Elementary
students across America are taught that slavery ended in the 19th
Century.  But, sadly, nearly 150 years later, the fight to end this global
scourge is far from over.  Today it takes a different form and we call it
by a different name -- "human trafficking" -- but it is still an affront
to basic human dignity in the United States and around the world.

The
estimates vary widely, but it is likely that somewhere between 12 million and
27 million human beings are suffering in bondage around the world.  Men,
women and children are trapped in prostitution or labor in fields and factories
under brutal bosses who threaten them with violence...