{"id":547,"date":"2012-07-15T23:11:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-15T23:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-india-pastor-says\/"},"modified":"2012-07-15T23:11:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-15T23:11:00","slug":"slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-india-pastor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/07\/slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-india-pastor-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Slavery is ‘alive and well’ in India, pastor says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Bangalore, India, Jul 15, 2012 \/ 05:11 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Even in contemporary culture, India's Dalits or \u201cuntouchables\u201d face oppression and persecution akin to slavery, an American pastor involved in humanitarian work said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cModern day slavery is alive and well in India,\u201d Pastor Matthew Cork told CNA, \u201cand there's something we can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAt 250 million people, the Dalit community makes up nearly one quarter of the country's population, yet are considered too lowly to even be assigned a caste.<\/p>\n

\tThese people, Cork said, \u201chave no rights, no opportunities, no chance at good jobs,\u201d and according to the caste system, are \u201cconsidered less than animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHuman trafficking, which the UN defines as the exploitation of people for the purpose of sexual acts, forced labor, slavery \u2013 or practices similar to slavery \u2013 could affect up to 100 million Indians, according to the Dalit Freedom Network.<\/p>\n

\tOne form of trafficking that is all too common in India is bonded labor, which the Dalit Freedom Network calls, \u201cmodern day slavery, with debt acting as the chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tTwenty million people in India, 15 million of whom are children, are forced into harsh working conditions where they receive little pay, often times to work off a debt that is not even in their name.<\/p>\n

\tMany workers are forced to perform back-breaking labor in stone quarries, agricultural fields and factories under terms and contracts that can be changed at any time. As a result, many die in bondage, passing along their debts to their children.<\/p>\n

\tCork, who pastors the 5,000 member Friends Church in Yorba Linda, Calif. said he was \u201cembarrassed\u201d and \u201cashamed\u201d for the life he had compared to those he met when he first visited India in 2007.<\/p>\n

\tAt the same time, he said he felt \u201cconvicted\u201d to help the Dalit people in a tangible way.<\/p>\n

\tHe realized that his church, which is located in the fifth wealthiest zip code in the United States, provided the ideal opportunity to reach out and help India's \u201cpoorest of the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAs he read scripture, Cork said he realized that building schools was both his \u2013 and his congregation's\u2013\u00a0 personal \u201copportunity\u201d and \u201cduty\u201d to God.<\/p>\n

\tIn order to \u201cbe a follower of Jesus (and) actually do what his word said,\u201d his church needed to take more action, he said.<\/p>\n

\tInvolved in building Good Shepard schools throughout India with the help of Operation Mobilisation since 2004, Friends Church is now the single largest organization supporting the Dalit Freedom Network in their goal to end Dalit trafficking through the education of children.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEducation is the gift to their freedom,\u201d Cork said, \u201cbecause without education, they're not able to get a good job, they're not able to go to college, they're not able to put themselves in a place of competition with the rest of India.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSo far, Friends Church has contributed enough money to provide 20 percent of financial support for the Dalit Freedom Network's goal of building 1,000 schools.<\/p>\n

\t\u00a0Cork explained that, \u201cjust because we've been given the opportunity in America and have means, doesn't mean we can keep it all to ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u00a0Dalit Freedom Network has focused on building schools in order to end human trafficking because, although Dalit children have been exposed to caste discrimination, \u201cit hasn't been ingrained in them,\u201d the way it has in their parents, Cork said.<\/p>\n

\t\u00a0And once children receive an education, \u201cthere's many things can take place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\u00a0The easiest way for people to become involved in ending human trafficking in India, Cork said, is to sponsor a child through the Dalit Freedom Network.<\/p>\n

\t\u00a0\u201cOnce you bring freedom to one, you have an opportunity to change the world,\u201d Cork said.<\/p>\n

\t\u00a0To sponsor a child, or to learn more about the Dalit Freedom Network's work to end human trafficking, visit dalitnetwork.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bangalore, India, Jul 15, 2012 \/ 05:11 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Even in contemporary culture, India's Dalits or “untouchables” face oppression and persecution akin to slavery, an American pastor involved in humanitarian work said.<\/p>\n

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