for human rights", said Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Activists say it is crucial to highlight an issue that many people are unaware of. "Most people you ask don't know that there are slaves today", said Pamela Livingston, vice president of the Washington-based International Justice Mission, a Christian-based organization that campaigns to free slaves overseas with a network of lawyers and social workers.

Its work has led to the freeing of 78 slaves from a south Asian brick kiln where they were forced to labor to work off unpayable debts. From 2004 to 2006, the efforts of its staff in Thailand led to the rescue of 129 trafficking victims in Malaysia and Thailand. During the same period in Cambodia, 183 victims of trafficking were released. (Reuters)