Nico and his sister, Maria, are orphaned in the fighting when a vicious new regime takes over their government. The siblings soon find themselves kidnapped, separated, and put under the power of evil traffickers. Nico and Maria are now two of thirty million slaves who are invisible in this corrupt world. About half are sex slaves, and about half are menial workers. The rise in refugee numbers plays in to the hands of the people-trafficking gangs. This oversupply of young flesh makes life cheap, and slaves are discarded like any commodity in surplus. Nico and his sister are separated, and the greatest fear is that they will never see each other again. They are powerless in this cruel organisation. Their predicament and pain are real, as it is for all these thirty million individuals. It is not merely a bad dream for them. Every day and night are the same hopeless grind. The only answer is for us, if we believe in Yahweh, to make room for our brothers and sisters by pressurising retailers into proving that they pay for improved working conditions and access to healthcare and education. Tax laws should make everyone properly account for their wealth with no loopholes. | Twenty-First-Century Slaves by Ernie Hasler, Paperback | Indigo Chapters