I was shocked to read the Dec. 21 editorial "End the global slavery scourge," which includes the revelation that there are 35.8 million people enslaved across the world in new, horrifying ways.
None of us is born to be a slave; nobody can deny that. It is a tragic reality that some are forced to become slaves under particular circumstances. The article makes me pray that people will resist making or taking slaves, and instead choose to live together with others as free and equal human beings.
Isn't life in the 21st century supposed to be about respect and value for human rights?
We need to catch the core philosophy of human rights correctly, and doesn't that concern our basic attitudes toward our neighbors?
My sincere prayer is that people of diverse religious faiths as well as citizens around the world learn that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood, as stated in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by U.N. General Assembly Resolution in 1948.
We all must cooperate, whatever the circumstances, to "make slavery less likely to continue."
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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