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Modern day slavery activist Runs through harford County Mary Paramore
Singer and songwriter Eric Proffitt is running 500 miles, from Washington D.C. to New York, to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. He ran trough Harford County Aug. 3 and 4, along Route 40, wearing chains and trailed by a car with information directing interested people to a Web site, www.run4therescue.com. The United Nations estimates that between one and four million people are enslaved each year, with 27 million people living in slavery at any one time. The CIA estimates that 14,500-17,000 slaves are trafficked into the United States each year. Slaves are used in the production of chocolate, raw diamonds, agricultural products, shoes and pornography, and for organ harvesting and domestic labor, as well as forced war activities such as soldiering and mine detection. Nearly 60 percent of slaves are children, and 80 percent of slaves are used as sexual slaves. On his blog about his run, Proffitt said, “A drug can only be sold once, but a person can be sold over and over again in the same night, that is why trafficking has become the second most profitable illegal activity in the world.” Proffitt wants to raise $1 for each of the 27 million people living in slavery and his run here in the United States and a similar run in the United Kingdom are intended to raise funds by directing people to the Web site. Funds will be given to non-profit organizations that rescue and restore victims of modern-day slavery and prosecute perpetrators. Proffitt and his wife sold their home to finance this effort. To learn more, go to www.run4therescue.com. |
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