"Human trafficking is the illegal and generally involuntary smuggling of a person across borders, for the purposes of forced labor." Whether we choose to realize it or not, children are traded, sold, and stolen in order to increase production of cocoa beans.
     The cycle is this: Production companies like Hershey, Nestle, and Mars contract with local governments and militia groups to purchase cocoa beans. Local governments and militia groups turn to local farmers and tax them in order to make a profit with the production companies. Local farmers, being taxed by the government, are forced to hire cheap labor to make ends meet. Farmers are desperate. They must hire cheap labor. This act results in children being trafficked into slavery.
     Children just like Aly Diabate are sold or tricked every day. Aly was an eleven-year-old boy living in the impoverished country of Mali. A chance for him to help support a malnourished and impoverished family arose and was too great to pass up. The $150 a year and a bicycle was all the family needed to sign on the dotted line. Aly was supposed to stay local, but instead he was shipped to Cote d'Ivoire where his only reward was not getting beaten with a bicycle chain. Aly reported having to work whenever the sun was up and being locked into crowded, poorly ventilated rooms at night. He often had nightmares about dying in the cocoa fields. "Though he had worked countless days harvesting cocoa pods -- 400 of which are needed to make a pound of chocolate - Aly Diabate has never tasted the finished product. The Global Exchange website cites him as telling the press, "I don't know what chocolate is."
     The growing number of slaves for the sake of chocolate is too great to ignore. But as the number of crying children increases, it seems the number of deaf ears double. Just like Billy's parents, too many of us believe this harsh truth either doesn't exist or is someone else's concern. "I don't know what this card is talking about, but it isn't something you need to worry about."
     Human trafficking for the sake of chocolate is something we need to worry about. Researchers estimate there are more slaves in the world today then there were four hundred years ago. Numbers are now reaching over twenty-seven million. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture says approximately 284,000 of these twenty-seven million are children working on cocoa farms with machetes and pesticides. These children face arduous work, as cocoa pods must be cut from high branches with long-handled machetes, split open, and their beans scooped out.
     Parents sell their children to traffickers sincerely believing their children will find honest work. The hope, just like in Aly's case, is the children will be able to send the money earned back home. But as soon as they are separated from their families, the young boys are made to work for little or nothing. And the children work long and hard hours -- they head into the fields at six in the morning and often do not finish until six at night. 
     It is unbelievable and unacceptable that, in the beginning of the twenty-first century, children in West Africa are trapped in such desperation. What's even worse is the fact that these children typically lack the opportunity for education, leaving them with no way out of their cycle of despair. The IITA notes that, "66% of child cocoa workers in the Ivory Coast do not attend school. About 64% of children on cocoa farms are under the age of fourteen, meaning that the loss of an education comes at an early age for the majority of children on cocoa farms." And all of this is happening because people like you and me enjoy the sweet tasting comfort of chocolate.
     In 2000 CE, the United States of America consumed 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate spending just over $13 billion. Did you know that the majority of beans used to make 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate are grown in West Africa in the countries of Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire? Leading industries like Hershey, Nestlé, and Mars all do business with local farms in West Africa. And the sobering news is this - our sugar tooth victimizes little boys and little girls. As long as we continue to purchase goods from companies harboring children for cheap labor, then human trafficking will never stop. Why not? Because of the cycle.
     In times like these one must turn to the Bible and ask, "What do you have to say about this God?" Most people argue the Bible says very little about the eradication of slavery. As most of you know, the New Testament can be read as literature that supports the issue of slavery. The most popular text is found in Philemon with Paul giving orders for a slave to return to his slave master. Jesus even uses parables that discuss kings and masters who own slaves. For the longest time, Southern American preachers saw the Bible as the leading defense in the argument for slavery.
     But the prophet Amos sees differently. Amos is an eighth century prophet speaking to Israel about how they have fallen away from God's ordered life. As a matter of fact, in Amos 2, Israel is condemned for the practice of human trafficking. Amos tells Israel,  
 
6 This is what the LORD says: 
       "For three sins of Israel, 
       even for four, I will not turn back {my wrath}. 
       They sell the righteous for silver, 
       and the needy for a pair of sandals.
 7 They trample on the heads of the poor 
       as upon the dust of the ground 
       and deny justice to the oppressed. 
       Father and son use the same girl 
       and so profane my holy name. (Amos 2:6-7, NIV)
 
