Slavery by any other name...

Next year will mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War. Of course, slavery sat at the heart of this war and it is a given in these times that slavery was, is and shall always be a crime.

So, let's look at what slavery is.

Slavery is by definition the system of turning one person (a slave) into an unpaid laborer without freedoms or rights by another person (a master). In the traditional sense, the owner gains profit by imprisoning the slave and employing them into forced labor. The owner of course pays for the slaves living quarters, their food and their general welfare with the expectation to gain profit over time by their work.

Now, what would be the easiest way to make that process more efficient and profitable for the master? Quite simple: remove the need to house, feed and take care of the slave. The result would be slavery with little cost and almost pure profit.

This is where we find ourselves today with the arrival of hundreds of Tamil "refugees" on our Pacific coast. As many would have us believe, these are simple folk trying to make a new home. And from their end, that may be true. However, the more likely case is that this is a case of organized human trafficking with the organizers making millions of dollars in the process.

Unfortunately, this puts the Canadian government in a bind. Do we let these innocent people in as refugees? The unfortunate truth is that if these people were the product of a human trafficking operation, we may very well be inviting a repeat performance if we let them stay. In essence, allowing them to say may be tacit approval of what is for all intents and purposes the perfect slave operation. One with little maintenance cost and high profit.

Never mind that this case could be a part of a much larger Tamil Tiger operation. In fact, this is one of the ways they have financed their military operations in the past. To make no effort to rectify this situation is simply a matter of diverting responsibility in making a rational decision, no matter how difficult.

As much as I mourn the situation these people face, I fear for the many others who will follow only to become slaves in the process. Turning a blind eye to what could be a very profitable human smuggling operation is simply tacit approval of modern slavery. As difficult as it is, sometimes you have to amputate a limb in order to save the body. And in this case, to prevent condemning countless Tamils to the fate of being in eternal bondage to the smugglers, we may very well be forced to make that difficult decision of turning this group away.

This is a very difficult choice for our government. But the right choice isn't always the easiest. And if we don't make a decision now, we are all responsible for the sign we send out of an open invitation for smugglers to abuse not only our charity but also the innocent Tamil civilians who will place their fate in the hands of these lesser men.