     Do you see what is happening here? Israel is selling off people for silver and sandals. Israel is selling children for practical goods. This is slave trade. They are selling the poor on the cheap. Israel is selling children for an unneeded commodity. And God sees this. God recognizes this. God hates this. God is furious with those who trample their feet on the poor and who sell their children into slavery and goes as far to say that the oppressed that are denied justice will soon rise. Evil will be eradicated. The elite will be trampled.
     Oh the Bible speaks about slavery. It condemns it. The Minor Prophets like Amos spent the majority of their time complaining about its heinous reality. Amos strictly says, "God will not turn back wrath, for Israel sells the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals." And guess who the needy are: the poor and the young.
     This system is known as latifundialization. The ruling elite in a community builds a system of debt slavery. They tax the family farmers and create a system in which farmers can never pay off their debts. The only way to become debt free is either to sell your farm or to sell your children. Debt slavery means you cannot work for any capital of your own. This is terrible. There is no valuing of the sanctity of human life.
     It is evident in the Book of Amos that God hates this economic model. God has given land to God's people to be shared, not mistreated. Amos 2 demands readers to think about the relationship between the elite and the poor, for God's tolerance level for this behavior is zero.
     Amos is speaking against debt slavery. Amos condemns this practice. And yet he says more. He tells Israel that because of human trafficking, their worship is impure. Profaning the holy name is not just about holiness laws - you profane the holy name by social injustice. You profane the holy name by selling the poor for sandals. You profane the holy name by tricking children into working in cocoa farms handling pesticides and machetes for little to no pay.
     God condemns temple practices due to social injustice. Amos says that because of an unethical lifestyle of Israel's elite, God has rejected their worship, their sacrifices and their entire religion. God doesn't want your offerings if you are practicing injustice.
     How true is this today? 2800 years later we are still profaning the holy name by facilitating human trafficking, and yet we still show up to church every Sunday morning hoping to be blessed. Amos says God rejects this kind of worship. It puts a sour taste on the lips of God's mouth. As long as people are being trafficked, worshipers are facilitating social injustices and worship is therefore void.
     And the truth is, Israel should know better. Amos 2:10-11 quotes God saying:

 

 10 "I brought you up out of Egypt, 
       and I led you forty years in the desert 
       to give you the land of the Amorites.
 11 I also raised up prophets from among your sons 
       and Nazirites from among your young men. 
       Is this not true, people of Israel?" 
       declares the LORD. (Amos 2:10-11, NIV)
 
     Israel should know better. We should know better. This is the theme that goes straight through the book of Amos. God has chosen, rescued and selected Israel in a covenant. God has raised up prophets within their tribes. These prophets call out to the strong that are doing wrong and demand justice.
     This is the word we must hear today. God is calling us to know better. How can we knowingly purchase chocolate that oppresses little boys and little girls? How can we knowingly perpetuate the cycle of human trafficking? How can we continually show up on Sunday morning and expect God to bless us here when we are part of the cause out there?
     But I know what you are thinking, "Pastor, we see your point . . . but what do you want us to do?"  The solution to unfair labor practices, human trafficking, and shutting down the perpetuating cycle of slavery is - Fair Trade.
     Since 2002, Global Exchange has been demanding that the US chocolate industry end labor abuses by selling Fair Trade chocolate. We need to take action to ensure that our favorite products are free from child labor. In larger numbers, we can make it clear that we will accept nothing less than Fair Trade from World's Finest Chocolate, Nestle, M&M/Mars, and rest of the US chocolate industries. 
     Fair Trade is a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment. Products that are Fair Trade are called "Fair Trade Certified." This means that the price of the product attempts to cover the cost of production and a living wage in order to cover the basics of food, shelter, clothing, education, and medical care for the farmers. Chocolate then is sold by members of the Fair Trade Federation which is a business committed to the principles of Fair Trade.
     What in the world did I just say? I'm saying there is a whole world out there already in place helping you make conscious decisions about your chocolate purchases. You can help eradicate human trafficking by simply purchasing Fair Trade chocolate. You can locate Fair Trade Sellers online. Just Google "Fair Trade Chocolate."
     So as a consumer, as a Christian, I am asking you to use your purchasing power to help the oppressed, to bring good news to the poor, and to release the captives. I am suggesting that you adhere to the words of Amos and quit oppressing those who do not have a voice. You don't have to know you are oppressing to be oppressive.
     And yes, I know what you are thinking. "Pastor, I love Nestle, Hershey, and Mars."  If that's the case then it is time you encourage your elected officials to support laws that seek justice, write letters to your favorite chocolate companies and tell them you demand that they move to Fair Trade Chocolate. And until they do, you will be moving your purchases to companies that are Fair Trade. And I know you hear this a lot, but raising awareness is the best action strategy you can participate in to help eradicate Human Trafficking.
     Seeking justice and respecting the image of God in everyone must become a priority. Don't be fooled, our economic decisions matter. Our desire for chocolate matters. Seeking justice and respecting the image of God in everyone means knowing when to speak up and when to act out.  I know for me, sweet little boys and girls should not be forced to work hard labor so our little boys and girls reap the benefits. We can eradicate Human Trafficking.
     I'm not saying that every time you eat chocolate you should interrogate the person who made the cake about where the chocolate was purchased. Being a concerned activist means knowing when to speak out and when to show love to those people around you. The point is, though, for change to occur in our lifetime, for the cries of suffering boys and girls to be heard, enough people are going to have to speak out.